Some rural, low-income Oregon families struggle to access after-school amid funding uncertainty

Families raising children in rural Oregon often have limited access to after-school activities that boost social skills, academic performance and safety. 

Five in six children in Oregon could benefit from after-school programs but can’t access them because they are too expensive or far away, according to a survey from the Afterschool Alliance, a nationwide nonprofit. For families outside urban areas, the nearest program is often more than an hour away. 

The survey found high support for after-school programs among both Republicans and Democrats. Some parents said after-school activities allow them to work more hours, be more productive and worry less about their children’s wellbeing, according to the survey. 

After-school programs help create a sense of belonging, allow opportunities for youth leadership, build strong youth-adult partnerships and improve problem-solving skills, said Belle Cantor, senior program officer for education and youth development at the Oregon Community Foundation, which distributes funds to programs across the state. Other benefits include lower likelihood of suspension and higher grades, attendance and graduation rates, research shows.

However, some populations, especially those historically marginalized, have less access to those benefits, Cantor said.

Low-income populations

At Klamath Falls City Schools, the waitlist for after-school programs was becoming so long that the administration had to increase its offerings by over 20% and is now serving almost half of the district’s 2,709 students, according to Bill Patterson, who oversees afterschool programs. More than 22% of the district’s families live below the poverty line and nearly half of the population relies on nutritional assistance, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. 

“The money is really tight, so kids struggle more and there’s a much stronger need” for high-quality afterschool access, Patterson said. “The big key is how you can make it work for both the kids and the families, to have the money to put a program on.”

Klamath Falls City Schools is one of 27 providers in Oregon that receive federal funding through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant, which allows it to offer after-school programs at no cost to students. But funding has been inconsistent for years across different administrations, Patterson said. 

Last July, Patterson wasn’t sure whether the grant would ever arrive after the Trump administration temporarily blocked K-12 funding nationwide in its push to shrink and eventually dismantle the Department of Education.

“The biggest challenge is making sure that the bills are paid and the staff is compensated,” said Amy Dobson, the owner of Kids Club of Harney County, the only after-school program in one of the largest counties in the state. 

In Harney County School District, like Klamath Falls, a high percentage of community members are low-income and 23.8% of families receive nutritional assistance, so Dobson’s program charges reduced fees to around one-third of its students and mainly relies on funding from private grants, donations and fundraisers to operate, she said. To get extra help and reach as many students as possible, she also collaborates with elementary schools, nonprofits and youth organizations. 

Many of those organizations, however, are often also underfunded and overwhelmed.

“Because our community has such low income levels, it’s really hard for a lot of community organizations to support us when they’re trying to support themselves too,” she said.

Counties and school districts with lower median incomes tend to have fewer after-school programs, according to data from the Oregon Afterschool & Summer for Kids Network, or Oregon ASK.

For instance, Ontario School District, which has a poverty rate of 26% and a median household income of $36,367 only has one program per 3,597 students, while Bend-La Pine School District, with a poverty rate of 10% and a median household income of $65,209, has one program per 1,261 students. 

Counties with lower access to after-school programs also tend to have the highest rates of households without an internet connection, which might make it harder for students to access alternative education resources. 

However, the number of programs is not the only factor that impacts access, as the needs of each community vary greatly and some communities provide transportation to after-school programs in nearby towns or offer other alternatives to serve children outside of school times, providers say. 

Public funding

Beth Unverzagt, executive director of Oregon ASK, said it’s crucial for the federal and state government to support after-school programs through public funding targeted towards low-income populations.

“There’s a huge opportunity for Oregon to step up and make a difference in the lives of children and families,” she said. “There’s absolutely more funding needed and it needs to be targeted” to places with the most need.

In 2023, for the first time in years, summer learning programs received no additional public funding to operate, which forced many districts and providers to reduce their offerings or eliminate their services altogether, harming thousands of families that relied on them, Uverzagt said. 

Earlier this year, the Oregon Legislature approved funding for summer learning programs through 2027, which organizations say is helping them reach more communities and expand their services. Legislators also introduced two bills — Senate Bills 896 and 1127 — that would have provided additional funding to afterschool programs year-round, but they died in committee. 

Although public funding is often uncertain and there is room to grow, the state has made progress in recent years to support out-of-school learning, according to Foundations for a Better Oregon (FBO), a Portland-based education policy nonprofit. The organization is hopeful that the state is starting to understand the importance of extracurricular opportunities for students and that schools, community organizations and families will continue to cooperate to serve those in need across the state.

Funding uncertainty makes it even more important to “no longer think of after-school programs as a ‘nice to have’ when times are good, but a core and integrated element of our public education system” said Louis Wheatley, strategic communications director at FBO. “We’ve made a great step forward with the latest investment in summer learning and we can build on that foundation” in the coming years, he said.