Recent Afterschool Snacks
JUN
10
POLICY
By Erik Peterson
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)—chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee—along with the support of all of the Democrats on the Committee, has posted an Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization bill to replace the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. The committee is expected to discuss and mark up the bill tomorrow. A Republican bill, Every Child Ready for College or Career Act, led by HELP Committee Ranking Member Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), was released late last week.
Chairman Harkin’s bill, the
Strengthening America’s Schools Act of 2013, supports teachers and principals to help provide high-quality instruction, ensures disadvantaged students get the supports they need to succeed, and focuses federal attention on supporting states and districts in turning around low-performing schools and closing achievement gaps.
With regard to the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative the bill is very similar to the one that passed the Committee in the fall of 2011. Our main concern is that in an era of sequestration and budget cuts, the language in the bill will dilute and divert much-needed afterschool dollars to pay for a longer school day. In addition, the bill would allow 21st CCLC to fund activities normally funded by local education agencies such as teacher planning time and more time in a traditional classroom. It would also allow the funds to be used for wholescale school redesign, which could be an expensive drain on a stretched funding stream. There are other ways to fund a longer school day without cutting afterschool programming and these are included in Sen. Harkin’s bill. Currently, more than $13 billion in federal funding through Title I, Race to the Top, School Improvements Grants and I3 grants are already available to fund a longer school day.
We do applaud changes in the bill that allow for better reporting and data sharing between schools and community based organizations working with students. Specifically Section 4107 of the bill, which addresses 21st CCLC, states:
funds would still flow by formula to state education agencies that would then hold competitions at the state level. Partnerships of local education agencies (LEA) and public entities or non-profit organizations would be eligible to apply for funding, with either the LEA or the public entity or non-profit serving as the lead funded entity.
Like the 2011 Senate ESEA legislation, eligible entities will have the option of applying for funds to provide afterschool, summer learning and before-school programming; adding time to the school day, week or year for academics, enrichment and engagement; and/or comprehensively redesigning and expanding the school day, week or year to provide more academics, enrichment, and teacher and staff professional development.
Amendment language from the 2011 version has been included in Harkin’s new bill in order to prevent a federal preference or priority on which approach (afterschool, summer learning, expanded learning for some students, expanded learning for all students). The bill also includes a stronger requirement for partnerships between school districts and community-based organizations and public entities, with only a narrow exception for rural communities for whom the requirement would be a significant hardship. By requiring partnerships the bill goes further than current law, which only prioritizes such partnerships. The local education agencies or nonprofit and public partners can be the lead fiscal agent on 21st CCLC grants. The bill also requires collection, reporting and sharing of data and outcomes between school and community partners to inform implementation and focus programming, an area that needed improvement from current law.
While the 21st CCLC section of the legislation represents an improvement over many of the prior proposals to replace funding for afterschool programs with funding for a longer school day, concerns remain over the language within the bill that allows 21st CCLC funds to be used for expensive, whole-scale school redesign—an initiative that is also funded elsewhere in the bill through School Improvement Grants. Specifically, there is the real possibility under this legislation that 21st CCLC funds would be diverted to school reform and lengthening school days by an hour per day at the expense of providing quality afterschool programs for children an average of 14 hours per week. With 15 million children already unsupervised during the hours of 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., policies that could add to the number of unsupervised children should be avoided.
Elsewhere in the legislation, the STEM Master Teacher Corps program includes the option of afterschool STEM education (Sec. 4225); the financial literacy section allows afterschool financial literacy education (Sec. 4312); and the Successful, Safe and Healthy Students section calls for collaboration with before- and afterschool programming to keep young people safe and provide physical activity and mental health services (Sec. 4404). With regard to youth development, the reauthorization bill addresses conditions for learning, with support for bullying prevention, positive discipline, character development, social and emotional learning, family engagement, youth violence prevention, mental health, and physical activity. A new "whole school" model that embraces the community school philosophy is added to the school turnaround interventions. More information on the bill is available
here.
While the bill will likely pass committee next week—its prospects for passing on the Senate floor are dim without bipartisan support. A recent
tracking survey found that 87 percent of education policy insiders believe ESEA reauthorization will occur after January 2015. The Harkin bill is partisan and differs considerably from the approach of Sen. Alexander’s bill, which scales back federal involvement in education. The
Every Child Ready for College or Career Act would consolidate and effectively eliminate the 21
st CCLC initiative along with more than 60 other ESEA programs as part of a flexible block grant that allows school districts to determine whether to fund afterschool programs or a variety of other programs from parent engagement to physical education and school counseling after conducting a needs assessment.
