Budget Proposal: More than 10,000 Kids Lose After-School

Nearly 10,500 fewer students in New York State will be able to attend after-school programs next year under Governor David Paterson’s state budget proposal. Approximately 1,000 people who work in after-school programs would lose their jobs, according to an analysis of the governor’s budget proposal by The After-School Corporation, a nonprofit organization in New York City.

Advantage Afterschool, a New York State initiative which provides kids with daily, comprehensive programs that keep them safe while their parents work, would be reduced from $30.5 million this year to $17.2 million next year, cutting enrollment from 24,160 to 13,760 kids:

The impact in New York City would be a loss of after-school spots for 6,500 kids.

“Given the magnitude of these cuts, I worry that this could be the beginning of a dismantling of the statewide after-school system that’s taken a decade to build,” TASC President Lucy N. Friedman said. “These are daily after-school programs that are independent of school budgets. Parents have come to depend on them to engage their kids more deeply in learning and to offer them academic support, enrichments and healthy meals. We understand the state is dealing with reduced revenues, but the harm outweighs the savings when we eliminate programs that help parents find or keep jobs.”