The Afterschool Investments project has developed profiles for each state to provide a snapshot of the "state of afterschool," as well as an opportunity to compare afterschool activities across the country. This profile provides key data and descriptions of the afterschool landscape, which includes a range of out-of-school time programming that can occur before and after school, on weekends, and during summer months. It is designed to serve as a resource for policymakers, administrators, and providers.

• Quick Facts
• Citywide Initiatives
• Statewide Organizations
• Other statewide organizations
• Additional Resources
• Notes and Sources

The environment in the District of Columbia is unique in that city agencies are expected to serve in the same capacity as state agencies. The Department of Human Services, Office of Early Childhood Development, has developed creative ways to work with many other city offices in order to better meet the needs of school-age children in the District of Columbia.

Quick Facts

Demographics

For more demographic information, visit http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/statedata/statepro/index.html

Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)

• CCDF Administrative Overview

• Settings

Where CCDF-Subsidy school age-children are served:

• Uses of CCDF Targeted Funds and Quality Dollars for Afterschool

"Resource and referral and school-age" targeted funds:
Funds can be used to provide training, scholarships, and technical assistance for school-age providers, as well as maintain an information system for parents and supporters.

Other quality activities:
The DC Office of Early Childhood Development may use these funds to coordinate with other community-based and government agencies to expand the availability of school-age care.

• Provider Reimbursement Rates

Tiered Reimbursement Rate System:
The District of Columbia uses a daily rate, with a special rate for school-age children. Reimbursement rates are adjusted according to a 3-tiered (gold, silver and bronze) level of licensure. The maximum school-age daily rate for a fully licensed (or “gold”) center for a school-age child is $32 for before and after school care. The maximum school-age daily rate for a “bronze”  center is $19.85

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care

Program Licensing and Accreditation Policies

21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC)

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Citywide Initiatives

• D.C. Afterschool for All. There are two ways that the District of Columbia funds afterschool care for children in the city:

  • TANF direct funding. In this case, the Office of Early Childhood Development created a Memorandum of Understanding with the D.C. Public Schools to supply funding for D.C. Afterschool for All. During school year 2002-3, $8 million TANF dollars were used to serve 8,000 school-aged children in 62 elementary schools in the city, making D.C. Public Schools the hub for afterschool programming in the city. In order to be eligible, children had to be enrolled in a school where at least 75 percent of the students are eligible for free- and reduced-price lunch.
  • A combination of CCDF subsidy and local dollars. In this case, CCDF funds pay for subsidies of eligible children. Providers include the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation and community-based and other nonprofit programs throughout the city.

  For more information, see http://www.dcafa.com.

• D.C. Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation (CYITC). This public-private partnership was formed in 1999 with the goal of linking public and private resources and providing technical assistance to programs serving children, youth, and their parents in D.C. CYITC funds community-based organizations (CBOs) for the provision of out-of-school programs for children and youth of all ages as well as parent centers. CYITC leverages public dollars for private investment in CBOs. After three years of operation, CYITC has helped secure funding for programs that serve an average of 20,000 children, youth, and parents. In addition, CYITC convenes District agencies, D.C. Public Schools (DCPS), and the philanthropic community to plan and coordinate the city’s summer programs for children and youth. In partnership with DCPS and the Department of Human Services, CYITC supports the “Transformation Schools” and “Neighborhood Places” initiatives to link CBO programs to the collaborative effort to improve student performance at targeted public schools.

  For more information, see http://www.cyitc.org/cyitc.

• D.C. Agenda is a nonprofit civic organization that acts as a community intermediary for city organizations from all sectors of the workforce. They convene diverse stakeholders in an effort to influence city leaders and community groups on key issues and shape the community agenda. D.C. Agenda helped create a network of more than 300 community-based organizations dedicated to out-of-school time issues and secured $26 million in funding from the D.C. and federal governments to support the network. Since the partnership was formed in 1999, over 20,000 more children have been served in afterschool programs.

  For more information, see http://www.dcagenda.org.

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Statewide Organizations

National AfterSchool Association Affiliate:

Not Available

Statewide Child Care

Resource & Referral Network: Washington Child Development Council
1420 Columbia Rd., NW, Ste. 201M
Washington, DC 20009
Phone: 202-387-0002
http://www.wcdconline.org

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Other statewide organizations

DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation

1400 16th Street, NW Suite 500
Washington, DC 20036
202-347-4441
http://www.cyitc.org

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Additional Resources

State Child Care Administrators:
http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/statedata/dirs/display.cfm?title=ccdf

State TANF Contacts:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/tanf-dir.htm

21st Century Community Learning Centers Contacts:
http://www.ed.gov/programs/21stcclc/contacts.html

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Notes and Sources

Demographics

Total population: Annual Estimates of the Population for the United States and States, and for Puerto Rico: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006, U.S. Census Bureau.

