How the Meta Settlement Can Benefit Afterschool Programs

Source: www.pexels.com

This blog by Dan Gilbert has been reposted from Afterschool Alliance’s Afterschool Snack Blog.

Meta's new settlement with 47 states will direct up to $17.1 billion over 10 years toward addressing the mental health harms linked to social media use among young people. Critically, this landmark settlement explicitly names "after school or summer programs, such as sports, literacy, dance, and other activities" as a recommended use of the funds.

As a core member of the Fund IRL Coalition, the Afterschool Alliance is proud to stand with partners around the country to urge state officials to seize this unique opportunity to expand access to critical afterschool and summer learning programs that we know help support young people’s mental and emotional well-being. Now, the call to action is clear: advocates must push states to use settlement money to fund these essential programs, providing compelling, engaging alternatives to screens for young people and ensuring they can access the real-life experiences they need to thrive.



Our own America After 3PM data show that parents look to afterschool programs to keep young people engaged, off screens, and supported holistically. More than 5 in 6 parents agree that afterschool programs provide opportunities for young people to spend more time on fun and educational activities and less time on screens (86%) and time to interact with peers and develop social skills (85%), while 79% agree that programs support children’s mental health and well-being. Among parents who have a child in an afterschool program, agreement is even higher. Unfortunately, while the parents of 29.6 million children want an afterschool program for their kids, only 7 million are enrolled. 

This means 22.6 million young people in this country are not in an afterschool program because it is either unavailable or unaffordable. These settlement dollars could go a long way in addressing that.



But being named in the settlement doesn't guarantee funding. The settlement text gives each attorney general (AG) broad discretion. The funds can go toward "any lawful purpose," and the named uses are examples only. In some states that authority sits with the AG directly, while in others the legislature controls the final spending decisions. Now is the time for advocates around the country to make the case that settlement funds should go toward programs that help remediate the mental health challenges our young people face, rather than landing in states’ general funds.



Some officials are already pointing in the right direction. North Carolina's AG has recommended funding after-school and summer school programs, crisis helplines, and school health personnel, and attorneys general from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Delaware have all specifically stated that some of their settlement dollars will go toward after-school and summer learning programs. But most states haven't decided, and the settlement itself only provides recommendations, not guarantees. 

Through our work with the Fund IRL Coalition, we are coordinating with advocates around the country to make their case directly to their attorneys general and legislators before budgets are finalized. The settlement made clear that afterschool programs are an important mental health support for young people. Now it's up to us to turn that argument into real funding that helps more young people access the programs and mental health supports that they and their families so clearly want.

MORE ABOUT...

Dan Gilbert

Dan Gilbert joined the Afterschool Alliance in 2014. As Director of Whole Child Initiatives, Dan directs the Alliance’s work around social and emotional development, trauma informed care, youth mental and emotional wellbeing, noncognitive skill development, and physical health. He also works to advance the Alliance’s outreach and messaging efforts, coordinates activities and collaborative efforts with partner organizations, and plans and implements projects including performing research and writing and disseminating reports for stakeholders at the national, state, and local level. Dan has experience working for Massachusetts state government, European Parliament, and political campaigns, and most recently worked at the Alliance for Excellent Education’s Center for Digital Learning & Policy. 

The Afterschool Alliance works to expand support for quality afterschool programs. They work with agencies, elected officials, business, 50 state afterschool networks, community leaders, and program providers across the nation to ensure that all youth have access to affordable, quality afterschool programs by engaging public will to increase public and private investment in afterschool program initiatives at the national, state, and local levels.

Afterschool Snack is a blog sponsored by the Afterschool Alliance featuring important news updates and stories written by their staff and afterschool practitioners. 

UPCOMING WEBINAR: Integrating Trauma- Informed Principles into Afterschool Programs

Friday, November 20, 2026, from 10am-12pm PST

Many of the children we serve in afterschool programs have experienced individual or collective trauma. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), over two-thirds of children report experiencing at least one traumatic event by age 16, at least 1 in 7 children experience abuse or neglect annually in the U.S. each day, 14 youth die from homicide, and more than 1,300 are treated for violence-related injuries. When trauma goes unaddressed, it creates barriers to trust, collaboration, and growth.

Expanded learning programs are well positioned to support students impacted by trauma because they provide safe spaces, opportunities for students to explore their talents and build new skills, help to increase school engagement, provide academic support, cultivate social and emotional development, and much more. Programs can also leverage the investment already made into their basic infrastructure by enhancing services with the integration of trauma-resilient informed practices.

Specifically, this session will answer:

1. What is trauma? What impacts does it have?

2. How can afterschool programs help traumatized youth?

3. What needs might these youth experience in an afterschool setting?

4. What supportive practices can afterschool programs use?

To learn more and register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/integrating-trauma-informed-care-principles-into-afterschool-programs-tickets-2004139066899?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true

Screen Time and Young People

Source: www.pexels.com

By Sam Piha

There’s a general consensus that too much screen time is bad for kids. While limiting screen time and establishing healthy digital habits has long been seen as the responsibility of parents, experts say that the burden should be shared by educators, youth program leaders and policymakers, too. In fact, Meta just settled a 17 billion-dollar lawsuit from several states claiming that their social media was intentionally designed to be addictive. Many school are restricting access to smart phones. Let’s take a closer look.



