State funding issues cut After School Program

New York's budget woes have hit Fonda-Fultonville's Advantage After School Program.

On November 20, program director Joan Draus sent a letter home to parents informing them that effective December 1st, participants would be charged a fee of five dollars per hour or $12 per day. Although funded by a five-year grant through the NYS Office of Children and Family Services, those funds have yet to be released. According to the Mental Health Association of Fulton and Montgomery Counties which oversees the local program, those funds may be released in mid-January. In the meantime, Mrs. Draus will be forced to lay off

The highly popular after school program had maintained an enrollment of nearly 80 students prior to the letter. Students received homework help, and enjoyed various academic and social programs under the care of 13 staff. Mrs. Draus reports that only 10 students are now participating.

The state's Advantage After School Program was created to address four specific needs:

• To improve the social, emotional, academic and vocational competencies of school-age children;

• To prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock adolescent pregnancies;

• To reduce other negative behaviors such as violence and crime; tobacco, alcohol and substance abuse; disengagement from school; school suspension; and truancy and health-compromising behaviors; and

• To provide parents with a safe after school environment for their children. Advantage After School Programs have three performance target areas that relate to the achievement of these four program outcomes.