Dive Brief:
- Afterschool providers’ concerns about their programs’ sustainability rose in 2025 — reaching pandemic-era levels, according to survey results released April 2 by Afterschool Alliance.
- For instance, 88% of afterschool providers reported they were worried about long-term funding and the future of their programs, compared to 87% who said the same in 2020. A majority of providers — 77% — also said they’re concerned about losing funds in 2025, versus 78% in 2020.
- Over half of providers reported fears that they’d have to close their afterschool programs in 2025, the survey found. These challenges come as the Trump administration on April 3 proposed in a budget request once again to eliminate and consolidate key federal funds for the $1.3 billion 21st Century Community Learning Centers that benefit afterschool and summer programs.
Dive Insight:
The past year brought uncertainty and disruption to some afterschool programs due to changes spurred by the federal government.
A sizable percentage of afterschool programs — 46% — said they were affected in some way when the U.S. Department of Education temporarily withheld 21st Century Community Learning Center funds in the summer 2025.
On June 30, 2025, the department told state education agencies that the funds for afterschool and summer programs, alongside other K-12 grant programs, were frozen as the Trump administration reviewed the programs to see if they aligned with the administration’s priorities. States typically expect to receive those funds on July 1, but they were not released until July 21, 2025, for the 21st Century Community Learning Center grant program, according to Afterschool Alliance.
Because of the temporarily halted 21st Century Community Learning Center funds last year, 21% of providers said they had to help children and families navigate the uncertainty driven by the frozen funds. While 12% said they had to seek short-term funding, 14% temporarily reduced the number of staff, 13% had to limit program hours or offerings, and 12% had to serve fewer students.
Just a few months later, during the 43-day federal government shutdown last fall, 27% of afterschool providers said their children and families were impacted "a lot," and another 36% said their children and families faced "some" impacts, according to Afterschool Alliance.
“Afterschool programs are providing badly needed supports to students and families, while they are under considerable stress themselves,” said Jen Rinehart, Afterschool Alliance’s senior vice president for strategy and programs in an April 2 statement. “At this time when so many families are struggling, programs are keeping kids safe, inspiring them to learn, and giving parents peace of mind that their children are safe, supervised and learning when schools are out.”
Afterschool Alliance also found that afterschool providers impacted by the federal government shutdown or the temporarily frozen funds last year were more likely to express concerns over their program’s sustainability and students’ mental well-being, compared to programs overall.
Meanwhile, the future of 21st Century Community Learning Center funds remain hazy for afterschool programs, as President Donald Trump aims to cut the program in his recent budget proposal for fiscal year 2027. With those funds, the administration would instead use them for state block grants “to improve literacy and numeracy” skills.
Jodi Grant, executive director of Afterschool Alliance, said in an April 3 statement that Trump’s FY 2027 budget proposal to eliminate the program would “have dire consequences” and that a “significant number” of afterschool and summer programs would be forced to shutter.
“That, in turn, would mean more hungry kids, more children and youth unsupervised and at risk each afternoon, more academic failures and dropouts, more chronic absenteeism, more parents forced out of their jobs, and a less STEM-ready and successful workforce now and in the future,” Grant said.
The Afterschool Alliance survey polled 1,005 afterschool providers across more than 6,500 programs from October to December 2025.
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