We were told the aftercare would take years to get into, but we are getting in this year in kindergarten even though we started at about 50 1 1/2 years ago when we signed up the first day available. It has actually been nice for my DC to go to aftercare at a different place with a lot of other kindergarteners who also didn't get in. We have up to 6 more years of SACC, so it is nice to have some variety this year.

I'm the OP - this is helpful. Sharon Bulova is great. By the way, I'm not the poster that mentioned paying $500 for care until 5:30. I'm not even in the market for care yet. My concern isn't really financial - it's more logistics, etc...I can actually pick up probably more like 4:30, 5:00 at the latest, so some of these aftercare programs like at tae kwon do studios don't make much sense to me, I'm not even sure my child would have time to participate in many activities.

SACC is limited by a few variables. The first is space--the schools are loathe to give up classrooms to SACC, which when you think about it makes sense.They don't want teachers to come in on a Tuesday morning and find their spaces in shambles. So that leaves one or two dedicated rooms just for SACC, plus a gym or cafeteria. There are rules about how many kids can be cared for in any given space, based on size. The smaller the allocated space, the smaller the number of kids who can be cared for.

The second limitation has to do with ratios and cost. Right now in VA the magic number is 18:1. You need to have two caregivers for the first 18, then an additional caregiver every time you go over 18 (so 37 kids would require 4 caregivers). You're dealing with a program with a sliding fee schedule, so not every child is paying the full rate. Add to that the fact that the Office for Children pays to use those rooms, in addition to the cost of staffing, materials, snacks, etc. and you can see how it adds up. There's a reason those private providers charge more--they give more.

Finally, there's the issue priority. Someone mentioned earlier that Sharon Bulova tried to deal with the lack of affordable and high-quality afterschool care. It went nowhere. Right now there is just not the outcry to really deal with the issue. So things remain as they are.

Just curious what is the reason that SACC doesn't allow for more children in the program? Is it because of the sliding scale in fee? I am kind of torn between SACC or a private company and also on the number of children. The space at my school for SACC is quite small even for the children they have. The teachers though are great. The private aftercares in MD have afterschool activities such as knitting, crafts, sports, etc. that aren't run by the PTA, but run by the aftercare program. Those programs use more rooms too in the school such as a music room, art room, and the cafeteria. I like our SACC teachers but don't like that for instance they can't even use the cafeteria next door.

If you can get private for $500 and you are picking your kid up at 5:30 --- you are doing better than I was. I was paying $600 for just the after care (another $137 for the before care with SACC), and I picked my kid up at 4:30. I could have picked her up at school every day except Mon. as I was on a 6 am to 2 pm shift and got home around 2:30... but of course, there were Mondays and I couldn't be there for that. So, I was paying a total fo $737 for about 20 mins. of before care a day and about 40 min. of aftercare T/W/R/F. I got 3.5 hrs. on Mon.

So, if you can do it for $500 -- take it.

Anonymous wrote:You make a fair point, but to me, the compelling reason is just that taxpayers want the service. Further, the service already exists. There is just excess demand in some areas. Moreover, I'm not expecting it to be gratis or anything...it just makes sense for a program to be right at the school. The school has obvious appropriate facilities like fields, playground and gym that make it desirable. Also, I'm not sure the market is filling the gap. Where I am there are only a few options.

I'm not suggesting there is some entitlement to this, just that it is a good idea and I wonder if anyone knows whether the issue has really been pushed with the county, either the school system or county government.

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors' Chairman Sharon Bulova is the one to ask. She was a proponent of a proposal to have another (out-sourced) provider for SACC so more students could be served.

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=327371&paper=68&cat=104

That proposal failed, but she has been working on the issue for a while.

You make a fair point, but to me, the compelling reason is just that taxpayers want the service. Further, the service already exists. There is just excess demand in some areas. Moreover, I'm not expecting it to be gratis or anything...it just makes sense for a program to be right at the school. The school has obvious appropriate facilities like fields, playground and gym that make it desirable. Also, I'm not sure the market is filling the gap. Where I am there are only a few options.

