Directs the office of children and family services to conduct a study and report on the feasibility of providing year-round, out-of-school programming to every child in New York state.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8836
IN SENATE
March 19, 2024
___________
Introduced by Sen. MYRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families
AN ACT directing the office of children and family services to conduct a
study to evaluate the feasibility of providing year-round, out-of-
school programming to every child in New York that desires to partic-
ipate
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds and
2 declares that providing universal, year-round, out-of-school programming
3 is a public safety and pedagogical imperative. The increased costs of
4 housing, food, transportation, and childcare have prompted an alarming
5 exodus of working and middle-class residents from the state, and as
6 such, the legislature finds that providing a free, safe, interactive and
7 professional environment for every child after school hours, including
8 during the summer, might provide well-needed relief for thousands of
9 working families and communities across the state.
10 § 2. Study. The office of children and family services shall, within
11 eighteen months from the effective date of this act, conduct and
12 complete a study to evaluate the feasibility of providing universal,
13 year-round, out-of-school programming to every child and family in New
14 York that desires to participate. Such study shall examine, at a mini-
15 mum, the following:
16 (a) the costs of implementing a year-round, universal out-of-school
17 program, including but not limited to facility, transportation, labor,
18 and security costs. The study shall also examine the current funding
19 structures for after-school programming, including funding structures
20 for out-of-school school programs, the cost burdens borne by munici-
21 palities, New York state, and the federal government, and how those
22 costs might more effectively be shared in a universal program;
23 (b) per-child pay rates for current providers, as well as the wage
24 disparities, if any, between out-of-school workers and similarly situ-
25 ated service professionals. The study shall also make recommendations on
26 professional development opportunities for out-of-school workers;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14941-02-4
S. 8836 2
1 (c) current accessibility to out-of-school programming, including
2 summer employment and after school programming during the academic year,
3 and whether inequities exist, and to what extent, in access to current
4 programming. The study shall consider socio-economic inequities, includ-
5 ing, but not limited to, racial, ethnic, sex, immigration status, and
6 socio-economic status disparities that may impose barriers to accessi-
7 bility;
8 (d) opportunities for inter- and intra- agency collaboration in deliv-
9 ering universal out-of-school programming, including but not limited to
10 opportunities for the department of education, division of criminal
11 justice services, local youth bureaus, and provider agencies to share
12 resources, best practices, and relevant information to deliver effective
13 universal out-of-school programming; and
14 (e) any other relevant topic areas deemed necessary to assist in
15 delivering universal out-of-school programming in New York state.
16 § 3. Report. No later than ninety days after such study has been
17 completed pursuant to section two of this act, the office of children
18 and family services shall complete a report based on such study, which
19 shall provide recommendations for the completion and implementation of a
20 universal out-of-school program within the state of New York, and shall
21 deliver such report to the governor, the temporary president of the
22 senate, and the speaker of the assembly.
23 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.