“There’s so many benefits to out-of-school time and we want to make sure that’s something that continues in the state.”
Erin Skene-Pratt is executive director of the Michigan Afterschool Partnership. She says afterschool programs received state funding for the past four years, but the latest state House budget proposal would effectively eliminate that funding.
“We know from the evaluations that have been conducted that it’s incredibly useful for the youth in terms of their academics, in terms of their attendance in school, in terms of them feeling like they have somewhere safe to be.”
Muskegon and Newaygo Counties, which received over $2 million last year, would especially feel the effects of funding cuts.
“We already have a real shortage of opportunities for youth in this area and there’s a high demand: for every one youth that’s in a program, four are waiting to get in, and that’s kindergarten through 12th grade, and that estimates to be about 750,000 youth who would be a part of a program if one were available to them.”
Skene-Pratt says over 770 sites statewide received afterschool funding last year.
The 2026 state budget plan still needs approval from both chambers and the governor by October 1st.
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