Summer Fun: How Long Is The Waitlist In Your Neighborhood?

Summer is nearly here, and with it comes the race for Hawaiʻi families to find child care while school is out for nine weeks. 

A popular option is the City and County of Honolulu's Summer Fun programs, which are open for kids ages 6 through 12. The programs run from early June to late July at city parks and offer activities such as arts and crafts, music lessons and excursions. 

For some families, securing a spot at their neighborhood park is a major challenge. 

This summer, the city plans to operate 57 sites serving a total of 9,575 kids if the programs are fully staffed. Roughly two weeks after registration opened, waitlists grew to 1,490 kids long.

East Honolulu parks have the greatest capacity, serving up to 2,425 kids, followed by West Honolulu sites, which stretch from Makiki to ʻAiea. The programs charge a maximum of $125 per child. 

As of Tuesday, 31 of the sites had waitlists ranging from three to more than 100 kids. The remaining 26 sites still had openings, with Kalanianaʻole Beach Park's program reporting the greatest availability: 130 unfilled spots. Waiʻanae District Park followed with 120 open seats. 

Department of Parks and Recreation spokesperson Nate Serota said not all sites are operating at maximum capacity because of staffing shortages. The city is still seeking staff for the summer, he said, and will be able to take kids off the waitlist once it hires more employees. 

For example, the summer program at Booth District Park currently has a waitlist of 70 children. If the site hired more staff to increase its capacity, it could take 60 kids off the waitlist. Serota estimates the city needs to hire around 18 more staff members for sites in Windward Oʻahu and West Honolulu.

Interest in the programs varies widely. Mānoa Valley District Park's program quickly filled its 350 seats and currently has the largest waitlist of 157 kids. Less than 5 miles away, Pālolo Valley District Park has 32 seats available. 

Koko Head District Park's program filled up within minutes and had a waitlist of 79 kids as of Tuesday. Kaimukī Community Park took nearly two weeks to fill 125 spots.

Parent Nina Wood took no chances when it came to enrolling her 12-year-old son in Makiki District Park's summer program. Earlier this month, she arrived at the park an hour and a half before Summer Fun registration began at 5 p.m. and waited in line with a group of seven other parents.  

While most families enrolled their children through the city's online portal, Wood chose to register in-person because she planned to pay with cash. She said she chose Makiki's program because her son was familiar with the location, and the park includes a pool that can offer more recreation for kids. 

It's not easy for parents to find affordable options for their kids once school is out, Wood said, especially when some programs draw high demand.  

"That's the problem here in Hawaiʻi," Wood said. "We have so many kids, and there's just not enough options out there."

As of Tuesday, Makiki's program had six open seats remaining. 

Civil Beat reporter Caitlin Thompson contributed to this report.

Civil Beat's education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy, and "Data Dive" is supported in part by the Will J. Reid Foundation.