One Voice for After School
Join CSACA and the Connecticut After School Network in celebrating our newly re-designed organization to better meet the needs of the after school field. At the Annual Meeting on 2006, the CSACA Board of Governors announced a new name, mission and vision for the organization. The newly re-designed organization was named the Connecticut After School Network. Click here to read a message from Tracey Lay, President, Board of Governors
our History
The Connecticut After School Network evolved through a series of events that laid the groundwork for its establishment. In July, 2000, Connecticut was one of eight states invited to participate in a symposium sponsored by the National Afterschool Alliance. Participants included Tracey Lay, President of CSACA, Elizabeth Brown of CT's Commission on Children, providers and other representatives of community organizations, foundations and state agencies. During the symposium, a vision and plan to create a strong voice in Connecticut for increasing the number and sustainability of quality after school programs in the state was created. After the symposium, the National Afterschool Alliance provided invaluable assistance to Connecticut on successful national network models and public policy initiatives.
In the meantime, the Connecticut State Department of Education convened a statewide Afterschool Steering Committee to bring together policymakers, educators, childcare providers, youth development workers, program developers, advocates and others to establish strategies and guidelines to support effective after school programs and foster strong school-family-community partnerships. (See "Our Partners")
In June 2002 a day-long retreat was held with over 100 Connecticut participants representing broad constituencies. The result was the creation of an informal network which became the Connecticut Afterschool Alliance, spearheaded by the support of the Connecticut Commission on Children under the leadership of Elizabeth Brown. The Alliance adopted a common vision and goals, and a structure for working toward them.
A major accomplishment of the Connectcicut After School Alliance, with the support of the Connecticut Afterschool Steering Committee, was the passage of new legislation in 2003, Public Act 03-206, (now C.G.S. §10-16v) mandating the establishment of a permanent After School Council with diverse membership.
Connecticut realized that increasing after school opportunities for children and youth would depend in part on the availability of an infrastructure that would provide access to high-quality training, technical assistance and mentorship, and would link organizations in a well-designed statewide network of resources and public policy support.
At the national level, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation showed tremendous leadership by helping to establish statewide networks. These statewide networks provide a means for joint planning and sharing of resources and best practices. They build bridges to and between federal, state and local after school initiatives, and forge partnerships necessary for comprehensive statewide after school policies. They also provide a means to encourage local and state policymakers to invest additional resources wisely, expand quality after school opportunities and address particular needs to improve quality and sustainability.
In 2003, the State Department of Education, with the support of the Connecticut After School Alliance and its many partners, applied to the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation for a three-year grant to establish the Connecticut After School Network. In July, 2004, CSACA, Connecticut’s after school professional organization, through a competitive RFP process, was accepted as intermediary organization for the Connecticut After School Network.
In November 2004, Michelle Doucette Cunningham was hired as the Program Administrator and a few months later, Karen Swam was hired as the Network’s Resource Development Coordinator. Today, the Network has four full-time and three part-time staff members. For information about the Network staff, click here. To learn more about the Network's accomplishments click here.