Number of children ages 5-12: Estimates of the Resident Population by Single-Year of Age and Sex for the United States and States: July 1, 2006, U.S. Census Bureau.

Percent of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch rate: Numbers and Types of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools from the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-06. U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

Percent of K-12 students in Title I "schoolwide" schools: Numbers and Types of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools from the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-06. U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. The federal Title I program provides funding to local school districts and schools with high percentages of poor children to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standards. Schools enrolling at least 40 percent of students from poor families are eligible to use Title I funds for schoolwide programs that serve all children in the school.

Child Care and Development Fund

The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is the largest federal funding source for child care. States receive a funding allocation determined by formula and have broad flexibility to design programs that provide child care subsidies for low-income children under the age of 13 and to enhance the quality of child care for all children. Federal CCDF funding consists of mandatory, matching, and discretionary funds. Federal law requires that states spend at least 4 percent of their CCDF funds as well as additional targeted funds on activities to improve the quality and availability of child care. CCDF administrative data in this and the following sections is from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Child Care Bureau, as reported by States, unless otherwise noted.

FFY06 state MOE plus match: In order to receive Federal matching funds, a state must expend Maintenance of Effort funds. Note that this does not capture actual expenditures, only the minimum required to draw down all available federal funds.

FFY06 Tribal CCDF Allocation: Federal CCDF Funds are awarded directly to Federally-recognized Indian Tribes.

FFY05 total quality expenditures: This data includes FY05 and prior year funds expended for quality from each of the CCDF funding streams (mandatory, matching, and discretionary) and expenditures under targeted funds for infant and toddler, school-age care and resource and referral. This figure provides information obtained from state financial reports submitted for FY05.

Uses of CCDF Targeted Funds and Quality Dollars for Afterschool: Portions of CCDF discretionary funds are targeted specifically for resource and referral and school-age child care activities as well as for quality expansion. (These funds are in addition to the required 4 percent minimum quality expenditure.)

Maximum rate for school-age category: Rate listed applies to center-based care; where rates vary by region or county, the rate for the most populated urban area is given.

Standardized monthly school-age rate: Monthly rate for a child, age 8, in care after school during the school year at a center in the most costly district for four hours per day, 20 days per month. Calculated (in the lowest tier of a tiered system) using information from the FY2006-2007. State CCDF Plan, including rate structures, as submitted to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.

Separate subsidy rates for part-time vs. full time and Tiered Reimbursement Rate Systems: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Child Care Bureau. Report of State Plans FY2006-2007.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care

In addition to spending TANF funds directly on child care, a state may transfer up to 30 percent of its TANF grant to CCDF. Expenditures represent TANF funds spent in FY05 that were awarded in FY05 and prior years. Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.

Program Licensing and Accreditation Policies

States with separate school-age licensing standards and states with specialized requirements for child care centers serving school-age children: National Association for Regulatory Administration, 2005 Child Care Licensing Study, available at http://www.nara.affiniscape.com/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=104.

Ratio of children to adults in school-age setting: Data from the National Child Care Information Center (NCCIC), available at: http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov.

Number of NAA-accredited programs: Data from the National AfterSchool Association, March 2007, available at: http://www.naaweb.org.

21st Century Community Learning Centers

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 converted the 21st Century Community Learning Centers’ authority to a state formula grant. In past years, the U.S. Department of Education made competitive awards directly to school districts. Under the reauthorized law, funds flow to states based on their share of Title I, Part A funds. States use their allocations to make competitive awards to eligible entities. Data from the U.S. Department of Education 21st Century Community Learning Centers Office and the 21st CCLC Profile and Performance Information Collection System.

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The Child Care Bureau awarded a technical assistance contract to The Finance Project and their partner, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, for the Afterschool Investments project. The goals of the Afterschool Investments project include:

• Identifying ways that state and communities are using Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) subsidy and quality dollars to support out-of-school time programs, and sharing these practices and approaches with other states;
• Identifying administrative and implementation issues related to CCDF investments in out-of-school time programs, and providing information and context (about barriers, problems, opportunities) as well as practical tools that will help CCDF administrators make decisions; and
• Identifying other major programs and sectors that are potential partners for CCDF in supporting out-of-school time programs and providing models, strategies, and tools for coordination with other programs and sectors.

Contact Us:

Email:
afterschool@financeproject.org

Web:
http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/afterschool/

The Finance Project
1401 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202-587-1000
Web: www.financeproject.org

National Governors Association
Center for Best Practices
444 North Capitol Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-624-5300
Web: www.nga.org

The Afterschool Investments project’s State Profiles are designed to provide a comprehensive overview of noteworthy State and local initiatives across the country. Inclusion of an initiative in the Profiles does not represent an endorsement of a particular policy or practice.