Commissioners discuss ASAP after-school program funding, capacity and coordination with local nonprofits

Sheila Ware, director of Housing and Community Services, presented program and performance information about the city-run ASAP after-school program and said commissioners should consider funding sustainability and collaboration with other local providers.

"The importance of ASAP is that they have to offer. 1 in 4 youths are alone and unsupervised after school," Ware said, explaining the program’s mission to provide supervision, homework help and enrichment for children in neighborhoods served by ASAP sites.

Ware provided enrollment and attendance data for the 2024–25 school year: at the Glenwood location (726 E. 14th Court) 31 students were enrolled with a daily average attendance of 26; 36 students participated in the summer program with a daily average of 30. The Panaville site (1804 Flower Avenue) had 23 students enrolled with a daily average of 21 during the school year and 23 enrolled during the summer with about 19 daily.

She said the program maintains a waiting list and that Panaville’s enrollment is capped at 23 to meet DCF requirements. Ware highlighted student outcomes: "We have a 96% passing rate for all our students that are being promoted to the next grade," and staff tracked 1,556 books read across the program with corresponding comprehension quizzes.

Program operations and costs were reviewed. Ware said the ASAP registration fee is $200 for the school year, or $300 if the city provides transportation, and noted the program offers extended hours on request to accommodate working parents. She said CDBG public-service set-asides and other grant funds cover a portion of operating costs and that CDBG rules cap public-service spending at 15% and administration at 20% of annual entitlement.

Staff and commissioners also discussed funding sources that have supported ASAP, including proceeds tied to the legal settlement and the Friends of ASAP Inc. nonprofit account. Jared Jones and other city staff described a plan to exhaust remaining nonprofit funds and seek grants through the city while ensuring appropriate oversight and monitoring of any subrecipients.

Several commissioners urged exploring stronger coordination with local nonprofits and the Boys & Girls Club and noted overlapping services. Commissioners favored convening providers to identify duplication, possible partnerships and ways to increase capacity while controlling administrative costs. The group discussed that consolidation or joint facility use could produce economies of scale, but that any subrecipient arrangement would still require city monitoring to meet federal grant rules.

Ware said the department is pursuing grants and that staff will prepare additional options for sustaining ASAP operations, including grant strategies and use of remaining non-profit funds. No formal action was taken at the workshop; commissioners asked staff to return with options for long-term funding and a plan for convening local youth-service providers.

The presentation referenced CDBG rules (Housing and Community Development Act of 1974), HUD housing-counseling guidance and the city’s internal nonprofit accounts. Staff committed to circulating program spreadsheets, cost estimates and grant application plans after the meeting.