State Profile | West 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:
While the funds have always been used strictly for child care resource and referral services, a portion of the funds ($15,000) may be provided to the West Virginia University Extension Service to create and sustain a statewide partnership to raise awareness of the importance of accessibility to high quality "out-of-school time" programs for all school-age children. As part of that grant, the funds may go towards sharing criteria of effective programs and best practices among providers and the public and promoting sustainability of such programs throughout the state. 

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, and improving salaries for childcare providers. Funds may also be used for activities that promote inclusive child care and health activities that foster youth development.

Provider Reimbursement Rates

Tiered Reimbursement Rate System:
Child care centers who achieve accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and family child care homes who are accredited by the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) receive an additional four dollars per child, per day. 

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

• West Virginia Statewide Afterschool Network (WVSAN). In October 2006, West Virginia received a three-year C.S. Mott Foundation grant to establish a network of providers and friends of afterschool programming to create and sustain high quality programs statewide. WVSAN conducts four to-five training events annually for afterschool program directors and front-line staff; provides leadership to the annual Lights On Afterschool at the Capitol and Afterschool Day at the Legislature events; operates a listserv and web site for out-of-school time programs; provides information resources to policy makers and programs on research, evaluation and the status of afterschool in WV, collaborates with a regional foundation to provide grants to expand programming for middle and high school students, and advocates for sustainability of high quality afterschool programs.
  
  The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (WVDHHR) has added a School-Age Child Care Specialist to the staff of each of the six Regional Resource and Referral Centers to ensure that afterschool program directors will find answers to their questions as well as appropriate training workshops.
  
  In 2009, WVDHHR and WVSAN conducted five regional focus groups and a work group of program providers who developed the draft WV Out-of-School Time Licensing Requirements. The document was then open for a 30-day public comment period, during which responses were made online or in print. Following revisions, the requirements will be submitted to the WV Legislature’s Rules Committee for possible consideration in the 2010 regular session of the Legislature. During 2009-2010, WVSAN will support a work group of program providers and state agency representatives to develop and disseminate draft voluntary afterschool program standards and core competencies for program staff.
• Staff Training and Registry System (STARS). West Virginia’s professional development system, while targeted at early care providers, is also available for practitioners in school-age child care settings. The system established a set of Core Competencies reflecting best practices which are tied to the STARS Career Pathway. The Pathway provides an eight-level framework to encourage providers to obtain skills and credentials, and progress on the Career Pathway is tracked on the state’s registry and credentialing system. An approval system ensures that training throughout the state aligns with the Core Competencies, and a coordinated training system offers continuing education credits to providers. Practitioners working at least 20 hours per week in an approved child care program can also participate in the STARS apprenticeship program. Apprentices complete four semesters of weekly instruction in child development, curriculum development, and health and safety. Upon completion, Apprentices receive a Child Development Associate credential, which counts for up to 33 credits toward an associate’s degree at state community colleges and qualifies them for the fifth level on the 8-step Career Pathway. A scholarship program also helps Apprentices pay for college courses leading to an associate’s degree in child development. While the program is primarily focused on providers serving children age 0 to 5, curricula are designed with school age care components.  
  

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Notable Local Initiatives

• Kaleidoscope Community Learning Centers. Monongalia County, West Virginia received a 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC) grant from the U.S. Department of Education in 1998. Leaders formed a Community Youth Opportunity Council with representatives from schools and community organizations to guide each of the program’s three sites. To reach out to other nonprofits providing services for children, leaders also formed the After School for All Collaborative. Together with the Council and the Collaborative, marketing activities and media attention helped build broad community support, which in turn helped the program leverage additional federal, city, and private funding to sustain Kaleidoscope. Additionally, the Collaborative has worked together to create afterschool fairs, conduct community services, and raise public awareness of the benefits of afterschool programs. In 2001, Kaleidoscope received an additional grant from the U.S. Department of Education that allowed it to expand to four middle schools and five elementary schools; the program now serves over 900 children and youths and an additional 500 summer school students. 

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Statewide Organizations

National AfterSchool Association Affiliate:

Not Available

Statewide Child Care Resource & Referral Network:

Choices Child Care Resource & Referral
4421 Emerson Avenue, Suite 102
Parkersburg, WV 26104
Phone: 304-485-2668
Toll Free: 866-966-2668
Fax: 304-485-7024
Web: http://www.wvdhhr.org/choices

Statewide Afterschool Network:

West Virginia Statewide Afterschool Network (WVSAN)
WVU Extension Service
4700 MacCorkle Ave., SE, Suite 1108
Charleston, WV 25304
Phone: 304-720-9882
Fax: 304-720-9572
Email: Jane.Hange@mail.wvu.edu

Child Care Resource Center
Web:www.ccrcwv.org

Connect Child Care Resource and Referral
Web: http://www.wvdhhr.org/connect/

LINK Child Care Resource and Referral
Web: www.wvdhhr.org/link/

MountainHeart Child Care Resource and Referral South
Web: http://www.mountain-heart.org/ccsnorth.htm

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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.