This national profile provides a picture of afterschool programs across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It includes information about promising state and local initiatives as well as information on the largest federal funding sources. It is designed to provide policymakers, administrators, and providers with an overview of the afterschool landscape, which includes a range of out-of-school time programming that occurs before and after school, on weekends, and during summer months. The Afterschool Investments Project has developed a set of individual state profiles, upon which this national profile is based. See http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/afterschool/statep.html to learn more about afterschool initiatives in your state or to search a database of state initiatives.

• Quick Facts
• The Afterschool Landscape—A View Across the States
• Federal Funding for Afterschool Programs
• National Organizations and Resources
• Additional Resources
• Notes and Sources

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:
States may use the resource and referral and school-age targeted funds for state programs or policies that improve school-age care supply, quality, or both, as well as to support resource and referral agencies’ efforts to promote access to child care. Among the most common uses of the school-age targeted funds in FY06-07 are supporting practitioner training (30 states), funding technical assistance or grants for school-age child care programs (22 states), and funding grants to improve the quality of school-age child care services (14 states). 

Other quality activities:
States may use the quality dollars to fund a range of efforts to improve the quality of child care in the state, including staff training, grants to providers, efforts to promote licensing and accreditation, and rate differentials to promote high quality care. In FY06-07, the vast majority of states reported that, among other activities, they are using these funds to undertake comprehensive consumer education activities, to support grants and loans to assist providers in meeting state and local standards, help build a professional development system, and to support efforts to monitor compliance with child care licensing and regulatory requirements.

• Provider Reimbursement Rates

School-age Rate Categories:
To take into account the circumstances of caring for school-age children, most states have implemented a separate rate category for school-age care or for children over a specific age. School-age rates are generally lower than rates for younger children, as school-age care typically requires fewer caregivers and involves fewer hours of care giving per day.

Average Monthly, Center-based School-age Rate:
School-age payment rates vary widely across states and states differ as to whether their rates are on a per-hour, per-week, or per-month basis. On average, the monthly, center based rate for part-time school-age care for an 8 year old child is $336.

Subsidy Rates for Part-time vs. Full-time Care:
School-age children primarily need part-time care during the school year, but they also need full-time care at various times throughout the year. Nearly two-thirds of states and territories address this situation by offering separate subsidy rates for part-time and full-time care.

Tiered Reimbursement Rate Systems:
A number of states have implemented tiered reimbursement systems, where accredited providers or providers meeting other criteria receive a bonus above the standard rate. In FY2006-07, 30 states reported establishing tiered reimbursement for quality care beyond the level assured by minimum licensing standards; 24 states reported paying a higher rate for care provided to children with special needs, and 10 states reported that they offer higher rates for care provided during nontraditional hours and on weekends. Tiered rates generally apply to all providers meeting the established criteria, including those serving the school-age population.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care

Program Licensing and Accreditation Policies

School-age Licensing Standards:
46 states have special rules for child care centers that serve school-age children; 14 states have established separate regulations in addition to these child care center rules.

Ratio of Children to Adults in School-age Centers:
Ratios vary by state and increase for older children. The range of ratios for school-age children across states is: 10:1 to 26:1.

21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC)

Program Locations:
The majority of 21st CCLC programs are held at schools, but some programs are located at off-school sites or have a mixture of on- and off-school sites.

Licensing Required?
35 states require 21st CCLC programs to be licensed, 6 states require licensing in certain situations, and 9 states, along with the District of Columbia, do not require licensing.

Additional Information About 21st CCLC:
Some states are coordinating the use of their 21st Century Community Learning Center funds with other federal resources, including CCDF, to expand the availability of school-age care for children and youth.

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The Afterschool Landscape—A View Across the States

Across the nation, a wide variety of stakeholders, including educators, law enforcement officials, business leaders, and public officials at all levels of government, are recognizing the value of afterschool services and taking significant steps to expand access to quality programs. Afterschool programs vary widely in terms of their settings, structures, and functions. Afterschool providers include schools, community-based organizations, for-profit businesses, and family child care homes, among others. Afterschool programs operate in school buildings, child care centers, museums, libraries, and elsewhere in a community. The goals and structure of programs also varies depending on when programs take place—the structure of a summer program, for instance, may differ substantially from an afterschool program. Programs may focus on academics, enrichment, sports, recreation, mentoring, tutoring, or a combination thereof. The Afterschool Investments State Profile Series highlights a range of policies and initiatives that support these types of programs, many of which are financed wholly or in part by public funds, including financing strategies, collaborations, initiatives to improve program quality, and efforts to improve access to programs.

• Financing Strategies to Support Afterschool Programs. Finding and sustaining funding to support out-of-school time programs is critical to developing and continuing promising afterschool efforts over the long term. In recent years, policymakers have used a variety of financing strategies to fund afterschool programs. These approaches vary from state to state, depending on policy goals, available resources, and economic and political climates. Financing strategies include making better use of existing funds; maximizing available federal dollars; creating more flexibility in funding streams; developing new dedicated revenue sources for afterschool programs; gaining access to additional resources; and creating partnerships between public and private-sector organizations and funding sources.

