21CCLC Blog

With millions of children currently enrolled in after-school programs across the country, there is a great deal of data to manage and report to the federal government. A portion of an after-school program funding can be dedicated to administration, such as after-school software system data management.

Educators already appreciate and understand that children are our future, and they need structure and systems to thrive in school and in life. After-school programs help lend structure to children after school hours, which is why after-school programs are vital to the continued success of our students. As recently as 2014, there were 10.2 million children enrolled in after-school programs in the U.S. This is up from 8.4 million in 2009. This number only continues to grow as more and more parents are forced to work full-time outside of the home and desire a safe place for their children when school is over where they can continue to expand on the lessons they received during the school day.

When a grantee is considering how to use its ESSA Title IV, Part B, 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC) funding, the first thing that usually comes to mind is after-school programs. While this is probably the most common use of these funds, there are three other ways (or ‘times’) that 21CCLC funds may be used. These funds are not limited to after-school. They may be used for any outside-of-the-regular-school-day programs, which include using 21CCLC funds for:

Receiving government funding for your after-school program is contingent on how well a 21st Century Community Learning Center’s (21CCLC) data is organized and reported. Reporting inaccurate data can cost after-school programs hundreds of thousands of dollars and put them in jeopardy of having funding withheld. However, there are many ways to keep important data organized, helping after-school programs ensure continued funding, and possibly even help programs receive future funding increases.

Whether your 21st Century Community Learning Center (21CCLC) program is funded for the foreseeable future or not, it can still be a challenge to expand on current program offerings or keep lights on due to budgetary limitations. However, with some creativity and even some fundraising efforts, it’s possible to not only expand current offerings, but also plan for future program offerings. Here are some ways to cultivate your 21CCLC program while still staying within reasonable budgetary boundaries.

TransACT’s AfterSchool21 Program Data Management Software team is joining the National AfterSchool Association (NAA) to celebrate the professionals that are at the heart of after-school programs during “Afterschool Professionals Appreciation Week” April 24-28, 2023.

Funding is always top-of-mind for program directors and managers, and for good reason: without funding, there can be no program to direct or manage. Though it’s usually the exception rather than the rule, after school programs do sometimes lose a major source of funding.

While education — especially K-12 — doesn’t often dominate the national conversation the way other hot-button social issues tend to, it’s slowly becoming a larger focal point for the nation as a whole. Changes in education are something educators are already familiar with, and are all handled in different ways, depending on the school district or program. The current administration has voiced support for school choice, but not necessarily full funding of public education programs, which will begin to change the national landscape as more legislation is passed. While the White House’s proposed budget aims to cut 21CCLC funds entirely, it is extremely unlikely this will happen, as Congress has already agreed to fund this program for the next several years.  

As some after-school programs can attest, funding can be unpredictable. While many 21CCLC programs are able to secure funding for a period of 3-5 years, some are unable to secure large dedicated grants in perpetuity. This could be attributed to a lack of funding at the federal level, inadequate record keeping, poor performance results, or a host of other reasons.

Funding is inarguably one of the biggest concerns for any 21CCLC program director. When it comes to securing funding for the future, whether in one year, three years, or five years, making sure after school programs maintain their funding is imperative.