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The Afterschool Alliance has been compiling ARRA for afterschool success stories from all over the country.  States from coast to coast are using their creativity to tap into ARRA funds for afterschool. 

Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG):

The Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership helped secure $2.5 million in vouchers for summer programs for school age children in Massachusetts.  See MAP’s memo (in partnership with Boston Afterschool and Beyond) to the Department of Early Education and Care with recommendations on the allocation of stimulus funding to support afterschool efforts.  Read more about the MAP's winning strategies in their step-by-step guide: A Statewide Network Approach to ARRA Policy and Funding.

Delaware’s Afterschool Alliance secured an increase in the length of time job-hunting parents qualify for CCDBG subsidies from 30 days to 180 days and a one-time bonus subsidy.

The Arkansas Out of School Network was able to access the state’s ARRA- Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funds for professional development opportunities targeted at afterschool educators.  These funds are in addition to the money the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education (DCCECE) already allocates to support licensed afterschool programs.  In total, approximately 15% of the CCDBG funds were allocated to support afterschool.  Nearly $400,000 will help support new training opportunities.  The money will also fund an additional staff position to help coordinate trainings and move the development of core competencies for afterschool educators farther along.  Read more about this success story here. 

The Utah Afterschool Network (UAN) requested and received $50,000 from the Department of Workforce Services Office of Work and Family Life, which tapped child care quality set-aside dollars from the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF).  The Network is using a portion of the funds to develop a Quality Assessment and Improvement User Guide and an on-line training resource area ($20,000).  Additional projects include co-sponsoring two Leadership Academies and an Afterschool Provider Program ($60,000) and co-hosting three afterschool summits ($9,000).

The Georgia Afterschool Investment Council (GAIC) has utilized numerous methods to help programs learn about ARRA funding opportunities including creating a dedicated webpage and providing helpful fact sheets on key funding streams. The GAIC also sent a letter the Governor and all relevant agency heads with recommendations on use of recovery dollars.  Key wins from the GAIC's advocacy efforts included:

• Legislators included language directing $36 million in federal stimulus CCDBG funds to be allocated for the FY2010 budget.  Georgia advocates were able to get language in the budget stating that priority would be given to serve kids on the statewide subsidies waiting list before being used for a new time-limited program.  The stimulus funding will help cover a shortfall caused by a $12.1 million cut to TANF funding in the state's child care subsidies program.

• Language in state budget directing stimulus dollars first be spent on waiting list before being used for a new time-limited program.

• GAIC receives recovery funds for summer research experience for students & teachers in Georgia (through NIH stimulus funding; in collaboration with science, higher-ed and K-12 partners)

• Read more about the GAIC ARRA efforts.

Title I:
In West Virginia, the Statewide Afterschool Network worked with the WV Department of Education to provide the Title I Director with a list of afterschool programs interested in partnering with schools and school districts.

The Illinois After-School Partnership succeeded in getting the IL Department of Education to include afterschool programs in its guidance on the use of Title I, Part A, ARRA funds.  

In Cincinnati, Ohio, the Cincinnati Public School District is using $1.5M of Title I ARRA funds to support a new expanded learning effort, enabling 13 elementary schools to offer a "fifth quarter" of extended learning during the month of June for students in grades K-8. The effort is also tapping other federal funds (21st CCLC, Title I) in addition to funds from the City of Cincinnati, the United Way and from private entities. The program includes meals and transportation, academic instruction and enrichment activities provided by community partners, including art, music, physical education, environmental education, technology and more. To date, the project has the largest participation of school staff including physical education teachers and school nurses, all of whom are participating in the fifth quarter with the costs underwritten by the school district.  Read details about the case study.

As a result of conversations with the Georgia Department of Education regarding ARRA funds, the Georgia Afterschool Investment Council successfully waged an effort to allow 21st CCLC grantees in their final grant year to apply for an additional year of 21st CCLC funding.  While the additional year of funding does not come from ARRA, GAIC attributes this success to ongoing conversations with the state Department of Education about using ARRA funds to support afterschool.

The Indiana Afterschool Network is working with the Indiana Department of Education Title 1, IDEA, 21st CCLC Directors regarding using stimulus and education funds for afterschool and summer.  As part of this effort, the Network was tasked with drafting a special communications document on ways that ARRA Title I and IDEA funds can support afterschool programs to boost student success in the classroom and beyond. 

The Indiana Department of Education plans to distribute the Network’s recommendations to all of its administrators. The Network noted that it leveraged a host of helpful resources to make the case for afterschool, including the C.S. Mott Foundation’s A New Day for Learning guidance on using Recovery funds for afterschool.

Workforce Investment Act:
Providence, Rhode Island’s AS 220 afterschool program employed 32 youth this summer using ARRA funds from the local workforce board.
The South Bay Center for Community Development (SBCC) will leverage WIA ARRA funds to partner with Los Angeles Southwest College and LA City College (part of the LA Community College District) on LA Scholars, a summer youth employment program. 

The South Bay Center for Community Development (SBCC) will leverage WIA ARRA funds to partner with Los Angeles Southwest College and LA City College (part of the LA Community College District) on LA Scholars, a summer youth employment program.   

South Carolina's Anderson School District One received a $120,713 ARRA workforce investment grant to fund a four week long summer academic and workforce training program targeting many of its at-risk high school students.  In collaboration with the local Workforce Investment Board (Worklink), the SC Department of Education, and the SC Department of Commerce, Anderson school leaders created Work to Learn/Learn to Work to provide students with opportunities to earn school credit and to learn essential work skills in preparation for future employment.  The program offers "valuable instruction on what is needed to acquire employment and keep it," said Anderson School District One Director of Secondary Education Dr. John C. Pruitt. Work to Learn/Learn to Work serves 80 of Anderson School District One's high needs students and provides free transportation and daily meals.

Student participants also receive a stipend.  The program utilizes many of the district's school staff including teachers, guidance counselors, special needs professionals, career development facilitators as well as a job coach and a school-to-work coordinator.  In addition, the program draws on community ties with local businesses that partner to provide hands-on work experience for participating students.  The first implementation of the program was a rousing success as Dr. Pruitt attested, "we are very proud of the difference Work to Learn/Learn to Work made in the lives of our students. They are the ones who would have never attended summer school or if they had, would very seldom have been successful to the degree of our current cohort."

AmeriCorps:
In New York, The After-School Corporation (TASC) received $513,236 to train and place 174 new AmeriCorps members to work with kids in after school programs. 

VISTA:
The AS 220 afterschool program in Providence, RI, already a VISTA host organization, secured 25 VISTA volunteers for its program, and placed 15 in other community organizations. It also secured $20,000 in support. 
 
State Fiscal Stabilization:
In New York, the Advantage After-School funding stream saw an increase of approximately $5 million from the FY09 allocation (after the mid-year FY09 cuts), with a total of $30,563,000 for FY10.  Advantage was facing a 25% cut, but instead received its highest allocation ever in its 10 year history.  Although the funds did not come directly from ARRA, NY advocates noted that legislators supported the increase because ARRA funds were available to help address other shortfalls in the state budget.