Federal Policy - Active Hours Afterschool

Approximately 16 percent of U.S. children ages 6 -19 are overweight, and another 15 percent are at risk of becoming overweight.  Afterschool programs can - and do - play an important role in promoting healthy lifestyles for youth.  Many programs offer youth an array of organized physical activities and serve healthy afternoon snacks while emphasizing the value of a nutritious diet.

Afterschool programs are well-positioned to be key partners in comprehensive efforts to ensure healthy futures for our youth.

News & Research: see recent news and developments in this arena.

Policy Opportunties:

Local Wellness Policies: The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 required all local education agencies participating in a federal child nutrition program to establish a local wellness policy by the 2006-2007 school year.  While the policies have been created, there is still room for afterschool to get involved, and demonstrate that afterschool programs can be key partners in school districts' health-promotion efforts. The Active Hours Afterschool: Local Wellness Policy Toolkit for Afterschool Programs outlines steps that afterschool advocates can take to get involved in the policy process.

Support legislation in your state:  Support policies that promote active and healthy lifestyles for youth.  Search the Centers for Disease Control's Nutrition and Physical Activity Legislative Database for summaries of new and existing state-level nutrition and physical activity legislation dating back to 2001.

Join an Action for Healthy Kids State Team:  Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK), a nationwide initiative dedicated to improving the health and educational performance of children through better nutrition and physical activity in schools, has created State Teams that are implemeting Action Plans to improve nutrition and physical activity opportunities for youth. 

Afterschool Obesity Prevention Agenda:  In February 2005, the Afterschool Alliance released its national policy agenda on obesity prevention. The agenda calls for significant investment in afterschool as a way to combat childhood obesity and offers policy suggestions geared toward federal and state policy makers, funders and program leaders.

"Every young person deserves a safe place to go after school, where they have opportunities to learn, be engaged with positive role models and become more physically active. For many, that place is an afterschool program. Unfortunately, too many kids are missing out. We must make afterschool programs accessible to all children." Kevin Sorbo, star of the TV series Hercules and Andromeda, Chair & Spokesperson, A World Fit for Kids! and spokesperson for the Afterschool Alliance

Making the Case: Use facts and data from Afterschool Alliance Research related to Afterschool and Health to demonstrate the role afterschool programs can play in improving health for children.

Funding:

The Finance Project. Financing Childhood Obesity Prevention Programs: Federal Funding Sources and Other Strategies (PDF). A guide to finding funding sources for childhood obesity prevention efforts.

Food Research and Action Council (FRAC) Afterschool Resource Center. Information about federal child nutrition programs that provide funding for meals and snacks in afterschool, summer, and before school programs.

CDC Healthy Youth Grants Resources & Database.  A searchable database of funding opportunities from federal agencies and from the private sector.

National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE).Provides a comprehensive list of funding opportunities for sport and physical education programming and research.

 Shaping America’s Youth Featured Funding Opportunities .

The Center for Health & Health Care in Schools. A list of private foundation and corporate health-related grant opportunities.

Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative.Jointly administered by the Departments of Education, Justice and Health and Human Services. Provides grants to promote healthy development through afterschool activities.

Carol M. White Physical Education ProgramThe Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools at the Department of Education awards grants to school districts and community-based organizations to initiate, expand, or improve physical education programs, including afterschool programs, for K-12 students.

National School Lunch Program (NSLP)Provides reimbursement to school-sponsored afterschool programs for snacks.

Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Provides reimbursement for afterschool snacks and, in some cases, meals.

Private Foundations:

Aetna Foundation Regional Community Health Grants

Albertsons Corporate Giving

  Cal Ripken Foundation Grants (youth baseball and softball)

  General Mills Foundation’s Champions Youth Nutrition and Fitness Grant

Medtronic Foundation’s Fitness and Nutrition Program

National Dairy Council’s 3-A-Day Nutrition Educational Grant Program

NikeGo Afterschool

Weyerhauser Family Foundation’s Children Initiative

Women’s Sports Foundation

Finish Line Youth Foundation’s Grants for Youth

Promising Practices:

Center for Collaborative Solutions (CCS), Developing Exemplary Practices in Nutrition, Physical Activity and Food Security in Afterschool Programs (PDF). Six exemplary practices applied by 11 of California's signature afterschool programs.

Harvard Family Research Project Out-of-School Time Program Evaluation Bibliography and Database. A searchable database of evaluations of out-of-school time programs, including those related specifically to health, sports and recreation.