Fourth graders pose for a photo after showing off their project and discussing what they learned at Horizons, a free summer academic program at The University School of Nashville, in Nashville , Tenn., Monday, July 7, 2025.
Los Angeles, California – As summer slips into August and school districts across the country prepare to reopen, hundreds of after-school programs serving low-income and working-class children are in jeopardy of shutting down. The reason: a federal funding freeze by the Trump administration that threatens to cut off support for organizations like the Boys & Girls Club, YMCA, and Save the Children — programs that have long served as lifelines for families who rely on affordable, structured care during critical after-school hours.
The potential impact is immediate and widespread. Of the 926 Boys & Girls Clubs that run 21st Century Community Learning Center programs, many are preparing contingency plans to close within the next five weeks if funding isn’t released. YMCA programs and Save the Children initiatives in rural schools from Washington state to the Deep South face similar fates. In many cases, the schools and community centers affected are in Republican-controlled districts — the very places that these programs are intended to support.
An analysis by the think tank New America shows that 91 of the 100 school districts receiving the most money from the frozen grant programs are represented by Republicans in Congress. Half of those districts are located in just four states: California, Georgia, Florida, and West Virginia. In these areas, where wages often lag behind the national average and two-income households are a necessity, after-school programs are not a luxury — they are essential infrastructure.
Georgia’s Republican Superintendent of Schools Richard Woods, breaking with the administration, called for the immediate release of funds. “Being responsible means releasing funds already approved by Congress and signed by President Trump,” he said. “We’re getting ready to start the school year.”
At a Boys & Girls Club in East Providence, Rhode Island, the value of these programs is unmistakable. One child, Aiden, a rising third grader, spends his days learning math, engaging with science, practicing social-emotional skills, and building positive relationships under the guidance of teachers and mentors. His mother, a single parent and state employee, says she cannot afford $220 per week for private child care. Without the program, she will have to rely on her teenage son to watch Aiden, forcing the older sibling to give up sports and a first job opportunity.
Another parent, Fernande Berard, a nurse and mother of three, learned of the funding freeze after dropping off her kids at summer camp. Her husband drives for Uber, and any disruption to their children’s care could jeopardize their ability to keep up with bills. She would have no choice but to bring her sons to work — to a rehabilitation facility.
These are not isolated stories. They are emblematic of a national problem in which budget politics collide with basic needs. After-school programs like the Boys & Girls Club have long enjoyed bipartisan support. They serve military families, rural communities, and urban centers alike. But the delay in funding has exposed a deeper contradiction: even as Republican officials celebrate the symbolism of these programs, their constituents may soon lose them due to inaction in Washington.
For many families, the consequences of this freeze are not theoretical. They are logistical, emotional, and economic — and they’re coming fast.
