After$chool Funding: Funding Spotlight: Vermont Invests in Afterschool

Data collected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) highlighted the threat that substance misuse and suicide pose to Vermont’s youth. As of 2016-2017, Vermont had the 18th highest rate of suicide in the nation and suicide was the second leading cause of death for teens. Opioid overdoses were nearly 1.5 times the national average. The CDC’s 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) highlighted the positive outcomes associated with afterschool participation, including decreased substance misuse and increased feelings of community belonging.

To help support young people and serve more children with afterschool programs, Vermont Afterschool was able to secure funding for out-of-school time through a state sales tax on cannabis. A recent funding spotlight, "Vermont Invests in Afterschool," tells the story. 

The opportunity

Vermont Afterschool, with the help of external lobbyists, leveraged the demonstrated connection between afterschool and positive youth outcomes to advocate for universal access to programming. The State Legislature recognized afterschool’s vital potential for prevention in its $600,000 investment in Afterschool for All Grants, awarded between 2018-2020 from tobacco settlement funds. Vermont Afterschool, seeking a greater funding commitment, engaged in coalition building with the Marijuana Commission, Opioid Coordination Council, and Advisory Council on Child Poverty and Strengthening Families Council – each dedicated to fostering youth resilience and wellness. Vermont Afterschool also launched the Vermont Youth Project to amplify prevention efforts across the state. 

In response, Governor Phil Scott announced in 2020 his intention to scale state funding to accommodate universal access to afterschool programs. To actualize the Governor’s State of the State promises, the State Legislature created the Afterschool Task Force in Act 154. The legislation suggests that the Afterschool Task Force consider cannabis taxation as a revenue stream and Vermont Afterschool mobilizes allies to that end. Subsequently, the 2020 legalization of cannabis in Act 164 includes a provision to direct a 6% sales tax into afterschool programming.

The result

As of 2020, the Legislature facilitated sustainable funding for afterschool with the forthcoming legalization of cannabis. The Task Force for Universal Afterschool, with input from Vermont Afterschool, collaborated to conceptualize a cannabis-funded grant program ahead of retail sale in 2022. In the meantime, Vermont worked to direct nearly $10 million from COVID-19 federal relief funds to afterschool programs to prove impact and begin scaling towards universal access. Proposal requests exceeded $25 million collectively, indicating unmet demand.

According to the latest America After 3PM report, there were two children waiting for afterschool access for every child enrolled. The Governor issued Executive Order 08-21 to form the Interagency Afterschool Youth Task Force, responsible for facilitating the federal relief grant programs and advising on the creation of a new cannabis-funded grant program for afterschool. Finally, Act 78 established the Universal Afterschool and Summer Special Fund to disperse the state’s cannabis sales tax in grants beginning in 2024. This dedicated funding stream characterizes afterschool as essential to positive youth development and prevention, necessitating universal access to quality afterschool. In FY24, the Afterschool and Summer Special Fund awarded $10 million in grants.