Introduction

A tenet of the out-of-school time (OST)¹ field is that all youth deserve impactful and engaging learning experiences. Organizations, programs, and professionals must be responsive to the existing and emerging needs of the increasingly diverse² children and youth³ that they serve and the communities in which they live. To that end, this book focuses primarily on equity and access in the OST context because while access is on the increase, the field has yet to meet the needs of the most underserved communities (Afterschool Alliance, 2014; Dawes, 2018).

Equity and access are terms that get used too often without definition. Throughout this book, we use equity to mean when young people have the tools, resources, and other supports they need to achieve desired outcomes such as self-sufficiency and well-being. Equity is often confused with equality, where everyone receives the same resources; however, a cookie-cutter set of resources is unlikely to meet the needs of all youth. Rather, equity is the set of resources that helps to meet the unique needs of each young person.