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.
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.
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.
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 self-paced module by You for Youth provides steps and strategies for program leaders to recruit, train, and retain program staff. It includes many resources such as sample job descriptions, human resource policies and staff manuals, and ideas for interview questions and reference checks. It can assist a program leader in creating a plan for improving staff recruitment and retention. Unless you need a certificate of completion, you do not need to log in to the Y4Y portal to do the module--just click "cancel" when asked to log in and proceed.
This webinar explores what intermediaries are learning about what it takes to recruit and retain OST staff. The panel is facilitated by Angelica Portillo from NAA with panelists from Utah Afterschool Network, California Afterschool Network, Dallas Afterschool Network, and San Francisco Beacon Initiative. Strategies include hiring bonuses, compensation, flexibility, being involved in decision making, pre-service training and career pathways, and staff nurturing.