Programs

The Connecticut Juvenile Training School

The Boys & Girls Club at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School (CJTS) represents just a part, although a very important part, of our overall Targeted Re-Entry Program. That program services the boys in residence at the CJTS both before their release and after and is designed to have the Boys & Girls Club in the boy's hometown serve as a vehicle to assist the boy in successfully reintegrating themselves back into their schools, their work environment, their community and their family.

(Joe Andreana - Executive Director, CT Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs, Inc.)

State of Connecticut Appropriation Dollars Put to Good Use

Below are excerpts from the First Quarter, 2006 Progress Report recently submitted to the Office of Policy and Management reflecting the status of the $1M State appropriation used to fund our Connecticut Clubs' SMART Moves Augmentation program as well as funding, in part, eighteen innovative programs that will both enhance and improve programming to an additional 2,200 Connecticut youth.

SMART Moves Augmentation

"The SMART Moves Augmentation programming conducted during this reporting period focused on five core areas: Character and Leadership Development, Education and Career Development, the Arts, Physical Fitness and Health and Life Skills. Parents and the community at large are exposed to information and the opportunity to reinforce and enhance the success of the program outcomes through the distribution of SMART Moves materials, program visibility and recognition at community meetings and special events such as Parents Nights, Meet the Kids programs, etc.

SMART Moves, BGCA's substance abuse resistance training, will service a total of 4,656 Connecticut youth during the designated program year. The age-focused programs will service 1,408 youth, ages 6 - 9 with its SMART KIDS program; 1,877 youth, ages 10 - 12 with its START SMART program; 811 youth, ages 13 - 15 with its STAY SMART program and 560 youth, ages 16 - 18 with its SMART LEADERS program.

This quarter's report, furnished to the CT Alliance by the grantee's sixteen sub-contractor clubs, reflect a total youth served during the initial six months of the grant period of 4,787 youth ages 6 to 18. THIS FIGURE REPRESENTS 103% OF OUR MOVEMENT'S COMMITMENT TO THE EFFECTIVE UTILIZATION OF THE STATE'S APPROPRIATION.

As the end of this Reporting Period, March 31, 2006, all sixteen of our SMART Moves programs were operating and fully staffed. A delay in gaining access to the programming funds delayed the start of the SMART Moves programming in both our Bristol and Greenwich Clubs; however, both Clubs were able to implement their SMART Moves programming during the first quarter 2006.

By virtue of the Connecticut Clubs reporting the achievement of 103% of their committed attendance goal of 4,656 by the end of the current reporting period gives rise to the assumption that the Clubs will substantially exceed their committed SMART Moves attendance goals by the end of the grants award period.

Innovative Programs

Although the majority of the funded programs are in the initial phases of their implementation; the results, in terms of additional youth registered, are quite encouraging. To date, through the end of the first quarter 2006, the innovative programs funded, in part, by the state appropriation to the CT Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs, Inc. has resulted in bringing 1,063 additional youngsters, ages 6 - 18 into our clubs. This figure represents 49% of our committed addition of 2,200 youth being serviced by the state's appropriation and the match dollars being supplied by Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

The progress being achieved by each of the funded programs has been detailed in individual club progress summaries supplied to OPM.

As previously indicated, to date, fifteen of our eighteen funded programs began functioning during this report period. In each of those programs, staffing has either been brought up to budgeted levels or is in the process of being done. Equipment and supply levels have not yet reached budgeted levels and in most instances, only a fraction of the programming costs have been incurred. This situation dictates a request to extend the grant period to the end of 2006 program year. A formal request was initiated following the submission of this Progress Report."

A. Summary Data on Youth Attendance (Report Summary)

# of Youth Registered at all Clubs: 24,314 (As of 3/31/06) *

# of Different Youth Who Attended: 11,575

Average # of Days Clubs Open: 73

Average # of Days Youth Attended Monthly: 24

Average # of Youth Served Daily: 3,615

* What appears to be a reduction in the # of Youth registered from the 4th Quarter 2005 Progress Report is simply the result of some club's registration period beginning on January 1, 2006 which resulted is a one month registration figure compared to the year end number reported in the 4th Quarter 2005 Report.

# of Youth Registered for Smart Moves: 4,787 (As of 3/31/06)

# of Different Youth Who Attended Smart Moves: 3,010

Average # of Days Smart Moves Operated: 36 (1/1/06-3/31/06)

Average # of Days Youth Attended Smart Moves Monthly: 10

Average # of Youth in the Smart Moves Program Daily: 896

For the requested data below, include data only on Innovative Programs funded with state monies and any services funded with cash match:

# of Youth Registered: 1,063

# of Different Youth Who Attended: 1,004

Average # of Days Operated: 53

Average # of Days Youth Attended Monthly: 20

Average # of Youth Served Daily: 455

Boys & Girls Clubs Licensing Clarification

Boys & Girls Clubs in Connecticut have by definition and, by virtue of Connecticut State Statutes Sec. 19a-77, been exempt from Child Day Care Licensing requirements. Recently, the Connecticut Department of Health, that oversees the day care licensing, have questioned this exemption. The position of the Connecticut Alliance and the sixteen clubs that are represented by the Alliance is that our traditional after-school drop-in services are exempt from the day care licensing requirements. In those cases where Boys & Girls Clubs operate day care facilities, in addition to their traditional after-school activities, those day care facilities are and will be licensed.

As the result of a meeting hosted by Representatives Richard Belden and Marie Kirkley-Bey with participants from the CT Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs, Inc., BGCA, State Department of Public Health and the State's Attorney General's office, the following actions were enacted:

• Amendments to Senate House Bill 6713 "An act concerning revisions to Department of Public Health Statues" were introduced and approved
• Sec. 528 Subsection (b) of Section 19a-77 was revised
• (b) For licensing requirement purposes, child day care services shall not include such services which are:
  
  (3) Recreation operations such as, but not limited to, creative art studios for children that offer parent-child recreational programs and classes in music, dance, drama and art that are no longer than two hours in length, library programs, boy's and girls clubs ? (was removed) church-related activities, scouting, camping or community-youth programs; or
  
  (7) Drop-in programs administered by a nationally chartered boys' and girls' club