State Profile | Alabama

The Afterschool Investments project has developed profiles for each state to provide a snapshot of the "state of afterschool," as well as an opportunity to compare afterschool activities across the country. This profile provides key data and descriptions of the afterschool landscape, which includes a range of out-of-school time programming that can occur before and after school, on weekends, and during summer months. It is designed to serve as a resource for policymakers, administrators, and providers.

• Quick Facts
• Statewide Initiatives
• Notable Local Initiatives
• Statewide Organizations
• Additional Resources
• Notes and Sources

Quick Facts

Demographics

For more demographic information, visit http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/statedata/statepro/index.html

Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)

CCDF Administrative Overview

Settings

Where CCDF-Subsidy school age-children are served:

Uses of CCDF Targeted Funds and Quality Dollars for Afterschool

"Resource and referral and school-age" targeted funds:
The Alabama Department of Human Resources collaborates with the Alabama Department of Education to provide a statewide program for quality school-age child care through grants awarded to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) utilizing public school facilities.  The grants are for LEAs to develop, expand and/or improve extended day/extended year programs that offer before and after school, summer, and school holiday care.

Other quality activities:
Funds may be used for comprehensive consumer education, grants or loans to providers to assist in meeting state and local standards, and for monitoring licensing and regulatory requirements. They can also be used for professional development, improving childcare providers’ salaries, activities promoting inclusive childcare, and for youth focused health programs.

Provider Reimbursement Rates

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care

Program Licensing Policies

Programs operated by public elementary systems, secondary schools, or institutions of higher learning are exempt.

Systems/Quality Supports

21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC)

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Statewide Initiatives

• Community Education Extended-Day Program. The primary purpose of this program is to open public school buildings for youth programming during extended hours and beyond the school year. Program goals vary among the 270 program sites, but include educational enrichment and services for working parents. Extended-Day also supports existing character enrichment programs such as Boy and Girl Scouts and 4-H. By using high school and college students as teacher aides, the program offers these older students training and career development opportunities. The program is administered by the Alabama Department of Education in partnership with local schools, parks and recreation offices, and the cooperative extension system. Extended Day’s total funding of over $5 million comes from federal, state, and local funding streams, as well as parent fees.
• The Kids and Kin Program at the Family Guidance Center of Alabama was specifically designed to meet the needs of relative child care providers and to raise their level of awareness about the importance of their roles. Educational workshops, resources, support activities, and a monthly provider newsletter are offered to relative care providers which impact the quality of child care available in our communities. Kids and Kin includes a Voluntary Certification Program through which providers earn health and safety items, books, and learning materials for attending free training sessions related to quality child care enhancement. Participation in the Kids and Kin Program is free.
  
  For more information, see: http://www.familyguidancecenter.net/index.php?story=erl.kids
• Senior Child Caregiver Program. A partnership between the Central Alabama Aging Consortium and Family Guidance Center of Alabama has produced a program designed to provide supportive services for seniors who provide custodial care for children under age 18 years. The Senior Child Caregiver Program serves seniors who are 60 years and older who reside in the counties of Montgomery, Elmore, and Autauga. Services available include:
  • Counseling;
  • Information and referral services;
  • Up to two weeks of respite care for children under age 18 years of age;
  • Support groups and educational opportunities;
  • Help with "parenting the second time around";
  • Health information; and
  • Kids and Kin Program activities.

  For more information, see http://www.familyguidancecenter.net/index.php?story=erl.childcareseniors

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Notable Local Initiatives

• Birmingham Community Education. Community Education has been an integral component of the City of Birmingham since the 1970s. Community Education has several related goals: to provide community residents with lifelong learning opportunities; to cooperate with other community agencies to provide health, education, cultural, and recreational opportunities at accessible central locations; and to involve the community in the education process. Cooperative arrangements with city agencies help each community education center provide an array of services on site during the afterschool hours and address issues such as illiteracy, unemployment, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and homelessness. Advisory Councils at each of the city’s 18 sites feed into a citywide council that helps the school district set policy and direction for the initiative. The Birmingham Mayor and City Council provide two-thirds of the program cost through the city’s general fund budget. The Birmingham Board of Education provides one third.

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Statewide Organizations

National AfterSchool Association Affiliate:

Not Available

Statewide Child Care Resource & Referral Network:

Family Guidance Center of Alabama
Early Child Care Resource & Referral Services
2358 Fairlane Drive
Montgomery, AL 36116
Phone: 334-270-4100
Toll Free: 800-499-6597
Web: http://www.familyguidancecenter.org/index.php?story=erl.referral

Other statewide organizations:

Alabama Community Education Association (ACEA)
Laura Elliott
Lurleen B. Wallace Community College
Crenshaw County Community Education
886 Glenwood Road
Luverne, AL  36049
Phone: 334-335-2187
Fax: 334-335-2057
Web: http://www.commedal.org/

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Additional Resources

State Child Care Administrators:
http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/statedata/dirs/display.cfm?title=ccdf

State TANF Contacts:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/states/tanf-dr.htm

21st Century Community Learning Centers Contacts:
http://www.ed.gov/programs/21stcclc/contacts.html

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Notes and Sources

Demographics

Total population, 2008: Annual Estimates of the Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2008, U.S. Census Bureau.

Number of children ages 5-12, 2008: Estimates of the Resident Population by Single-Year of Age and Sex for the United States and States: July 1, 2007, U.S. Census Bureau.

