Questions?   Privacy   Site Index
			ACF Home | ACF Services | Working with ACF | ACF Policy/Planning | About ACF | ACF News		ACF Search

About NCCIC  Ask NCCIC  Events Calendar  Email Alert Sign-up  Privacy Policy  Site Map Home
	NCCIC Menu Child Care Bulletin Popular Topics Online Library State Contacts State Information NCCIC Publications Recursos en Español For Parents For Providers For Goverment CCTAN Internet Links Search NCCIC

View PDF K

CHILD CARE BULLETIN Issue 2—March/April 1995 School-Age Child Care

Contents

Child Care Bureau Focuses on School-Age Care

During the institute, representatives from more than 30 organizations involved with school-age activities shared informational resources. Additionally, the Mitchell Center Players of Philadelphia performed "It Takes a Whole Village to Keep a Young Heart Free," in which youths from age 7 to 17 delivered thought-provoking messages on bringing communities together for the care and protection of children.

Tracey Ballas, President of the National School-Age Child Care Alliance (NSACCA), spoke of the challenges children and youth face today in a dramatically changing social environment, quite different from the childhood memories of many institute participants. Today, many more parents with school-age children are in the work force and how children spend their time when they are not in school is a critical issue for parents.

As part of her keynote address, Tracey Ballas led the institute participants through a creative visioning exercise to revisit special childhood activities and apply them to today's environments for school-age child care. The setting for school- age care is what's different, not the children. School-age care is the "new neighborhood"; making it safe and filled with positive opportunities for children's growth are our challenges.

According to Olivia Golden, Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), sponsoring the school-age institute underscores the Child Care Bureau's efforts to expand and improve the capacity to deliver high quality, accessible and affordable care for school-age children. The Bureau will continue to convene key participants in the child care community as well as to disseminate information on initiatives and promising practices in the field.

This edition of the Bulletin examines the area of school- age care and highlights issues such as how children spend their time when they are not in school, collaboration efforts that are changing the capacity of programs to deliver child care, and quality enhancement efforts including the development of professional standards for school-age programs.

FACT: Seventy-one percent of high income neighborhoods offer after-school activities for children 11-14. Twenty-three percent of low income neighborhoods offer the same types of activities for children (U.S. Department of Education, 1994).

A National Accreditation System for School-Age Care by Susan O'Connor

The National School-Age Child Care Alliance (NSACCA) and the School-Age Child Care Project (SACCP) at the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women have joined in a partnership to create a National System for Improvement and Accreditation of School-Age Care programs. The system will improve the level of quality in school-age programs by developing professional standards and supporting ongoing program improvement, as well as providing recognition through accreditation for high quality programs.

Developing Professional Standards for High Quality Programs

The draft will be reviewed during the next year. NSACCA is particularly interested in comments on standards for proposed ratios, group sizes, staff qualifications, staff-child interactions, and indoor and outdoor environments.

The proposed national system is designed to support program im- provement efforts. Based on ASQ: Assessing School-Age Child Care Quality, a self-study process has been developed by SACCP that focuses on a team approach to incremental and ongoing change. Programs interested in the process will be trained in the use of ASQ and will receive technical assistance from local school-age experts trained as ASQ Advisors. The system offers a developmental approach to program improvement.

How Can You Be Involved?

Both NSACCA and SACCP encourage state administrators and child advocates to join in the effort to create a National Improvement and Accreditation System. Key stakeholders such as NSACCA coalition members, school-age care providers, school principals, and parents are invited to participate in state planning meetings. Another way to support the effort is to join with your local NSACCA Coalition to co- sponsor a focus group for review and comment on the standards. Contact the NSACCA office at (202) 737-NSAC to find a coalition near you.

Susan O'Connor, M.S.W., is Project Director for the national system of program improvement in school-age care, an activity of the School-Age Child Care Project (SACCP). To learn more, contact SACCP at (617) 283-2547 or the National School-Age Child Care Alliance (NSACCA) at (202) 737-6722.

MOST Initiative by Michelle Seligson

Making an investment in programs that serve children during the hours they are not in school builds young people s self-esteem and can enhance their experiences in school and as they grow into young adults. Quality programs and services during out-of-school time can be an antidote to the violence and despair in children's communities.

The three target communities will be chosen from five sites that received planning grants in 1994: Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, Seattle and Tucson. During the planning year, agencies serving school-age children collaborated in community-wide needs assessments by bringing key partners to the planning table and developing an "action plan."

