It is important for school-age care professionals to understand how the field has developed since its inception and to be knowledgeable about the current status of the field of school-age care. With this knowledge and understanding, it is possible for school-age care professionals to participate in shaping the field as it grows in the future.
The field of school-age care is growing and changing as national researchers learn more about what works best in school-age programs for a wide range of children and youth, their families, and their communities. Other positive changes are occurring as advocates for school-age care succeed in creating more public awareness about the need to make quality school-age services available to all children and youth across the country.In addition, the field of school-age care is undergoing a metamorphosis as experienced professionals in several different disciplines and fields share and contribute their knowledge, skills, and insights with the goal of creating national models that represent the best possible school-age programs.
In this climate of change, school-age programs face a number of important issues, revolving around the availability, affordability, and accountability of programs.Many national trends and issues have implications for school-age care at the state and local level. When out-of-school time professionals are well informed about national developments in the field, they can become more effective school-age care advocates as they design and implement high quality, sustainable programs that are responsive to youth, family, and community needs in out-of-school time programs.