SEARCH FOR RESOURCES
With pandemic funding coming to an end, advocates and program providers must plan now for a thoughtful, long-term approach to funding out of-school time programs with other federal, state, and local funding sources. This fact sheet highlights some of the potential funding sources that can support out-of-school time programs including federal and state sources, tax revenues, bonds, fees, assets, and settlements, with many state and city examples. There is a related webinar, Sustainable Approaches to Funding OST Programs.
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.
The nation's success in meeting the need for quality child care depends on our ability to recruit and retain a competent workforce and registered apprenticeships is one innovative model explored in this issue brief. There are sections on the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; registered apprenticeships and growth and learning; and state and local examples including WV, AL, AR, CO, FL, KY, MD, OK, PA, RI, TX, and WI. A related webinar, Apprenticeships: A Growing Strategy for the Child Care Workforce, includes examples from YMCA of the East Bay and Rhode Island model for family child care.
This brief summarizes findings from a study about equity in out-of-school-time programs run by school districts. It explores: (1) what equity looks like in OST programs provided by equity-minded districts; (2) what challenges districts face integrating their equity goals and efforts into their OST programs; (3) what actions districts can take to meet these challenges; and (4) what further research is needed to better inform policy and practice. This resource supports equity. The companion full report can be found here: https://education.virginia.edu/documents/how-do-districts-implement-equity-afterschool-and-summer-programs
This issue brief provides lessons learned from a 2022 Learning Community convened by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment that included seven states--CA, IL, MA, NC, NM, VT, and WI. States explored ways to sustain compensation efforts begun with pandemic funding. Ideas included compensation reform, salary scales and cost modeling, obtaining dedicated funds and funding mechanisms, contracts and grants, and building data and evaluation capacity.
This brief presents key findings about state policies and guidance that support students' social and emotional learning (SEL). It showcases the increasing emphasis on SEL, finding that as of 2022, 27 states offer free-standing K-12 SEL competencies and 44 states offer state-specific resources and tools for SEL implementation. It explores reasons for the growth in SEL interest and provides a link to an interactive map that displays SEL competencies, resources, and websites by state.
Out-of-School Time (OST) plays a critical role in supporting working families and in providing children and youth with meaningful relationships, enrichment activities, and social and emotional learning (SEL), which lead to positive developmental outcomes. Additionally, there is a greater-than-ever focus on the potential for OST to support pandemic recovery efforts. To achieve that potential, there needs to be a new investment in the OST workforce.
This brief from the National Center on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment provides information, research, and examples of equitable strategies to support recruitment, retention, and rejuvenation of the Out-of-School Time (OST) workforce, a top concern for OST programs.
Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) agencies are required to consider cost information when setting payment rates. Many meet these by doing a narrow cost analysis. This three-part series of issue briefs includes helpful information on: (1) Defining narrow cost analysis; (2) Approaches to narrow cost analysis including cost models and cost surveys; and (3) Using a narrow cost analysis to inform payment rates. These resources can help OST leaders understand how CCDF is moving toward the true cost of quality, equitable staff compensation, and increasing payment rates. This resource addresses equity.
This issue brief from the Sperling Center for Research and Innovation (SCRI) explores qualitative findings from surveys with summer 2021 staff to identify strategies to help in recruiting and retaining staff. Strategies include a focus on relationships and collaboration, supportive leadership, ensuring flexibility and autonomy, opportunities for personal and professional growth, and additional support staff. A companion toolkit called the Staff Recruitment, Hiring, and Retention Guide includes tip sheets, a rubric for hiring enrichment staff, and other planning tools; it can be found here. https://www.sperlingcenter.org/resource/staffing-toolkit-for-out-of-school-time-learning-programs/
For the first time, this analysis of America After 3PM data provides an in-depth look at the afterschool experiences of Native American children and youth, including the availability of afterschool programs, qualities Native American parents care most about in afterschool programs, and potential areas of growth for the afterschool field to reach more Native American young people.