A statewide afterschool network is a vehicle for bringing together policymakers, educators, childcare providers, youth development workers, program developers, advocates, parents and others interested in improving outcomes for children and youth through school-based/school-linked afterschool programs. The networks provide a means to encourage local and state policymakers to invest additional resources wisely to expand quality afterschool opportunities and address particular needs to improve quality and sustainability. The networks also provide a means for joint planning, sharing of resources and best practices, building bridges to and between federal, state and local afterschool initiatives and forging partnerships necessary for comprehensive statewide afterschool policies.

Statewide Afterschool Networks are defining new ways of working, thinking and influencing afterschool policy and practices in states across the country. They are negotiating governance structures so that a broad array of organizations can come to the table and speak openly about common issues, underlying beliefs, as well as differences. The networks are developing a shared vision and influencing others to believe in the power of afterschool programs, especially for children in poverty. Networks are also examining quality and imagining systems where afterschool programs are supported and sustained in significant ways.

In small and large ways, the statewide afterschool networks are taking concrete steps and building systems that can impact policy at the local, state and national levels. For example, networks are