Between 1990 and 1994, Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) established both an elementary and middle school before and after school program.  Programs needed to be affordable for working families.  Viewing the project as a community outreach initiative, the request was to create a district-operated, fee-based, and self-sustaining after school program for elementary schools. In 1990, HCPS elected to follow the successful paradigm of the National School Age Child Care Association (NSACCA) and thus began School Age Child Care (SACC).  In 1994, the district established the middle school extended day (MSED) program focusing on the unique needs of adolescents, primarily focusing on student safety and character development.

In 2006, the district approved a measure to combine SACC and MSED programs into a single program with a single name:  the Hillsborough County Public Schools Out-of-School Time (HOST) Program.  The rationale for combining the elementary and middle school programs into a single unit includes many factors.  Both programs are operated by the school district and aim to provide identical, age-appropriate services.  The merged program helps build relationships between feeder schools and establish continuity between elementary and middle school programs.

Since 2003, the elementary school programs have grown in number from 58 to 113 sites and since 2005, the middle school programs have grown in number from 23 to 35 sites with a combined enrollment of just over 11,000 students. 

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