Senate Bill S8836

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8836
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              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:
 
   Section  1.  Legislative  findings.  The  legislature hereby finds and
 declares that providing universal, year-round, out-of-school programming
 is a public safety and pedagogical imperative.  The increased  costs  of
 housing,  food,  transportation, and childcare have prompted an alarming
 exodus of working and middle-class residents  from  the  state,  and  as
 such, the legislature finds that providing a free, safe, interactive and
 professional  environment  for every child after school hours, including
 during  the summer, might provide well-needed relief  for  thousands  of
 working  families and communities across the state.
   §  2.  Study. The office of children and family services shall, within
 eighteen months from  the  effective  date  of  this  act,  conduct  and
 complete  a  study  to  evaluate the feasibility of providing universal,
 year-round, out-of-school programming to every child and family  in  New
 York  that desires to participate.  Such study shall examine, at a mini-
 mum, the following:
   (a) the costs of implementing a  year-round,  universal  out-of-school
 program,  including  but not limited to facility, transportation, labor,
 and security costs. The study shall also  examine  the  current  funding
 structures  for  after-school  programming, including funding structures
 for out-of-school school programs, the cost  burdens  borne  by  munici-
 palities,  New  York  state,  and  the federal government, and how those
 costs might more effectively be shared in a universal program;
   (b) per-child pay rates for current providers, as  well  as  the  wage
 disparities,  if  any, between out-of-school workers and similarly situ-
 ated service professionals. The study shall also make recommendations on
 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
 
   (c) current  accessibility  to  out-of-school  programming,  including
 summer employment and after school programming during the academic year,
 and  whether  inequities exist, and to what extent, in access to current
 programming. The study shall consider socio-economic inequities, includ-
 ing,  but  not  limited to, racial, ethnic, sex, immigration status, and
 socio-economic status disparities that may impose barriers  to  accessi-
 bility;
   (d) opportunities for inter- and intra- agency collaboration in deliv-
 ering  universal out-of-school programming, including but not limited to
 opportunities for the department  of  education,  division  of  criminal
 justice  services,  local  youth bureaus, and provider agencies to share
 resources, best practices, and relevant information to deliver effective
 universal out-of-school programming; and
   (e) any other relevant topic  areas  deemed  necessary  to  assist  in
 delivering universal out-of-school programming in New York state.
   §  3.  Report.  No  later  than  ninety days after such study has been
 completed pursuant to section two of this act, the  office  of  children
 and  family  services shall complete a report based on such study, which
 shall provide recommendations for the completion and implementation of a
 universal out-of-school program within the state of New York, and  shall
 deliver  such  report  to  the  governor, the temporary president of the
 senate, and the speaker of the assembly.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.