Once selected in May 1995, each of the three target communities will develop a systematic and collaborative approach to increasing the supply and improving the quality of school-age care through such activities as public awareness, parent education, assessment and improvement of program quality, expanding the delivery system to include other non-traditional institutions such as libraries and museums, and creating career paths for school-age staff. Michelle Seligson, M. Ed., is the Executive Director of the School-Age Child Care Project (SACCP) at the Center for Research on Women at Wellesley College. For more information about the MOST Initiative, contact SACCP at (617) 283-2547.

How Children Spend Out-of-School Time by Beth M. Miller

What Do Children Do When They're Not in School?

Other evidence suggests that children who are heavy television viewers (watching more than three hours per day) have lower reading achievement and more behavior problems than their peers.

What children watch is probably as important as how much television they watch. Research indicates that children who watch violent programs are more likely to engage in aggressive behavior.

The second most common activity for children is playing with friends. Children who play with friends gain important opportunities to develop social skills most associated with achievement and success.

Homework is the third most common activity. It can take up approximately 30 to 45 minutes of a child's daily time.

Other common activities in a child's day include playing by oneself, doing chores, reading, and engaging in sports. Children who spend more time reading during out-of-school time tend to have higher achievement in reading and writing skills, a larger vocabulary, and better overall school performance.

Child care can be a critical issue in how children spend their out-of-school time. The National Child Care Survey (NCCS) of 1990 found that most children spend their time in a variety of settings. The NCCS found that 76% of school-age children with employed mothers spent time in two or more care arrangements each week. They may go different places on different days, or go from one setting to another in a single afternoon.

Not all children have the same opportunities available to them during out-of-school time. Children from low income families are less likely to attend formal child care programs:

• 15% of children in families above the poverty level attend center or school-based programs, compared to 8% of children in families below the poverty level.
• The National Study of Before- and After-School Programs found that little financial support is available for low income working families with school-age children: 83% of program income is from fees paid by parents, with only 10% from government subsidies. An estimated 86% of parents pay the full fee for enrolling their children.

Particularly for low income children in urban neighborhoods, self-care is associated with a number of negative outcomes, including a tendency to become fearful and socially isolated, becoming at risk of decreased academic achievement, and at increased risk of truancy, substance abuse, stress, and risk- taking behaviors.

Constructive activities, good supervision, and positive relationships with adults and other children are the ingredients that contribute to positive outcomes in the use of out-of-school time. Quality school-age care is a setting that provides these ingredients and can be a vital factor in children's safety and positive development. Beth M. Miller is Research Associate for the School-Age Child Care Project at the Center for Research on Women at Wellesley College.

School-Age and Other Initiatives . . .

Hoopa Tribe

Recently, the Hoopa Child Care Coordinator joined the Humboldt School-Age Training Consortium, a group forming to address mutual training needs and issues facing providers in this rural county.

For more about the Hoopa program in California, contact: Tammy Andreoli, CCDBG Coordinator at (916) 625-4513. For more about the Humboldt School-Age Training Consortium, contact: Pam Posehn at (707) 445-9291.

Maryland

To learn more, call: Cari Snyder, Maryland Department of Human Resources at (410) 767-7824.

Minnesota

Cooperating state agencies have used this input to develop a Network Mentoring Grant system, through which 12 grantees, comprised of approximately 40 partners, receive funds to improve the quality of SACC program delivery. Partners include school districts, cities, child care resource and referral agencies, as well as family child care providers, private SACC providers, and Extension 4-H.

Another CCDBG funded project is the Minnesota School-Age Child Care Training Network, a group of 40 individuals who are trained as trainers to improve the quality of school-age care in the state. The network is designing curricula that is scheduled to be used in July 1995.

For more information, call: Catherine Cuddeback, Minnesota Department of Education at (612) 296-1436 or Barbara O'Sullivan, Minnesota Department of Human Services at (612) 296-8540.

North Carolina

To learn more, contact: Joseph Canty, SOS Program at (919) 662-3594.

Oklahoma

A pilot project allows parents to apply for child care assistance at school-age child care (SACC) sites. This eliminates the transportation difficulties parents may have in getting from work to the local Department of Human Services (DHS) office. Now they only need to go directly to the SACC sites, which often are located at schools close to where the parents live. Due to the success of the project, DHS hopes to expand statewide by the end of the year.

