CRELO makes annual requests for funding
The Capital Region Expanded Learning Opportunities (CRELO) and its partners, including Boys and Girls Clubs of the Capital Area and the New York State Network for Youth Success, claim that “afterschool programming has been crucial to helping young people and their families through this ongoing economic and social crisis by providing services and support that promote resilience, provide protective factors, and elevate assets that can help overcome the effects of trauma and adversity.”
The Capital Region Expanded Learning Opportunities (CRELO) recently met with assembly members and their representatives to request funding for afterschool programs. Due to the pandemic, in lieu of their annual Legislative Breakfast, they hosted a virtual “power hour.”
The 30-minute presentation by CRELO executives laid out challenges and opportunities for afterschool, summer, and expanded learning programs, as well as what they described as a “desperate need” for funding to keep the programs going.
“Without these services, families must choose between working and their children,” claimed Kelly Sturgis, executive director of the New York State Network for Youth Success.
CRELO requested that the state budget support afterschool programs that currently provide services to students such as meal delivery, educational assistance, and opportunities for young adults like job fairs. With warm weather approaching, those services will soon extend to summer programs as well.
Some of the funding and resources requested by CRELO from the state as part of its annual budget were:
• $250,000 for program funding and budget language that allows program modifications to keep them open whether they are in person or virtual
• An increased per-student allotment of at least $2,320 for programs
• The “full utilization” of $450 million in federal funding that has been dedicated to support of such programs but has yet to be tapped
• Dedication of a percentage of “new revenue streams” to program funding. One suggestion was to use a percentage of a tax on legalized cannabis sales to support programs that would teach children the dangers of drug use.
CRELO and its partners, including Boys and Girls Clubs of the Capital Area and the New York State Network for Youth Success, claim that “afterschool programming has been crucial to helping young people and their families through this ongoing economic and social crisis by providing services and support that promote resilience, provide protective factors, and elevate assets that can help overcome the effects of trauma and adversity.”