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• FY 2005
  • Summary Tables
• FY 2004
• FY 2002

  As required by Section 2-3.11b of the School Code, the Illinois State Board of Education collects data from public school districts regarding the general nature and operation of before- and after-school programs. Before- and after-school (latchkey) programs are designed to provide supervision of children before and/or after regular school hours. The data included in this report were collected for only those programs operated for public school districts.

  In 2001-2002, there were 392 public school districts operating approximately 540 before- and after-school programs (an increase of approximately 4 percent from 2000-2001). Of these programs, 202 were operated by school districts and 250 were operated by another agency in space provided by or leased from the public school district. The 88 remaining programs were contracted out by the school district. Of the 250 programs operated by agencies other than public school districts, 36 percent were operated by the YMCA/YWCA, 30 percent by local park districts, and 34 percent by other groups, consisting mainly on nonprofit programs and day care centers. Other findings include:

  • Before and after school programs served a total of 64,441 students. This represents a 31.7 percent increase over those served in 2000-2001 (48,927). The change in the definition of the Before- and After-School program might be one of the reasons for the large increase in numbers. Almost 78 percent of program enrollment were pre-kindergarten to sixth grade students.
  • Both before and after school programs were offered by 41 percent of the programs. Approximately 50 percent of the operating programs offered after-school programs only. About 12 percent of all programs offered services on holidays, and 14 percent in the summer, while only three percent offered programs on Saturdays and Sundays.
  • Hours of operation of programs ranged from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. with most programs operating between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
  • Almost 67 percent of operating programs were open to all children in the public school district who met the age requirement for the program, and about 57 percent of the programs were also offered to low achieving students.
  • Almost half of the programs either did not require a fee from parents or it was not reported. The fee range for programs offering both before and after school services was $10 to $314 for one child per week for a combined A.M. and P.M. session. The average fee per child was $62.00. A sliding scale based on parents' needs and ability to pay was present in about nine percent of the programs reporting.
  • Sixty percent of programs provided an after-school snack, about 12 percent provided breakfast, and 13 percent provided a morning snack.
  • Only about 9 percent of the programs reported having children on a waiting list. The number of children on a waiting list increased from 1,642 in 2000-2001 to 2,303 in 2001-2002. Lack of space and funding were the major reasons for not serving all children.
  • There were 2,454 certified staff, 2,172 non-certified staff, and 1,504 high school/college students employed by the programs reported. About 63 programs reported having 706 non-paid staff working for the program.
  • About 50 percent of the programs provided staff development. The staff development was provided mainly for the reading/writing skills, conflict resolution, CPR, and other safety issues.
  • The estimated operational costs of before- and after-school programs ranged from $200 to $2,160,000.

Prepared by the Data Analysis and Progress Reporting Division, Illinois State Board of Education, November 2002.​​