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Michelle Doucette Cunningham: After‑school and summer programs "are essential," says Connecticut Network for Children and Youth director
Summary
In a Connecticut Paid Leave podcast interview, Michelle Doucette Cunningham, executive director of the Connecticut Network for Children and Youth, described the network’s role supporting after‑school providers and urged expanded public funding to increase access statewide.
Michelle Doucette Cunningham, executive director of the Connecticut Network for Children and Youth, said in a Connecticut Paid Leave podcast that after‑school and summer programs "are essential," helping children learn, keeping them safe and giving parents peace of mind.
The Connecticut Network for Children and Youth, Cunningham said, is an intermediary organization that "doesn't provide direct services to children, but we help the organizations that help children and families" through advocacy, training and professional development. The network operates statewide and supports providers and parents by connecting them with resources and grants.
Cunningham highlighted the Connecticut After School Network as a flagship initiative designed to make sure children have safe, creative places to go outside school hours — evenings, weekends and summer — noting that these settings offer learning and social‑emotional supports without the testing environment of school. "It's very open and available for creativity," she said, adding that after‑school programs let children explore interests and build confidence.
Funding constraints were a central theme. Cunningham said expanding program availability is a priority but acknowledged the high cost of child care and after‑school programming. "It's very expensive," she said, urging growth in public funding so "more families can take advantage of summer and after school programs." She described program expansion as necessary both for child development and to give working parents assurance that their children are safe.
Cunningham also noted the Network sometimes helps people locate after‑school programs or provides consulting to start new programs, and that the organization works with state agencies that award grants. For more information, she directed listeners to the network’s website, ctncy.org.
Host Nancy Barrow closed the segment by thanking Cunningham and inviting listeners to the Connecticut Paid Leave website and podcast (ctpaidleave.org) for a deeper dive.
The interview focused on the network’s role supporting program providers, the benefits of out‑of‑school programming for children and families, and the need for more public funding to expand access across Connecticut.
