The Afterschool Alliance in May released the results of its household survey on the kind of programming parents want their children to participate in during summer and common barriers to entry.
The national survey included responses from 30,515 parents of school-age children who live in their households, including 1,921 from California.
Based on 2024 data presented in a state-level dashboard, summer program participation in California was 25 percent with nearly 1.6 million children involved in a structured experience (not childcare) offering enrichment or sports, camp environments, summer school, jobs or internships.
By grade, participation was highest among K-5 and middle school students (26 percent, respectively), followed by high schoolers (24 percent).
Ninety-seven percent of parents were satisfied with the program their child was involved in. “Among families with a child in a structured summer experience, a majority report that their child participates in a voluntary learning and enrichment summer program or a specialty camp or program, including those focused on the arts, drama, sports, and STEM,” according to Afterschool Alliance.
However, there was a sizeable unmet demand for summer programming. While parents of more than 3 million children would have liked to enroll their children, nearly 1.5 million children didn’t have access — meaning roughly one in two young people missed out.
When choosing what their kids do during summer, the factors most important to parents include options that offer a safe environment, knowledgeable and caring staff, support of a child’s mental health and well-being, less screen time, opportunities for confidence building, and time for fun and educational activities.
Among California parents, affordability was a primary factor preventing them from enrolling their children (34 percent). The average cost of specialty camps and programs was $385 per week among parents who reported paying a fee and $209 for voluntary learning and enrichment summer programs.
In 2025, Afterschool Alliance found that 89 percent of parents were in favor of public funding for summer learning opportunities with strong bipartisan support for the issue.
Besides costs, other barriers parents cited that keep their kids from summer programs included location or transportation issues (12 percent), difficulty finding information on programs (12 percent) and the unavailability of programs (11 percent).
The top locations for voluntary learning and enrichment summer programs and specialty summer camps or programs included city or town facilities, community-based organizations, public or private schools, museums or science centers and libraries.
California’s reality is largely consistent with the status quo across the U.S. Read an executive summary of national findings or view a fact sheet to learn more.
