State Profile | Arkansas

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 funds may be used to support the Arkansas Out of School Network (AOSN) to assist in the completion of targeted goals and developing the professional development system, Quality Rating System requirements, Core Competencies for youth workers and school-age staff.  The funds may also be used to support partnerships for training and out of school time programs, and also to assist licensed school-age child care settings with upgrading care and expanding quality of care.

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

Provider Reimbursement Rates

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care

Program Licensing Policies

Systems/Quality Supports

21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC)

Additional information about 21stCCLC:
Cooperative efforts between school districts and community-based organizations applying for 21st CCLC funding allows for outreach and expansion of quality afterschool programs for children.

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Statewide Initiatives

• Arkansas Governor’s Task Force on Best Practices for After-School and Summer Programs. With the establishment of a Governor’s Task Force on Best Practices for summer and school-age programs in 2007, a final report of this group titled "Enriching Arkansas Children’s Lives Through High-Quality Out-Of-School Activities" was issued in August 2008. This report identified the key elements for after-school and summer programs that must be addressed in any effort to improve quality.   Upon the issuance of this report, many recommendations are currently being addressed including adapting minimum licensing requirements for school-age care programs to meet the diversity of after-school and summer programs in the state and the creation of pilot after-school and summer programs.

• Arkansas Out-of-School Network (AOSN).AOSN continues to work towards the establishment of core competencies for staff and identifying/developing professional development initiatives to support high quality settings; determining the cost of quality programs, and community outreach and public education on the benefits of afterschool programs. In June 2009, AOSN released "Arkansas Standards for Quality Afterschool Programs".  These standards have been aligned with the quality framework outlined by the Governor’s Task Force Recommendations. As a result of this due diligence a set of comprehensive standards exist that could be used as a framework to assess the level of quality of the myriad of Arkansas’s OST programs.   In Spring 2009, AOSN held a multi-day institute that served as a strong, cohesive, comprehensive professional development experience focused on evidence-based practices and peer learning.  More institutes of this kind are in future development.  The AOSN website (http://www.aosn.org) provides regional and local leaders with information and communication tools to help promote out-of-school time programs in Arkansas.  Funding for the AOSN is provided by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Arkansas Department of Human Services, and the Arkansas Department of Education.

  For more information contact Jennifer Harris, AOSN Lead, at jenharris@astate.edu or visit http://www.aosn.org.

• Arkansas School-Age Quality Initiative. Using over $100,000 in CCDF quality funds, the Arkansas Department of Human Services contracts with Childhood Services at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro to provide training to school-age programs across the state with the goal of increasing the number of state-accredited school-age programs. This work includes efforts to create cooperative efforts between school districts and community-based organizations applying for 21st Century Community Learning Center funding. Funds support annual statewide and regional school-age conferences, the bi-monthly publication of School-Age Links for caregivers, and enhancement grants to licensed school-age child care programs to upgrade and expand care quality.
• Arkansas 21-Century Network. This initiative, a partnership of the Arkansas Department of Education and the Yale Center for Child Development and Social Policy, seeks to provide Arkansas’ children and families with high quality educational programs. In 2001, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation joined the effort with a five-year commitment to increasing the network’s capacity statewide. Several of the School of the 21st Century Network communities have focused on providing extended-day afterschool programs for elementary and middle- school students.
  
  For more information, see http://www.yale.edu/21c/arkansas/

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Notable Local Initiatives

• Prevention, Intervention, & Treatment (PIT) Initiative. In 1994, a citizen-based project called FUTURE-Little Rock recommended and helped pass a 1/2 cent sales tax to permanently designate city funds to sustain and administer the city’s Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment (PIT) initiative, which emphasizes neighborhood collaborations between public, private, and other community-based players; strong citizen involvement; and targeted youth development programming. Since the implementation of PIT, major crimes in Little Rock have dropped, especially among the adolescent population. A piece of this youth development strand is New Futures for Youth, an Annie E. Casey Foundation program that provides a forum for community problem solving and encouraging collaboration between the various community players in youth issues-churches, businesses, and neighborhood groups. New Futures recommended that the Prevention and Intervention portions of the funding be consolidated and used to fund neighborhood-based youth development programs during non-school hours and that the programs be targeted to those neighborhoods with the greatest needs. The City of Little Rock currently funds 24 year-round youth development programs.
  
  For more information: see New Futures For Youth, www.newfuturesforyouth.org
  
  
• Community Innovation Project. In 2009, AOSN received a grant from the C.S. Mott Foundation to increase the capacity of a local community to develop a common vision, broad community engagement, critical partnerships, and the political will to establish and sustain quality, school-based/school-linked afterschool and summer programs AOSN will work with this community to implement best practice tools and strategies for building and sustaining a coalition, and will provide ongoing technical support through October 2011. AOSN will utilize a community engagement process called "Study Circles".  This approach will create a sustainable local afterschool initiative by engaging a broad-based grassroots segment of the community in structured discussions about out-of-school time.  Following the "Study Circles" process AOSN will provide ongoing support and technical assistance to help the community implement the action identified by the community.

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Statewide Organizations

Arkansas Out of School Network
Union Station, Suite 306
1400 West Markham
Little Rock, AR 72201-1844
Phone: 501-371-9678, Ext. 102
Fax: 501-371-9681
Web: www.aosn.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 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.