Afterschool Caucuses - Purpose

Purpose

The Caucuses were formed in response to the finding that 14.3 million children go home alone after the school day ends, including more than 40,000 kindergartners and almost four million middle school students in grades six to eight. The Caucuses act to promote the availability of afterschool programs, with a special emphasis on the 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) program, for every American school-age child by increasing public awareness of such programs and supporting increased federal resources. In each chamber, the Caucuses have conducted a variety of activities supporting the goal of quality, affordable programs for all children. This has included organizing congressional briefings on specific topics such as the role of the STEM fields in afterschool (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education; disseminating letters in support of increased resources for afterschool to the President as well as congressional colleagues; sharing new research on effective programs; and organizing press events around the Afterschool Challenge with celebrity supporters.

The Afterschool Caucuses seek to educate the public on the role that afterschool programs play in the lives of families, and promote the expansion of federal, state, and local support in order to make access to these programs a reality for all interested children and families.