Today, not all Cambridge families have access to afterschool and summer programs, or out-of-school time (OST) opportunities. The City of Cambridge has contracted with consultants to conduct an OST Expansion Study "to develop a three-year plan to expand and improve After School Care for Cambridge children."  For more information about the study, please reference the timeline on this page, which will be updated regularly to reflect progress to date.  You may also reach out to Susan Richards with questions.​

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Timeline

September 2024 - The OST Advisory Group met to (1) review plan for upcoming focus groups with parents/caregivers and public school personnel, (2) engage in systems thinking overview and discuss unmet need for out-of-school time program seats and (3) brainstorm strategies and solutions to inform OST Expansion report.  

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August 2024 - The OST Expansion Steering Committee met to:  Review Six Conditions for Systems Change Framework and practiced applying systems thinking to leverage roles as systems leaders in 3 areas identified in Focus Groups with Front Line staff:  (1) Shared Staffing (2) Space Sharing, and (3) Meeting the Needs of Children with Special Needs.  The Steering Committee also discussed prioritizing and outreach to engage caregiver/parent and school day teachers in the fall.  

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July 25, 2024 - The OST Expansion Advisory Group met to: (1) Provide Feedback on Ideal Future State & Fishbone, (2) Make Meaning of Qualitative Data from Front Line Youth Worker Focus Groups, and (3) Brainstorm Strategies for Caregiver and School Teacher Engagement in the fall.  

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June 2024 - Recognizing the crucial role that Staff recruitment and retention plays in the expansion of OST Programs in Cambridge, WithInsight Group and Resonance Data Collective worked with the Agenda for Children OST to conduct focus groups with Cambridge OST Front Line Youth Workers to learn more about: 

1. What factors are impacting recruitment of quality OST teachers and youth workers?
2. What factors are impacting retention of quality OST teachers and youth workers?
3. To what extent are OST staff able to meet the needs of all children (e.g., Black and Brown boys, children with special needs, low-income students)? ​

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May 8, 2024 - Convened first meeting of the OST Expansion Advisory Group. The group reviewed the purpose of the project and the role of the Advisory Group.  Advisory Group members worked in small groups and generated the ideal future state of OST we are striving to create (i.e. our north star) and identified resources and barriers.  Attached you will find the slides from the meeting, which include the notes from table talks. 

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May 1, 2024 - Universal After School Presentation at the The City Council Human Service and Veterans Committee. Chaired by Ayesha Wilson, the The City Council Human Service and Veterans Committee held a public hearing on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 from 3:00pm-5:00pm to discuss the progress being made to bring universal afterschool to Cambridge.

Lead presenter, Michelle Farnum, DHSP's Assistant Director of Children, Youth, and Families, reported on progress. Committee Members present included: Ayesha Wilson, Sumbul Siddiqui, Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler, Patty Nolan, and Marc McGovern. Committee meetings are not recorded. Click here to view the slide presentation.

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March 2024 - The Agenda for Children OST provided updates to the Human Services Commission 

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February 2024 - The selection committee chose WithInsight Group to lead OST Expansion Study and began recruiting Advisory group members.

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January 2024 - Members of the Steering Committee reviewed proposals and interviewed applicants.

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December 2023 - The City of Cambridge MA issued a request for proposals (RFP) seeking a vendor to perform a comprehensive Study on the Expansion of Out of School Time (OST) Programs for the City. 

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November 2023 - Steering Committee met ​

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August 1, 2023 - the City announced its plan to fund 65 additional seats in the non-profit programs (Agassiz Baldwin Community, Cambridge Community Center, Community Art Center, East End House and the YMCA). Overall, non-profit programs aimed to expand by close to 90 seats (of which 65 will be reserved for low income families).

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July 2023 - The Agenda for Children OST, with support from Louis Costa de Beauregard, a summer intern from the Kennedy School of Government, started mapping out the current state of the OST ecosystem, gathering data and doing some preliminary analysis. Initial discussions with key stakeholders in the OST community focused on identifying the main causes contributing to the lack of access today and generating ideas to equitably solve these problems going forward.

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April 3, 2023 - Cambridge City Council Meeting, the Council unanimously passed Policy Order and Resolution POR 2023 #59 "to develop a three-year plan to expand and improve After School Care for Cambridge children." In 2024 and beyond, DHSP committed to continue to work with The Agenda for Children OST to map out a process to examine continued OST expansion opportunities across Cambridge.

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February 28, 2023 - The Human Services and Veterans Committee of the City Council held a public meeting to discuss the status of after school programming in Cambridge.

Assistant City Manager, Human Services Ellen Semonoff, and Michelle Farnum, Assistant Director of Children Youth and Families presented plans to expand the number of available slots for children in Cambridge After School Programs. They planned to add 170 seats in some of its existing DHSP programs for the Fall 2023.  If you are interested in more detailed information about the city's plans to expand programs and staffing, please review the slides, click here. The video is available here.

Both Michelle and Ellen repeatedly stated that the city must collaborate with non-profits and school-run programs in order to meet the needs of families for out of school time care and enrichment. Over the past few years AFCOST has managed City resources from the Department of Human Service Programs and Cambridge Public Schools for school age childcare scholarships to non-profit organizations serving low-income families.  DHSP and CPS committed to continue to provide those resources next fiscal year.