• Interagency and Public-Private Collaboration. The increased demand for afterschool services has prompted local communities and states to align and coordinate their resources to expand program capacity. Increasingly, this has meant that the provision of afterschool services is being driven by collaborative efforts between multiple partners, including schools, private businesses, government agencies, foundations, and universities. At the provider level, partnerships can help programs diversify their funding, extend the leadership that supports their efforts, expand the populations that they serve, introduce new activities and services to their existing repertoire, and design and implement sustainability strategies. At the policy level, statewide and local afterschool networks have become vehicles for bringing together policymakers, educators, advocates, parents, funders, private sector leaders, and others interested in improving outcomes for children and youth through out-of-school time programs. Networks provide a means for joint planning; sharing of resources and best practices; building bridges to and between federal, state, and local initiatives; and developing comprehensive afterschool policies. Networks can also support policy efforts that lead to increased resources for afterschool and improved program quality.

• Focus on Program Quality. High quality afterschool programs can have significant, positive effects on student outcomes, whereas low quality programs can fail to show positive effects or even have negative impacts. Because of this, States are seeking to support high quality programs by developing definitions of quality embodied in program standards, creating measures of afterschool quality, and improving quality at the program level through licensing and accreditation, professional development, and incentives for reaching higher quality levels.

  Program standards refer to benchmarks that are used by parents, school-age professionals, and policymakers to assess the quality of care children and youth are receiving in a particular program. Standards often reflect best practices in the out-of-school time field, and may or may not be explicitly linked to accreditation processes. Measures of quality, sometimes in the form of self-assessment tools, determine whether programs are meeting standards, and by extension the needs of participants, families, communities, and other relevant stakeholders.

  Licensing ensures a minimum level of health and safety, and accreditation provides a way for organizations to formally evaluate their school-age programs by comparing them against professional standards set by the National AfterSchool Association (formerly NSACA) or some other recognized association, often a state body. To successfully complete the accreditation process, programs usually undergo a thorough review of whether they are meeting baseline performance measures as they relate to staffing, health and safety procedures, physical environment, and administration.

  Professional development refers to the host of supports in place to ensure that workers in school-age programs are better equipped to respond to the needs of young people. Common professional supports include: scholarships and stipends to pursue school-age credentials offered by higher education institutions; trainings and technical assistance; conferences and networking events; and mentoring. In recent years, the growing demand for school-age care has prompted more states to strengthen professional development infrastructures in order to build the supply of high-quality afterschool program staff.

  Many states are using Quality Rating Systems (QRS) and tiered reimbursement to reward programs that demonstrate higher levels of quality and address the problems of lower quality programs. Quality rating systems rate afterschool settings according to whether they meet particular quality benchmarks or standards in an easy-to-understand manner (for instance, on a scale of one to five stars). Under a tiered reimbursement system, states can tie higher rates of subsidy reimbursements to higher levels of afterschool programs quality.

• Increased Access. Many states are seeking to increase access to quality afterschool programs, particularly among those families with the greatest need. Many states are undertaking assessments to measure the existing supply and demand of quality school-age care and then targeting interventions to meet demonstrated needs. At the same time, states are seeking to educate their residents about school-age care options and to provide parents with assistance finding quality child care.

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Federal Funding for Afterschool Programs

Afterschool initiatives at the state and local level are supported and shaped by the availability of a variety of public and private investments. Afterschool initiatives are frequently supported, at least in part, by one or more of the three largest federal funding sources for afterschool: the Child Care and Development Fund, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Each of these programs is administered by the states. (See side-bar for federal funding levels and other administrative data regarding these programs.)

• Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). CCDF provides child care vouchers to subsidize the cost of care for low-income families and it supports state child care quality improvement initiatives. While often associated with care for very young children, nearly half of all children receiving CCDF subsidies ages five through 12. In addition, states may choose to use funds earmarked for quality improvements to support initiatives to improve the quality and availability of school-age care, such as training programs or capacity-building grants for afterschool providers. States are required to utilize at least 4 percent of their CCDF funds on quality activities and may also use discretionary funds targeted by Congress for school-age care quality improvements and/or resource and referral activities.

• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). TANF funds, which provide financial support for low-income families, may also be used to support afterschool programs. States can directly spend TANF funds on afterschool programs and initiatives. States can also transfer up to 30 percent of their federal TANF allocation to the CCDF. TANF funds transferred to CCDF are subject to all of the CCDF rules and requirements, and can be used to expand out-of-school time capacity-building and quality-enhancement efforts. Direct TANF spending can provide states with additional flexibility when it comes to afterschool care. For example, funds can support services for older youth and can support programs in addition to individual subsidies for children.

• 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC). The 21CCLC program is the only federal funding source that exclusively supports afterschool programs. The purpose of 21CCLC is to support community learning centers that provide students with a broad array of academic enrichment services, including tutoring, homework help, and community service, as well as music, arts, sports, and cultural activities. When the program first began in 1998, the U.S. Department of Education made competitive awards directly to school districts. However, following the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 21CCLC was converted into a state formula grant program. As a result, the Department of Education awards grants to State Education Agencies, which then manage statewide competitions to grant funds to eligible organizations.

  A number of other federal funding sources can support afterschool programs or components thereof. These sources include the U.S. Department of Education’s Supplemental Education Services funding under Title I, as well as grant programs administered by the Departments of Agriculture, Justice, and Labor. State and local governments, as well as corporations and foundations also fund afterschool initiatives. These diverse funding streams have contributed to the rapid growth of afterschool programs nationwide.

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National Organizations and Resources

See the Afterschool Investments project resource list for major national resources around afterschool program and policy development: http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/afterschool/rresources.pdf.

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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.