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 consumer education and direct counseling for parents seeking child care assistance. The Department of Social Services may also contract with school-age child care programs to provide comprehensive services for all communities.

Other quality activities:
The state’s professional development program, Connecticut Charts-A Course, can use these funds to provide scholarship assistance to school-age care professionals seeking a  credential.

• Provider Reimbursement Rates

Tiered Reimbursement Rate System:
A 5% bonus payment over the maximum reimbursement rate is given to those programs that are accredited through NAA or NAEYC..

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

• Connecticut Statewide After-School Advisory Committee. In July, 2003, building on extensive planning by several state agencies and others, Connecticut Public Act 03-206 permanently established the Statewide After School Advisory Council. With the leadership of the State Department of Education, the Department of Social Services and the Connecticut Commission on Children, the Council acts as the statewide policy coordinating body. Members of the Council include more than 30 representatives of State agencies, businesses, philanthropy and other stakeholders. The Council is staffed by the Connecticut After School Network.

  For more information, visit: http://www.ctafterschoolnetwork.org/AfterSchoolAdvisoryCouncil_000.htm.

• Connecticut After School Network. The Network’s vision is that every Connecticut child and youth will have the opportunity to participate in high quality, affordable after school programs. Their mission is to lead, educate and advocate for excellence in the after school field by building professionalism, strengthening program quality and increasing availability and affordability.

  Network goals are to:

  • Create a sustainable structure of statewide, regional, and local partnerships, particularly school-community partnerships, focused on supporting policy development at all levels.
  • Support the development and growth of statewide policies that will secure the resources that are needed to sustain new and existing after school programs.
  • Support statewide systems to ensure programs are of high quality.

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

• Connecticut Charts-A-Course (CCAC). Connecticut Charts-A-Course (CCAC) is a career development system for child care providers that is supported by state and federal funds. One component of the program is the Scholarship Assistance Fund, which provides childcare providers, including afterschool staff, with funding to pursue further training in school age care and ultimately receive a credential. Additionally, CCAC administers the Accreditation Facilitation Project which supports quality improvement and the acquisition of national accreditation standards in center-based, school-age programs.

  For more information, see http://www.ctcharts-a-course.org.

• Charter Oak State College - After School Education Credential. The Credential in After School Education is a professional certification program developed through collaboration among Charter Oak State College, the Connecticut After School Network, and Connecticut Charts-A-Course. The Credential establishes educational and experiential competency standards for specialists in the care and education of children, ages 5 – 15, outside of school hours.

  For more information, see http://www.charteroak.edu

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Notable Local Initiatives

• Local/Regional Alliances exist in 10 locations throughout Connecticut.

  • Bridgeport Lighthouse Programs
  • Danbury Public Schools "SAFE" After School Programs
  • Hartford Coalition for Children and Families
  • New Britain Youth Network
  • New Haven City-Wide Youth Coalition
  • Northwest Connecticut After School Alliance
  • Norwalk After School Alliance
  • Southeast Connecticut After School Alliance
  • Stamford Out of School Time Alliance (SOSTA)
  • Waterbury YDAC

  To find out more information about these organizations contact the Connecticut After School Network at http://www.ctafterschoolnetwork.org

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Statewide Organizations

National AfterSchool Association Affiliate/Statewide Afterschool Network:

Connecticut After School Network
12 Melrose Avenue
Branford, CT 06405
Phone: 203-483-9757
Email: info@ctafterschoolnetwork.org
Web: http://www.ctafterschoolnetwork.org

Statewide Child Care Resource & Referral Network:

Child Care Infoline
1344 Silas Deane Highway
Rocky Hill, CT 06067
Phone: 860-571-7500 (In-state dial 211)
Web: http://www.childcareinfoline.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.