National Center on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment Resource Library

As the sunset of ESSER and ARPA funding nears, system leaders and practitioners are concerned about the sustainability of youth-serving programs. In this webinar from Grantmakers for Education, leaders from the Children's Funding Project, the Afterschool Alliance, and the Denver Afterschool Alliance explore different approaches and funding sources. This program also builds on suggestions in the issue brief, Funding Out-of-School Time Programs--Now and in the Future.

This Better Kid Care site from Penn State Extension offers research-based online training modules on a range of topics relevant to working with school-age children such as positive youth development and guidance, career preparation for youth, financial planning, and cultural competency and responsiveness. The modules include a combination of slides, video clips, research summaries, practical tips, and worksheets. Most are geared to practitioners. The trainings are free; a professional development certification of completion is $5-10. Some modules are available in Spanish.

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Reauthorization of 2016 includes requirements for health and safety training. This resource from Better Kid Care at Penn State Extension provides information on health and safety professional training for Out-of-School Time (OST) providers, as required by states. Topics covered are: (1) safe spaces, (2) transportation safety, (3) handling and storage of hazardous materials, (4) emergency preparedness, (5) prevention and control of infectious disease, (6) food and allergic reactions and how to respond, (7) administration of medication, (8) shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma, and (9) safe sleep and SUIDS prevention. The course is 6 hours long and is free; $15 if you need a professional development certification of completion. This resource is available in Spanish. 

This webinar explored how to better meet the needs of Native American and Indigenous youth and families in OST programs. Panelists representing national, state, and local organizations explored topics such as the goals of OST programs from family and caregiver perspectives. The barriers identified included lack of access to programs, transportation challenges, cost, and culturally insensitive funding streams. Also discussed was the importance of family engagement, the importance of preserving cultural traditions, and strategies to improve programs for indigenous youth. A related resource is the Afterschool Alliance survey results, America After 3 pm for Native American Families.  This resource support equity.

This 2023 issue of the Afterschool Matters journal is focused on the OST workforce, specifically, findings from interviews that were part of the Power of Us Workforce Survey. This survey was part of a research study designed to gather data about the experiences of youth-serving workers in a wide range of fields, with the goal of helping communities better understand the youth-serving workforce and ways to help it thrive. The journal explores the insights of professionals in the youth fields on critical issues: community institutions, summer, entry points and recruitment, compensation, career pathways, and recommendations. This resource supports equity.

Home-based Child Care Networks are seen as a promising strategy for supporting regulated family child care and legally-exempt family, friend, and neighbor caregivers. Home Grown and Erikson Institute created this evidence-based framework with 11 benchmarks to provide guidance to high-quality networks. BUILD provided a related webinar on Embedding Wellness in Home-based Child Care Systems through Strengthening Home-based Child Care Networks.  

Child care programs are an essential component of strong communities, yet in rural America families are challenged in being able to access and afford care. The Bipartisan Policy Center worked with Save the Children to create this framework to explore the economic impact of child care gaps and provide innovative strategies and policy recommendations. There is a related webinar on How Affordable Child Care in Rural Areas Can Unlock Economic Potential.   This resource supports equity.

The Center for American Progress explores the policies that schools can develop to support student mental health. The strategies include creating a statewide mental health task force, organizing interagency coordination, expanding Medicaid coverage of school-based mental health, increasing access to school-based mental health, and investing in school climate through trauma-informed care and building mental health into the curriculum. This is relevant for out-of-school programs as programs often tap into school-based mental health services. This resource supports resiliency.

This webinar focuses on the uniqueness and significance of afterschool and summer programs in rural communities. It examines challenges faced by rural afterschool programs, strategies for tailoring afterschool programs to rural contexts, the role of advocacy in supporting these programs, and resources for mobilizing rural afterschool programs.

This webinar from Grantmakers for Education explores ways that two communities are building the capacity of nonprofits to work on providing quality OST jobs that are well compensated. The first example is the Walter and Elise Haas Fund's Endeavor Fund that is moving from contributions to commitment. This trust-based philanthropy effort is providing 7 grants to 7 organizations over 7 years to build nonprofit capacity. The second example is Hub One in Kalamazoo, MI, where 4 nonprofits joined forces to find solutions for ongoing challenges like scarcity, funding, compensation, and staff turnover.