Afterschool Works! New York Public Policy Priorities

Advancing the Afterschool Professional in New York State

AfterSchool Works! New York formerly the New York State School-Age Care Coalition (NYSSACC) is the official state affiliate of the National Afterschool Association (NAA) and serves as the membership association for afterschool professionals in New York State.

AfterSchool Works! New York provides information, training and support to afterschool professionals in order to cultivate high-quality, sustainable afterschool programs that meet the needs of children, youth and their families.

The primary drivers of program quality are the skills, experience and continuing education of staff. Accordingly, AfterSchool Works! New York supports strategies that promote a stable, educated and informed workforce and call on local and state leaders to:

1. Sufficiently Fund the Training and Educational Needs of Afterschool Professionals

State funding streams need to allow larger set-asides for staff training and professional development. An afterschool program that meets the needs of children, youth and families is dependent on a well-trained, diverse and professional workforce. The creation of this workforce is contingent on the development of an effective statewide professional development system that provides a well-supported professional pathway that includes advanced credentialing, college and university programs, increased access to scholarships and the creation of more full-time, benefited positions.

2. Adequately Compensate Afterschool Professionals

Afterschool practitioners must be rewarded for their education, skills and expertise with competitive compensation and benefits. Currently, the afterschool field is overly reliant on low-paid, part-time workers and devotes insufficient attention to workforce recruitment, development and retention.

We support efforts such as the Human Services Council (HSC) of New York City who fought to extend the current multi-year not-for-profit human services cost of living adjustment (COLA) for three years and to expand investments to the entire youth services field, including afterschool practitioners.

3. Implement A Quality Assurance and Improvement System

In order to ensure quality in afterschool programming, standards of program excellence must be established and measured. Currently, a Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) for early care and education that would establish and provide a research-based tool for assessing the quality of early childhood programs is being developed in New York State. The QRIS will provide a guide for provider improvement, an accountability measure for program progress and funding and offer parents the tools to more effectively select an appropriate setting for their children. This model design must be expanded to include the afterschool.