BALTIMORE — Nearly three-quarters of Maryland families who want their children to be in after-school programs often can’t find them or afford them, a new report finds.

The Afterschool Alliance’s 2025 “America After 3PM” report says this is roughly in line with national averages. But it notes that the unmet demand is higher for Black and Hispanic children, those in families with lower incomes, and those living in urban areas. More than 145,000 children are in such programs statewide, or roughly 15% of Maryland’s school-aged children, according to the Alliance.

Parents need such after-school programs because school hours usually don’t align with most people’s work hours.

“After school connects learning to life,” said Joshua Michael, president of the Maryland State Board of Education, who joined the Afterschool Alliance’s Wednesday news conference announcing the survey results. In addition to keeping kids off their phones and out of trouble, Michael said after-school programs can foster critical thinking, leadership skills and academic success.

“The core does not stop when the bell rings,” he said, referring to core instruction like reading and math.

The average weekly cost for paid after-school programs in Maryland is $145.80, according to the data. Nearly 60% of parents in the state said programs were too expensive; almost half said they were inconveniently located. Some (45%) said their children didn’t have a safe way to get to and from the programs, while others (44%) said programs were unavailable in their communities.

Baltimore mom Lakeisha Alston works in Bethesda. Although she has the option to work from her Charles Village home, she said finding an after-school program was “a necessity” to care for her children before she and her husband return from work.

Since 2021, the family’s students have been going to the Village Learning Place, a free after-school program in the neighborhood. Alston’s eldest child, now 16, no longer attends the center’s after-school program but still participates in its summer activities. Staff walk over to Margaret Brent Elementary/Middle School, where three of Alston’s children attend, to pick up students, Alston said.

Alston said her children have had higher test scores since being enrolled, particularly in English language arts.

“We definitely need more programming to help parents that do work … so they have somewhere and they know their kids are safe,” Alston said.

Millions in federal funding for after-school programs were rescinded briefly over the summer before being restored. The 21st Century Community Learning Center program supports 1.4 million students across the country, according to the report’s executive summary. Village Learning Place is a grant recipient through that initiative and was endangered by the funding flip-flop.

State funding streams like the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, “a couple small” state grant programs and the Child Care Scholarship Program could bolster after-school programs. At the same time, federal money remains precarious, according to Michael.

“It’s something we ought to be looking at, particularly as we consider the just-increasing demand,” Michael said of the smaller grant programs.

The Child Care Scholarship Program, which can be used to pay for some after-school care, paused new enrollments in May after too many families signed up.

“Investment is something we’re grappling with … as we’re passed … new costs from the federal government and other spaces. It’s going to be a challenge for us as we look forward,” Michael said.

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