Directors of out-of-school programs are currently faced with a dizzying array of funding options from which to support their activities, from the federal to the state and local levels, as well as private partnerships and grants. The Commonwealth should ensure that state funding sources are as accessible as possible.

The State agencies that provide grants to out of school and after school programs should, led by the Department of Education, work to make their grants more effective and user-friendly  This can be accomplished by increasing the length of their grants from one-year to multi-year cycles and by pooling resources across administrative departments to reduce the barriers community-based organizations face when applying for funding.  This will also create a more efficient, cost-effective system, and the savings that this generates can be invested in technical assistance to help relevant groups find and apply for all of the funding for which they qualify. 

9.a    The Department of Education should create and maintain a centralized online listing of federal, state, local, and private funding opportunities for after-school and out-of-school programs

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