After School Network Digest - January 23, 2009

House Stimulus Bill Includes New Funds for Afterschool-courtesy of Afterschool Alliance

Great news! The House Appropriations Committee economic stimulus package includes new funds for afterschool. In fact, the package contains all of the recommendations the Afterschool Alliance put forth to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi last November regarding targeted investments to help struggling afterschool programs, participants and their families.

Below are just a few of the types of additional funds provided through "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009" that directly or indirectly support afterschool:

• $2 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG); about 1/3 of this will be used to support children in afterschool programs.
• $2.5 billion for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), a program that some states use to fund afterschool programs.
• $13 billion for Title I to help disadvantaged students reach high academic standards-some of these funds can be used to support afterschool programs.
• $79 billion for a State Stabilization Fund; 61% must be used for education, with the remainder going to other critical needs including public safety and public services. We believe afterschool leaders and programs can make a case that some of these funds should support afterschool programs.

Afterschool Alliance will send alerts when your action is needed to help make these supports a reality.

What's Next? The House Appropriations Committee marked up the package on January 21. The full House is expected to vote on this bill sometime during the week of January 26. The ultimate goal is to send a final bill to President Obama by February 13, when Congress is scheduled to begin its Presidents' Day break. The Afterschool Alliance will keep you informed as the Senate releases its bill, and let you know when it will be most critical for you to contact policy makers to ensure afterschool programs are supported in the final bills.

Pittsburgh Peabody Stakeholders Meeting

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Hosted by: Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation
Date & Time: Wednesday, January 28, 2009, 6:00 pm
Location: BGC Community Activity Center, 113 N. Pacific Avenue (Garfield)

Whether you're a parent, a banker, an economic development/social service agency leader, a funder, a government employee, a student, a school district staff person, a community member or a civil rights leader you need to yell out, "Yes, we can restructure the educational system in the East End in order to better serve all children!". Especially for those children whose current educational status leaves them unable to effectively compete in the new American economy.

This is an historical time in the East End and a major restructuring of the public educational system needs to occur. Your time and input is critical to the creation of a positive outcome that is a win-win for all.

In collaboration with Pittsburgh Public Schools there will be two critical meetings, one on January 28 and another on February 4.

We ask that you attend these meetings and listen and provide input.

Call (412) 441-9833, ext. 10, or email Rick Flanagan ( Rflanag@aol.com ) to confirm your attendance and to ask questions.

One in seven Americans is illiterate, federal study finds

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A new federal study finds that an estimated one in seven American adults, approximately 32 million have such low literacy skills that they would be challenged to understand a medication's side effects listed on a pill bottle. The report is based on the results of a 2003 survey that followed a 1992 survey. During that time, the country added 23 million adults to its population, an estimated 3.6 million of them with very low literacy skills. Some states, such as Mississippi, had drops in the number of functionally illiterate, to 16 percent from 25 percent in 1992. In several large states, however, such as California, New York, Florida, and Nevada, the number of adults with low skills rose. David Harvey, president and CEO of ProLiteracy, which advocates for adult literacy, says that undiagnosed learning disabilities, immigration, and high school dropouts are probable reasons for the poor literacy numbers.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-01-08-adult-literacy_N.htm