To understand the landscape of afterschool programs we assessed two components: the existing afterschool environment (supply) and high need neighborhood characteristics (demand).
Existing Afterschool Environment
There is a greater supply of programs in Dallas compared to the surrounding cities. Furthermore, the majority of afterschool programming takes place either in a school or a child care center. In conjunction they make up 87.7% of all available afterschool seats across Dallas County.
| Facility Type | Total Programs | Seat Capacity | Average Seats | Percent of Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not Available | 16 | 1,752 | 110 | 2.1% |
| Apartment Complex | 7 | 207 | 30 | 0.2% |
| Child Care Center | 370 | 45,373 | 123 | 53.5% |
| Community Center/Nonprofit | 55 | 4,841 | 88 | 5.7% |
| Faith Community | 20 | 2,058 | 103 | 2.4% |
| Municipal Building | 35 | 1,559 | 45 | 1.8% |
| School | 380 | 29,045 | 76 | 34.2% |
Programs in Dallas County
High Need Neighborhood Conditions
We understand that the need for afterschool programs in any given neighborhood will vary based on the demographic characteristics of local families and children. To assess where additional programming may have the greatest impact, we identified a number of characteristics for residents who may benefit the most from free or low-cost afterschool programming for their children.
Metrics related to food insecurity, parental commute, single parent households, households facing unemployment, and the child poverty rate were identified as priority characteristics by Dallas Afterschool.