What is screen time? 
Screen time often refers to the total amount of time spent using devices with screens, such as smartphones, computers, televisions, and tablets. Too much screen use can lead to poor sleep, eye strain, and lower focus. 

“There is no single, universal definition for screen time, but generally watching TV, playing on video game consoles, and using computers, tablets, and smartphones for entertainment count as screen time. Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that researches and advocates for healthy technology use among youth, further breaks screen time into four different categories: passive, interactive, communication, and content creation.” [i]

Social Media
A large concern of screen time involves social media. These are “forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos).” [ii]

“Potential benefits of social media include:

• Staying connected to friends
• Finding community and support for shared interests
• Creative pursuits, such as sharing artwork or music
• Expressing themselves via posts or comments

Potential risks of social media include:

• Exposure to harmful or inappropriate content (e.g., sex, drugs, violence, etc.)
• Exposure to dangerous people (such as in the context of sextortion or trafficking)
• Cyberbullying, a risk factor for depression and suicide
• Radicalization or exposure to extreme ideas
• Oversharing personal information
• Exposure to inappropriate advertisements (e.g., cannabis, nicotine, fast food)
• Privacy concerns including the collection of data about teen users
• Comparison to unrealistic peer profiles, which damages self-esteem
• Interference with sleep, exercise, homework, or family activities.” [iii]

How much time do teens spend on their phones? 
“Data on this varies, but it’s fair to say that teens—and increasingly younger children— spend a lot of time on screens, especially on their smartphones. According to a 2023 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, half of adolescents ages 12-17 spend more than four hours a day on screens.” [iv] 

Source: www.pexels.com

How often should parents talk to their kids about screen use?
“Natural transition times, such as holidays and summer breaks, are good times to set expectations about screen use. Parents can create a schedule for that temporary time period, and it can include solo use but also ways to connect and interact such as playing online games together as a family, or making video calls to relatives who live far away.” [v]

Promoting Healthy Screen Use among Children
“Reducing the negative impacts of harmful screen use requires acting with urgency and empowering caregivers and communities by providing them with evidence-based tools and strategies organized around the 5 Ds.

• Discuss: Set expectations for all household members for healthy screen use. Discuss with youth what they are viewing, who they are interacting with, and how it makes them feel. Use parental controls and household rules that align with your goals.
• Do: Model the healthy screen use behaviors you would like to see. Children and adolescents pay attention to the actions of their caregivers and trusted adults. Be conscientious about how much time you spend on screens and what type of content you consume. When using screens, do so together.
• Delay: Delay screen time from the earliest age as long as possible and then establish and normalize age-appropriate limits on time and content accessible. Parents and caregivers can also delay access to different devices by age.
• Divert: Provide alternatives so screen use is not the default when children are bored. Redirect attention and provide opportunities for healthy activities, such as physical activity. Prioritize completion of desirable activities first, such as chores, homework, music, or sports before screen use.
• Disconnect: Create regularly scheduled, screen free times in everyone’s day, such as mealtimes where everyone disconnects. Practice screen free time before bedtime for better quality sleep and avoid sleeping next to devices. Avoid multitasking with screens during activities. Detox completely from certain devices, media, or platforms when they have become a problem or when another goal is more important.” [vi]

Source: www.pexels.com

Tips to Reduce Screen Time

• “No phones at meals: Keep phones and tablets away during breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
• Turn off screens early: Stop using devices one hour before going to bed to sleep better.
• Take regular eye breaks: Look away from your screen every 20 minutes at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.” [vii]

END NOTES
[i] Arianna Prothero, The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Screen Time: An Explainer
[ii] Merriam-Webster, Social Media
[iii] Google AI, What are the benefits and risks of social media on young people?
[iv] Arianna Prothero, The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Screen Time: An Explainer
[v] Jess Berthold, Is too much screen time bad for kids? It's complicated
[vi] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Harms of Screen Use
[vii] Google AI, What are some tips to reduce screen time?

Voices from the Field: STEM and STEAM

Source: California Afterschool Network

By Sam Piha

Carol Tang, Ph.D, is an expert on science in afterschool and she is also the Senior Vice President for Learning and Public Engagement at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. We interviewed Carol regarding STEM and STEAM in afterschool and her responses are below.

Q: Do you think that the movement from STEM to STEAM was a positive one for afterschool providers? What value or advantages did this shift create?

A: The move to broaden the concept of STEM to include arts was really important for afterschool providers and educators in informal organizations. For example, the federal government’s Institute of Museum and Library Services began to fund STEM initiatives in history museums, art museums, and cultural museums beyond science centers, zoos/aquariums, and natural history museums. I think that this helped everyone take STEM out of a silo where it may have seemed inaccessible. 

