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All children and youth should have the opportunity to access high quality, affordable, out-of-school time programs.
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The Illinois After-school Partnership is working to increase the quality and availability of out-of-school time programs by implementing the policy recommendations set forth in the Illinois After-school Initiative’s 2002 Task Force Report. These recommendations are in the areas of Evaluation, Funding, State Agency Collaboration, Community Collaboration, and Capacity Building. The Partnership convenes statewide meetings, conducts research, disseminates information, analyzes policies, and identifies innovative strategies to provide effective afterschool programs for Illinois families.
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To accomplish our goals, the Partnership relies on the leadership of our state agency co-chairs and the involvement of individuals and organizations across the state concerned about the issue of afterschool. The Partnership is comprised of a Leadership Team and three Work Groups: Capacity Building, Outcomes, and Policy. The Full Partnership consists of all work group and leadership team members, as well as organizational members and affiliates. The state co-chairs work together in a joint State Inter-Agency Team. To view an organizational chart, click here.
The Leadership Team strives to represent all sectors engaged in after-school efforts, and is responsible for advising the strategic direction of the Partnership. This group makes decisions regarding Partnership endorsement and sponsorship of events, initiatives and organizations. The Leadership team reviews Full Partnership and work group input, recommendations and products, and determines any further needed action to reach consensus. The Leadership Team holds the Partnership accountable to its work in terms of achieving the project goals.
The Inter-agency Management Team is where ISBE and IDHS representatives meet to plan for increased coordination of their afterschool programs and resources and provide guidance and direction to the Partnership.
The Work Groups make decisions on process and strategies for achieving products and make initial decisions on product proposals to present to the Full Partnership. They conduct research and develop products and tools that help the Partnership achieve its goals. Work groups are open and are made up of a full range of stakeholders.
The Full Partnership is a forum for all affiliates and members to reach consensus and provide feedback regarding work products developed by the Partnership Work Groups, as well as a place to exchange resources, provide expertise, and discuss strategies. The Full Partnership is also a place for organizational representation in the Partnership.
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Capacity Building
The Capacity Building Work Group has identified resources that support professional development for the field, including data from a workforce survey created by the workgroup, information on various career pathways and certifications, training and higher educational opportunities and other career building information. An inventory of training opportunities has also been drafted, and recommendations for statewide peer mentoring system components were developed. A professional development handbook is underway, and data from our workforce survey is currently being compiled.
Evaluation
The Outcomes Work Group compiled a comprehensive list of outcomes used and evidenced by afterschool programs, which will help inform a menu of common outcomes the Partnership is working to develop. The Outcomes work group is also developing resources and tools to help programs select and measure their program outcomes.
Funding
The Policy Work Group worked over the past year to determine the best way to assess costs of quality afterschool programs, and develop a method to determine the resources needed to support afterschool programs for all children and youth who need them. The group has begun to research potential sources of new revenue for afterschool. An outline for a statewide finance plan has been developed and initial site cost studies are underway. The Partnership has worked with businesses throughout the year to craft effective ways to increase business involvement and investment in afterschool throughout the state. The Governor’s Business Summit on Afterschool was one venue where businesses were able to learn about the reasons and ways to get engaged in afterschool, and the Partnership is working with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to advance these conversations at the regional and local levels.
State Agency Collaboration
The Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Human Services have worked with Partnership staff to compile a draft public funding inventory that outlines various program requirements, goals, resources, evaluation and reporting expectations, that will help in a cross program analysis of possible areas of effective coordination at the state level. The state agencies created the Inter-Agency Management Team that meets regularly to discuss afterschool program coordination.
Community Collaboration
A statewide directory of major afterschool program sites has been compiled which will help programs identify possible partners in their communities. Planning discussions were held to explore parent and youth involvement strategies and to identify resources needed for their engagement in various arenas in afterschool. In addition, the Capacity Building Work group included informal networking opportunities in their recommendations to foster venues for communities to share and collaborate with each other.
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