After School Funding Action Alert

 In Amy Rasmussen, The CAPE Blog
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6/24 Update:

Illinois State Board of Education June Board Meeting Recap

On June 12, 2024, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) met for its monthly Board meeting. To access the recordings and meeting materials, click here. Members of the public shared comments on the importance of the SEL Hubs statewide, the need to increase funding for Career and Technical Education (CTE) and vocational programs, and appreciation for funding services related to resilience and trauma prevention. ACT Now provided public comment on the need to collaborate with the field and elected officials to get the funding for afterschool, community learning centers, and community schools granted to programs before the end of June 2024. The Board then approved the consent agenda and upcoming board actions for next month’s meeting. Included in these actions was the approval to release funds and issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the After School Programs grant. Further, the Board approved the expedited development and release of an RFP for the new state funds for afterschool, community learning centers, and community schools. ISBE shared that the agency is currently working with the Governor’s Office and lead budgeteers to understand the purpose and intent of these new dollars. ACT Now continues to advocate for an expedient grant program. Please note that the ISBE Board will NOT be meeting in July.

$50 Million More for Afterschool!
Afterschool advocates are slated to win a historic victory in Illinois. After a year of advocacy following the announcement from ISBE that 300 21st CCLC sites would lose funding, the General Assembly’s proposed budget has $50 million in new funding for afterschool programs.  Over the weekend, the Senate introduced Senate Floor Amendment Number 3 to the state budget bill SB0251. Article 106 Sections 100 and 105 include a combined $50 million for afterschool programs. The House is expected to approve this budget today.  Once the Governor signs the budget and it becomes law, the Illinois State Board of Education will need to develop a mechanism for delivering this funding to the field through a competition. A grant this size will still need ISBE Board approval before it can be executed. The ISBE Board will meet again on June 12, 2024, but will not meet in July. ACT Now will work with legislators and ISBE to ensure this funding is delivered to the field as soon as possible. This is a historic victory for afterschool and is thanks to the tireless advocacy of our afterschool programs and legislative champions.
This funding was part of a $200 million Black Caucus initiative for afterschool and summer programs. The other funding piece is $150 million for summer youth jobs in the Department of Human Services Budget.
The following are the proposed funding amounts of other youth development lines we have been tracking:

–$17.82 million for Teen REACH. This is level funding. There remains a need for significant investment to ensure the expansion of the grant program.
–$25 million for the Illinois State Board of Education’s (ISBE) After School Programs grant. This is level funding from FY24 but an increase of $5 million over previous funding levels for the program.
–$6.0 million for After School Matters. This is a $1 million increase over the current funding level for After School Matters!
–$17 million for Freedom Schools. This grant program is administered by ISBE.
–$8.629 billion for evidence-based funding (EBF). This funding line received an increase of $350 million over current its funding level and aims to support K-12 schools across the state.
–$2.289 billion for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). This is approximately $600 million more than FY24, however some of these funds will be used to cover the prior year’s costs.
–$45 million for the Reimagine Public Safety Act (RPSA). $133.23 million will be reappropriated as this grant program spans several fiscal years. This funding is administered to the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) and will be used to provide funding for youth development opportunities and violence prevention services in areas across Chicago and the state with high rates of firearm violence.
–$200 million for the Restore. Reinvest. Renew (R3) Grant program. This is a $2 million decrease over the current funding level. This funding is administered by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) and supports youth development programs across the state.
–$5.5 million for YouthBuild Illinois. This program supports low-income youth and young adults 16 to 24 years of age who have dropped out of school and are unemployed and/or have limited job skills.
–$2.5 million for the School STEAM Grant Program, administered by ISBE. While school districts receive this funding, programs may access these dollars via partnership.
–$5.128 million for afterschool program funding from COVID state funding appropriated to ISBE. There is not clarification for how ISBE will use these funds.

For any questions, please reach out to Susan Stanton at StantonS@actnowillinois.org.

Source: https://actnowillinois.org/policy/state/ 

5/28 Update:

Afterschool advocates are slated to win a historic victory in Illinois. After a year of advocacy following the announcement from ISBE that 300 21st CCLC sites would lose funding, the General Assembly’s proposed budget has $50 million in new funding for afterschool programs. Over the weekend, the Senate introduced Senate Floor Amendment Number 3 to the state budget bill SB0251. Article 106 Sections 100 and 105 include a combined $50 million for afterschool programs. The House is expected to approve this budget today. Once the Governor signs the budget and it becomes law, the Illinois State Board of Education will need to develop a mechanism for delivering this funding to the field through a competition. A grant this size will still need ISBE Board approval before it can be executed. The ISBE Board will meet again on June 12, 2024, but will not meet in July. ACT Now will work with legislators and ISBE to ensure this funding is delivered to the field as soon as possible. This is a historic victory for afterschool and is thanks to the tireless advocacy of our afterschool programs and legislative champions.

Read more information here.

5/14 Update:

Recently, a number of media outlets have covered this issue. A list of recent articles and news can be found below:

5/11 Update:

CAPE, in collaboration with the ACT Now Coalition, requests that Governor Pritzker support SB2943 — a $50 million investment in after-school learning. A full description of the issue has been written here: https://www.stlpr.org/education/2024-05-09/illinois-kids-could-lose-after-school-program-access-due-to-funding-shortfall

If this funding is not in place by the end of this school year, 40,000 students and their families from across the state will lose access to free, high-quality after-school programming. These programs reach the state’s most vulnerable — low-income students in academically struggling schools.

SB 2943 has a growing list of cosponsors in the state senate. We are asking the Governor to support this legislation and include the funding request in his budget priorities.

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CAPE and many other after-school program providers across Illinois are fighting to save its after-school programs. Due to an error in budgeting at the Illinois State Board of Education, the agency is cutting funding, resulting in 40,000 students across the state losing access to high-quality after-school programs.  For CAPE, 10 of our 13 after-school program sites will lose $135,000 per site.  This funding represents about half of CAPE’s operating budget.   

There is a solution!  Senate Bill 2943 will restore funding and prevent the most at-risk students and families from losing access to programs.  This legislation will provide an additional $50,000,000 in after-school program funds — funds that are critically needed to meet the needs of Illinois families.

What can you do? 

  1.  Please click on this link to send a message to your legislator and ask for their support for this bill. 
  2.  Share this link with everyone you know to help spread the word about this critical issue

CAPE and our colleague organizations, including Family Focus, Metropolitan Family Services, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Enlace, Chicago Youth Centers and many others, are working with the ACT Now Coalition to advocate for this funding.   

ISBE notified us in May 2023 that funding would no longer be available for our programs — more details are available here.    Already, 6,000 students have lost access to programs in the state.  We are fortunate that Chicago Public Schools was able to step in and provide some stopgap funding for programs for the 2023-2024 school year.  But that funding is running out, and is not a permanent solution.  We need your help today!

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