But what worried me was that STEM and STEAM became acronyms that felt like a checklist of required elements. And I don’t think it should be a strict recipe—my hope is that these concepts are just ways to engage the natural curiosity and foster mastery in young people. I always hope that afterschool providers are inspired by the fact that there are math and science teaching moments everywhere—even during sports, snack time, playground games—and not just during homework help time. When I was the Director of the Coalition for Science Afterschool, we decided to use “science” rather than STEM simply because we were hoping to demystify and personalize the concept and we felt that any acronym made it feel prescribed rather than inclusive.

Q: In your observation of youth programs, what do you think they most often get wrong in the design of STEAM activities? 

A: As always, my personal opinion is that when afterschool experiences prioritize school standards and academic outcomes, we are not doing what we do best for young people. I think when youth programs do not feel confident about leading STEAM activities or where they put cognitive goals first, they rely on activities where there is a clear “answer” or where the result is predictable. This is understandable because no practitioner wants to have an activity that doesn’t fit into the available time slot, are hard to set up/clean up, and where participants don’t get the answers to the questions they raise. This is true for both science AND art projects so it’s not unique to STEAM. 

So, the best STEAM projects might be the ones where youth are exploring their own interests and they may not get the expected results. Or they may want to work at their own pace or in groups or individually. And maybe most importantly, the best projects might be ones where there are more questions at the end than there are easy answers.

We may have to accept in art, science, and STEAM projects that participants may not be satisfied with their results, that they think they “failed,” or they are not finished at the end of the day. I don’t think it’s easy to design high-quality STEAM activities but if one accepts these outcomes as still leading to a growth mindset (so important for STEM!) and that it fosters intrinsic curiosity, that allows us to re-define what “high-quality” means.

Q: In your observation of youth programs, what do you think they most often get right in the design of STEAM activities? 

A: What I’ve enjoyed the most in observing afterschool professionals implementing STEAM is that the providers themselves learn to appreciate what science can be. So many of us had bad experiences at some time with math or science in school ourselves and we bring that fear and frustration unintentionally to our work. So, I absolutely love it when the adults in a program realize that STEAM can be fun and engaging and relevant, not just for youth, but for themselves personally.  

I know it sounds cliche but once you realize how much chemistry there is in baking cookies or how much math is used to knit a beanie (and so many engineering examples all around us!), I think we can all relate to STEM a bit more. So, I think the best part of STEAM is how much it engages educators with a growth mindset about science and math. Once STEAM becomes a habit or part of our everyday practice, it doesn’t feel like a chore to incorporate it into our afterschool programming.

Q: Advocates for STEAM claim that activities are more accessible for girls and kids of color. Do you agree?

A: So many studies show that using STEAM approaches or any other integrated and applied approaches to STEM is much more effective for reaching young people who aren’t already interested in science. In fact, this is documented in our national science standards, NGSS, where a whole appendix is dedicated to this topic. I think it’s not just the addition of arts which brings in kids who claim they are “bad at math,” but it’s the fact that young people can see that STEM can be relevant to their own lives and mental well-being.

In this sense, I think STEM and STEAM in afterschool is so critically important. Learning in out-of-school settings can be more meaningful than learning it in a classroom because afterschool is more aligned to the “real world.” You can succeed in STEAM without rote answers and where failures can be more “educational” than predicted results.

This more accurately reflects what scientific research really is. Scientists will say that what excites them most is what we DON’T know about the world around us! In school, we learn about what we already discovered. In afterschool and in science, we experience and discover new things about the world and about ourselves.

Source: www.pexels.com

Q: STEAM seems to favor collaboration and having young people work on teams. How is this reflected in the adult world of science being conducted?



A: One stereotype of a scientist is a “mad scientist” who works alone in the dark bringing evil to the world! In fact, most science today is done collaboratively either in person or virtually. These days, we are often collaborating with someone who may live thousands of miles away and we connect through virtual meetings, texts, shared documents. So having STEAM activities that are collaborative and project-based is more similar to what professional scientists and engineers do. 

Another similarity is that on many professional work settings, teams are composed of people with different skills and talents. Collectively, they can look at challenges and solutions from different perspectives. Some folks may be computer modelers while others are in the field observing wildlife and yet others are performing chemical extractions in a laboratory. That also can mirror what happens in out-of-school time projects where youth have to discover what they are good at, how those skills complement each other and how they have to learn new skills and vocabulary to finish a project. 

And lastly, what makes afterschool STEAM projects more similar to real world science research is that no one knows what the final product will be or even that it would be a successful result. In school, kids know that the activities probably have an “answer” and there is pressure to get a good grade on that project. In afterschool and in real life, there is no guarantee of a successful completion—but the discovery, growth, resilience, persistence and the collaboration itself can be a reward and should be celebrated and enjoyed.

 

MORE ABOUT...

Carol Tang, Ph.D.