The House Education and the Workforce Committee also plans to mark up separate Republican and Democratic versions of a ESEA reauthorization bill on June 19. A blog looking at the House ESEA process will follow shortly.
Friends of afterschool can
email representatives and senators to emphasize the value and importance of afterschool and summer learning programs through June as the education committees discuss ESEA.
MAY
22
POLICY
By Erik Peterson
Last week the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the Department of Health and Human Services
proposed to amend the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) regulations.
According to ACF, this proposed rule would strengthen health and safety requirements for child care providers, reflect current state and local practices to improve the quality of child care, infuse new accountability for federal tax dollars, and leverage the latest knowledge and research in the field of early care and education to better serve low-income children and families.
The proposed rule would only apply directly to child care providers who accept CCDF funds. More than 500,000 providers serve about 1.6 million low-income children through CCDF, including about 650,000 school-age children in afterschool and before-school settings. Many more children would benefit, however, because the providers also serve non-CCDF children. Under the proposed rule, states would require that all CCDF-funded child care providers:
- Receive health and safety trainings in specific areas
- Comply with applicable state and local fire, health and building codes
- Receive comprehensive background checks (including fingerprinting)
- Receive on-site monitoring
The rule would also require states to share information with parents about provider health, safety and licensing information through user-friendly websites. While some states already post health and safety reports online, the new rule would bring all states up to this standard. The proposed rule establishes new minimum standards but also recognizes the need for innovation and flexibility and allows states and communities to tailor their specific approaches to best meet the needs of the children and families they serve. The flexibility should benefit school-age care providers by allowing professional development opportunities tailored to staff serving children ages 6 to 13. The rule would not change or impede a state’s ability to license child care providers as they see fit.
The proposed rule includes a background on CCDF that emphasizes the value of quality school-age before-school and afterschool programs:
Because of the strong relationship between early experience and later success, investments in improving the quality of early childhood and before-and after-school programs can pay large dividends. Nurturing and responsive relationships with parents and caregivers, and engaging learning environments in early care and education settings can provide young children with the capacity for tremendous growth. Children attending high-quality school-age programs are more likely to succeed in school and have stronger social and inter-personal skills. In short, high-quality early education is a linchpin to creating an educational system that is internationally competitive and vital to the country's workforce development, economic security and global competitiveness.
Furthermore the role of collaboration with state afterschool networks and state afterschool associations are called out in Section 98.14 of the proposed rule:
We propose to add agencies responsible for administering statewide afterschool networks or other coordinating entities for out-of-school time care (if applicable) at new paragraph (H). Approximately, 39 states have established statewide afterschool networks. (National Network of Statewide Afterschool Networks,
www.statewideafterschoolnetworks.net) These networks bring together different stakeholders to consider ways to improve the quality, quantity, and sustainability of school-age programs in their State. The CCDF program provides assistance to children up to age 13, therefore we believe it is critical that child care administrators partner with statewide afterschool networks or other entities, such as State associations of school-age programs, in order to better understand and respond to the unique issues related to improving access to and the quality of before-and-after school programs.
ACF has made it clear that these proposed regulations to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) do not replace a reauthorization of the program by Congress. CCDBG was last reauthorized in 1996, and Congress continues to work on CCDBG reauthorization. The regulation is currently open for comment, with a closing date of Aug. 5, 2013. The complete
proposed rule can be accessed online. The Afterschool Alliance is developing comments to the proposed rule and will post those here in the coming weeks.
MAY
20
POLICY
By Erik Peterson
While Congress is currently engaged in debate over immigration policy and the 2013 farm bill, two other policy issues are waiting patiently in the wings for their chance in the spotlight. There is a possibility that the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the House Education and the Workforce Committee will mark up their own versions of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization bills in June. At the same time, progress is slowly being made by the Appropriations Committee staff in both the House and the Senate on FY2014 spending bills. Now is a great time to weigh in on both of these issues:
- Contact your senators and representative to encourage them to support afterschool and summer learning as part of ESEA by co-sponsoring the Afterschool for America’s Children Act, S. 326. This bipartisan bill will enhance the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative by strengthening school-community partnerships among other improvements.
