Atlanta making change to help after-school, recreation programs be more affordable for families

A change is coming to how some Atlanta families pay for recreation and after-school programs.

This fall, the city will begin rolling out a sliding-scale fee system designed to make those programs more affordable.

A version of this is available for families whose children receive free or reduced lunch in Atlanta's District 12 through free summer camps for kids.

"We saw an issue in the city of Atlanta. It was the summer camp program," said District 12 council member Antonio Lewis.

Lewis introduced the summer camp program to District 12 in an effort to close what he calls the "summer camp gap," helping families who earn too much to qualify for assistance, but still struggle to afford camp.

Desiree Warner, a District 12 mother of four, told CBS News Atlanta the summer camp fees were piling up.

"Food alone is crazy," Warner said, "and then to have to pay to bring them somewhere, because it's the summertime. It's another expense."

Warner said she used to spend $35 per child every week.

"The rate adds up for me, for instance, because I have four that go to camp," she said.

Now, through the city's program, her kids are attending camp for free.

Lewis said too many working families were falling into the gap.

"Some parents self-selected out, and the reason they self-selected out was because of the price, and the price tag per child at summer camp is $35 per child," Lewis said. "And if you make more than $1,800 a month, you cannot receive any assistance, and that was something that I could not see continue to go on."

This summer, Lewis said the city has covered camp costs for dozens of families. It's what he calls a pilot program for the new city-wide program.

"Right here is Rosel Fann. We've been able to pay for over 60 kids, and that's 60 families that are being able to attend to everything we're doing right here on the south side. I mean, they go swimming every day."

The city's new sliding-scale fee structure is scheduled to take effect this fall for Atlanta Parks and Recreation programs.