Vermont Afterschool director urges House Education to let libraries apply for S.232 grants

Nicole Miller, executive director of Vermont Afterschool, told the Vermont House Education Committee on April 9 that her organization is "in full support of this bill," saying S.232 clarifies eligibility and would make it "really explicit and clear that that libraries and other entities are able to apply."

Miller described Vermont Afterschool as a nonprofit that supports afterschool and summer programs statewide by providing professional development, tools and resources to childcare programs, schools, public libraries, parks and recreation programs, YMCAs, museums and teen centers. She said the organization’s work is intended to expand access so any child in Vermont who wants to attend an afterschool or summer program can do so.

Miller said she serves on the Afterschool and Summer Advisory Committee created through Act 78 and praised compromises reached in the Senate version of the bill. She described S.232 as doing three specific things: clarifying who is eligible to apply for grant funds, updating advisory-committee membership, and directing the advisory committee to solicit public input annually so smaller community-based organizations—particularly rural public libraries—can apply. "We really think that this version of the bill ... does several things," she said.

Using her own experience, Miller said libraries have been "huge partners" in delivering year-round programming during a decade she ran a program in Hardwick. She told the committee that, in her program’s example, libraries did not receive grant money for their partnership and instead "provided those services for free," allowing the program to stretch its grant dollars. She cautioned, however, that that dynamic is not universal across the state.

Chair and committee members asked whether smaller providers perceive barriers to applying for afterschool funds. Miller acknowledged that some smaller programs feel they lack capacity to apply and said Vermont Afterschool works to spread information through an e-newsletter and other channels; she recommended contacting the Agency of Education for technical assistance with applications.

Representative Wong asked specifically whether grant applications require partners to be identified as volunteer or paid. Miller said that when she ran a program nearly a decade ago under a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant, the application did not require indicating whether partners were volunteer; she said she could not speak to whether current Act 78 grant applications require that information because she does not review those applications.

Committee members and Miller agreed that partnerships are viewed favorably in many grant applications and that community partners are critical to program success. Miller referenced recent legislative work on universal afterschool goals and said the bill aligns with the intent of the afterschool and summer special fund to expand access regardless of where children live.

The committee concluded the witness portion of its meeting and adjourned for the day; members were told the bill’s sponsor would present to appropriations soon and that Ways and Means would take up related work next week.