State Profile | Wyoming

The Afterschool Investments project has developed profiles for each state to provide a snapshot of the "state of afterschool," as well as an opportunity to compare afterschool activities across the country. This profile provides key data and descriptions of the afterschool landscape, which includes a range of out-of-school time programming that can occur before and after school, on weekends, and during summer months. It is designed to serve as a resource for policymakers, administrators, and providers.

• Quick Facts
• Statewide Initiatives
• Notable Local Initiatives
• Statewide Organizations
• Additional Resources
• Notes and Sources

Quick Facts

Demographics

For more demographic information, visit http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/statedata/statepro/index.html

Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)

CCDF Administrative Overview

Settings

Where CCDF-Subsidy school age-children are served:

Uses of CCDF Targeted Funds and Quality Dollars for Afterschool

"Resource and referral and school-age" targeted funds:
The Department has purchased resources on school age care and made them available through a lending library for providers called STARS Clearinghouse.  The resources will be used to increase the quality of care for school age programs. Funding has also been allocated for the Child Care Resource & Referral Services, including consumer education, referrals for parents, and trainings for child care providers. In this Plan period, the Department will continue work on revising the licensing rules for school age care.

Other quality activities:
Funds may be used for comprehensive consumer education and to monitor licensing and regulatory requirements. They can also be used for professional development, improving childcare providers’ salaries, and activities which increase parental choice.

Provider Reimbursement Rates

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care

Program Licensing and Accreditation Policies

21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC)

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Statewide Initiatives

• 21st Century State Incentive Grant. Wyoming leaders, through the state-level Wyoming Youth Development Collaborative, recently created a new grant program, the 21st Century State Incentive Grant (21st Century SIG), to encourage community collaboration around youth services in the state. Spearheaded by the Department of Education and the Department of Health, state officials combined four separate funding sources to implement the program: 21st Century Community Learning Centers; the Governor’s allocation of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program; a federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration State Incentive Grant; and state tobacco settlement dollars. The funds will be used to achieve the following outcomes:
  • Prevent alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use and abuse for youth ages 12–17;
  • Reduce known risk factors and enhance known protective factors;
  • Advance academic achievement through before- and afterschool activities, including during summer recess periods for youth of all ages; and
  • Serve populations not normally served by the state educational agency, such as school dropouts and youth in detention centers.

  The new grant program aligns the overlapping goals of the four funding streams and encourages communities to collaborate across systems to build a community-wide continuum of care during non-school hours. To date, 26 Wyoming communities have created community collaboratives and community advisory boards to oversee and coordinate this and other relevant funding sources at the local level.

  For more information, see http://sad.state.wy.us/21SIG

• In February 2008, the Governor sent a memorandum to Wyoming’s Congressional Delegation supporting the continuation of the current funding level for 21st Century Community Learning Centers. In the face of budget cuts to the 21st CCLC program, governor’s letter stated that the need for high-quality afterschool programs in Wyoming is great and funding cuts would have negative impact on Wyoming youth and families. The Governor also stressed the importance of afterschool programs and their goal of keeping kids safe and supervised, inspiring learning and helping working families.  As part of the administration of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative, the Wyoming Department of Education now plans two annual statewide staff development workshops for afterschool professionals. These workshops focus on afterschool specific topics with the overall goal of meeting professional development needs and enhancing afterschool program quality.

• The State Superintendent of Public Instruction signed an Afterschool Decree on October 18, 2007 in recognition of Lights On Afterschool! The decree outlined the importance of afterschool programming and the Wyoming Department of Education’s support of afterschool initiatives.  The Afterschool Decree specifically detailed the importance of afterschool programs in providing significant leadership in the areas of educational enrichment and positive youth development as well as supporting families by keeping kids safe during afterschool hours.

• Governor’s Summit on Extra Learning Opportunities. Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal received an award from the National Governors Association for Best Practices, with funds from the C.S. Mott Foundation and the Wallace Foundation, to hold a statewide summit on extra learning opportunities (ELOs). In January 2004, Wyoming convened a range of state and local partners through the state’s videoconference technology to reach 26 sites. After hearing taped remarks from Governor Freudenthal and Superintendent of Public Instruction Trent Blankenship, community leaders had the opportunity to hear about state support for ELOs and collaboration and sustainability strategies for ELOs in communities. In follow-up, each group of community stakeholders devised community plans to support ELO development with state support.

