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
• Statewide Initiatives
• Notable Local Initiatives
• Statewide Organizations
• 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:
Funds may be used to provide training and technical assistance to staff working in before- and afterschool programs to help engage youth in civil, social, and educational activities.

Other quality activities:
Funds may be used to promote the formation of child care planning groups across the state to develop a comprehensive vision of child care. Funds also support the STARS program, which rewards daycare facilities’ quality improvements. 

• Provider Reimbursement Rates

Tiered Reimbursement Rate System:
A premium add-on rate is available to providers offering care during nontraditional hours.

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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Statewide Initiatives

• School Age Care Project. Established in 1986 by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare and funded by the Child Care and Development Fund school-age targeted funds, The School Age Care Project offers training and technical assistance to providers through four regionally based offices. Research-based technical assistance aims to improve educational, civic, and social outcomes in before- and afterschool programs. Training takes place through regional sub-contracts with the Pennsylvania Pathways career development system. Regional School Age Care Projects also have built partnerships with community stakeholders to promote the development and expansion of out-of-school programming.

• Pennsylvania Migrant Education Program. The Pennsylvania Migrant Education program has provided summer academic enrichment programs to the children of migratory workers since 1969. The program’s goal is to assist migrant children in reaching state educational standards, despite disruptions in the continuity of their schooling. Since 1993, the state has expanded the program, utilizing both state and federal funding, and there are now 90 sites.

• Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool/ Youth Development Network. The Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool Youth Development Network’s goal is to significantly enhance the welfare of Pennsylvania’s children and youth through the expansion and improvement of afterschool programs. To accomplish this, the Network is developing and implementing a public policy agenda designed to increase programming and funding support for afterschool projects. The Network is also working to identify and secure the training and technical assistance resources necessary to assure quality standards and practices for all providers, including, but not limited to, schools and community-based organizations.

• Keystone Standards, Training, Assistance, Resources, and Support (STARS). The Keystone STARS program provides Standards, Training, Assistance, Resources, and Support (STARS) to facilitate continuous improvement and recognize achievement by child care providers, including those providing school-age care. Keystone STARS establishes a quality rating system, and each STAR designation has its own research-based performance standards or benchmarks that are linked to improving outcomes for children.

• Tutoring Programs. Pennsylvania has appropriated a combined $70 million for tutoring programs in fiscal year 2005-06. The vast majority of these funds ($66 million) make up the Educational Assistance Program that provides grants to districts that have schools not making adequate yearly progress (AYP) under the federal No Child Left Behind standards. The remaining $4 million constitutes the continuation of the Education Support Services Program ("Classroom Plus") established in 2001. It provides for small grants (up to $500) to parents of students in grades 3-6 who score poorly on state exams. In addition to these funds allocated by Pennsylvania, tutoring programs also receive educational block grants from the Accountability Block Grant (ABG), and portions of this grant are allocated to tutoring programs. In the 2005-06 school year, 118,379 students were provided with tutoring services in the Commonwealth. This includes services delivered through EAP, Classroom Plus, ABG, and SES. In the 2006-07 school year, $7,675,327 of Accountability Block Grant funding will be spent on tutoring.

• Job Training for Youth. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry utilizes $34 million in Workforce Investment Act (WIA) dollars to support youth employment training and preparation programs, including out-of-school time activities. Funding is allocated to local workforce boards on a formula basis. Boards can use funds to support a variety of job preparation programs as well as summer youth employment programs. Since 1999, the state has allocated TANF dollars to supplement WIA funds supporting youth activities. In 2004, the state allocated $15 million in TANF funds for this purpose, and Pennsylvania now appropriates $15 million annually to promote youth and community activities through the Workforce Investment Boards.

• ELECT Student Works (ESW). The ELECT Student Works (ESW) pilot program provides comprehensive afterschool activities to at-risk youth in grades 4 through 8. The program promotes academic achievement and employs a variety of strategies, such as mentoring and service learning, to help youth to avoid teenage pregnancy and other risky behaviors. ESW is funded with TANF dollars ($2000 per child) by the Offfice of Income Maintenance at the Department of Public Welfare. School districts in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Erie, and Harrisburg were selected to pilot the program in 2002.

• Communities that Care. Communities That Care (CTC) is a violence and delinquency prevention program that helps communities mobilize, identify risk and preventive factors, and develop a prevention plan. Pennsylvania initiated a comprehensive plan to implement CTC projects throughout the state in the mid-1990s. The effort has been spearheaded by the Governor’s Partnership for Children and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and supports a variety of programs in 127 communities in 57 counties, including those that occur during out-of-school time. In 2004-05, the state allocated $6.3 million to support CTC.

• State Demonstration Project. Launched by America’s Promise Alliance, this state project is designed to facilitate collaboration between existing public and private partnerships, increase awareness about child care, and increase funding for Alliance partners’ state affiliates. It is funded by a $20,000 grant from America’s Promise.

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Notable Local Initiatives

• Southwestern PA Afterschool Resource Collaboration (SPARC). The mission of this initiative is to create an organized system of information about non-school hour programs and services in southwestern PA to help guide planning decisions and consumer choice. The ultimate vision of this collaborative partnership is to establish a community-wide initiative to support the delivery of non-school hour services so that every child in need will have access to a quality program. Agencies providing afterschool programs, policy makers, funders, social service agencies, and educators are all active participants in the initiative. By providing information about afterschool programs online via the website, SPARC strives to be a resource to agencies to strengthen and sustain services and connect youth initiatives in the region.

  For more information, please visit www.SwpaAfterschool.org

• Philadelphia’s Core Standards. In the summer of 2000, a committee representing individuals from city-sponsored agencies, the school district, youth-serving agencies, and sponsors of youth employment programs issued The Core Standards for Philadelphia’s Youth Programs. The Core Standards are designed to assist the development and implementation of high quality afterschool and youth development programs and include: incentives and consequences for programs to implement standards; multi-level standards to allow programs time for implementation; and local funding tied to an organization’s ability to meet the standards.

• Philadelphia Safe and Sound. The mission of Philadelphia Safe and Sound (PSS), established in 1995 through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Urban Health Initiative, is to improve the health and well-being of children and youth in the Philadelphia region. PSS provides support to the city’s 140-site After School Initiative, is a partner in the city’s 24 21st Century Community Learning Center sites, and provides oversight and technical assistance to 23 Beacon Schools community centers. PSS works closely with the city and a variety of partners to conduct research, disseminate best practices, host forums, and advocate for the integration and leveraging of resources for children and their families.

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Statewide Organizations

National AfterSchool Association Affiliate:

Pennsylvania School-Age Child Care Alliance
Northampton Community College
3835 Green Pond Rd
Bethlehem, PA 18020
Phone: 610-332-6541
Email: jlang@northampton.edu

Statewide Child Care Resource & Referral Network:

Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare
Bureau of Child Day Care
Office of Children, Youth & Families
1401 N. 7th Street, Bertolino Building., 4th Floor
P.O. Box 2675
Harrisburg, PA 17105
Phone: 717-787-8691

Statewide Afterschool Network:

Center for Schools and Communities
275 Grandview Avenue, Suite 200
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania 17011
Phone: 717-763-1661
Web: http://www.center-school.org/

Other statewide organizations:

Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children
20 N. Market Square, Suite 300
Harrisburg, PA 17101
Phone: 1-800-257-2030
Web: www.papartnerships.org/capitol_agenda.asp

Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool Youth Development Network
Center for Schools and Communities
275 Grandview Avenue, suite 200
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania 17011
Phone: 717-763-1661
Web: http://www.psaydn.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.