Policy Resources
Academy of Educational Development (AED)- AED is a nonprofit organization working globally to improve education, health, civil society, and economic development through information, training, social marketing, and policy analysis. www.aed.org
Afterschool Alliance- Afterschool Alliance is the national advocacy organization for afterschool working to ensure that all youth have access to affordable, quality afterschool programs by the year 2010. www.afterschoolalliance.org
Afterschool.gov- Afterschool.gov is designed to be accessible by parents, providers and/or youth in order to obtain government resources and funding opportunities that support after school programs. www.afterschool.gov
American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF)- AYPF is professional development organization that provides information for policymakers at the national, state, and local levels on youth policy issues, including: education reform, career preparation, juvenile justice and research. www.aypf.org
Boston After School & Beyond- Boston After School & Beyond is a public-private partnership that advocates for the power of out-of-school time (OST) in youth development. Focused specifically on the Boston area, Boston After School & Beyond seeks to ensure that youth experience the entire day and the entire year as a series of coordinated education and enrichment opportunities. www.bostonbeyond.org
Center for Collaborative Solution (CCS)- CCS is committed to helping afterschool programs achieve their goals by creating powerful visions, developing capable leaders and high performing teams, constructing authentic partnerships and implementing approaches and solutions that build the capacity of programs to help children and young people succeed in all areas of their lives. http://www.ccscenter.org/
Children’s Defense Fund (CDF)- The Children’s Defense Fund provides a strong, effective voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby, or speak for themselves while also educating the nation about the needs of children. http://www.childrensdefense.org/
Children Now- Children Now is a national organization working to ensure that children and their needs are the top public policy priority. http://www.childrennow.org/
Coalition for Science After School (CSAS)- The Coalition for Science After School is a group of leaders from youth development, science learning, and educational development organizations committed to increasing and improving opportunities for children to learn science, technology, engineering and mathematics in after-school programs. http://www.scienceafterschool.org/
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)- CASEL works to establish social and emotional learning (SEL) as an essential part of education. Their research and materials focus on the benefits of preschool through high school SEL programming; how SEL coordinates with other educational movements; research and training in implementation; assessment; school and district leadership development; educational policies; and communications. www.casel.org
Collaborative Communications Group (CCG)- The Collaborative Communications Group is a strategic consulting firm that uses collaboration and communications to build the capacity and influence of organizations working to improve public education and the quality of community life. http://www.collaborativecommunications.com/welcome/
Education Alliance, Brown University- The Education Alliance uses applied research to promote educational change to provide equitable opportunities for students to succeed. The Education Alliance works on developing solutions to problems such as school change, educational leadership, and professional development. www.alliance.brown.edu
Education Development Center (EDC)- Education Development Center collaborates with providers and partners around the globe, working to connect research, policy, and practice in the child care field and seeking to advance the learning and healthy development of individuals of all ages. www.edc.org
Every Child Matters Education Fund- The Every Child Matters Education Fund supports and provides opportunities for focused public attention on important children’s issues and collaborates with local volunteers and children’s organizations to accomplish the Fund’s campaign activities. www.everychildmatters.org
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids- Fight Crime: Invest in Kids is a national, bipartisan, nonprofit anti-crime organization that focuses on high quality early education programs, prevention of child abuse and neglect, after-school programs for children and teens, and interventions to get troubled kids back on track. Its membership is made up of more than 5,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, attorneys general and other law enforcement leaders and violence survivors. http://fightcrime.org/
Forum for Youth Investment- Helps communities and the nation make sure all young people are Ready by 21™ — ready for college, work and life. www.forumfyi.org
Foundations Inc. – Partnering with education and community leaders, Foundations Inc. is a non-profit professional development, training, technical assistance, assessment and research organization committed to increasing the quality of nationwide youth programs. http://www.foundationsinc.org/
FowlerHoffman, LLC- FowlerHoffman works with organizations to earn results in the form of significant shifts in public opinion, policy maker attitudes, citizen action, legislation, and funding levels. http://www.fowlerhoffman.info
KIDS COUNT- KIDS COUNT is a national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the United States. KIDSCOUNT seeks to enrich local, state, and national discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children. www.kidscount.org
Learning Points Associates (LPA)- LPA focuses on change in the educational system through policy, research, and evaluation. LPA evaluates and provides support to afterschool programs and oversees the national data collection system for the U.S. Department of Education’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program. http://www.learningpt.org/
Library of Congress- Launched in 1995, the THOMAS system of the Library of Congress allows the public to search congressional bills by text, number, or sponsor, link to committee websites, find out how to access Senators and Representatives, and learn about current congressional activity. thomas.loc.gov
National AfterSchool Association (NAA)- NAA represents the voice of the afterschool field in the areas of professional development, program quality, public policy and current issues affecting children and youth in their out of school time. http://naaweb.org/
National Institute for Out-of-School Time (NIOST)- NIOST works to ensures that all children, youth, and families have access to high quality programs, activities, and opportunities during non-school hours. www.niost.org
National Summer Learning Association- The National Summer Learning Association creates high quality summer learning opportunities for all young people through developing, evaluating, and disseminating model summer learning programs, stimulating research, and building public support to ensure that all children have access to learning opportunities during the summer months. www.summerlearning.org
Policy Studies Associates, Inc.(PSA)- PSA conducts research in education and youth development to guide informed decision making. Studies by PSA cover the following areas: school improvement; youth development/ after-school programs; professional development; community involvement; technical assistance and scale-up of innovative programs. http://www.policystudies.com/
Resources On AfterSchool- Resources On Afterschool is an online tool featuring resources in the areas of: research and evaluation, promising practices, professional development, public awareness and communications, policy, and financing in afterschool. www.afterschoolresources.org
Save the Children- Save the Children is an international child advocacy and program provider organization committed to child health and literacy. http://www.savethechildren.org/
The After School Project- The After School Project is a national program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that focuses on bringing together youth from low-income neighborhoods with responsible adults through out-of-school time programs. www.theafterschoolproject.org
The After-School Corporation (TASC)- TASC is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to making quality after-school programs universally available and publicly funded while also providing professional development opportunities and intensive technical assistance to after-school staff to ensure quality programming. www.tascorp.org
The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE)- CIRCLE promotes research on the civic and political engagement of Americans between the ages of 15 and 25. The site also serves as a clearinghouse for relevant information and scholarship. www.civicyouth.org
United States House of Representatives- Visitors to this site can search for representatives, committees, bills, and find vote information for the U.S. House of Representatives. www.house.gov
United States Senate- Visitors to this site can locate Senators, committees, legislation and records, current schedules, active legislation, and votes the U.S. Senate. www.senate.gov
Youth Action Research Institute (YARI)- YARI, part of the Institute for Community Research, promotes the use of action research for personal, group, and community development. Participants include children, preadolescents, and youth of diverse ethnic backgrounds as well as sexual minority youth. www.incommunityresearch.org/research/yari.htm
Youth In Focus- Youth In Action works to educate underrepresented youth and adult partners in youth-led action research, evaluation, and planning to create the conditions for social justice. www.youthinfocus.net
