Advocacy Resources and Reports

On this page, find resources including reports, webinars, toolkits and white papers for advocacy efforts.

Reports and Policy Research

The State of Afterschool in Illinois

Check out the 2025 State of Afterschool in Illinois brief!

In this brief, find a few of the key findings about afterschool and out-of-school time (OST) programs in Illinois based upon ACT Now’s updated 2025 map data. This brief also highlights the most significant insights uncovered during a comparative analysis between 2018 and 2025. It is important to note that all information was provided directly by the programs through self-reporting.

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America After 3PM

The Afterschool Alliance’s fifth edition of America After 3PM provides new insights about children and families during the hours of 3 to 6 p.m., when schools let out and many parents are working. National and state data from parents show afterschool programs remain an urgent priority, and millions of families who want to participate are missing out.

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Community Schools and Migrant Youth

Community schools are public schools that partner with families and community-based organizations to provide well-rounded educational opportunities and supports for students’ school success. In Illinois, community schools can be found throughout the state and the model continues to gain traction and expand.

On February 28, 2024, ACT Now hosted a webinar to discuss the importance of Community Schools and how this holistic framework is supporting newcomer youth in several communities across Chicagoland.

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Investing in Tomorrow’s Innovators in Illinois

A Comprehensive Assessment of Afterschool STEM Programs and the Need for Expanded Learning Opportunities for Youth

Afterschool Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
programming remains a key strategy across our nation in addressing inequity in students’ learning.

This policy report is designed to provide information for why investments in the afterschool STEM field are critical to the academic success and career development of students in the State of Illinois.

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Crisis in the Workforce: Event and One-Pager

On August 10, 2022, ACT Now hosted an event titled Crisis in the Afterschool Workforce: A Conversation with Legislators and Program Providers. During this event, we highlighted survey data, collected during spring 2022 to highlight the exacerbated staff shortage and the importance of supporting out-of-school time (OST) professionals.

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Community Schools in Illinois: An Effective Strategy to Address Equity, Health, and Academics in Our Schools

Community schools are public schools that partner with families and community-based organizations to provide well-rounded educational opportunities and supports for students’ school success. In Illinois, community schools can be found throughout the state and the model continues to gain traction and expand.

ACT Now has collaborated with community schools to develop a report on their impact. 

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The Need to Grow Afterschool in Illinois

ACT Now has created a white paper that uses research and data to explain what the afterschool field looks like in Illinois and where the gaps are in afterschool programming statewide.

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Effectively Communicating the Need for Afterschool

ACT Now held a webinar to provide information on how to effectively communicate the need for afterschool programs. This webinar covers common communication misconceptions, how to tailor your message to different stakeholders, and evidence-based messaging practices that have been proven to be effective in the afterschool space.

In addition to the webinar, ACT Now developed a customizable messaging template to help guide you through the process of effectively communicating the need for afterschool programs.

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Advocacy Toolkits

Advocacy Toolkit
Spring 2025

ACT Now sees advocacy as a key strategy for educating change-makers and providing partners with the context needed to develop supportive policies. Out-of-School Time
(OST) advocates may contribute by highlighting success stories within their programs and sharing their organization’s plans and ideas with policymakers to gain support for their work.

This toolkit is a guide for beginning your advocacy with a focus on ACT Now’s Spring 2025 legislative priorities.

Download toolkit

Lights On Afterschool Toolkit

Lights On Afterschool is designed to celebrate afterschool programs and providers and highlight how essential
afterschool is to youth, families, and communities! This makes LOA a great opportunity for community building, celebration, and advocacy. There are so many ways that you can get involved in and celebrate Lights On
Afterschool.

This toolkit shares ideas for how you can celebrate Lights On Afterschool 2025!

Download toolkit

Summer Learning Toolkit 2025

Initiated by the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA), National Summer Learning Week brings together diverse groups, including outof-school time providers, educators, businesses, Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), and policymakers, to celebrate and advocate for
summer learning opportunities for youth and families.

This toolkit is a guide for celebrating and advocating during Summer Learning Week!

Download toolkit

Civic Engagement Toolkit

ACT Now has created a toolkit that uses research and data to highlight the importance of providing consistent civic engagement programming for youth in Illinois.

This toolkit is useful for:

  • Getting Families and Communities Involved
  • Understanding What Civic Engagement Is
  • Why Afterschool Is An Amazing Environment for Civic Engagement
  • Youth Voice and Ideas for Student Leadership
  • Tips for Student-Led Civic Engagement Projects
  • And More!
Download toolkit

FY27 STATE Budget

Check back soon for resources and ways to take action for the FY27 State Budget!

Archived State Budget Resources

Materials

Tell Governor JB Pritzker to Include Afterschool in the FY26 Budget

ACT Now is spearheading a sign on letter to Governor JB Pritzker to encourage him to release funding for afterschool programs that was appropriated last June and to sustain this funding in next year’s budget.  

State government has been holding on to $50 million in funding allocated for afterschool programs for over six months, while afterschool programs have lost funding and shut down. Parents are in crisis from lost child care and youth are in jeopardy without safe spaces after school. 