- Funding for 21st CCLC and the Child Care Development Fund remain critical. Contact your senators and representative to express how sequestration and the economy have impacted access to afterschool programs in your community. Call on them to support funding for afterschool and summer learning programs in the FY2014 appropriations process.
Thank you for taking action on behalf of the 18 million children who would be engaged in afterschool programs this afternoon if a program were accessible to them.
MAY
10
IN THE FIELD
By Erik Peterson
From Alabama to Washington state and places in between, afterschool programs are embracing the USDA Child and Adult Care Feeding Program’s (CACFP) At-Risk Afterschool Meals program. This spring, hundreds of afterschool programs are providing nutritious meals at no cost to those children who need them most. With summer around the corner, providers are also taking part in the Summer Food Service Program to ensure young people have the nourishment they need when school is out. Here are a few examples from around the country:
- In Huntsville, Alabama, and the surrounding area, children will be able to receive three meals per weekday during the summer as part of Huntsville City Schools’ new Summer Feeding Program. Young people under the age of 18 will be able to enjoy up to three meals per day at no cost at 10 area schools through the Summer Food Service Program. Summer learning programs will be offered at most of the schools allowing students to nourish both minds and bodies.
- The Albuquerque Journal recently reported on a number of schools in Albuquerque, New Mexico, including Kirtland Elementary School, that started serving a meal as part of their afterschool program.
- This past March several schools in Houston Independent School District (HISD) in Texas began serving free afterschool meals to students. Meals will be offered through the district to students attending 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) at 32 HISD schools to ensure students receive healthy and nutritious meals on a regular basis. The meals are made possible through the CACFP At-Risk Afterschool Meals Program and the district hopes to expand meal service to 50 schools next school year. The local CBS affiliate reported that district officials see the latest endeavor as one that is beneficial for students beyond measure: “For some children, these dinner meals may be the only meal they eat until the next school day so this program will strive to provide them the proper nutrition they need for a healthy development,” said Jonnelle Hollins, manager of HISD afterschool programs. “Offering free dinner at school will ensure that thousands of students have access to the recommended three meals a day.”
- This spring, the Roosevelt School District in Phoenix, Arizona, pilot tested an afterschool meal program that allows students participating in afterschool programs to have a balanced meal. The ABC affiliate in Phoenix reported that the school principal at C. O. Greenfield School has seen the effects of hunger in his students and often works with local food banks to ensure families have food at home.
- Bucyrus City Schools in north central Ohio recently added afterschool meals to its menu of meals served to students. The afterschool meal program was launched as a pilot program this month and serves students in the BEST (Building Excellent Students Together) afterschool program, and could expand afterschool meal service to more students and sites for the 2013-2014 school year. The BEST program serves elementary students in grades 3-5 through the 21st CCLC initiative.
- In Spokane, Washington, the Northeast Youth Center is serving afterschool meals six days a week through CACFP. A recent meal, reported by the Spokane Spokesman, included a teriyaki chicken sandwich, green beans, orange slices and milk. “We are pretty excited about this,” said Kate Zehner Green, executive director and accounts manager at the youth center, while watching the children eat. “This is why we are here. There is such a need in this neighborhood.” Green said the youth center had been working on bringing in an afterschool meal program for some time, but once the center applied for this program, it took less than a month to get it going.
Afterschool programs are able to participate in the At-Risk Afterschool Meal Program as sponsors or as feeding sites by: partnering with their school nutrition department or food bank, preparing their own meals, or providing pre-assembled meals by working with a vendor. Learn more about the different CACFP At-Risk Afterschool Meal Program options here.
MAY
6
FUNDING
By Kamila Thigpen
Join us on Thurs., May 9 at 2 p.m. EDT as we discuss the role that afterschool programs can play in addressing youth violence.
According to a nationally-representative survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1 in 3 high school youth reported being in a physical fight within a 12 month period, and 1 in 6 high school youth reported carrying a weapon on one or more days within a 30 day period. These alarming statistics underscore the need for quality afterschool programs that keep kids safe, inspire them to learn and help working families. Providing an outlet for positive self-expression, access to caring adult mentors, and a community of supportive peers has been proven to be a winning formula for curbing aggressive behavior and empowering youth to be agents of change in their communities.
This webinar will highlight specific violence prevention strategies and federal funding streams for afterschool programs engaging in this work. Carleen Wray, executive director of the National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE), will discuss how to empower youth to make their schools and communities safer through crime prevention tactics, conflict management and service projects. Ben Forman, executive director of Teens Run DC, will also discuss how the combination of mentoring and a distance running program encourages positive youth behaviors by helping them work toward personal goals.