Carol Tang, Ph.D. is the Senior Vice President for Learning and Public Engagement at the American Museum of Natural History. Carol joined the Museum in 2024 and oversees the Exhibitions, Education, Science Visualization & Public Engagement, Research & Evaluation, and Global Business Development departments. She previously served as executive director of the Children’s Creativity Museum (CCM) in San Francisco, California. Under her decade- long leadership, CCM increased attendance, underwent strategic planning during the COVID-19 pandemic, and greatly expanded its community partnerships and service—earning recognition for advancing diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion from the American Alliance of Museums in 2023. Before leading CCM, Tang was the Senior Science Educator at the California Academy of Sciences (Cal Academy) and directed early childhood, youth, lifelong learning, and educator professional development offerings; she then oversaw the development of natural history exhibitions, planetarium and aquarium design, and public art installations when Cal Academy reopened in a new building in 2008. She has also directed the Coalition for Science After School, a national STEM education organization, and was a Program Officer leading Out-of-School Time grantmaking strategy at the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation.

The American Museum of Natural History in New York City is one of the world’s preeminent scientific and cultural institutions. Since its founding in 1869, the Museum has advanced its global mission to discover, interpret, and disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe through a wide-ranging program of scientific research, education, and exhibition. 

What Schools Can Do to Protect Young People During ICE Raids

Source: VCG/Qian Weizhong

In this blog we draw on an article published by The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. This article is entitled, How ICE Raids Are Affecting Children—And What Schools Can Do and is authored by Nirvi Shah. You can read the full article here. Below we offer several excerpts. Future blogs will expand on how afterschool programs are responding and how programs can prepare. 

Nirvi Shah writes, “Vázquez Baur, who once worked as a math teacher, says her own training for the classroom didn’t prepare her for working with students learning English or immigrant children. She sometimes found herself acting as an interpreter for families and had no training related to immigration enforcement activity. This was during the first Trump administration, she notes.

Now, educators need practices specific to the circumstances of the modern era, she says. One of the second Trump administration’s early acts on immigration was to remove a policy that limited immigration and border agent activity in or near schools, houses of worship, and hospitals. 

Some schools have tried to fortify their campuses in response. In Connecticut, for instance, last year the superintendent in New Haven began requiring school principals to handle any interaction with immigration authorities. A principal must gather warrants or other documents and send them to lawyers for review before any officer can enter a school building.

Long-term, however, the involvement of law enforcement in these operations makes things tricky for students and schools, researcher, Dr. Kerry Ressler notes. “When you grow up in a small town in which you know all the local police and they know you by name, it’s a sense of trust: We need to have these uniformed officers to protect us, rather than do something to us.”

Thousands of protesters march during the ICE Out of Minnesota 

march in Minneapolis, on January 23, 2026. © Lorie Shaull 

Some communities have seen officers who are masked and essentially unidentifiable, sometimes not wearing uniforms, apprehending people. (The court system has reprimanded ICE for some of its tactics.) “If you’re a kid and you’re in a family and everybody’s scared and no one’s feeling they’re here to protect us, they’re not getting any of those signals,” Ressler says. “Everybody is just feeling scared.”

Schools regularly prepare students for other emergencies, he said, with fire drills, tornado drills, and increasingly, active shooter drills.

“One of the areas that I think seems to hold true in child psychology and stress literature is controllable versus uncontrollable situations. It’s sort of like basic training for the military: The more you can train for a certain situation, the less you are likely to panic,” Ressler says. “For the majority of kids that would be helpful.” 

Schools are faced with raising the prospect of officers’ presence and explaining what might happen—in an apolitical way. 

“Some language people are using that can be helpful for kids is things like: ‘Officers are here to arrest certain people, but they aren’t always being careful, and some people are scared that they might get hurt by the officers,’” says Hopewell Hodges, a therapist who is completing her doctorate at the University of Minnesota in clinical and developmental psychology. She was speaking during a January webinar on supporting children during immigration enforcement operations.

Ressler says he is hopeful that later on, in communities where immigration enforcement was pronounced, local police will go to schools and rebuild a relationship of trust with their local community, differentiating their work from other law enforcement officers. Otherwise, “what this sets up for is a whole generation of people who further distrust authority.” 

“’For now talking early, and often, with kids is essential,’ Hodges said in the video. ‘A lot of research shows that when children go through tough or scary things, they are often a lot less afraid if grownups have prepared them about what to expect.’”

It doesn’t have to be one big talk, either, she said, citing a metaphor once shared with her about a child eating an apple, coming back again and again for small bites. It’s important just to open the door at all, to offer the apple, in the first place. 

“If a trusted grown-up in a kid’s life doesn’t bring something up, what a little kid is often thinking is one of two things: either this isn’t a topic that’s OK to talk about. Maybe it’s rude or offensive or wrong if I want to talk about it. I’ll just suppress it. 

“Or they maybe think the grown-up isn’t ready to talk,” she said.

Overall, however, schools should do the things they always do.

