The Public School Forum's Top Education Issues outlines the Forum's priorities on what should be at the forefront of education policy decision-making each legislative biennium, as the Forum works toward eliminating the systemic racism and inequities that exist and are visible throughout the educational system. The Top Education Issues publications…

The federal government has a long history of investing in programs for feeding children, starting with federal aid for school lunch programs in the 1930s. Today, federal child nutrition programs support food served to children in schools and a variety of other institutional settings. The child nutrition programs support meals and snacks served to…

As this paper was being written, school systems across the country were increasingly announcing plans for full or partial distance learning to respond to COVID-19, and it seems likely that more school systems may implement these plans should the pandemic surge in the fall or winter. As a result, working parents with school-age children are faced…

For children, the earliest years are critical for healthy brain development and lay the groundwork for future educational achievement, economic productivity, and lifelong health. Equitable access to affordable, high-quality, and culturally responsive child care and early learning opportunities can be life changing, shaping the trajectories of the…

"America after 3PM" began in 2004, precisely because of the absence of reliable data about such topics. That year, the Afterschool Alliance set out to fill the information gap, conducting what was at that point the most in-depth study on how children spend their time after school. The 2014 "America after 3PM" edition spans a…

The "Research & Action Report," published twice a year, is a window on the activities and initiatives at the Wellesley Centers for Women. The report typically features news about the Centers, interviews with researchers, commentary on recent events or social trends affecting women and girls, announcements of new publications, and much more.…

The "Research & Action Report," published twice a year, describes the latest activities and initiatives at the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW). Typically featured are: news about the Centers, interviews with researchers, commentary on recent events or social trends affecting women and girls, and announcements of new publications. Articles…

In cities and towns across America, millions of children and youth get out of school by mid-afternoon but have neither a safe, supervised place to go nor a structured or engaging activity in which to participate. Because the hours between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. are when young people are most likely to be affected by crime or to engage in risky…

This report addresses how the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program can be an important source of funding for maintaining, improving, and expanding out-of-school time initiatives. The report is designed to help policymakers and program developers understand the opportunities and challenges of effectively using TANF funding to…

The After-School Alliance assessed the impact of a $400 million cut to the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program proposed by President George W. Bush for fiscal year 2004. The assessment determined the effect the proposed cut would have on the availability of after-school programs in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.…

Noting that out-of-school time and community school initiatives are operating in a rapidly changing policy context and that tobacco settlement funds provide a flexible, significant inflow of new state revenue, this strategy brief provides policymakers, community leaders, and program developers with background information on the tobacco settlement…

Noting the growing nation-wide demand for affordable, high-quality, out-of-school time and community school programs, this guide is intended to assist program developers, policy makers, and community leaders identify federal funding sources to support out-of-school time or broader-based community school services. The guide provides an overview of…

The Department of Defense (DoD) is committed to meeting the need for child care among military families. DoD supports the largest employer-sponsored system of high-quality child care in the country. Through accredited child development centers (CDCs), family child care (FCC) homes, youth centers, and other after-school programs, DoD currently…

Sustainability is a critical issue for the vast array of community initiatives that promote healthy children, strong families, and safe communities. Noting that sustaining an initiative over time requires maintaining sufficient fiscal resources as well as a combination of nonfiscal resources from the initiative itself and the broader community,…

Noting the importance of good nutrition to out-of-school time programs serving children, this strategy brief provides an overview of the major sources of federal food and nutrition funds that can support out-of-school time and community school programs. The brief then highlights five strategies that community leaders and program developers can…