State Profile | Virginia

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:
To be eligible for funding the program must me the following criteria: offer a variety of enrichment activities (indoors and outdoors), be for children ages 5-12 years only, be licensed, demonstrate that it has additional funding for its operation,  and use no more than 25% of the award for staff salaries (unless they exceed licensing standards).

Other quality activities:
Funds may be used for comprehensive consumer education, grants or loans to providers to assist in meeting state and local standards, monitoring compliance with licensing and regulatory requirements, professional development, improving salaries for child care providers, and activities to promote inclusive child care. They can also be used for health activities promoting youth development, activities that increase parental choice, and other activities that improve the quality/availability of childcare.

Provider Reimbursement Rates

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care

Program Licensing Policies

Instructional programs offered by schools that satisfy compulsory attendance laws or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and programs of school-sponsored extracurricular activities that are focused on single interests are exempt.

Systems/Quality Supports

21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC)

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Statewide Initiatives

• Learn and Serve Virginia.The Learn and Serve Virginia (LSV) grant program provides the opportunity for schools to integrate community service with educational content areas. Beginning with the 2006-07 grant cycle and continuing for three years, LSV will focus on the environment and watershed protection and restoration as the context for service-learning.  Service-learning engages students in the educational process, using what they learn in the classroom to solve real-life problems.  School divisions collaborate with community partners to develop environmentally based programs for student service-learning during the school day, as well as after school and on weekends.  The LSV program is funded through Learn and Serve America.
  
  For more information, see www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/Instruction/learnandserve.html
• PASS Initiative. Partnership for Achieving Successful Schools (PASS), an initiative that began in 2002, is a comprehensive effort to improve student achievement in Virginia’s lowest academically performing schools. One key component of PASS is strengthened partnerships between schools, families, and communities. In addition to assistance with school administration and programs, PASS schools are matched with business leaders, many of whom enlist their employees or other members of the local community to serve as volunteer tutors and mentors for afterschool programs. The Virginia Department of Social Services has partnered with the Department of Education to target additional resources for before- and afterschool programs in elementary schools in Virginia’s underperforming areas, including Amherst, Covington, Petersburg, Portsmouth, and Richmond.

  For more information, see http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/SchoolImprovement/pass.html

• Project Graduation. Established in 2003, “Project Graduation,” is a program to help rising high school seniors meet graduation requirements. Project Graduation combines regional summer academies, expanded access to online tutorials, distance learning opportunities, and statewide dissemination of information on other effective models that help students. Project Graduation is funded with federal dollars designed to underwrite innovative pilot programs to support statewide education reform efforts.

  For more information, see www.pen.k12.va.us/2plus4in2004/index.shtml

• Truancy Reduction/ Dropout Prevention Program. The Truancy Reduction/Dropout Prevention program is designed to identify truants and potential dropouts and provide coordinated services to help these students succeed in school. Program activities include academic enrichment, life skills and job training, and conflict resolution. Administered by the state Department of Education, the program serves elementary, middle, and high school students who are academically at-risk at 180 sites across the state.

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Notable Local Initiatives

• Falls Church Extended Day and After-School Activities. In response to a citywide survey indicating a need for before- and afterschool child care, the City of Falls Church established an Extended Day Care Program in its two elementary schools and the After-School Activities Program (ASAP) at the local middle school in 1975. The programs are open to all children residing in the city who have working parents or guardians, regardless of ability to pay or disabilities. The programs provide a safe, fun, and enriching environment for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Activities include recreational and board games, arts and crafts, music, drama, cooking, science, and language classes. Additionally, each site has a homework period of at least one hour that takes place in a quiet, supervised area.
• Innovations for Schools, Youth, Neighborhoods and Communities (In-SYNC) Partnerships. This initiative is jointly funded by the City of Hampton and the Hampton schools to improve youth, families, schools, and communities. Through a comprehensive strategic planning process among community-based organizations, agencies, children, and families, initiative stakeholders agreed upon three guiding principles: 1) increased and better coordinated resources through improved collaboration and partnerships; 2) community owned and supported services; and 3) high-quality programs that meet the needs of families. Afterschool programs are central to the In- SYNC project.

• The Norfolk Afterschool Initiative (NAI). NAI works to expand the availability and improve the quality of learning opportunities during the non-school hours by integrating education with afterschool programming for youth in Norfolk. Created by the Norfolk Afterschool Committee, NAI is part of the “Helping Municipalities Connect Education and Afterschool Initiatives” 12-month technical assistance project awarded to the City of Norfolk by the National League of Cities’ Institute for Youth, Education and Families. Spearheaded by the Norfolk Department of Youth Development, NAI focuses on conducting an inventory of all afterschool programs within the city, developing standards for Norfolk’s afterschool programs, and implementing a “model” middle-school afterschool program.  

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Statewide Organizations

National AfterSchool Association Affiliate:

Virginia School-Age Child Care Association
Karen Washington, President
Newport News Parks, Recreation & Tourism
700 Town Center Drive, Suite 320
Newport News, VA 23606
Phone: 757-926-1400/1449
Fax: 757-926-1460
E-mail: pres-elect@vsacca.org
Web: www.vsacca.org

Statewide Child Care Resource & Referral Network:

Virginia Child Care Resource & Referral Network:
Sharon Veatch, Executive Director
308 Turner Rd, Suite A
Richmond, Virginia 23225
Phone: (866) 481-1913
Fax: 804-285-0847
Email: sharon.veatch@vaccrrn.org
Email: info@vaccrrn.org
Web: www.vachildcare.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.