The America After 3 p.m. report is a national survey of parents and families released every five years by the Afterschool Alliance.

The 2025 report is based on a survey of more than 30,000 U.S. parents of school-age children who live in their households. That includes in-depth interviews with 802 in families in North Carolina. This year’s study, which looks at 20 years of data, is the first afterschool household survey since the Covid-19 pandemic. The last America After 3 p.m. report was released in 2020 but was based on pre-pandemic data.

The Afterschool Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to ensure that all children and youth have access to quality afterschool programs. The North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs is the North Carolina affiliate for the Afterschool Alliance.

Key Learnings from the 2025 North Carolina After 3PM Report

North Carolina parents and families overwhelmingly agree that afterschool programs keep their children safe, off screens, and learning.

• More than 8 in 10 parents say they appreciate that afterschool programs keep their kids safe and off screens.
• On top of that, the vast majority of parents say afterschool programs build social skills and responsible decision making and boost teamwork, critical thinking and leadership skills.

Plus, NC parents agree that afterschool programs help them keep their jobs and focus on their work.

• Nearly all NC parents and families – 92 percent – say having their child in an afterschool program helps them keep their job or work more hours. 
• And 96 percent of parents agree that they feel less stressed knowing their child is safe at their afterschool program.

North Carolina’s afterschool programs are holding steady when it comes to the number of children and families served. 

• In 2020 – the last time the America After 3 p.m. survey was conducted – North Carolina’s afterschool programs served just over 192,000 children and their families. Today, North Carolina’s afterschool programs serve just over 188,000 children.

We‘re not losing ground – but we aren’t gaining ground, either.

• There are still more than 664,000 families in North Carolina who want to enroll their child in afterschool but can’t. 
• That’s four out of five North Carolina parents who want afterschool programs for their children but are unable to enroll in them, which means we still have work to do to meet the high demand for afterschool programs.
• Cost and access are the two biggest reasons parents can’t send their child to afterschool programs.
  • More than half of parents surveyed say afterschool programs are too expensive for their family.
  • Nearly half of parents say their child does not have a safe way to get to and from home from local afterschool programs, or afterschool program locations are inconvenient.
  • And four in ten of parents say there just aren’t enough afterschool programs in their community.

North Carolina parents agree that all children and youth deserve access to afterschool programs, and they support public funding for afterschool opportunities.

Across the political spectrum, 5 in 6 parents are in favor of public funding for afterschool opportunities. That includes 90 percent of Democrats and 83 percent of Republicans.

Resources: America After 3PM and North Carolina After 3PM

2025 National Data and Resources

2025 North Carolina Data and Resources

2025 Summer Fact Sheet

2020 North Carolina After 3PM Report and Resources

North Carolina After 3 p.m. in the News

• EdNC: Perspective | 664,000 reasons North Carolina’s families can’t wait any longer for after-school
• Newsline: Four in five NC families who want afterschool programs can’t access them, report finds