Links of Interest

BOSTNet
www.bostnet.org
BOSTnet provides training and technical assistance to over 250 out-of-school time providers annually. It does this by providing one-on-one technical assistance, training opportunities via conferences and workshops, and monthly meetings of the Boston Director's Roundtable. BOSTnet also publishes a quarterly newsletter and other materials for the out-of-school time field.

NIOST
www.niost.org
Our Mission is to ensure that all children, youth, and families have access to high quality programs, activities, and opportunities during non-school hours.
NIOST believes that these experiences are essential to the healthy development of children and youth, who then can become effective and capable members of society. Our work bridges the worlds of research and practice.

Department of Early Education and Care
www.eec.state.ma.us
It’s a new agency! Effective July 1, 2005, the new Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) combines the functions of the Office of Child Care Services (OCCS) with those of the Early Learning Services Division at the Department of Education. Our agency is supervised and guided by a new independent board, the Board of Early Education and Care, which appointed Ann Reale as Early Education and Care’s first Commissioner. Commissioner Reale immediately began working with OCCS and the Early Learning Services division on the transition to EEC.

The creation of EEC represents an exciting opportunity to build a new, coordinated, comprehensive system of early education and care in Massachusetts. In the short term, the new agency will be focused on bringing together the people, services, and resources of the two agencies.

ATT
www.lwsonline.com/ATTfund/index.html
Apply Now for Funding From the AT&T Family Care Development Fund to Pursue NAA Accreditation and/or Attend Local or National Conferences!
Do you care for children whose parents work for AT&T? You may be eligible to receive funds for NAA accreditation. For information, please visit www.lwsonline.com to apply online.

Funding for this program is provided by the Family Care Development Fund, a joint project of AT&T, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

Afterschool Alliance
www.afterschoolalliance.org
The Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of afterschool programs and advocating for quality, affordable programs for all children. It is supported by a group of public, private and nonprofit organizations that share the Alliance's vision of ensuring that all children have access to afterschool programs by 2010.

MAP
www.massafterschool.org
The Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership (MAP), a statewide partnership dedicated to improving quality and resources for afterschool, summer and youth programs across the state. MAP has three goals:

• Building and sustaining a statewide network to promote the out-of-school time sector growth;
• Improving resources for out-of-school time programs, including developing sustainable and increased revenue streams;
• Promoting high quality of afterschool programs across the state.

Mass2020
www.mass2020.org
Massachusetts 2020's mission is to expand educational and economic opportunities for children and families across Massachusetts. Our mission is grounded in the basic philosophy that quality education and access to economic opportunity are vital to giving every citizen an equal chance to achieve the American Dream.

Achieve Boston
www.achieveboston.org
Achieve Boston's founding partners came together in the summer of 2001 to begin the process of creating a professional development infrastructure for after-school and youth workers across the city. The mission: to improve the overall quality of after-school and youth programs by ensuring that program staff at all levels have access to comprehensive training and educational opportunities that enable them to strengthen their skills, develop their knowledge base, and advance along their chosen career path.

National AfterSchool Association
www.naaweb.org
The National AfterSchool Association, formerly the National School-Age Care Alliance, was founded in 1987. We are a professional association with a membership component-our membership includes more than 7,000 practitioners, policy makers, and administrators representing all public, private, and community-based sectors of after-school and out-of-school time programs, as well as school-age and after-school programs on military bases, both domestic and international. As the leading voice of the after-school profession, we are dedicated to the development, education, and care of children and youth during their out-of-school hours.

School-Age NOTES
www.schoolagenotes.com
Our purpose is to develop and provide information, technical assistance and resources concerning children and youth in out-of-school settings before and after-school and during vacations. To this end we provide:

• information on starting and advocating for new after-school programs
• ideas for administrating and enhancing the quality of exciting programs
• technical assistance and training opportunities
• a link with other concerned school-age care professionals
• the latest in trends, resources and materials
  

Boston Beyond
www.bostonbeyond.org
Boston After School & Beyond aspires to ensure high-quality out-of-school time opportunities for all Boston's children and youth.