Register now!
MAY
2
IN THE FIELD
By Kelly Trussell
With the sequester now in effect, 3,400 AmeriCorps positions are expected to be cut. A recent story in the Baltimore Sun illustrates the concern that many afterschool providers have about the implications these cuts might have for their programs. At the Mother Seton Academy, a school for low-income children in Baltimore, AmeriCorps members serve in a number of vital roles, including helping out the afterschool program. As the school faces budget constraints and teachers are overworked, AmeriCorps members expand the capacity for schools and nonprofits to serve.
During a time of budget cuts, AmeriCorps members make all the difference in overcrowded classrooms, afterschool programs that keep kids safe or in tutoring programs that lower dropout rates. A recent blog post on Service Nation argues that the small living stipend offered to AmeriCorps members costs the country far less than the price of a teenager who drops out of school. With the wide range of services that AmeriCorps members offer, cuts to the program will undoubtedly have a large impact.
AmeriCorps currently engages more than 75,000 men and women at more than 15,000 locations including nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community- and faith-based groups across the country. During their year of service, AmeriCorps members help communities with a wide range of issues including disaster services, economic opportunity, education and healthy futures.
AmeriCorps members have had a longstanding impact on afterschool programs, and have served in a number of capacities. Across the country, members are tutoring and mentoring students in afterschool programs, recruiting and managing volunteers, and working on other capacity building efforts. The Afterschool Alliance AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) project has 13 members in 12 states working on program sustainability and expanding access to afterschool meals.
One example of an afterschool program that relies heavily on national service members is Higher Achievement. Higher Achievement is a rigorous afterschool and summer academic program that operates in D.C., Baltimore, Richmond and Pittsburgh. Here in D.C. there are 13 dedicated AmeriCorps members who work directly with over 500 middle-school scholars and build the capacity of the organization. They are a critical piece to the organization, as many national service members are in afterschool programs across the country.
To learn more about AmeriCorps and the impact of national service, visit http://www.americorps.gov/.
APR
25
POLICY
By Erik Peterson
With the House and Senate each passing their own budget resolutions last month, and the president’s budget request submitted to Congress earlier this month, the FY2014 appropriations process can now move forward. A challenge for Congress early in the process is trying to reconcile the House and Senate FY2014 budget bills. Reconciling the two is a difficult prospect as the Senate resolution has $92 billion more than the House does to fund programs.
Despite the differences, House and Senate appropriations committees have begun holding hearings on the FY2014 spending bills, including Labor, HHS, Education (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee hearings featuring testimony by Education Secretary Arne Duncan. At the House subcommittee hearing in early April, Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Nita Lowey (D-NY) emphasized the importance of maintaining strong investments in afterschool programs through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative and cautioned against diverting federal afterschool funding. As part of her formal statement, LHHS Subcommittee Ranking Member DeLauro addressed the need for an increase in funding while also noting her concerns with the Administration’s proposed changes to the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative:
…I am also pleased to see this budget requests a nine percent, or $100 million, increase for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers… Mr. Secretary, you know some of my concerns in this area, I am concerned that the Department's policies seem to place an emphasis on extended learning time programs over traditional after school programs, which is not what Congress authorized this program to do. I am concerned that this particular request eliminates the current formula funding to states, in favor of a national competition.
