Accountability and Reporting

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Community- Based Organizations

ASES and 21st CCLC programs are required to meet similar legal and fiscal provisions. Detailed guidelines exist for conditions of operation (including staffing, nutritious snack serving, and hours of operation), program components, reporting and accountability, compliance with general assurances, and federal program monitoring.

Conditions of Operation:

Staffing: After school staff working with youth must meet their district’s minimum qualifications for instructional aides. A 20 to 1 pupil-to-staff-member ratio is the norm for after school programs.

Nutritious Snack; Education Code (EC) Section 49430, requires that a nutritious snack be served to pupils in after school programs.

Hours of Operation: All programs must have a clearly defined policy on hours of operation, including conditions for early/late release time. Elementary and middle school ASES and 21st CCLC programs must open immediately after the end of all regular school days and until 6:00 p.m. for a minimum of 15 hours per week. High school 21st CCLC/ASSETs programs are not subject to set hours of operation, and only require 15 hours per week (not during the regular school day). To maintain and increase attendance at your site, consider the ideas on our Attendance Support page.

Program Components:

State-funded after school programs must offer literacy and homework support to assist students in one or more of the following areas: reading/language arts, mathematics, history and social science, computer training, or science. In addition, enrichment in fine arts, music, career education, recreation, physical activity, youth development, health, etc. must also be provided to enhance the core curriculum.

Reporting & Accountability: After school programs must report annual data on the following:

  • Program attendance
  • School-day attendance of participants
  • A choice among the following indicators of performance:
    • Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) scores
    • Homework completion rates as reported by school day or after school providers
    • Skill development as reported by school day or after school providers
    • Positive behavioral changes as reported by school day or after school providers
    • Additional measures determined by the California Department of Education
  • Review of program goals, content and chosen outcome indicators every three years
  • STAR results

Download budget and reporting forms, including general fiscal, attendance, and expenditure templates from the California Department of Education.

ASES

21st CCLC

General Assurances: After school program grantees must comply with a set of General Assurances intended to guarantee program quality and adherence to legal and fiscal requirements.

Key Resources for California After School Programs:

Key Resources for California After School Programs (PDF) provides information related to standards, assessment, and accountability policies and practices that are available to support development and implementation of quality after school programs.

Federal Program Monitoring (FPM):

Federal Program Monitoring (FPM) is a legal compliance review process that involves onsite visits by California Department of Education (CDE) staff to all categorical programs, including before and after school programs operated by local educational agencies (LEAs). A review team uses a FPM instrument designed to objectively determine how well programs are meeting state and federal requirements, and to provide feedback to each site based on documentation, interviews, and observations over a number of days. The FPM instrument allows the review team to guide their visit by evidence, as well as to explain the reason(s) for noncompliance (if any), and to state how to resolve findings of noncompliance. Meanwhile, LEA-appointed grant managers or supervisors also have access to an Ongoing Program Self-Evaluation Tool (OPSET), designed around the same elements as the FPM instrument. The OPSET can help program staff to bring a program into compliance prior to the FPM.

Support with FPM

After School Regional Leads offer trainings and individualized support for programs to prepare for FPM. Trainings focus on organizing documentation around the seven dimensions on the FPM instrument and OPSET: Involvement; Governance and Administration; Funding; Standards, Assessment, and Accountability; Staffing and Professional Development; Opportunity and Equal Education Access; and Teaching and Learning. For instance, staff learn how to gather and file their FPM documentation into color-coded folders by category months before the scheduled FPM visit. Multiple site programs can have a central program box, as well as binders for individual sites. A site supervisor or designee can be appointed to oversee the maintenance and upkeep of documents for these files over time. Individual sites can also

contact their Regional Leads for additional assistance.

Building Partnerships Beyond FPM

Communicating with site administrators, parents, and staff allows after school programs to build a support system that extends beyond the FPM visit, since after school programs and LEAs need partners before, during, and after the FPM visit (the review team will also observe and interview LEA staff, students, and community members).

The Positive Aspect of FPM

The FPM is not meant to be a "gotcha" experience. Rather, it’s intended to offer an opportunity for LEAs and CDE staff to collaborate on behalf of the students. FPM makes it possible for the review team and LEA staff to assess how well a program is meeting requirements, and to explore student-centered solutions to areas where the program may fall short (programs have up to 45 days to address noncompliance issues). As a result, programs can determine how to best serve the students. Designed to occur every four years for a given LEA, the FPM process is also dynamic and expected to evolve over time. Sources:

Access the complete FPM instrument and OPSET tool, and other FPM information

  • This Web site does not necessarily reflect
  • the position or policy of the CDE.