Source: www.pexels.com

“I have had a lot of feelings recently that these times are just extraordinary. We use words like unprecedented. We use words like record-breaking,” Hodges said. “And it can be tempting to think that what children need, in unusual or extraordinary times, is unusual and extraordinary.” But schools should concentrate on caring for kids’ bodies and brains in their usual ways, she says.

Even if schools feel compelled to create spaces for children to talk, they should also fortify opportunities for children to play, be creative, and feel grounded, in activities like sports, pottery, music, dance, and sensory play. They can promote regulation and connection to cultural practices, she said, channeling her colleague Dr. Robin Young, the chief psychologist at the Indian Health Board of Minneapolis, who often works with elementary school students. 

Schools don’t always have to find all-new programs or strategies for times like these, but they can invest in staff well-being so that staff can keep showing up for kids and schools can keep doing what they do well.”

We queried Google AI to learn more about what schools can do to protect youth while the threat of ICE raids are possible. Below are the responses:

• Implement "Safe Spaces" Policies: Schools can adopt policies that limit ICE access to campuses, requiring judicial warrants rather than administrative warrants.
• Confidentiality and Data Protection: Schools are generally prohibited from sharing student information for immigration enforcement purposes and should protect privacy.
• Mental Health Support: Schools can provide on-site counselors, therapists, and social workers to help children process trauma, anxiety, and fear.
• Know Your Rights Trainings: Educators can distribute information on rights to families and help them create emergency plans, such as appointing power of attorney for children.
• Community Partnerships: Collaborating with legal aid and nonprofit organizations helps build a protective safety net for families. 

MORE ABOUT...

Nirvi Shah

Nirvi Shah is a longtime education journalist and most recently served as executive editor of The Hechinger Report. Her work has been published in The Christian Science Monitor, The Guardian, The Nation, POLITICO, Slate and USA TODAY, among other outlets, and recognized by the Education Writers Association, the Society for Professional Journalists and other organizations. Reach her at nirvi.h.shah@gmail.com.

Since 2001, the Greater Good Science Center (GGSC), based at the University of California, Berkeley, is one of the world’s leading institutions of research and higher education. The GGSC is unique in its commitment to both science and practice: Not only do they sponsor groundbreaking scientific research into social and emotional well-being, they help people apply this research to their personal and professional lives. GGSC studies the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of well-being and teaches skills that foster a thriving, resilient, and compassionate society. You can sign up for their newsletter here.

Ensuring That Program Staff Are Ready to Address Youth Mental Health Issues

Source: www.pexels.com

By Sam Piha

AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS CAN HELP

Youth afterschool programs are uniquely positioned to help because they reach young people in informal, trusting environments that often feel safer than school or home. “Research shows that high-quality afterschool programs contribute significantly to positive mental health outcomes, including improved interpersonal skills, self-control, and reduced externalizing behaviors. They offer a vital ‘spectrum of care’ that complements formal education and family support systems.” [i] 

According to the Afterschool Alliance, “Afterschool and summer programs play an essential role in supporting the healthy development of young people by serving as a safe space that fosters belonging, develops supportive relationships with peers and adult mentors, encourages healthy behaviors, and helps young people build and cultivate the skills necessary to navigate through the struggles and challenges they may come up against in life.” [ii] 

“After-school programs are also another place where kids have the opportunity to have ‘healthy interactions’ with each other and with adults. For example, some programs have brought in mental health professionals to work with students’ emotional needs.” [iii]  

Chat GPT writes, “Here’s a clear, research-based overview of how youth programs can help address the mental health crisis:

1. Create Supportive, Trust-Based Environments

• Build belonging and connection — consistent relationships with caring adults buffer against anxiety and depression.
• Train staff in trauma-informed practices so they recognize stress reactions and respond with empathy, not punishment.
• Normalize mental health talk by incorporating check-ins, ‘feelings boards,’ or ‘wellness circles’ into regular activities.

2. Promote Emotional Literacy

• Integrate social-emotional learning (SEL) — teach youth to identify emotions, manage stress, and resolve conflict.
• Use games, art, journaling, or storytelling to help youth process emotions safely.
• Provide short workshops on coping skills (e.g., breathing, mindfulness, self-talk).

3. Early Identification and Support

• Train staff to notice signs of distress (withdrawal, irritability, sleep or appetite changes).
• Establish clear referral pathways to local mental health providers or school counselors.
• Partner with mobile crisis teams or mental health nonprofits for on-site consultation days.

4. Strengthen Family and Community Connections

• Host family nights to share mental health resources and communication tools.
• Partner with schools, clinics, and local organizations to create a continuum of care.
• Encourage mentorship: consistent one-on-one relationships reduce loneliness and self-harm risk.

5. Foster Purpose, Mastery, and Joy

• Provide creative outlets (music, art, dance, theater, sports) — shown to reduce depressive symptoms and improve mood.
• Offer youth a chance to lead projects or volunteer; helping others boosts self-esteem and hope.
• Integrate movement and outdoor time — both improve mood regulation and stress resilience.