• In April 2008, a new Student Enrichment Pilot Project was launched. This project is supported through state funds with the established purpose of providing student enrichment instruction programs to Wyoming students. Students served by these grant funds can be at any age level (elementary, middle school or high school) and there is no specific target population for these funds to ensure that all students who may receive benefit from enrichment programming (gifted & talented, academically successful students, students performing at or below grade level, students who would enjoy/benefit from enrichment programming, etc.) can participate. The intention of this pilot program is to help students meet or exceed state and local standards in core academic subjects (such as language arts and math) by offering a range of high-quality opportunities for academic enrichment that support student learning and youth development principles during the afterschool hours (before school, after school and during summer recess periods) as well as reinforce and complement regular academic programs. The pilot will be implemented for the summer of 2008 and/or school year 2008/2009.
• Wyoming Bridges is a state funded program of $11 million that is awarded to school districts based on a formula allocation in support of summer learning opportunities that are different from the traditional school year. In keeping with research-based findings that rigorous and relevant instruction results in learning gains for all students, learning opportunities for students needing intervention and remediation (academically at-risk students) are embedded with enrichment learning opportunities. This becomes especially important for those who have fallen behind or need additional time to learn. The enriched instructional component of Bridges can become an opportunity to demonstrate to students that what they are learning is relevant to the world around them. The Bridges program also aims to reduce summer learning loss. Wyoming Bridges encourages school districts to think beyond a traditional learning environment and embrace new and exciting opportunities for students.

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Notable Local Initiatives

• Sweetwater Transit Authority Resources. The Sweetwater Transit Resources (STAR) addresses rural transportation challenges by providing dependable, efficient transportation services to children, adults, the elderly, and people with disabilities. STAR’s coordinated transportation system pools resources from many human-service agencies to deliver passengers from door to door at a rate they can afford. Children are able to travel safely without their parent(s) to child care centers, doctors’ appointments, and after-school activities. Child care centers, senior centers, nursing homes, the housing authority, and human service agencies contract with STAR to provide rides for their clients. The Federal Transportation Administration, the State of Wyoming, and several in-kind sources provide grant assistance. The majority of rides are subsidized through contracts with government and non-profit agencies. 

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Statewide Organizations

National AfterSchool Association Affiliate:

Not Available

Statewide Child Care Resource & Referral Network:

Children and Nutrition Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 2455
Casper, WY 82602
Phone: 307-235-7921 ext.306
Toll Free: 800-578-4017
Fax: 307-266-4410
Web: http://www.childrens-nutrition.com
Note: Physical Address: 800 Werner Court, Suite 210 Casper, WY 82601

STARS
2712 Thomes
Cheyenne, WY 82001
Phone: 1-800-400-3999 or 307-635-2272

Statewide Afterschool Network:

Wyoming Afterschool Alliance
626 Washington Street
Lander, WY 82520
Email:lbarton@fre1.k12.wy.us
Web: http://wyafterschoolalliance.org

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Additional Resources

State Child Care Administrators:
http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/statedata/dirs/display.cfm?title=ccdf

State TANF Contacts:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/states/tanf-dr.htm

21st Century Community Learning Centers Contacts:
http://www.ed.gov/programs/21stcclc/contacts.html

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Notes and Sources

Demographics

Total population: Annual Estimates of the Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007, U.S. Census Bureau.

Number of children ages 5-12: Estimates of the Resident Population by Single-Year of Age and Sex for the United States and States: July 1, 2007, U.S. Census Bureau.

Percent of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch rate: Numbers and Types of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools from the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-06. U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

Percent of K-12 students in Title I "schoolwide" schools: Numbers and Types of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools from the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-06. U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. The federal Title I program provides funding to local school districts and schools with high percentages of poor children to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standards. Schools enrolling at least 40 percent of students from poor families are eligible to use Title I funds for schoolwide programs that serve all children in the school.