Percent of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch rate, 2006: Numbers and Types of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools from the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-06. U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Note: Most recent data.

Percent of K-12 students in Title I "schoolwide" schools, 2006: Numbers and Types of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools from the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-06. U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Schools enrolling at least 40 percent of students from poor families are eligible to use Title I funds for schoolwide programs that serve all children in the school. Note: Most recent data.

Child Care and Development Fund

The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is the largest federal funding source for child care. States receive a funding allocation determined by formula and have broad flexibility to design programs that provide child care subsidies for low-income children under the age of 13 and to enhance the quality of child care for all children. Federal CCDF funding consists of mandatory, matching, and discretionary funds. Federal law requires that states spend at least 4 percent of their CCDF funds as well as additional targeted funds on activities to improve the quality and availability of child care. CCDF administrative data in this and the following sections is from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Child Care Bureau, as reported by States, unless otherwise noted.

FFY09 CCDF Allocation: Funding allocations are based on appropriation and do not reflect any reallotted or redistributed funds that may occur at a later date.

FFY09 state MOE plus match: In order to receive Federal matching funds, a state must expend Maintenance of Effort funds. Note that this does not capture actual expenditures, only the minimum required to draw down all available federal funds.

FFY09 Tribal CCDF Allocation: Federal CCDF Funds are awarded directly to Federally-recognized Indian Tribes.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Funding: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) appropriates an additional $2 billion in one-time CCDF Discretionary funding available to State, Territory and Tribal Lead Agencies in FY09 as part of the economic stimulus package.

FFY07 total quality expenditures: This data includes FY07 and prior year funds expended for quality from each of the CCDF funding streams (mandatory, matching, and discretionary) and expenditures under targeted funds for infant and toddler, school-age care and resource and referral. This figure provides information obtained from state financial reports submitted for FY07.

Uses of CCDF Targeted Funds and Quality Dollars for Afterschool: Portions of CCDF discretionary funds are targeted specifically for resource and referral and school-age child care activities as well as for quality expansion. (These funds are in addition to the required 4 percent minimum quality expenditure.)

Maximum rate for school-age category: Rates are listed for center-based care, family child care, and license exempt programs; where rates vary by region or county, the rate for the most populated urban area is given.

Standardized monthly school-age rate: Monthly rate for a child, age 8, in care after school during the school year at a center in the most costly district for four hours per day, 20 days per month. Calculated (in the lowest tier of a tiered system) using information from the FY2008-2009 State CCDF Plan, including rate structures, as submitted to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.

Separate subsidy rates for different age ranges and Tiered Reimbursement Rate Systems: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Child Care Bureau. Report of State Plans FY2008-2009.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care

In addition to spending TANF funds directly on child care, a state may transfer up to 30 percent of its TANF grant to CCDF. Expenditures represent TANF funds spent in FY07 that were awarded in FY07 and prior years. Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, available at: In addition to spending TANF funds directly on child care, a state may transfer up to 30 percent of its TANF grant to CCDF. Expenditures represent TANF funds spent in FY07 that were awarded in FY07 and prior years. Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, available at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofs/data/2007/tanf_2007.html.

Program Licensing and Accreditation Policies

States with separate school-age licensing standards and states with specialized requirements for child care centers serving school-age children: National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center (NCCIC) and National Association for Regulatory Administration, 2007 Child Care Licensing Study, see: http://www.naralicensing.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=160.

Ratio of children to adults in school-age setting: Data from the National Child Care Information Center (NCCIC), available at: http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov.

School-based, school-age programs exempt from licensing: Research conducted by Afterschool Investments, March 2008.

Systems/Quality Supports

School-age credential: NCCIC, State Professional Development System Credentials for Individuals, see: http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/pd-credentials.html.

Statewide quality rating system: NCCIC, Quality Rating Systems: Definitions and Statewide Systems, see: http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/qrs-defsystems.html.

Statewide afterschool network: National Network of Statewide Afterschool Networks, see: http://www.statewideafterschoolnetworks.net/.

21st Century Community Learning Centers

The 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program is a state formula grant. Funds flow to states based on their share of Title I, Part A funds. Data from the U.S. Department of Education 21st Century Community Learning Centers Office and the 21st CCLC Profile and Performance Information Collection System as of July 2009.

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The Child Care Bureau awarded a technical assistance contract to The Finance Project for the Afterschool Investments project. The goals of the Afterschool Investments project include:

• Identifying ways that state and communities are using Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) subsidy and quality dollars to support out-of-school time programs, and sharing these practices and approaches with other states;
• Identifying administrative and implementation issues related to CCDF investments in out-of-school time programs, and providing information and context (about barriers, problems, opportunities) as well as practical tools that will help CCDF administrators make decisions; and
• Identifying other major programs and sectors that are potential partners for CCDF in supporting out-of-school time programs and providing models, strategies, and tools for coordination with other programs and sectors.

Contact Us:

Email:
afterschool@financeproject.org

Web:
http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/afterschool/

The Finance Project
1401 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202-587-1000
Web: www.financeproject.org

The Afterschool Investments project’s State Profiles are designed to provide a comprehensive overview of noteworthy State and local initiatives across the country. Inclusion of an initiative in the Profiles does not represent an endorsement of a particular policy or practice.