We have been diligently monitoring the legislative session for news about summer learning funds. Likely we will not have a final answer regarding funding until May. We stand ready to distribute funds this year should we be tasked with doing so.
In the meantime, please note the following items so you can best be prepared should funding be made available by our legislators for distribution:
- Insurance: this was a challenge last year, especially obtaining sexual abuse and molestation coverage. The requirements for coverage will be based on the type of program being operated based on the level of staff/volunteer contact with children. For example, there are some organizations which only provided scholarships to children (no direct contact with children) while others conducted highly specialized overnight camps with transportation; these will have different insurance requirements since there are different levels of risk associated with each. Here is a link to the tiered model for insurance coverage.
- More insurance information: While we don’t know about summer grant funds for this year, if you are seeking partnership with public entities or a grant coming from state funds, you will need to pursue insurance coverage similar to last year. You may want to reach out to your insurance agent to secure sufficient coverage as this can take 6-8 weeks. Here are some examples of what an insurer may ask for when seeking sexual abuse and molestation coverage on your behalf.
- Application: For application, a budget will be required in addition to other program information. Namely, your budget will need to show planned expenditures for the amount you are requesting.
- Demographics: Increasingly, our legislators and our local leaders need to see how resources are supporting traditionally underserved students and families. As you collect registration information, consider collecting information about ethnicity, race, experience with disabilities, gender, and age. This will be part of reporting again this year.
- Reporting: should funding become available and awarded, reporting will include demographic information for who was served with these funds and actual financial information. Those who do not report 100% use of funds will be invoiced for the unused portion.
If you would like to track what is going on legislatively, please connect with our partners at OregonASK as they have great information about how to monitor the work of our legislators around this initiative.
In solidarity,
OAESD