Source: Temescal Associates

6. Train and Support Staff (see more below)

• Youth workers often experience ‘secondary trauma.’ Build in staff wellness practices and peer support.
• Provide professional development on: De-escalation and crisis response, Culturally responsive care, Suicide prevention (e.g., QPR or safeTALK training)

7. Advocate and Educate

• Join local coalitions for youth mental health.
• Advocate for funding and policies that increase access to counseling and youth development opportunities.
• Include youth voice in shaping program priorities — feeling heard is itself protective.” [iv] 

“Afterschool programs support youth mental health by providing a safe and structured environment, offering access to caring adult mentors, and fostering vital social-emotional skills.”[v] 

Best practices for afterschool programs addressing the youth mental health crisis also include,

• Trauma-Informed Care: Adopting a trauma-informed approach ensures the environment is predictable, consistent, and empowering, helping youth feel safe and in control. (To learn more about trauma- informed care, check out our webinar, “Trauma Informed Practice in Afterschool in the Era of COVID-19” and past Learning in Afterschool & Summer (LIAS) Blogs on this topic.)
• Normalization of Mental Health: Talking openly about mental health, similar to physical health, helps to de-stigmatize issues and encourages youth to seek help.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM STAFF WORKING WITH YOUTH WHO MAY HAVE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES? 

It is important that program leaders consider the qualifications that their staff need. According to Chat GPT, “Afterschool program staff who work with youth mental health typically have diverse qualifications, ranging from formal degrees to specialized training and certifications. The specific requirements depend on the staff member's role and the services offered. At a minimum, staff should possess strong social-emotional skills like compassion and patience. 

Foundational Qualifications and Skills
According to Google AI, some foundational qualifications needed by afterschool staff working with youth who may have mental health issues are,

• “Educational Background: While not all positions require a degree in a specific field, a background in child psychology, social work, human services, or education (often at the bachelor's level for entry-level positions and master's for supervisory or clinical roles) is highly valued.
• Experience: Prior experience working with adolescents or children in an urban or diverse environment is often preferred.
• Core Competencies: Essential soft skills include:
• Patience and Compassion: Working with youth facing challenges requires a calm and understanding demeanor.
• Strong Interpersonal and Communication Skills: The ability to build rapport and communicate effectively with youth, families, and a multidisciplinary team is crucial.
• Active Listening: The capacity to genuinely listen and pick up on verbal and non-verbal cues is essential.
• Cultural Competence: The ability to work effectively and respectfully with people from diverse backgrounds is a key requirement.
• Creativity and Problem-Solving: Using creative approaches to engage youth and find solutions to challenges.” [vi]  

SPECIALIZED STAFF TRAINING FOR MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT

Even though afterschool staff may have personal attributes that will help them address youth mental health issues, it is important that they also receive specialized training. Below are trainings for afterschool staff on the topic of recognizing and responding to youth mental health issues taken from Google AI:

• “Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA): This is a research-based training that teaches staff to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental distress or crisis, initiate help, and connect youth to professional care through a five-step action plan.
• Trauma-Informed Care: Training on understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of trauma to create a physically, emotionally, and culturally safe environment.
• Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Curricula: Familiarity with evidence-based programs that help youth develop emotional awareness, self-regulation, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Crisis Intervention and Prevention: Training on suicide prevention, bullying prevention, and de-escalation techniques.
• Referral Methods: Clear understanding of how to link children and families to experts in youth mental health services when a situation is beyond the scope of the afterschool program.” [vii]

Other specialized trainings recommended for afterschool staff are:

• Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR): Some programs use this training to provide staff with practical skills for suicide prevention.
• 'Notice. Talk. Act.® at School': Developed by the American Psychiatric Association, this training teaches staff how to recognize mental health issues, talk with students about their concerns, and refer them to appropriate resources. 

CARE FOR STAFF 

This blog is focused on the youth mental health crisis. However, we also need to be mindful of the accumulated stress on the part of staff. We know that stress leads to burn out and staff turnover and can also be detrimental to the young people we are responsible for. How do we go about caring for staff? It is its own topic and too large to fully explore here. 

Below is a brief outline regarding strategies to mitigate stress for staff. We’ve divided up the lists regarding organizational strategies and individual vs team-based strategies. According to Google AI, “Addressing staff stress in youth programs requires a two-pronged approach equipping employees with individual coping skills and implementing organizational changes to foster a supportive and sustainable work environment. 

Organizational Strategies: 

• Manage Workload and Expectations 
• Provide Strong Supervisory Support 
• Offer Competitive Compensation and Benefits 
• Foster a Supportive Work Culture • Prioritize Work-Life Balance and Flexibility
• Invest in Professional Development: are valued and helps combat disengagement.
• Offer Access to Professional Help

Individual and Team-Based Strategies: 

• Provide Stress Management Training 
• Encourage Self-Care 
• Implement Debrief Sessions 
• Set Clear Boundaries” [viii] 

To learn more about staff self-care, check out our briefing paper, Self-Care for Youth Workers. 

