Funding to create statewide policies to improve access to high-quality afterschool programs 

ATLANTA – With more than 70% of Georgia families in which both parents work, more than a million kids in Georgia may spend time away from their parents between 3PM and 6PM, the peak hours for violent juvenile crime and children becoming victims of crime. Many families in Georgia are being faced with the problem of where to send their child after school and finding their choices are slim; many counties in Georgia have only one or two afterschool programs, if any.
 
Thanks to a three-year innovation grant to the Georgia Afterschool Investment Council from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Georgia’s families will benefit from increased attention to the after school hours and the growing need for more afterschool programs.
 
With this new $435,000 three-year grant (including match funds), Georgia joins 38 other statewide afterschool networks that have received Mott funding since 2002. Based on the proposal submitted, this funding will work to: 1) Implement a public policy strategy that promotes connections between students, teachers and community-based resources 2) Strengthen Georgia’s afterschool professional development system to enhance program quality, and 3) Increase public awareness and support for afterschool time across the state.
 
“The Mott Foundation’s funding will greatly enhance our initiatives to strengthen afterschool in Georgia and to support high-quality programming,” said Jill Riemer, Executive Director of the Georgia Afterschool Investment Council. “It will provide critical funds needed to give Georgia's agency leaders, decision-makers and advocates a place to come together to ensure that our youth have access to real-world, project-based learning experiences after school and during the summers that enhance the school day, keep kids from dropping out of school, and help them to succeed in Georgia's thriving economy."
 
Studies show that youth unsupervised during after school hours are at a greater risk of pregnancy, truancy, receiving poor grades, dropping out of high school, mental depression, and substance abuse than those engaged in afterschool programming. In many communities afterschool programs are one way to complement the work of schools and provide additional learning alternatives and enrichment opportunities for young people. “Quality afterschool programs do more than provide safe places for our children, they improve health and education outcomes, employability and connectedness to the community,” said Pat Willis, Executive Director of Voices for Georgia’s Children. “We especially need to create more opportunities for emerging and young adolescents who need both the guidance and independence that quality afterschool programming offers.”
 
Georgia’s afterschool network includes state agency leaders from the Georgia Department of Education, the Georgia Department of Human Resources, the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, the Georgia Department of Labor, and the Children and Youth Coordinating Council, educators, afterschool providers, youth development experts, program developers, child advocates, and afterschool technical assistance providers. Match funding will come from the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, IBM's/Work Life Grant, the Georgia Department of Human Resources, the Children and Youth Coordinating Council, and other public and private sources.
 
Several national organizations provide free technical support to the statewide networks by virtue of Georgia being a part of the National Statewide Afterschool Network. They include the Afterschool Alliance, Council of Chief State School Officers, National League of Cities, National Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, The Finance Project and College of Charleston, with assistance from Learning Points Associates and Collaborative Communications Group.
 
Charles Stewart Mott, an automotive pioneer, established the foundation in 1926 in Flint, Michigan. The foundation is a private philanthropy committed to supporting projects that promote a just, equitable and sustainable society. More information about the foundation is available on the Web (www.mott.org).

The Georgia Afterschool Investment Council (GAIC) is a statewide network of over 70 coalition partners from the nonprofit, public and private sectors dedicated to ensuring Georgia's children and youth have access to high-quality, affordable afterschool and summer learning opportunities. For more information on the Georgia Afterschool Investment Council, please call Rachel Wellborn at 404.527.8831.