The Illinois Center for Violence Prevention (ICVP), the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) along with other key stakeholders in Illinois were participants in the July 2000 National Afterschool Alliance Symposium held at the Disney Institute in Florida. After returning from this opportunity, the Illinois constituents reconvened and began discussing how to best move forward with the charge of building a quality system of afterschool programs and stakeholders in Illinois.

Consequently, the Illinois After-school Alliance, a coalition of private and public entities with a vested interest in afterschool issues, was established with the mission of ensuring that quality afterschool programs are available for all of Illinois’ children and youth. The Illinois Center for Violence Prevention became the lead organization for the Alliance and took on the role of coordinating its activities. A legislative resolution was forged by the Alliance that called for a comprehensive assessment of afterschool services in Illinois and the development of a strategic plan for ensuring that every child has access to a quality afterschool program. The resolution proposed that the strategic planning process be driven by the two state agencies having the most vested interests in afterschool services, the IDHS and the ISBE.

This resolution passed in both the Illinois House and Senate and set in motion the Illinois After-school Initiative. The charge of the Illinois After-school Initiative included:

• An assessment of the state of afterschool services in Illinois, including identification of the number of children and youth served statewide in afterschool programs, identification of the number and location of children and youth who are in need of afterschool programs, and identification of the various funding streams currently supporting afterschool programs, and
• The development of a plan for coordinating afterschool services and for achieving a goal of providing afterschool services for every school-age child.

The Initiative co-chairs, IDHS and ISBE, asked ICVP to coordinate the project on their behalf. The Initiative was launched in December 2001 with a statewide group of stakeholders representing a diversity of disciplines and expertise being named as Task Force members. In November 2002, the Illinois After-school Initiative produced its Task Force Report, which includes an assessment of the after-school landscape in Illinois, elements of quality programs, and strategic recommendations that shape the statewide plan for afterschool. For more information on the Task Force Report.

In March 2003, a second set of resolutions passed the General Assembly that extended the duration of the Illinois After-school Initiative, renaming it the Illinois After-school Partnership. The resolutions called for the Illinois After-school Partnership to be expanded beyond the membership of the initial Illinois After-school Initiative and for the Partnership to work diligently with the private sector to understand the out-of-school-time needs of employed parents and their families, and engage the public and private sectors in building and sustaining high quality out-of-school-time programs. The Partnership is currently working to implement the recommendations outlined in the Task Force report and to fulfill the requirements set forth in the resolutions.