Approximately 30%, or roughly 332,642, of Hoosier children (including kindergarteners) are left unsupervised in the afternoons (Afterschool Alliance, 2010). Indiana Afterschool Network (IAN) has been working to improve the quality of out-of-school time (OST) programs that serve children in the critical hours from 3-7pm.
One of IAN’s key projects has been to create an online searchable database of OST programs across Indiana for families and community stakeholders to locate information. Managed through a partnership between IAN and Indiana Association for Child Care Resource and Referral (IACCRR), the database includes OST programs that serve K-12 youth before school, after school, over the summer and during school breaks.
As of April 2014, 711 OST service providers have registered their program in the database. Of the registered sites, 71% are School-Based; 21% are Community-Based·; 6% are Church-Based; and 3% are Residential-Based. The majority of the listed programs are offered during the school year and are serving elementary school students. Additional details of the registered sites are included in this summary here.
IAN is not finished with the database. They want the database to be as comprehensive as possible of the OST programs that are available in Indiana. If you are an OST provider or know of an OST provider, encourage them to register their program(s) online here.
The database is a critical resource for Hoosiers that can help a variety of stakeholders make informed decisions:
- For families looking for quality care and/or enrichment for their child;
- For schools seeking to extend and enhance the learning day for their students;
- For funders interested in partnering with OST programs to meet the needs of children and families in their communities; and
- For policy makers looking to make informed budget and programmatic decisions
Transform Consulting Group is dedicated to bringing organizations the latest news and information. If you have any questions about IAN’s database, contact Sara Beanblossom at sbeanblossom@indianaafterschool.org.
