History
NJSACC: New Jersey’s Afterschool and Out-of-School Time Professional Network had its beginnings 40 years ago as a grassroots coalition made up of stakeholders in education, government, the business industry, not for profit, for profit, health and human services to improve the quality of the growing field of afterschool.
In 1993, NJSACC (New Jersey School-Age Child Care Coalition) became incorporated as a not for profit organization. NJSACC is a founding member of the National AfterSchool Association (NAA) and currently serves as the state affiliate.
In 2007, NJSACC was selected to join the National Network of Statewide Afterschool Networks funded by the Charles S. Mott Foundation.
Vision
Every youth and family in New Jersey has access to high-quality and sustainable out-of-school time programs.
Mission
To foster the growth, quality, and sustainability of out-of-school time providers, professionals, and organizations to expand access and opportunity for New Jersey’s youth and families.
Purpose
NJSACC’s purpose is to address the challenges that the Out-of-School Time (OST) profession faces including equity, access, capacity, and connections towards creating a strong, valued profession benefitting youth, families, and communities.
Values
Quality: we promote the consistent use of standards of practices across New Jersey.
Equity: we champion equity in OST programs across New Jersey to ensure access for all young people.
Professional Development: we develop and support the practice of learning for OST professionals.
Advocacy: we represent New Jersey’s OST communities at the state and national level influencing policies, securing resources, and raising awareness about the importance of OST.
NJSACC strives to contribute to a more diverse, equitable and inclusive New Jersey community through the following work:
- Build and support a strong, professional network for afterschool and out-of-school time providers, programs and professionals in New Jersey.
- Provide professional development, conferences, workshops and resources to meet the needs of OST professionals and professional organizations.
- Offer technical assistance, free or low cost, for the development, expansion and improvement of afterschool and OST programs throughout NJ. Technical assistance means that we are available to field questions, help OST programs and providers identify resources and activities, and provide guidance for continuous program quality.
- Work closely with state and local officials to define appropriate NJ State regulations and legislation.
- Establish professional development opportunities.
- Develop public awareness of afterschool issues.
As a member of the National Network of Statewide Afterschool Networks funded by the Charles
Stewart Mott Foundation, NJSACC and similar agencies across the nation, are working to achieve the following goals:
- Create a sustainable structure of statewide, regional and local partnerships, particularly school-community partnerships, focused on supporting policy development at all levels.
- Support the development and growth of statewide policies that will secure the resources that are needed to sustain new and existing afterschool programs.
- Support statewide systems to ensure programs are of high quality.
NJSACC is funded in part:
- by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
- by the NJ Department of Human Services, Division of Family Development as part of a Federal Child Care Development Fund (CCDF)Block Grant Earmark
- with federal funds from Title IV, Part B, 21st Century Community Learning Centers program of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) awarded to the New Jersey Department of Education.
Impact
In the last year, NJSACC has impacted 189,868 Youth through 392 OST Professionals that utilized 410 Hours of our targeted technical assistance, peer leadership communities, program visits and coaching calls.
Additionally, 541,905 Youth had increased access to quality afterschool programs thanks to 604 OST Professionals taking part in 4,378 Hours of professional development we offer through conferences, workshops and trainings.
NJSACC Founders Story
The audio recording below was provided by NJSACC: New Jersey’s Afterschool & Out-of-School-Time Professional Network. This is NJSACC’s Founders Story as told by Diane Genco, its co-founder and former Executive Director. Click on the play button below to listen.
