Voluntary Participation and Parents' Reasons for Enrollment in After-School Programs: Contributions of Race/Ethnicity, Program Quality, and Program Policies

This article aims to understand youths’ voluntary participation in afterschool programs (ASPs), as well as reasons their parents’ reasons for enrolling them, taking into consideration: race/ethnicity, program quality, and program policies. Parents enrolled children in afterschool programs for a variety of reasons including childcare and academics, with race and program factors influencing these decisions.