Despite the Assembly proposing a $73 million increase and the Senate proposing a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for the After School Education and Safety (ASES) Program, California’s final 2016-17 budget did not include either proposal. To address this issue, Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) has proposed AB 1426 as a stop-gap measure to provide struggling programs with some relief. The bill would increase the ASES daily rate to $8.50 (beginning July 1, 2017) within existing funding, and provide more flexibility in program operations. AB 1426 will continue through the legislative process after Summer Recess. An additional bill AB 2615 is being advanced by Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) to make several technical changes to ASES, 21st Century Community Learning Centers and After School Safety and Enrichment for Teens (ASSETs) programs. Learn more about state policy and how you can take action by visiting CA3 and subscribing to their newsletter, and accessing information from the Save Afterschool Campaign.   

On November 19, 2014, President Obama signed into the law the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014. The law reauthorizes the CCCDF and made advances by defining health and safety requirements for child care providers, outlining eligibility policies, and ensuring parents and the general public have transparent information about child care choices. Each state is required to submit a state CCDF plan for implementation of the CCDBG. The office of Child Care recently released PDF copies of all approved fiscal year 2016-2018 CCDF plans. California’s CCDDF plan was created by the California Department of Education Early Education and Support Division. The plan outlines leadership of California’s state CCDBG plan, who was consulted in the development of California’s plan, and how funds are disbursed and tracked, financial assistance for families, and licensing.  The plan also outlines public-private partnerships supporting the states plan including coordination with local Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, family engagement strategies, and quality improvement systems, and much more. Access California’s CCDF plan.

Jennifer Peck, Executive Director for the Partnership for Children and Youth, wrote a blog for the Huffington Post outlining the the risks to the nation’s largest expanded learning infrastructure due to increasing cost pressures and the benefits of local investment in expanded learning programs utilizing the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). In the blog, Peck writes, “California’s nationally-recognized after school system is at risk of crumbling without additional state funding in this year’s (state) budget. While the costs, demands, and expectations of California’s After School Education and Safety (ASES) programs have consistently increased, the funding has reminded stagnant for almost a decade.” The blog, co-written by Lillian Maldonado French, Superintendent, Mountain View Elementary School District outlines the benefit of LCFF investments in expanded learning programs. To read more, click here. 

Dr. Shawn Ginwright, Associate Professor for College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University, recently was a speaker the How Kids Learn Conference on the topic of how we view social emotional learning in our work with young people of color. Dr. Ginwright expands on his expertise in this LIAS blog: SEL and the Challenge of Context, Culture, and Focus. He discusses important topics such as youth understanding their own racial identity and experience, changing how we refer to the “achievement gap” and better labeling it the “opportunity gap,” and review the term “agency” (the ability to act and have a sense of control over one’s life) being a crucial developmental component that can be supported in expanded learning programs. Read more here. 

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