For more information, call: Sherrill Pallotta, Oklahoma Department of Human Services at (405) 521-3561.

Oregon

Also, Oregon was awarded a Forging the Link grant from the Child Care Action Campaign and the Council of Chief State School Officers to address standardization of regulations across care settings and funding streams.

For more information, call: Colleen Dyrud, SACCProject, Department of Education at (503) 378-5585 ext. 661.

Advancing School-Age Care in Georgia: Working All the Angles
by Susan Maxwell and Anne Bramlette

The Georgia Child Care Council, administrator of the 25% Block Grant funds, has allocated approximately $6.9 million to state and local school-age programs over the past three years. Projects range from creative after-school and summer programs to a Professional Development Planning Grant, which includes the development of competencies for school-age care practitioners.

CCDBG funds are supporting the development of licensing standards for school-age programs and technical assistance efforts for local school-age programs. They are also supporting the administration of two mini-grant projects. One of these projects is through a partnership between the Georgia School-Age Care Association and Parent to Parent, a statewide information and referral agency which serves parents of children with disabilities. Grants are distributed to school-age programs to increase their capability to serve children with disabilities. The second mini-grant project targets any school-age program needing assistance to purchase equipment , supplies, or training.

Also, the Georgia Legislature has given the Georgia School-Age Care Association $125,000 to design and pilot a model after- school and summer program for middle school youth known as "The 3:00 Project." The curriculum includes tutoring and enrichment, socialization and recreation, along with communication and conflict resolution. In addition, AmeriCorps funding provides for 38 service participants to work in the program at three pilot sites.

Collaborating partners in Georgia school-age child care:

• AmeriCorps
• Georgia Child Care Council
• Georgia Legislature
• Georgia School-Age Care Association
• Georgians for Children
• Parent to Parent

AmeriCorps and School-Age Child Care
Corporation for National Service

National service is a valuable resource in making quality child care accessible to more school-age children. It can help improve the facilities where children receive care, improve staff-to- child ratios, and produce a new generation of trained, committed child care professionals.

The Corporation for National Service administers AmeriCorps and funds programs that work to provide a wide array of child care services in hundreds of communities. Activities range from direct services for children and families to consultation with programs on expanding capacity as well as increasing public awareness. In exchange for service, AmeriCorps members receive a stipend along with many educational opportunities.

There are several ways for child care organizations to get involved with AmeriCorps:

• Join the AmeriCorps National Service Network. Child care organizations can apply to operate AmeriCorps programs. (Applications are due in the Spring).
• Bring AmeriCorps to your child care organization. To find out about AmeriCorps programs near you, contact the state commission on national service.
• Team up with other existing or evolving AmeriCorps programs. Share your ideas and expertise.

ChildCorps: Strengthening Resource and Referral

Other AmeriCorps members are working with two programs of the Department of Public Aid, The Young Parent Initiative, and subsidies for Transitional Child Care and IV-A Child Care.

For more information about ChildCorps, call Valerie Dawkins at (618) 437-5400.

NACCRRA / NSACCA: Action for Children Today (ACT)

AmeriCorps programs are operating in communities nationwide. Overall, AmeriCorps members are helping to create 1,395 child care slots for school-age children. They are also improving quality by training 1,215 staff and consulting with 225 child care centers on program improvement.

For more information about ACT, contact Laura Nakatani at (202) 393-5501 or Ray Mueller at (202) 737-6722.

Child Care: A Natural Place for Family Support

States and some tribes are planning now for five years of services under the Family Preservation and Support Act (FP/S), using a joint planning process along with ACF's Regional Offices. Plans are due to ACF in June 1995. The planning process is to include local and State voices from many family service disciplines, and child care representatives from your area should be at the FP/S planning table.

Because family support, along with parent education, family- centered casework, and many other services can be carried out in child care settings, it is important that people planning for family support service delivery are aware of the existing resource of child care providers. Linkages with social service providers and other family support programs can enhance the child care environment for all children and families.

Many child care programs incorporate elements of family support already.

Child care programs are places where:

• Parents connect with others to provide mutual social and emotional support;
• Parents are provided support to identify and address issues in their own lives;
• Parents learn about developmental stages of children's growth;
• Parents have input into the decision-making process;
• Parents gain access to information about many available community resources.

