As a result, Hasson and other parents will now be able to enroll their children in afterschool care for free.“With the additional Extended Learning Opportunities Program grant, it gives us the opportunity to expand the program and serve as many students as we can possibly serve,” said Christiane Trout-McPhee, manager of Primetime for San Diego Unified.
“Now there's additional state funding … that dramatically increased the number of spots and number of students. As an example, for San Diego Unified, we saw the target number of students for us double over the past couple of years,” said Brad Lupien, CEO of ARC. Primetime’s expansion is just the first step in more accessible childcare across the state, said Kim McDougal, vice president of social services for the YMCA of San Diego County.Deniece Hasson's three sons play on the sidewalk outside Marvin Elementary School, Aug. 25, 2023.
Meanwhile Hasson, the mother of three at Marvin Elementary, said free childcare programs like Primetime should be as widespread as public education.