Afterschool Highlights from Governor's FY09 Budget

Greetings.

Governor Deval Patrick released his budget last week which contained many new proposed initiatives that impact afterschool and out of school time.. While a more detailed analysis needs to occur, here are some highlights that pertain to the afterschool field statewide:

1) DOE's Afterschool and Out-of-School Time (ASOST) Program was level funded at $2M (7061-9611).

2) DOE's Extended Learning Time (ELT) Grant Program was increased by $13M to $26M (7061-9412).

3) DPH's Violence Prevention Grants was increased by nearly $7M to $8,950,000 from $2M (4590-1506). This grant program targets older youth and uses afterschool as a primary strategy to prevent violence.

4) EOPS's Shannon Grant Program (or Gang Prevention Grant Program) was increased by $4M to $15M (8100-0111).

5) The Summer Youth Jobs Program was increased by $2.5M to $9.2M (7002-0012).

Overall, this represents a $26.5M increase in programs that serve children and youth in afterschool and summer programs.

The House and Senate respectively will be working on their budgets for FY09. We'll try and keep folks informed via the blog about budget developments that will be of interest to you in the afterschool field.