State Profile | Montana

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:
Funds may be used to support coordination of the Montana After-School Network (MCCR&R), which works to improve the availability and quality of school-age care. Funds are to be used for the administrative functions of the network, not the individual programs within the network. The network collaborators include statewide providers, statewide professional associations, and state agencies. MCCR&R organizes trainings and conferences, supplies research on afterschool care, and provides technical assistance to various agencies and organizations.

Other quality activities:
Funds may be used for comprehensive consumer education and grants or loans to providers to assist in meeting state and local standards.  They can also be used for professional development, improving childcare providers’ salaries, activities promoting inclusive childcare, and activities which increase parental choice. 

Provider Reimbursement Rates

Tiered Reimbursement Rate System:
Montana has a three level program that accommodates an intermediate step in quality improvement. Level one (one star) consists of facilities that meet the requirements for a two or three year extended license, that comply with quality indicators in the area of staff training, parent involvement and child development; and level two (two star) consists of facilities that meet the requirements for a two or three year extended license and are accredited by NAEYC, NAFCC, or NSA.  One star rates are increased 10% above the base.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care

Program Licensing Policies

Systems/Quality Supports

21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC)

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Statewide Initiatives

• Montana Afterschool Network. Montana has convened the Montana Afterschool Network to include a broad range of stakeholders representing state agencies, licensed child care centers, school-based and school-linked afterschool programs, youth development organizations, and mentoring and prevention programs. The project is supported by a three-year grant from the C. S. Mott Foundation with matching funds from the First Interstate Bank Foundation, Homer A. and Mildred S. Scott Foundation, Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation, Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services, and Montana Office of Public Instruction. Building on goals set during a 2004 National Governors Association Extra Learning Opportunities Summit, the Montana Afterschool Network has designated three high-priority areas of activity: 1) Develop state level leadership for afterschool issues; 2) Create a common advocacy message; and 3) Work locally through existing afterschool and youth support networks. The three-year project is coordinated by the Montana Child Care Resource and Referral Network. Establishment of the Montana Afterschool Network builds on previous work accomplished with resources from the Child Care and Development Fund school-age targeted funds that provided a database of over 700 afterschool programs and community stakeholders, annual afterschool supply and demand mapping, afterschool training opportunities, and a statewide afterschool informational newsletter.

  For more information, visit http://www.mtafterschool.org

• Montana Out-of-School Time (MOST) Grants. The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services made program grants of $5,000 or less to over 60 afterschool programs statewide in state fiscal year 2005. The $375,000 MOST grant fund was funded by TANF direct funds. Grant funds could be used for program improvements or operations and were available to the full spectrum of afterschool programs, including licensed centers, school-based, youth development, and mentoring programs). The MOST grants are seen as a means to deliver child care subsidy support to legally unlicensed afterschool programs that do not charge daily fees.
• Afterschool Systems-Building. Last year the steering committee of the Montana Afterschool Network highlighted areas of activity that could be better coordinated between existing systems. These include data collection, staff training, curriculum development, and community collaboration. This year Network staff have worked to bridge state systems through inclusive data mapping of afterschool supply and demand, shared training of program staff and directors, and development of a survey to identify areas of program-defined need and best practice.
• Afterschool Supply and Demand Mapping. The Montana Afterschool Network collected data on the percentage of children ages 5 to 12 enrolled in public school with working parents who could be served on a daily basis by an afterschool program from September 2005 through June 2006. These data are a snapshot of daily capacity rather than annual enrollment. The maps demonstrated an overall capacity to serve 18.13% of children needing care statewide, up slightly from 15.60% in 2005. While licensed exempt programs continue to grow, licensed afterschool programs demonstrated a slight increase after three years of slow decline.

  For more information, see http://www.mtafterschool.org/index_afterschool_capacity_maps.htm

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Notable Local Initiatives

• The Flagship Project is a community-school partnership that provides skill building, non-school hour activities to K-12 students at nine Missoula schools. Flagship’s mission it to reinforce the social, academic and cultural achievement of Missoula’s youth. Programs are provided free of charge to students and families. Youth Development Coordinators, in collaboration with nearly 30 community “partner” organizations, arrange for an array of activities for students to choose from such as youth theater, art classes, sports, job shadowing, and community activities. Last year, 4,000 students participated in nearly 600 different Flagship activities. During that time, over 14,000 hours of volunteer time was recorded. The Flagship Project was a recipient of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Montana Out-of-School Time (MOST) grants, funded by TANF funds.
• Raising Our Community Kids Safely (ROCKS) Afterschool Program is a licensed afterschool program in Miles City. ROCKS was founded in 1999 when the local Retired Senior Volunteer Program (R.S.V.P.) Director recognized the need for an afterschool program and secured an AmeriCorps VISTA placement to be the program’s coordinator. Now in its fifth year, ROCKS serves five elementary schools at a centrally located site, offering both school-year and summer programming. The program receives strong community volunteer support and local media coverage. ROCKS won Honorable Mention in the Community College Innovation Award in the May 2003 issue of College Planning & Management magazine for its partnership with Miles City Community College and was a recipient of a Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Montana Out-of-School Time (MOST) grant.

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Statewide Organizations

National AfterSchool Association Affiliate:

Not Available

Statewide Child Care Resource & Referral Network:

Montana Child Care Resource and Referral Network
901 N Benton Ave
Helena, MT 59601
Phone: 406-443-4551
Web: http://www.montanachildcare.org

Statewide Afterschool Network:

Montana Afterschool Network
901 N Benton Ave
Helena, Montana 59601   
Phone: 406-443-4552
Web: http://www.mtafterschool.com/

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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.