Michigan has provided funding for Out-of-School Time (OST) for the past three fiscal years. These investments have marked a significant improvement in opportunities for youth participating in before, afterschool, and summer learning programs.
We are still compiling the numbers from the FY 23 investment of $25 million; however, we know that the first $10 million state investment provided OST programming to 50,000 youth statewide.
As the Governor’s administration moves to create a new department that prioritizes OST, it is the hope of MASP that we systematically build upon the lessons learned, relationships built, and constructive work that has been completed with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) and policymakers over the past three years.
With that in mind, a list of recommendations was submitted this week to Governor Whitmer's team that MASP hopes will be considered as OST is incorporated into the new Department of Lifelong Education Advancement and Potential (Mi-LEAP).