This funding will expire if action isn’t taken soon. We can’t leave assets on the table while afterschool programs struggle daily. We need the Governor to step in and release this funding now and include it in his FY26 budget to sustain this programs long term. We also need full funding for all other afterschool programs in the state budget as outlined below. 

We encourage you to sign on to our letter to the Governor here! We also encourage you to share the sign on letter with your program administration, community members, and other advocates for afterschool! Please sign on by January 31st, 2025!

Our full FY26 budget asks include:

  • Maintain the $50 million annual appropriation to fund community learning centers supporting afterschool programs and community schools. The $50 million appropriation from FY25 has still not been released by ISBE. It is imperative that this funding becomes a sustained investment to ensure the sustainability of afterschool programs in Illinois.
  • Increase Teen REACH funding to $27.3 million. Teen REACH programs have not received rate increases to address the increased costs associated with inflation, materials, and the number of youth they serve and funding was reduced in FY25.
  • Fund the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) at $3.2 billion, with at least $55 million designated to cover an expected increase in CCAP participation.
  • Maintain funding at $6 million for After School Matters. This funding line will enable After School Matters to continue supporting teens across Chicago with paid opportunities to develop critical skills for work, college, and beyond.
  • Allocate $25 million to the Illinois State Board of Education’s After School Programs line. 
  • Appropriate $202 million for ICJIA’s Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) program.

Take action and encourage the Governor to support afterschool! Please also share our sign on letter with your administration, community members, and anyone who would be interested in supporting afterschool funding. 

Illinois State Board of Education FY26 Budget Hearing Resources

The Illinois State Board of Education’s (ISBE) budget hearings for fiscal year 2026 are quickly approaching. You can submit funding requests in writing via the Budget Hearing Form. ACT Now has developed instructions to help programs interested in participating. You will note that there are TWO lines to support afterschool programs:
– “After-School Programs”: $25 million (the traditional program that funds school sites and community-based organizations to provide out-of-school time experiences)
– “After School Programs”: $50 million (the new appropriation to support community learning centers, afterschool, and community schools programs)

Individuals who submit a budget request are also invited to speak at one of three budget hearings.
– IN-PERSON on October 8th from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. 
– VIRTUALLY on October 10th from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. 
– VIRTUALLY on October 28th from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 

You can sign up to speak, here. ISBE will give equal consideration to all written and oral testimony.  NOTE: if multiple individuals from the same organization submit budget requests for the same budget hearing day, only one person may speak on behalf of the organization. 

We know that some people may highlight the impact of the delays in disseminating these funds. If you would like to see the sign-on letter, we sent to ISBE leadership, the General Assembly, and the Governor’s Office for language, click here. 

FY25 STATE Budget

Policy Trainings

ACT Now is hosting several FREE policy trainings to support out-of-school time (OST) professionals in their advocacy efforts. You must be signed up for ANCAL to register for these events.

Past trainings are archived on ANCAL and are free to access!

Community Advocacy Calls

ACT Now hosts ad-hoc community calls to update Coalition members on important policy changes and provide resources to address identified needs

January 31, 2025: In Response to Presidential Executive Orders and OMB Memo

ACT Now Advocacy Days

ACT Now is hosting an Advocacy Day in Springfield, Illinois! Join program providers, youth, and other supporters of afterschool, summer, and expanded learning programs to advocate for Illinois’ children and families. This Advocacy Day will be fully focused on ACT Now’s Out-of-School Time (OST) for All Campaign. Participants will also have the opportunity to have lunch with fellow advocates! 

Advocacy Day will be March 25th, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Register Here

NOTE: Each person who intends to attend ACT Now’s Advocacy Day must register individually. The deadline to sign up for Advocacy Day is March 4th, 2026, at 5:00 p.m.

FAQs

This year’s Advocacy Day is March 25th, 2026 in Springfield, Illinois!

This Advocacy Day will be fully focused on ACT Now’s Out-of-School Time (OST) for All Campaign. All participants should plan to center their advocacy efforts on advancing OST for All throughout the day.

OST for All focuses on:

  • Supporting a continued investment in Out-of-School Time programs in Illinois
  • Ensuring efficient fund administration and best practices by creating an OST Council to foster collaboration among state agencies, legislators, community organizations, and other stakeholders
  • Support a continued investment in community schools by including $20 million for Full-Service Community Schools in the budget for FY27
  • Expanding OST access by stabilizing and incrementally increasing state funding streams, by consistently increasing state investments in Reimagine Youth Development Services, Teen REACH, Afterschool Programs, and R3 each by $7.5 million every year for the next ten years.

Learn more about our OST for All Campign during our Advocacy Day Prep Calls!

Anyone who wants to support Out-of-School Time and community schools can register for ACT Now’s Advocacy Day. This includes program providers, parents and guardians, students, etc.

