Policy News from the Afterschool Alliance
December 9, 2009
FY2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act Includes Request of
$35 Million Increase for 21st CCLC
The conferees of the Senate and the House of Representatives met yesterday to approve the FY2010 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations conference report. At the Conference, five additional FY2010 appropriations bills were added to the THUD bill, including: Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; Financial Services and General Government; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; Military Construction, veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. Combined, the six bills total $446.8 billion in discretionary budget authority. Both chambers of Congress are expected to pass the Consolidated Appropriations Act before going on recess later this month, however as of now the proposed funding levels are not yet law. Funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers in the Consolidate Appropriations Act is requested at $1.2 billion, an increase of $35 million over FY2009 and a compromise between the House of Representative’s requested increase of $50 million and the Senate’s level funding of the program. To read full article, click here.
Rural Investment in Afterschool Programs
In June 2009, Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Representatives Phil Hare (D-IL) and Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) introduced companion bills in the Senate and House that will help establish and improve quality rural afterschool programs. The Investment in Rural Afterschool Programs Act (S.1281/H.R.3078) are identical bills that help address the unique challenges of afterschool in rural communities. To download a letter of endorsement please following these links: House Endorsement Letter and Senate Endorsement Letter.
The initial list of endorsing organizations included the Afterschool Alliance, Save the Children, the American Association of School Administrators and the National Rural Education Advocacy Coalition. Before beginning to solicit additional co-sponsors for this legislation, we’d like to build a strong list of endorsing organizations and we hope you’ll consider adding your organization to the list. Please contact Erik Peterson at epeterson@afterschoolalliance.org or 202-347-2030 to have your organization added to the list. For additional details about these bills, please click here.
Afterschool Report Released from Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
House Resolution 824 of 2008 (Sponsored by Representative Jake Wheatley) called on the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LB&FC) to assess the availability and affordability of afterschool programs in the Commonwealth. On July 9, 2009, Philip Durgin, Executive Director of the LB&FC, summarized the findings of the Afterschool Report at the LB&FC Meeting.
Major findings included:
- No commonly accepted definition for what constitutes an afterschool program
- Public funding for afterschool programs is primarily directed to low-income families with children ages 6-12
- A variance in cost of afterschool programs (between $450 to $7,000 per child per year)
- Transportation is generally not provided
- Difficulty in engaging teenagers in structured afterschool programs
- Level of demand for additional afterschool programming is difficult to quantify
- Most areas of PA do not have comprehensive information systems to help parents find afterschool programs
- Afterschool programs have difficulty establishing themselves as a recognizable system
- States vary in their approach to afterschool program funding and planning
Recommendations from the report findings suggested the Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool/Youth Development Network (PSAYDN) and Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children (PPC) work with the Governor’s Office and legislative leaders to create a Statewide Afterschool Coordinating Council to do the following:
- Identify goals and action steps to address already-identified issues
- Promote additional web-based regional databases of afterschool programs
- Identify and promote potential new funding sources
- Assess local needs and barriers to afterschool programs, especially for adolescents
PSAYDN looks forward to supporting the full implementation of the recommendations outlined above and will continue to provide informative updates to the Network members.
To view the full LB&FC report, click here.
To view PowerPoint Summary (courtesy of Bill Bartle, PA Partnerships for Children), please click here.
Join the Pennsylvania School Funding Campaign Today!
The Pennsylvania School Funding Campaign: Successful Schools...Successful Children...Successful Communities
There ’s no more important investment of public funds than in the education of our children. And, the state has no greater responsibility than to assure that every child has a high quality public education. But Pennsylvania ranks near the bottom nationally in the state share of spending for public education and is over-reliant on local property taxes as a funding source. The end result is that a child’s education experience varies greatly simply because of where he or she lives. That’s not fair and the time has come to make a change.
Click here to help ensure an adequate and equitable education for every child in Pennsylvania!
Last year the PA General Assembly commissioned a costing-out study to learn what it costs to educate a child in Pennsylvania regardless of where they live or what their unique learning needs are. The study found a $4.3 billion gap between what we currently spend and the adequate funding level required to ensure academic success for all students in our state.
Now the time has come to urge state policymakers to act on the costing-out study and to enact the goals of the Pennsylvania School Funding Campaign:
- to implement and fully finance by 2013 a comprehensive, systemic and sustainable education funding plan based on the core principles of adequacy, equity, efficiency, accountability and predictability, and
- to allocate sufficient funds in the 2008/09 budget – at least $1 billion – to make a significant start toward implementation of a new school funding formula based on the costing-out study.
The Governor’s recent budget address included some important elements of a new funding system along with a suggested $291 million increase for basic education. While the Governor is on the right pathway, we need to make a bigger step forward and we need your help.
Make adequate and equitable education financing in Pennsylvania a reality!
For more information or to contact the Pennsylvania School Funding Campaign, please contact:
800 N. 3rd Street, Suite 408
Harrisburg, PA 17102
Phone:
(717)260-9900
Website:
www.paschoolfunding.org
Sounding a Voice for Pennsylvania Afterschool and Youth Development Programs:
Tools and Resources to Continue Your Advocacy Efforts
- Three fact sheets focused on Pennsylvania advocacy information, Pennsylvania after 3 PM and afterschool/youth development strategies.
- Federal and state advocacy budget timelines
- Media outreach and tips to help effectively advocate for your program.
Download your copy of the afterschool toolkit now.
Download a copy of the sample letters. (word format)
Be A Voice for Children
The Pennsylvania Children's Advocacy Network mobilizes Pennsylvanians who are concerned about children's issues and willing to act on their behalf. Organized and led by PSAYDN partner, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, PA-CAN members are trained in policymaking, communications, and community mobilizing to raise their voices in support of children in the public policy arena.
PPC supports PA-CAN members by sharing regular policy updates, issuing instructions, or "action alerts," for contacting lawmakers and other timely activities that are effective in advancing public policies, and sponsoring regional meetings on critical children's issues. To get involved, click here.
