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 technical assistance and support through child care resource and referral centers, and to develop or expand school-age child care programs. This technical assistance and support includes workshops, site visits, lending library resources, and telephone consultations to assist providers with learning activities for programs offered before- and after-school, and during school holidays and summer months. A specialized 30-hour orientation course for school-age caregivers is available through the Tennessee Early Childhood Training Alliance (TECTA) program statewide.  Additionally, one full-time staff member in the Resource and Referral network office oversees the school-age effort.

Other quality activities:
Funds are used to support scholarships for professionals to attend the TennSACA Conference. 

• Provider Reimbursement Rates

Tiered Reimbursement Rate System:
Tennessee has the Star-Quality Rating system that provides recognition to child care providers who meet a higher standard of quality. Additional stars increase a provider’s reimbursement rate. Grants, technical assistance, and training are offered to all providers who wish to qualify or earn more stars.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care

Program Licensing and Accreditation Policies

21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC)

Return to top

Statewide Initiatives

• Extended Learning Programs. Since 1985, Tennessee’s Extended Learning Programs have provided learning and enrichment activities for children, youths, and their families. Local school districts must include at least one performance measure for each activity that relates to the stated measurable objectives in the State Board of Education Master Plan. Program activities can include remediation academic enrichment; recreation, art, dance, and music; life skills and job training, nutrition and snacks; community service; and conflict resolution and violence prevention. The target population is students who have Limited English Proficiency or who are academically at-risk, low-income, special education, gifted and talented, members of a special school or specific town or community, or students with disabilities; or parents of involved students. Services are provided to students and their families from preschool through high school before school, after school, or during summer, weekends, or evenings. The program is administered by the Tennessee Department of Education, and fiscal year 2004-2005 state funding for the program is $24.2 million, which provides services to 980,000 students.

• Lottery for Education: Afterschool Programs (LEAPs). In November 2002, Tennesseans voted to create a state lottery. The General Assembly established that profits from the lottery go towards specific educational programs: college scholarships, early childhood programs and afterschool programs. In accordance with TCA Title 4, Chapter 6, Part 7, one hundred percent (100%) of monies constituting an unclaimed prize shall be deposited into an afterschool account for the purpose of providing after school educational programs. The overall goal of Lottery for Education: Afterschool Programs (LEAPs) is to provide Tennessee students with academic enrichment opportunities that reinforce and complement the regular academic program for youth 5 – 18 years old, enrolled in elementary or secondary school. Since May 2005, Tennessee's Lottery for Education: Afterschool Programs (LEAPs) has provided nearly $8.9 million for 88 new afterschool programs for at-risk students across the state.

  Such programs must include:

  • Services to students on an average of 15 hrs. per week;
  • Reading skills development and enhancement;
  • Math or science skills development and enhancement;
  • Computer literacy and skills development;
  • Academic mentoring or tutorial assistance; and
  • Sports or leisure opportunities.
  
  

• Tennessee Early Childhood Training Alliance (TECTA). Supported by the Tennessee Department of Human Services and administered by Tennessee State University, TECTA provides training and professional development programs to child care providers in Tennessee. School-age care providers who are employed in a registered family or group home or licensed child care center can enroll in a free School-Age Orientation course. A certificate is offered to providers who complete the 30-hour orientation, which ties into a provider’s star rating. In 2002-2003, 183 providers completed the School-Age Orientation.

  For more information, see http://www.nccic.org/ccpartnerships/profiles/tennearly.htm

Return to top

Notable Local Initiatives

• Project for Neighborhood Aftercare (PNA). In 1996, Tying Nashville Together (TNT), a multi-faith, public action oriented organization held community–wide focus groups and determined that afterschool care was nonexistent for low-income families, although larger providers such as the YMCA did provide services in other parts of the community. During the next year, TNT worked with numerous stakeholders in the community to design an afterschool program that would fit into the existing network. In 1997, these efforts culminated in the creation of the Project for Neighborhood Aftercare (PNA), a neighborhood-based afterschool program that emphasizes academics, art, and music. Currently, the city provides $510,000 for tuition-free afterschool programs at 12 different sites citywide. In some cases, PNA partners with 21st Century Community Learning Center sites and works closely with the local school districts.

Return to top

Statewide Organizations

National AfterSchool Association Affiliate:

Tennessee School-Age Care Alliance
236 Barker Road
Nashville, TN 37214
Phone: 615-391-2270
Email: tonyamb@bellsouth.net
Web: www.tennsaca.com

Statewide Child Care Resource & Referral Network:

Tennessee Department of Human Services
400 Deaderick Street, 14th Floor
Nashville, TN 37248
Phone: 800-462-8261
Fax: 615-313-6683
Web: www.state.tn.us/humanserv/childcare.htm

Return to top

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

Return to top

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.

Return to top

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.