Understaffing leaves after-school programs with unmet demand

By CAROLYN THOMPSON
Associated Press

The return to classrooms for the nation’s schoolchildren hasn’t meant a return to work for many of their parents who are finding after-school programs in short supply. School-based providers list issues hiring and retaining staff as the biggest reasons they haven’t fully rebounded from pandemic shutdowns. It’s difficult to conclude how many parents of school-age children have been unable to resume working outside the home because of gaps in available care.  But surveys point to a cycle of parents, mostly mothers, staying home for their children because they’re unable to find after-school programming. That then causes staffing shortages at such programs that rely heavily on women to run them.