State Profile | Louisiana

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:
No data available.

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 to monitor 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

Tiered Reimbursement Rate System:
To increase access to care for low-income children with special needs, higher special needs rates may be paid for children up to age 18 if verified by a physician or licensed psychologist that special care is required and verification is obtained that the provider is providing specialized care. This special needs care includes, but is not limited to, specialized facilities/equipment, lower staff ratio, and/or specially trained staff. 

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care

Program Licensing Policies

Exemptions apply to schools serving children from pre-K and above, including state-certified Montessori schools or camps.

Systems/Quality Supports

21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC)

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Statewide Initiatives

• Contracts with Providers. Louisiana has focused Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) dollars on afterschool programs. In Fiscal Year 2006, the state Department of Education contracted with 68 afterschool programs, serving over 12,000 students at 150 sites at a cost of $9.5 million. $12.5 million has been appropriated for 2007.  In 2006, DOE has partnered with the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, National Institute for Out-of-School Time (NIOST) and a number of other entities to provide technical assistance and training to the providers of these afterschool programs.
• Using TANF for Afterschool. Louisiana uses TANF funds to provide both afterschool and teen pregnancy prevention programming in the out-of-school hours. In 2005, $9.5 million was appropriated for afterschool for contracts with 68 providers (predominantly community-based and faith-based organizations) who served over 12,000 students in grades K through 12. Over 65% of these programs have an average daily attendance above 50%. Participants, who are lower-income than the state average, have lower rates of grade retention than the state average.
• The Louisiana Afterschool Partnership, a state leadership group of policymakers, afterschool funders, state agencies, parents, and providers is continuing its work on a state inventory of programs serving school age children, as well as hosting a statewide conference focused on improving the quality of afterschool programs. Since 2005, their work has expanded in response to the critical needs of children and youth living in post-Katrina New Orleans. Working collaboratively, they connect local entities with innovative solutions, best practices research, policy expertise, and training on national standards in youth development to effect change across city-wide systems. Building on strong relationships with national partners, they leverage resources by bringing in experts who provide technical assistance in youth development, creating local infrastructures to support youth, and creative public/private partnerships.
  
  For more information, see http://www.gnoafterschool.org/

• LEAP 21 Academic Enrichment Programs. The Louisiana Educational Assessment Program for the 21st Century (LEAP 21) is a statewide test fourth and eighth graders are required to pass to be promoted to the next grade. The Louisiana Department of Education offers several instructional programs during out-of- school time for students who have failed or are at risk of failing the LEAP 21. Early Intervention programs and Academic Learning Centers aim to boost the math and English achievement of students doing poorly in school. Summer and Fall Remediation programs assist those students who score "unsatisfactory" on a LEAP 21 test.
• Louisiana’s Alliance for Youth. The Alliance is a statewide organization affiliated with America’s Promise, a national organization that aims to promote access to five "promises": safe places, mentoring, children’s health, and opportunities to learn and to give back to the community. The organization engages the private sector and civic and religious organizations to support programs that serve children and youth. These efforts are supported by a grant from the Kellogg Foundation through the Corporation for National and Community Service, which provides staff assistance by Promise Fellows.

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Notable Local Initiatives

• Greater New Orleans Afterschool Partnership. The Partnership, headed by Gina Warner, was created in November 2001 as a strategic initiative of the Baptist Community Ministries Foundation. Its mission is to leverage national and state funding for afterschool programs and provide technical assistance and training for providers. The Partnership has obtained a resolution from the City Council urging the mayor to establish a citywide afterschool task force and has worked with the City of New Orleans to provide $400,000 for afterschool programs. The Partnership also has trained local afterschool quality advisors to provide ongoing technical assistance. Along with the Louisiana Department of Education, the Partnership sponsored the first statewide afterschool conference in the state.

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Statewide Organizations

National AfterSchool Association Affiliate:

Not Available

Statewide Child Care Resource & Referral Network:

Agenda for Child Care Resources
P.O. Box 51837
New Orleans, LA 70151
Phone: 800-486-1712
Web: www.agendaforchildren.org

Louisiana Department of Education
1201 North Third St., Fourth Floor
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Phone: 225-342-4147
Web: http://www.doe.state.la.us/lde/index.htm

Northwestern State University Child Care Network
1800 Warrington Place
Shreveport, LA 71101-4425
Phone: 1-800-796-9080
Web: www.nsu-cfn.org/

Volunteers of America—Partnerships in Child Care
Baton Rouge, LA
Phone: 1-888-926-8005

The Louisiana Afterschool Partnership
c/o LA Department of Education
Division of School and Community Support
1201 North Third Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Phone: 225-342-4147
Web: http://www.gnoafterschool.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.