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The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is the largest national child care subsidy program used to support low-income families, yet these subsidies are only one part of the funding picture. In fact, more than 100 federal funding sources can be used to support out-of-school time care. Families and programs often rely on a variety of different public and private funds to make ends meet.
In this practice brief, Combining Resources to Support Quality Out-of-School Time Programs, we compare general methods for using multiple funds at the program and state levels and explore models for effectively combining CCDF with other frequently used funding sources to better support and sustain child care programs. Este documento también está disponible en español.
On Thursday, March 29, 2018 the National Center on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment (NCASE) hosted a webinar introducing a first ever series of national and state/territory data profiles with information about school-age children served through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). The profiles present a detailed picture of how federal investments and state policies can support the needs of school-age children, who represent nearly half of all children served through CCDF subsidies.
The profiles are available through an interactive database with links to additional national and state resources related to school-age child care and include: statistics on the school-age population (5 through 12 years) serviced through CCDF subsidies; CCDF state/territory policies related to school-age child care; contact information for national and state organizations that support school-age programs.
The State School-Age Data Profiles Database can be found in the NCASE Resource Library, here.
On February 22, 2018 the National Center on Afterschool and Summer (NCASE) hosted a webinar to introduce a new product, the School-Age Consumer Education Toolkit. The Toolkit includes state examples and resources on physical health and development; social and emotional health and development and parent and family engagement. It also includes a video that shows the importance of afterschool and summer care for families through data and details about the experiences of children served through federal subsidies. The Toolkit is available in the NCASE Resource Library, here.
This video, which is also a part of the School-Age Consumer Education Toolkit, shows the importance of afterschool and summer care for families. Telling the story of school-age child care through data and details about the experiences of children served through federal subsidies presents a unique opportunity to explore key issues surrounding afterschool and summer learning opportunities and engage a broader audience in the topic of school-age care.
This executive summary reports on a three-year study of Youth Program Quality Improvement in 87 sites in four states that included quality assessment, improvement plans, coaching by managers, and staff training. The approach led to higher quality instructions across programs even where there was manager turnover, low staff education, and varying adult-youth ratios.
This issue brief is an interview with Paul von Hippel from Ohio State University; it shares research that children gain weight two to three times faster in the summer months than during the school year. This trend is especially true for African American and Hispanic children. It recommends a public health campaign to get children to eat healthier food in the summer, and is important for summer learning programs.
This Powerpoint presentation highlights information about criminal background check requirements for Child Care Development Fund. It reviews what national, in-state and inter-state background checks are mandatory. It also spells out what types of staff positions require the checks, which must be conducted prior to employment and at least every 5 years afterwards. (Updated October 2021)
This issue brief reviews the common knowledge of school-based programs designed to build social-emotional competence in middle and high school years. It reviews exemplary programs on skill-focused promotion, academic integration, teaching practices, and organizational reform. While it is focused on implementation in schools, it recognizes the need to explore the role of out-of-school time, and there is great potential for using the curriculum, the teaching practices, and the climate suggestions in OST.
This issue brief provides case studies of best practices in four exemplary summer programs that provide engaging STEM opportunities. The programs in Ohio, Connecticut, Michigan, and Kentucky produce positive outcomes on grades, standardized test scores, social-emotional competence, and graduation rates.
This issue brief is an interview with the evaluator of a STEM project with middle and high school tribal youth, working with tribal leaders and STEM professionals on a research project about salmon restoration. The evaluation shows how involving youth in an engaging and authentic research project built their STEM skills in a possible career path. There is a link to the full research report.