Describes the demographic differences in youth’s Out-of-School Time (OST) activities and the changes in participation rates in recent years. National data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the National Survey of American Families is used to distill youth participation rates in OST activities based upon income level and race/ethnicity (the gender variable is not covered in the report but is available from the authors). Key findings indicate that youth from higher income families are more likely to participate in OST activities that include lessons, clubs, and sports. In disadvantaged neighborhoods there is a clear need for continued recruitment, retention and funding for OST activities. Tutoring programs are more often utilized by lower income families which could indicate that poor academic performance limits time and desire of other OST participation. Latino youth, followed by young African Americans, are most consistently underrepresented in OST activities. This finding suggests a needfor bilingual and other culturally sensitive resources to accommodate the significant population of young Latinos. Before- and after-school programs and summer camps usually target minority youth, and the survey analysis suggests a strong and consistently high participation rate for Black youth. According to historical reviews, these survey results have remained steady since the late 1990s, presenting a challenge to policymakers and practitioners to improve OST rates in lower income levels. The driving incentive for improvement may be the positive correlation between OST participation rates and the academic development of children.
