STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8836

                    IN SENATE

                                     March 19, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  MYRIE  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families

        AN ACT directing the office of children and family services to conduct a
          study to evaluate the feasibility  of  providing  year-round,  out-of-
          school  programming to every child in New York that desires to partic-
          ipate

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Legislative  findings.  The  legislature hereby finds and
     2  declares that providing universal, year-round, out-of-school programming
     3  is a public safety and pedagogical imperative.  The increased  costs  of
     4  housing,  food,  transportation, and childcare have prompted an alarming
     5  exodus of working and middle-class residents  from  the  state,  and  as
     6  such, the legislature finds that providing a free, safe, interactive and
     7  professional  environment  for every child after school hours, including
     8  during  the summer, might provide well-needed relief  for  thousands  of
     9  working  families and communities across the state.
    10    §  2.  Study. The office of children and family services shall, within
    11  eighteen months from  the  effective  date  of  this  act,  conduct  and
    12  complete  a  study  to  evaluate the feasibility of providing universal,
    13  year-round, out-of-school programming to every child and family  in  New
    14  York  that desires to participate.  Such study shall examine, at a mini-
    15  mum, the following:
    16    (a) the costs of implementing a  year-round,  universal  out-of-school
    17  program,  including  but not limited to facility, transportation, labor,
    18  and security costs. The study shall also  examine  the  current  funding
    19  structures  for  after-school  programming, including funding structures
    20  for out-of-school school programs, the cost  burdens  borne  by  munici-
    21  palities,  New  York  state,  and  the federal government, and how those
    22  costs might more effectively be shared in a universal program;
    23    (b) per-child pay rates for current providers, as  well  as  the  wage
    24  disparities,  if  any, between out-of-school workers and similarly situ-
    25  ated service professionals. The study shall also make recommendations on
    26  professional development opportunities for out-of-school workers;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14941-02-4

        S. 8836                             2

     1    (c) current  accessibility  to  out-of-school  programming,  including
     2  summer employment and after school programming during the academic year,
     3  and  whether  inequities exist, and to what extent, in access to current
     4  programming. The study shall consider socio-economic inequities, includ-
     5  ing,  but  not  limited to, racial, ethnic, sex, immigration status, and
     6  socio-economic status disparities that may impose barriers  to  accessi-
     7  bility;
     8    (d) opportunities for inter- and intra- agency collaboration in deliv-
     9  ering  universal out-of-school programming, including but not limited to
    10  opportunities for the department  of  education,  division  of  criminal
    11  justice  services,  local  youth bureaus, and provider agencies to share
    12  resources, best practices, and relevant information to deliver effective
    13  universal out-of-school programming; and
    14    (e) any other relevant topic  areas  deemed  necessary  to  assist  in
    15  delivering universal out-of-school programming in New York state.
    16    §  3.  Report.  No  later  than  ninety days after such study has been
    17  completed pursuant to section two of this act, the  office  of  children
    18  and  family  services shall complete a report based on such study, which
    19  shall provide recommendations for the completion and implementation of a
    20  universal out-of-school program within the state of New York, and  shall
    21  deliver  such  report  to  the  governor, the temporary president of the
    22  senate, and the speaker of the assembly.
    23    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.