You do not need prior experience in advocacy or lobbying to attend! Be sure to attend one of ACT Now’s Advocacy Day Prep Calls to learn more about our legislative priorities and to learn more about what you can expect at Advocacy Day.

Yes, each attendee must register individually. If your organization plans to bring multiple advocates, please ensure each of your attendees fills out the registration form. This will help to ensure that we can better accommodate all dietary restrictions, transportation, and more.

No! ACT Now’s Advocacy Day is free to attend.

We recommend bringing a water bottle and pen or pencil with you to Advocacy Day! If you have buisness cards, you may also consider bringing buisness cards! You may also want to consider bringing a portable charger. ACT Now will provide advocacy materials including the agenda for the day, talking points, one-pagers, etc.

There will be touchdown space where you can choose to leave coats, bags, etc. throughout the day. An ACT Now staff member will remain in the touchdown space to keep an eye on people’s belongings.

Learn more about items that are prohibited in the State Captiol here.

We recommend wearing comfortable shoes – there is typically quite a bit of walking throughout Advocacy Day! ACT Now staff typically wear sneakers to Advocacy Day.

We also recommend dressing appropriately for the weather as you may need to walk outside between buildings. We recommend wearing dress pants, jeans without holes or rips, or a long skirt. We do not recommend pajama pants, joggers, ripped jeans, sweatpants, or leggings.

ACT Now intends to provide Advocacy Day shirts to all registered advocates! While we will provide Advocacy Day shirts, we also encourage you to wear something from your program or community! Wearing a pin, lanyard, etc. can help legislators easily recognize you and where you are from.

ACT Now will provide a boxed lunch for all registered attendees, but we recommend that you eat breakfast before or pack breakfast for the bus ride! Please indicate any dietary restrictions in your registration so we can ensure your lunch order meets your dietary restrictions.

ACT Now intends to provide a bus from Chicago to Springfield and back. ACT Now will do our best to accommodate everyone’s transportation needs, however space is limited. Those who indicated in their registration form that they would like to take the bus to and from Advocacy Day will recieve further details via email.

If you plan to drive to and from Advocacy Day, there are multiple areas availible for parking in Downtown Springfield, including street parking.

There is also an Amtrak train station in Downtown Springfield that is walking distance to the Capitol Building.

ACT Now will host two prep calls prior to our advocacy day to review our legislative priorities, talking points, and more. Everyone who plans to attend ACT Now’s Advocacy Day should plan to attend one of the prep calls. 

When you register for Advocacy Day, please indicate which of the two prep calls you would prefer to attend. ACT Now will send the Zoom link for your preferred prep call via email.

The Prep Calls will be held:

  • March 18th, 2026, at 3:00 pm
  • March 20th, 2026, at 10:00 am

If you are not able to attend either of the Prep Calls, ACT Now will share a recording of the Prep Call with you.

A Group Leader is an experienced advocate who helps guide and support a small group of participants during ACT Now’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol and the Stratton Building in Springfield, IL. Group Leaders play a key role in ensuring advocates feel confident, prepared, and supported as they share their stories and policy asks with legislators.Group Leaders will lead small groups of advocates and group sizes are typically approximately 8–10 people per group. Learn more about what Group Leaders do here.

The full itineray/agenda for Advocacy Day will be shared closer to the day of! Keep an eye for more information and be sure to attend one of the two prep calls to learn more!

Group assignments including which legislators each group will be visiting will be shared closer to the day of! Keep an eye for more information and be sure to attend one of the two prep calls to learn more!

If you need to make any changes to your registration or are no longer able to attend ACT Now’s Advocacy Day, please email Elizabeth Hartnett at hartnette@actnowillinois.org.

Not seeing the answer to your question on this page? Reach out to Elizabeth Hartnett at hartnette@actnowillinois.org.

Youth Voice Week

Afterschool Alliance’s Youth Voice Week is coming up! March 24th through 28th, we are amplifying young people’s voices as they share the issues that matter most to them. Learn more about how your organization can participate in Youth Voice Week here.

Most U.S. Public K–12 Schools Offer After-School Programs But Many Cannot Accommodate All Students Who Want To Participate

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released a report sharing information on school districts’ capacity to offer high-quality afterschool programming. Data suggest that there are more students waiting to get into a program than spaces available, highlighting the importance of school-community partnerships.

New Brief on The Initiative Towards Universal Prekindergarten in California

The Learning Policy Institute wrote a brief on how the state of California is working to implement universal prekindergarten for the entirety of its childhood population. There is data on how many children will be impacted, how many kids are eligible now, and more. There are also highlights of other states that have endeavored to provide universal prekindergarten.

Snapshot of the 21st CCLC Non-Regulatory Guidance

The Afterschool Alliance wrote a blog post sharing several critical pieces within the new 21st CCLC non-regulatory guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Education. You can also read ACT Now’s summary, here.

New Brief on Out-of-School Time Learning

The UnidosUS’s Affiliate Network of community-based organizations and public charter schools in Illinois, Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California, developed a policy brief that provides evidence of the critical role of afterschool programs in supporting the Latino community, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.