Source: Chat GPT

To learn more about this topic, we developed a briefing paper entitled, How Afterschool Programs Can Address the Youth Mental Health Crisis. 

END NOTES:

[i]: Google AI, Why do afterschool programs benefit youth mental health? 

[ii]: Afterschool Alliance, Afterschool Supports Children’s Well-Being and Healthy Development

[iii]: Lauraine Langreo, How After-School Programs Can Support Students’ Academic and Social-Emotional Needs

[iv]: Chat GPT, How can youth programs help address the mental health crisis?

[v]: Google AI, How do afterschool programs support youth mental health?

[vi]: Google AI, What are the qualifications needed by afterschool staff working with youth with mental health issues?

[vii]: IBID.

[viii]: Google AI, What strategies are recommended to address staff stress in youth programs?

Best of 2025, July Through December

By Sam Piha

Temescal Associates and The How Kids Learn Foundation have created a large number of resources over the years. They are catalogued here. Below we have listed several of our favorites from 2025, July through December. To view Best of 2025, So Far, click here.

FAVORITE BLOGS:

• Identifying and Understanding Feelings
• The State of Mental Health for Young People
• Sports and Play Promotes Social Emotional Learning and Character

GUEST BLOGS:

• How Rituals And Routines Foster A Supportive Environment
• How California Schools Can Support Students, Families Fearing ICE Raids

 

INTERVIEWS:

• Voices From the Field: An Interview with Educator and Therapy Dog Handler, Leslie Gravino
• Therapy Dogs: An Interview with Pet Partners

 

BRIEFING PAPERS:

• Creating a Staff Development Plan
• Bringing Therapy Dogs into Youth Afterschool Programs
• How Afterschool Programs Can Address the Youth Mental Health Crisis

 

WEBINAR RECORDINGS:

• Working with Neurodiverse Children in Afterschool
• The Importance of Play in Afterschool
• Introducing Therapy Dogs into Afterschool Programs

Designing Welcoming, Equitable, and Positive Girls' Sports Programs - 9 Tips

Source: Positive Coaching Alliance

Designing youth sports programs with girls central and in mind is key to making youth sports welcoming, equitable, and positive for all. Check out these nine tips! These tips are reposted with permission from Positive Coaching Alliance. 

1. Make It Girl-Centered

Over 90% of girls ages 7 to13 who play sports like (or love!) to participate. Younger and older girls, and young women really enjoy athletics. Presume girls are interested and want to play especially when programs are inclusive and accommodating.

2. Make It Intentional to Get All Girls in the Game

Black and Latinx girls enter sport at a later average age and leave sport earlier than their counterparts, affording girls of color an even narrower window of opportunity. Girls of color and girls in low-income
communities are getting fewer opportunities to play, yet want to play in greater numbers! Let’s include everyone.

3. Make It Responsive to Girls’ Interests

• Using simple surveys, small focus groups, and/or basic outreach to understand what sports girls want to play, and how, can help set up a lasting, successful program based on girls’ interests. For example, volleyball, soccer, and basketball are popular girls’ sports nationwide; check what girls want to play in your area.
• Many girls prefer and thrive in all girls’ athletic contexts whereas some girls like co-ed play – check with girls on what they prefer and offer that!
• Don’t assume what girls want to play or base offerings simply on what a coach knows / has coached/ what’s been historically offered. Ask and tailor programs.

4. Make It Safe (Physically)

Safety – Are the practice / game times, locations, facilities, and items like bathrooms safe
and accessible (corresponding to identity)? Simple steps like working lights, adult supervision, and safe, clear spaces help girls play.

Source: www.pexels.com

5. Make It Safe (Emotionally)

• Comfortable – Create fun, engaging sport routines so girls know what to expect.
• Belonging – Prioritize support and training for staff / coaches to use positive, gender-supportive language, names, and preferred pronouns, demonstrate empathy, and build connections with girls.
• Friends – Connections with peers is often a driver for participation. Use a buddy registration / team formation system so that girls can know one person, if preferred.
• Curb the Negative – Counter gender stereotypes that can limit girls’ participation. Ensure kids and adults near practice and game space use supportive language.
• Empathy – Coaches can listen to understand girls’ perspectives without judgment.

6. Make It Accessible

• Scheduling – Getting to practice / games is doable if scheduling and facilities are considered – e.g., have sports on / near campuses at ideal times, at a close-by park, and along public transit lines. Support carpools. Consider calendar conflicts.
• Cost – Cost impacts girls in starting and sticking with sport. Make offerings affordable and scholarships available – consider costs (league, equipment, transportation).

