User:CooperR.Anthony/After-school activity

Lead
For this article, I will add a section on the economic, historical context that contributed to the need for after-school programs and activities. Specifically, I will include context on how the increase of women in the labor force led to the need for supplementary child supervision. Furthermore, I will touch on how funding affects the structure and organization of after-school activities.

History
After World War II, the number of single parent families in the United States increased as women began to participate in the labor force. Traditional family roles and structure were tremendously altered as women began to serve as major financial contributors, increasing the average percentage of employed women from 38 percent in 1955 to 78 percent by 2004. Many women worked jobs with long hours with no one available to pick up children from school at the appropriate time. After-school programs, then, had the significant function of serving as a place where children could receive safe adult supervision after school hours, allowing parents to continue working without the worry of their child’s safety or well-being.

During the World War, after-school programs served as a solution to the decline in child labor and offered supervision for families active in the working economy. The end of the war repurposed after-school activities as opportunities for developing children to receive interactive care that promoted child health and well-being that may not have been received at home. As children began to work fewer or no hours after school, they could focus more on education and participating in school, resulting in a “new outlook on childhood” that emphasized the importance of well-rounded care. A large factor contributing to the continuation and expansion of after-school activities involved growing concerns that children without this source of extra care were at an increased risk of developing social and academic problems because they would utilize learned behaviors of rejecting opportunities before they could be rejected themselves.

Funding
The government's role in after-school activities is related to its role in public education and child support more broadly. This is a hotly debated topic in the United States. Many believe that for those earning minimum wage, the government fails to provide supplemental support to families, nor do governments provide adequate education and child support. Others see childcare as a responsibility of the family or community rather than the responsibility of the state.

Lack of government funding or insufficient funding compromises the quality of after-school offerings. Programs serving low-income communities also rely on private funding from donors and family fees.