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What a difference a decade makes. In 1996 when I compiled the first Exchange Status Report on school-age child care (Neugebauer), I observed . . .

"School-age care is the fastest growing segment of the early childhood arena . . . and possibly the least visible. While programs have been serving school-age children in out-of-school hours since the turn of the century, it is only in recent years that professionals have started to view school-age care as a distinct discipline with its own unique history, challenges, and opportunities."

This year when I sat down to prepare for this status report, I was amazed at how much attention the school-age sector now generates. I found a multitude of studies and reports which have bisected, quantified, and assessed current programs serving school-age children. In fact, I am relying on a few of these manuscripts to provide the jumping off point for this report.

Who ...