• Learn about children's needs from parents;
• Identify family strengths;
• Identify and respond early to developmental delays and signs of abuse and neglect;
• Tailor activities to children's individual needs;
• Work to support mothers and fathers in their parenting.

What You Can Do

• Work with the people in your State and community who are developing your State's Family Preservation and Support plan to bring child care representatives into the FP/S planning process. (For information on who is heading FP/S planning in your State, call Colleen Laing of the ACF Child Care Bureau at (202) 690- 6756.)
• Identify existing resources, networks, and services in the child care field which can promote the provision of family support services for local and State FP/S planners.
• Identify providers whose programs include elements of family support and bring them to the attention of your State's FP/S planner as service delivery models.
• Carry the message that child care is a natural environment for family support services.

Child Care Bureau Established

The Bureau will serve as a focal point for child care policy within the Federal government. It will plan, manage, and coordinate child care assistance for children and families and provide information, training, and technical assistance to promote a wide range of quality child care options and effective linkages with other child, family, and health-related services.

The Child Care Bureau administers a variety of programs to assist low-income families in obtaining child care services. These services focus on assisting individuals in low-income families who are either employed, are in training for employment, or who need child care to achieve or sustain self-sufficiency. Together, in FY93, these programs provided more than $1.7 billion to meet the child care needs of families. Child care assistance programs include the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and programs under Title IV-A: child care for AFDC recipients (including JOBS participants), transitional child care (TCC), and at-risk child care.

In fiscal year 1993, these programs collectively served more than one million children of various ages. The data indicates that one-third of the children served are school-age.

The majority of the children served in these programs are from working poor families. Through ACF child care, parents can choose the child care setting best suited to their families' needs. The chart shows that for each of the five programs, most families decided to choose center-based care.

Enhancing Resources: Public Parks and Recreation by Cynthia J. Hansel

How can school-age care providers benefit from these resources? Invite a local recreation professional to present an activity to children in your program. Explore collaborative ventures such as field trips and nature tours. Recreation professionals can also provide training directly to providers on recreation and safety components of child care.

Consider, for example, the following two communities:

In Tucson, Arizona, the public parks and recreation department's KIDCO program serves an average of 6,500 children, ages 5-12, including providing breakfast and lunch. The program has expanded in the past two years from 21 to 41 summer sites and 28 after- school sites.

In the state of Maryland, the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks serves more than 1,300 children and youth each day at 20 sites throughout the county. Participants in full day programs range from kindergarten and school-age to developmentally disabled adults up to age 21.

Parks and recreation and other child care providers share a common concern and professional mandate for the well-being of children, and both can benefit from sharing information and expertise. Cynthia Hansel is a legislative assistant in the Division of Public Policy for the National Recreation and Parks Association, the national professional organization for over 23,000 public parks and recreation professionals, citizens, students and others whose principal concern is the provision of high quality, accessible recreation opportunities for all persons. To find out more about activities of the National Recreation and Park Association, call (703) 820-4940.

Partners in Care

Every year, YMCA provides safe, affordable care for 250,000 school-age children in more than 7,000 sites across the country. Of the various services the YMCA offers, teen programs have been the fastest growing category in the past three years.

Camp Fire councils operate school-age care in partnership with communities, schools, recreation departments and religious organizations.

Boys and Girls Clubs of America support 1,566 facilities and 664 local organizations providing achievement and growth opportunities for more than 2 million young people.

To learn more about collaborative opportunities, contact the following organizations.

• YMCA of the USA: John Brooks at (202) 835-9043;
• Camp Fire: Suzanne Noonan at (202) 364-3240;
• Boys and Girls Clubs of America at (404) 815-5700.

Spotlight on...Yakama Indian Nation

Child Care Advantages, a joint venture between the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services and the Department of Trade and Economic Development, sponsors the annual award event.

Short Items

NSACCA

The 1995 NSACCA national conference, entitled "Connecting Communities: The Challenge of Collaboration," is April 20-22, 1995 at the Hyatt Embarcadero in San Francisco, CA.

For more information on NSACCA, call (202) 737-6722.

Call for Papers

AT&T Offering Grants

Two National Leadership Forums

• Including Children with Disabilities in Child Care: June 27, 1995
• Family Support and Parent Involvement in the Child Care Setting: January 1996 (date to be determined)

1995 Child Immunization Schedule

Resources in Child Care

With each issue, the Child Care Bulletin will highlight resources available to the child care community. We encourage providers, parents, administrators, and other readers to share your knowledge of what is available so that we can pass it on to the field.

