National Center on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment Resource Library

This Better Kid Care module about supporting LGBTQ youth in out-of-school-time programs is designed to prepare staff to provide a supportive and inclusive environment. It includes videos of researchers, counselors, staff, parents, and youth who share their ideas and experiences. It also includes a number of helpful handouts, suggestions for wording about policies, and activity ideas. This resource supports equity.

This webinar features authors from the recent volume, The Heartbeat of the Youth Development Field: Professional Journeys of Growth, Connection, and Transformation. Youth development professionals and researchers share how to build relationships that increase engagement that is centered in equity, inclusion, and diversity. This resource supports equity.

The Urban Institute engaged in a yearlong project to document how states access and strategically use federal funds to support early childhood systems and compensation. Five states including GA, IL, NM, TX, WA and other leaders joined in a convening to discuss their experiences. States shared challenges and the innovative strategies they are employing that include tailoring strategies to state context to address fragmentation; using philanthropic or private TA organizations to build state leaders' knowledge of how to access funds; and using cost models to advance child care compensation.  

Grantmakers for Education and Out-of-School Time Impact Group held this webinar to hear from key researchers on trends, needs, and opportunities for research in the OST field. The panelists noted that there has been a shift from an earlier focus on academics to an increased focus on SEL, STEM, and social justice. The panelists identified research to read, researchers to follow, and issues that need to be addressed in research.  

On June 29, 2023, the National Center on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment hosted the webinar “Social-Emotional Learning and Mental Health Supports for Out-of-School Time: A Conversation on Strategies and Systems” to address the topic of building SEL and mental health capacity for Out-of-School Time programming.  The event included a facilitated discussion with system leaders on the best strategies to equitably address the SEL and mental health needs of children and families, along with consideration for culture, ethnicity, linguistic needs, income, historical context, and other factors.

The National Center on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment emphasizes that OST programs provide measurable benefits to youth and families, demonstrably improving academic and developmental outcomes along with other results such as positive youth-adult relationships and social-emotional learning. The Out-of-School Time Social-Emotional Learning and Mental Health Toolkit (Toolkit) was developed to support OST/school-age child care system leaders, technical assistance associates, and program providers. 

This toolkit provides readers with a general command of:
• Key Terms
• Social-Emotional Learning and Mental Health

The toolkit also provides targeted relevance and resources for system and program leaders on the following topics:
• Trauma
• Social-Emotional Learning and Mental Health Support
• Family Engagement Strategies

We encourage readers to utilize this toolkit as a supplement for OST programming and curricula or as a standalone resource to clarify your
SEL and mental health learning practices and supports.

This brief draw on interviews with administrators on what ten states have learned about sustaining policy gains after the pandemic (CT, IL, KS, KY, NC, ND, NM, OK, OR, SC). Listed are allowable strategies used to: (1) increase the number of families eligible for child care assistance; (2) reduce the burden of family copayments; (3) stabilize child care based on actual cost of care; and (4) support higher compensation for the workforce. This resource supports equity.

The Center for American Progress partnered with community leaders to learn directly from parents and providers about challenges of living in child care deserts in Nashua, NH; Grand Rapids, MI; and Albuquerque, NM. The Center recommends that sustained investments in child care can transform the system by building supply, expanding affordability, and supporting the workforce. An additional resource is a map of child care deserts based on earlier data collection that can be found here: https://childcaredeserts.org. This resource supports equity.

This issue brief uses data from 2020 National Survey of Children's Health(NSCH) to describe the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in children ages birth to 17. This is important information as children with a higher number of ACEs are at higher risk for negative outcomes for mental health, health, and financial well-being. The brief includes charts of the number of ACEs children have by state, by race and ethnicity, and by health outcomes. This resource supports resiliency.

This article from the Journal of Youth Development highlights some learnings from a Community of Practice with 10 states on the strategic use of summer and afterschool ARP and ESSER funds. Findings are that states with existing OST infrastructure and cross-system relationships were better equipped to meet youth and family needs. The states have created action plans that focus on: (1) strengthening data to promote access, quality, and outcomes; (2) TA systems to build capacity and promote quality; (3) promoting partnerships; and (4) strategic and sustainable use of funding. There is a suggestion that states invest a portion of their remaining funds to plan for sustainability.