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11 percent of Nebraska, Iowa kids are enrolled in afterschool programs

By Katie Knapp Schubert

Omaha, NE – A new report shows 11 percent of Nebraska and Iowa children are enrolled in an afterschool program.

The Afterschool Alliance's America after 3PM study is based on surveys of 30,000 households nationwide. In Nebraska, 36 percent of children in kindergarten through 12th grades are at home unsupervised after school. In Iowa, 32 percent of those children are at home alone.

Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant says afterschool programs provide a wealth of social and academic benefits to students. She says the best programs combine hands-on activities, mentoring, tutoring and sports. Cost and transportation are the primary barriers to enrollment in an afterschool program, according to the study.

Grant says more support is needed at the federal level for afterschool programs. The study is available at www.afterschoolalliance.org.