Publications

• National Study of Before- and After-School Programs. Developed by RMC Research Corporation, Wellesley College School- Age Child Care Project and Mathematica Policy Research for the Department of Education.

  This report gives a nationwide picture of the prevalence, structure, and features of formal school- and center-based programs providing before- and after-school care. (Free publication. Contact Barbara Murphy, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Room 3127, Washington, DC 20202 (202) 401-1958.)

• Standards for Quality School-Age Child Care. National Association of Elementary School Principals.

  Developed to help school principals explore what types of programs best meet the needs of children, parents, and communities, including best practices. (Available for $19.95 through the National Association of Elementary School Principals, 1615 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-3843 (703) 684-3345.)

• ASQ: Assessing School-Age Child Care Quality. Susan O'Connor.

  A self-guided resource that outlines the elements of quality, provides instruments to assess quality, and offers a process to improve programs. ($52 including handling costs; see ordering address below.)

• School-Age Child Care: An Action Manual for the 90's and Beyond (2nd edition). Michelle Seligson and Michael Allenson.

  Newly revised second edition of a pioneering work, this manual provides guidance for the entire process of establishing school- age child care programs. ($21.95 including handling.)

  (The above publications are available from SACCP Publications, Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, Wellesley, MA 02181 or call (617) 283-2547.)

• School-Age NOTES. Richard Scofield.

  A national resource organization on school-age care and bi- monthly publication that is devoted to issues in serving school- age children. For subscription information, contact:
  
  School-Age NOTES
  P.O. Box 40205
  Nashville, TN 37204
  615-279-0700 or 800-410-8780
  Fax: 615-279-0800
  E-mail for catalog orders only: sanotes@aol.com
  World Wide Web: http://www.schoolagenotes.com/

Child Care Study Available

A recent study, Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers was conducted by researchers from the University of Colorado at Denver; University of California, Los Angeles; University of North Carolina; and Yale University. The report recommends four action steps:

1. Launch consumer education efforts to help parents identify high-quality programs and become informed about the liability of poor-quality programs;
2. Implement higher standards for child care at the state level;
3. Increase investments in child care staff to assure a skilled and stable work force;
4. Assure adequate financing of child care.

Copies of the report are available in three forms:

• Executive Summary - $8.00
• Public Report - $15.00
• Technical Report - $40.00

Send a check payable to:

"Cost & Quality Study"
Economics Department
Campus Box 159
P.O. Box 173364
University of Colorado at Denver
Denver, CO 80217-3364
(303) 556-4934

Poverty Guidelines

New Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines effective February 9, 1995 were published in the Federal Register, Vol. 60, No. 27, pp. 7772-7774.

Resources Available via Internet

Do you have a vision that ALL children and youth will have access to safe, caring, and enriching child care environments? Join with others in discovering wonderful opportunities to share ideas, seek assistance, and locate resources by accessing via internet the National Network for Child Care (NNCC) sponsored by the Cooperative Extension System, USDA. The NNCC includes regional and national internet public discussion groups to facilitate communication and support for child care issues. For information about the NNCC, send an e-mail message to the Network moderator at: nnccinfo@mes.umn.edu. The National Network for Child Care is one component of the Cooperative Extension System's Children, Youth and Family Network, along with National Networks for Collaboration, Family Resiliency, Science and Technology and CYFERNet - an electronic internet-based children, youth and family information system. CYFERNet is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.cyfernet.org/.

Partnerships Against Violence is a coalition including the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, and Labor. Information about promising programs for violence prevention, enforcement and rehabilitation, funding sources, referrals, and technical assistance are available through PAVNET on the World Wide Web at http://www.pavnet.org/ or contact John Gladstone, PAVNET Coordinator at (301) 504-5462 or jgladsto@nalusda.gov.

Internet discussions relevant to school-age care (SAC) are going on now through a partnership between the School-Age Child Care Project (SACCP) at the Center for Research on Women at Wellesley College and the ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education (ERIC/EECE). You can find SAC on the World Wide Web at http://www.wellesley.edu/WCW/CRW/SAC/, or to subscribe to the SAC-L discussion list, send an e-mail message to:

listserv@postoffice.cso.uiuc.edu

Leave the subject line blank. In the main body of the message, type:

subscribe SAC-L {Your first name} {Your last name}