I'm not suggesting there is some entitlement to this, just that it is a good idea and I wonder if anyone knows whether the issue has really been pushed with the county, either the school system or county government.

Anonymous wrote:OP again, the reason I would prefer SACC is that, fortunately, I would be able to pick up by 4:30, at the latest 5, and it just doesn't make sense to me for my kids to have to bus to some other program. I guess I don't understand the space issue. The school has plenty of space that could be used. I realize that may not be how it is done now, but I really think the school system is behind the times by not making this available. Again, this is guaranteed in Arlington, why not Fairfax?

I don't mean to be snarky but I don't understand why you think FCPS is behind the times. Just because it's guaranteed in Arlington (and Alexandria City, I believe) what is the compelling reason for it? If the private market is bridging the gap between what SACC offers and what parents need, why should the government be in the business of childcare? I think there's a more compelling argument for privatizing it all rather than expanding it to all.

Anonymous wrote:My concern with aftercare programs is that by the time the children arrive to the aftercare facility, who knows how long they are on the bus before they arrive to the aftercare facility and how long are they there before they are picked up? I am lucky that I live relatively close to work so I can pick up my guy by 5:30 ish but it really aggravates me that I will likely end up spending $500+/mo for my kid to ride the bus for 45 min then hang out for 30 min or so before I get there. Except on Mondays. FFX has early dismissal on Mondays. Ugh.

BTW - the SACC waitlist at my school is 120+ kids deep. You can't put your kid on the list until 14 mos before they start school.

I don't know anyone whose private center is a 45 minute bus ride away. Every single private bus/van I see at our school is about 5-10 minutes away. Are there no other closer facilities to your school?

OP again, the reason I would prefer SACC is that, fortunately, I would be able to pick up by 4:30, at the latest 5, and it just doesn't make sense to me for my kids to have to bus to some other program. I guess I don't understand the space issue. The school has plenty of space that could be used. I realize that may not be how it is done now, but I really think the school system is behind the times by not making this available. Again, this is guaranteed in Arlington, why not Fairfax?

My concern with aftercare programs is that by the time the children arrive to the aftercare facility, who knows how long they are on the bus before they arrive to the aftercare facility and how long are they there before they are picked up? I am lucky that I live relatively close to work so I can pick up my guy by 5:30 ish but it really aggravates me that I will likely end up spending $500+/mo for my kid to ride the bus for 45 min then hang out for 30 min or so before I get there. Except on Mondays. FFX has early dismissal on Mondays. Ugh.

BTW - the SACC waitlist at my school is 120+ kids deep. You can't put your kid on the list until 14 mos before they start school.

The private market takes up the extra students... and it is much pricier than SACC. But, I'm not sure why you are against (as you said you'd be willing to pay more for SACC). The private programs can be good or better. I'm not entirely impressed with SACC, but I know it varies by school due to the differences in the people running it. Our SACC is very crowded/over-populated in my opinion. Some of the private centers have smaller programs, less noisy, calmer. You can't beat the price for SACC and it is nice that it is right at the school.

They already charge on a sliding scale. I'm not aware of any push to make it available to everyone but I know at our school, it's already at capacity. I believe space is one of the limitations. It's also not a FCPS program, it resides in the County's Office of Children. If you wanted to push it's availability to all school, you would start at that office, not FCPS.

I'm new to FCPS and am really shocked by the long waiting lists for SACC. We don't need it yet, but will in a few years. Aftercare is guaranteed in Arlington County. Does anyone know if this has ever been something pushed for by Fairfax parents, any school board members, etc...? I find it really shocking and inexcusable in an area with so many families with two working parents. I know that budgets are tight these days, but I still don't get it. If need be, raise the prices and charge on a sliding scale based on income even. I would gladly pay more for a program at the school rather than have my child bused after school to some other private program or have to arrange an afterschool babysitter or other care. I would be really curious to know if anyone has intel on this issue. Thanks!