7. Make It Informed to Understand Barriers

Finding out what’s keeping girls from playing is key to designing inclusive, supportive, positive, girl-oriented programming. Common barriers easily overcome include:

• Not knowing how / when to sign up for sports programming
• Knowledge gaps re: sports
• Never having played before
• Gender inequity, such as girls’ teams / leagues / divisions getting “less”
• Attitudes of families, communities, and institutions impeding girls’ play
• Obligations (e.g., job to support family; caretaking of siblings)

Source: www.pexels.com

8. Make It Inviting to Break Down Barriers

• Use inviting, clear team, division, and league information for sign-ups; include images of girls actively playing in outreach materials.
• Explain rules and game to girls brand new to the sport; novices welcome!
• Ensure girls’ offerings are gender equitable (facilities, schedules, etc.)
• Share information with girls, families, and all re: why girls in sport benefit (ideally in multiple languages and in engaging ways).
• Offer practice / games when girls are available; explore childcare help for girls with family-oriented obligations.

9. Make It Collaborative With Girls

• Voice and Choice – Share power with girls to help design your program
• Effort, Learn from Mistakes, Mastery – Celebrate progress, not just outcomes
• Balance – Instill healthy competition and fun; mindful of girls’ range of motivations

Download the resource here.

For a full briefing paper on the importance of play, click here.

Check out our upcoming webinar on The Importance of Play in Afterschool. To learn more and register, click here.

Sports and Play Promotes Social Emotional Learning and Character

Source: Coaching Corps

By Sam Piha

 

The research says there is a strong connection between organized sports and play and the development of SEL and character. Yet the rising costs of “participating in organized youth sports is making these activities unaffordable for many families, essentially barring kids and teens from important opportunities to improve their physical health, develop social-emotional skills, and build relationships.” [i] However, there is also a trend in schools to increase time for reading and math by eliminating time for play, including recess. 

Source: CASEL

That’s where OST programs come in. “They can play a vital role in making access to organized sports more equitable, according to the 2023 State of Play report from the Aspen Institute, a think tank.” [ii]

“You can also just have programming after school that is teaching and exposing kids to the sports. Some of the best ways to do that is by bringing in partners from your community. It’s a great opportunity as well for the community programs. Take youth soccer as an example: youth soccer associations that want to grow the sport, why would you not want to come into schools and find ways to subsidize this?” [iii] - Jon Solomon, the editorial director of the Sports & Society Program at the Aspen Institute 



SHRINKING ACCESS TO YOUTH SPORTS

“I think more and more people recognize that you have to provide sports opportunities within the school setting because that’s where most kids are. These are kids who have less money, or their parents are working multiple jobs and can’t get them to practices and games.” [iv] - Jon Solomon, the editorial director of the Sports & Society Program at the Aspen Institute 

 

According to Arianna Prothero, “Sports participation is much lower among children from low-income families than among those from high-income families. A quarter of kids from families earning less than $25,000 a year participate in regular sports, compared with 39 percent of kids in families earning more than $100,000 a year, according to the report. 

 

While sports participation among 6- to 12-year-olds from low-income families has gone up over the past four years, participation among 13- to 17-year-olds in that income bracket continues to decrease, dropping from 38 percent in 2012 to 27 percent in 2022.” [v]

 

SPORTS AND SEL

“While organized sports are excellent SEL skill-builders, uniforms, referees, and rulebooks are not required for children to reap the social and emotional benefits of play. Like organized sports, all types of play offer opportunities to explore, imagine, and create. When children play with others, they practice cooperation, communication, and conflict resolution. Construction play, like building with LEGOs, activates children’s problem-solving skills. And through dramatic play, children take on the perspectives of others and practice empathy. So, get out there and play!” [vi]

Source: Edutopia

 

COACHES TRAINING

If we want to see playing organized sports as contributing to character and social emotional learning, sports coaches require training. There are organizations such as the Positive Coaching Alliance that specialize in this kind of training for coaches. 

 

“Are we as coaches concerned most with hoisting the championship trophy in the air at the end of the season, or raising up stronger character in our youth?” [vii] - Pete Paciorek

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ON PLAY 

There are many resources on the topic of play. We cite a few below. 



Websites 

• The power of play – Part 1-5: This is a 5-part series from Michigan State University The Power of Play
• The Genius of Play has created easy to use activities, provides expert advice and more. And it's all FREE for anyone to use.

Videos

There are many TED talks and other videos on play. Below are some that we like. 

• TED Talk by Stuart Brown entitled “Play is more than just fun” 
• TED Talk by Peter Gray entitled “The decline of play”

 

Articles

• Embracing Learning Through Play by Elizabeth M. Ross
• Teaching Leadership Skills With PE Games by Donna Paul
• The Importance of Play for Adolescents by Heather Hayes

 

LIAS Blogs

You can also view previous LIAS Blogs on the topic of play here and on the topic of sports here. 

For a full briefing paper on the importance of play, click here.

Check out our upcoming webinar on The Importance of Play in Afterschool. To learn more and register, click here.

END NOTES:

[i] Arianna Prothero, Kids Are Getting Priced Out of Youth Sports. How Schools Can Help

[ii] IBID.

[iii] IBID.

[iv] IBID.

[v] IBID.

[vi] The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), Connections, July 2024

[vii] Dr. Arthur Schwartz, What does the research say about the connection between sports and character?