The need for additional funding for 21st CCLC was echoed by Rep. David Cicilline’s (D-RI) effort to organize a ‘Dear Colleague Letter’ in the House, signed by 43 Members asking appropriators for an increase of $100 million for 21st CCLC. The following members signed the letter:
- Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ)
- Maxine Waters (D-CA)
- Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-CA)
- Jerry McNerney (D-CA)
- Xavier Becerra (D-CA)
- Jared Huffman (D-CA)
- Lois Capps (D-CA)
- Jackie Speier (D-CA)
- Mark Takano (D-CA)
- Barbara Lee (D-CA)
- Elizabeth H. Esty (D-CT)
- Joe Courtney (D-CT)
- Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
- Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL)
- Theodore Deutch (D-FL)
- Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL)
- John Lewis (D-GA)
- David Loebsack (D-IA)
- Danny K. Davis (D-IL)
- Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL)
- Andre Carson (D-IN)
- Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD)
|
- C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD)
- Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
- Sander M. Levin (D-MI)
- John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI)
- Daniel T. Kildee (D-MI)
- Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (D-At Large MP)
- Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM)
- Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
- Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)
- Louise McIntosh Slaughter (D-NY)
- Brian Higgins (D-NY)
- Charles B. Rangel (D-NY)
- Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY)
- Matthew A. Cartwright (D-PA)
- David N. Cicilline (D-RI)
- James R. Langevin (D-RI)
- Filemon Vela (D-TX)
- Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA)
- Bobby Scott (D-VA)
- Mark Pocan (D-WI)
- Gwen Moore (D-WI)
|
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is leading a similar effort in the Senate asking for an increase of $250 million over sequestration levels. As of today, 14 senators have joined Sen. Boxer on the letter. Afterschool advocates are also weighing in on the need for additional federal funding for afterschool programs, having sent 1,300 emails to Members of Congress since February. There is still time to make your voice heard as well:
contact Congress via email to express support for federal afterschool funding as part of the FY2014 appropriations process.
APR
10
RESEARCH
By Nikki Yamashiro
“Perhaps the most critical decision parents make in balancing their work and home life is choosing the type of care to provide for their children while they work.” We at the Afterschool Alliance couldn’t agree more with this statement by Lynda Laughlin, author of a Census Bureau report released last week analyzing child care patterns and costs. A positive and encouraging finding of the report is that the percentage of school-age kids who have no regular child care arrangement—kids in self-care—has decreased, and this is particularly true of children with a single, employed parent.
“Who’s Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements: Spring 2011” examined the Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) data to determine the child care arrangements of preschoolers (children under 5) and school-age kids (children ages 5 to 14) and found that between 1997 and 2011, the percentage of school-age children in self-care who lived with a single, employed parent decreased from 24 percent to 14 percent. One explanation offered for this decrease was increased investment in afterschool programs. This rationale is highly probable, given that federal funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers—the only federal funding dedicated exclusively to before-school, afterschool and summer learning programs—was first appropriated $40 million in 1998, and has grown to $1.1 billion for FY2013 and serves approximately 1.1 million kids.
Another noteworthy finding from the report is that the cost of child care has increased over time, although the average percentage of family income spent on child care stayed constant, hovering around 7 percent, between 1997 and 2011. The average weekly cost of child care for families with employed mothers increased from $84 in 1985 (constant 2011 dollars) to $143 in 2011. Looking specifically at school-age care costs, the report finds that the average cost for school-age care was $124 in 2011. Among families living below the poverty line, the average weekly cost for school-age child care was $88, or nearly one-third of the family’s income. Of particular concern is the fact that among families who paid for child care, those below the poverty line spent more than four times the percentage of their income on school-age child care as other families who were living at or above the poverty line (29 percent compared with 6 percent).
Based on these cost figures, it seems safe to assume that families are not getting much help with their child care costs. In fact, only 5 percent of families report receiving help paying for school-age child care and just 3 percent report that they received help from the government.
While there is some good news regarding self care in the report, it is troubling that there are 4.2 million kids, ages 5 to 14 and living with their mom, who didn’t have a regular child care arrangement. Five percent of kids ages 5 to 11 were on their own in 2011 and 27 percent of kids ages 12 to 14 were on their own. On average these kids spend 7 hours per week with no supervised care. These numbers are in line with findings from our 2009 America After 3PM report that 4 percent of kids in kindergarten through 5th grade and 30 percent of kids in 6th through 8th grade were on their own. Given the findings regarding the high cost of school-age care and the lack of assistance in paying for care, it’s not surprising that the number of kids in self-care, while on the decline, still continues to be high.
We know that the hours between 3 and 6 p.m. are the peak hours for juvenile crime and experimentation with drugs, alcohol and other risky behaviors, which is why these numbers illustrate the need for increased investment in afterschool programs to ensure that more kids have the opportunity to participate in programs that will keep them safe, provide academic enrichment and support their working parents.
How kids spend their time during the hours after school is a primary concern for the Afterschool Alliance. I’m happy to share that we’re in the middle of planning for our next round of America After 3PM, the largest national household survey that looks at what kids are doing during the afternoon. The survey provides incredibly useful and relevant data for parents, the afterschool field and policy makers. I can’t wait to see what insights we gain from the survey this time around, especially taking into account the potential impact of sequestration on families, afterschool programs and communities. Stay tuned.
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