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State inventory shows program coverage gaps; funding details often missing
Summary
State staff reported an initial statewide inventory that identified 97 grant‑type programs and significant gaps: after‑school programs undercounted, program data returned from 37 of 67 counties and financial information was the least complete element.
State staff leading a statewide program inventory told the commission they have collected program details from several agencies but that responses to date underrepresent statewide activity and often omit funding details.
Marcus Morgan, who led the inventory effort for ACES, said his team received detailed program information from a limited set of respondents and that financial data was the hardest to obtain. “The funding was probably the piece that we lack the most return on,” Morgan said, noting many funders can report only the portion they contribute rather than full program budgets.
Morgan described the inventory template his team used. The template collects program type, delivery location, capacity, enrollment and completion counts, sources of funds and operating and administrative expenditures — the latter identified as important for estimating marginal costs of scaling programs. He said the commission’s early returns listed 97 detailed grant‑type programs, 92 identified summer programs and only 14 after‑school programs; the returns covered programs in 37 of Alabama’s 67 counties.
Morgan cautioned the current numbers likely undercount activity because larger funders report only what they directly allocate and many local program locations and LEA‑level data have not yet been collected. He told commissioners a comprehensive, program‑level inventory that captures LEA and community sites would likely require many months and strong cooperation from agency and local partners.
Commissioners and staff discussed next steps: refine the template with agency feedback, convene agency liaisons to identify what data already exists at the LEA level (for example, reporting from the Alabama State Department of Education, ALSDE), and create a subgroup to draft or review quality standards in parallel with the inventory.
The commission directed staff to continue outreach to local providers and to work with agencies to clarify what program‑level financial information is feasible to collect.
