TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager to: 1) ensure the City of Long Beach partners with the Proposition 49 Implementation Committee;
2) secure a leadership position for the City within this Committee in its pursuit of Proposition 49 funding; and 3) exercise all available resources including, but not limited to, legislative advocacy in order to secure the successful implementation of Proposition 49 so that Long Beach families, schools, recreation programs and community-based organizations benefit from Proposition 49 After-School funding.
DISCUSSION
After school programs engage at-risk children, as well as offer vital academic support. Research has shown that students who participate in these programs have better grades, lower truancy rates and increased civic involvement. The City of Long Beach has been instrumental in supporting a citywide collaboration focused on expanding the quality and quantity of after school programs on school sites.
Throughout Long Beach, after school programs are currently offered at over 40 schools. These programs are operated by a collaborative of community-based agencies and city departments. The Office of the Governor, in conjunction with the California Department of Education (CDE), will soon begin the process of distributing funds approved by voters through Proposition 49 in 2002. The legislation provides additional state funding to maintain these programs as well as to expand after-school programs to all interested elementary and middle schools. Prop. 49 funded programs will now be overseen as part of the CDE's After School Education and Safety Program (ASES) and require matching funds at the local level. Other qualification and requirement issues must also be addressed in order to maximize the positive impact of these programs in our community. It is essential that the City play a partnership role in support of the collaborative of stakeholders on the Proposition 49 Implementation Committee to ensure that Long Beach fam...
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