Child Care and Development Fund

The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is the largest federal funding source for child care. States receive a funding allocation determined by formula and have broad flexibility to design programs that provide child care subsidies for low-income children under the age of 13 and to enhance the quality of child care for all children. Federal CCDF funding consists of mandatory, matching, and discretionary funds. Federal law requires that states spend at least 4 percent of their CCDF funds as well as additional targeted funds on activities to improve the quality and availability of child care. CCDF administrative data in this and the following sections is from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Child Care Bureau, as reported by States, unless otherwise noted.

FFY08 state MOE plus match: In order to receive Federal matching funds, a state must expend Maintenance of Effort funds. Note that this does not capture actual expenditures, only the minimum required to draw down all available federal funds.

FFY08 Tribal CCDF Allocation: Federal CCDF Funds are awarded directly to Federally-recognized Indian Tribes.

FFY06 total quality expenditures: This data includes FY06 and prior year funds expended for quality from each of the CCDF funding streams (mandatory, matching, and discretionary) and expenditures under targeted funds for infant and toddler, school-age care and resource and referral. This figure provides information obtained from state financial reports submitted for FY06.

Uses of CCDF Targeted Funds and Quality Dollars for Afterschool: Portions of CCDF discretionary funds are targeted specifically for resource and referral and school-age child care activities as well as for quality expansion. (These funds are in addition to the required 4 percent minimum quality expenditure.)

Maximum rate for school-age category: Rate listed applies to center-based care; where rates vary by region or county, the rate for the most populated urban area is given.

Standardized monthly school-age rate: Monthly rate for a child, in school-age care at a center in the largest urban area of the state at four hours per day, 20 days per month. Calculated using information from the FY2008-2009 State CCDF Plan, including payment rate structures, as submitted to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.

Separate subsidy rates for part-time vs. full time and Tiered Reimbursement Rate Systems: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Child Care Bureau. Report of State Plans FY2008-2009.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care

In addition to spending TANF funds directly on child care, a state may transfer up to 30 percent of its TANF grant to CCDF. Expenditures represent TANF funds spent in FY06 that were awarded in FY06 and prior years. Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.

Program Licensing and Accreditation Policies

States with separate school-age licensing standards and states with specialized requirements for child care centers serving school-age children: National Association for Regulatory Administration, 2005 Child Care Licensing Study, available at http://www.nara.affiniscape.com/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=104.

Ratio of children to adults in school-age setting: Data from the National Child Care Information Center (NCCIC), available at: http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov.

Number of NAA-accredited programs: from the National AfterSchool Association, June 2008, available at: http://www.naaweb.org.

21st Century Community Learning Centers

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 converted the 21st Century Community Learning Centers’ authority to a state formula grant. In past years, the U.S. Department of Education made competitive awards directly to school districts. Under the reauthorized law, funds flow to states based on their share of Title I, Part A funds. States use their allocations to make competitive awards to eligible entities. Data from the U.S. Department of Education 21st Century Community Learning Centers Office and the 21st CCLC Profile and Performance Information Collection System as of August 2008.

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The Child Care Bureau awarded a technical assistance contract to The Finance Project for the Afterschool Investments project. The goals of the Afterschool Investments project include:

• Identifying ways that state and communities are using Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) subsidy and quality dollars to support out-of-school time programs, and sharing these practices and approaches with other states;
• Identifying administrative and implementation issues related to CCDF investments in out-of-school time programs, and providing information and context (about barriers, problems, opportunities) as well as practical tools that will help CCDF administrators make decisions; and
• Identifying other major programs and sectors that are potential partners for CCDF in supporting out-of-school time programs and providing models, strategies, and tools for coordination with other programs and sectors.

Contact Us:

Email:
afterschool@financeproject.org

Web:
http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/afterschool/

The Finance Project
1401 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202-587-1000
Web: www.financeproject.org

The Afterschool Investments project's State Profiles are designed to provide a comprehensive overview of noteworthy State and local initiatives across the country. Inclusion of an initiative in the Profiles does not represent an endorsement of a particular policy or practice.