ACT Now Illinois Statewide Afterschool Quality Standards

June 9, 2016

After School Matters utilizes the Youth Program Quality Intervention (YPQI) continuous improvement process developed by the David P. Weikart Center of Youth Program Quality. You will see there is much alignment between YPQI and the ACT Now Quality Standards. To clarify, After School Matters will continue to utilize YPQI specifically for our programs. The ACT Now standards are being offered as a resource to provide an additional research-based framework for understanding quality, and to keep the program focused on striving towards excellence.

ACT Now is a statewide coalition that works to ensure that young people in Illinois have access to quality, affordable afterschool and youth development programs. They’ve developed the Illinois Statewide Afterschool Quality Standards to improve afterschool programming around the state. These standards capture the practices that have been demonstrated, through research, to lead quality programs and positive outcomes for youth.

The Standards provide afterschool programs with a common language for describing quality. These standards are not intended to dictate policy and practices, but instead are intended to suggest and encourage a strong baseline of quality. They can be used by programs and local communities to stimulate conversations about quality, what it looks like, and why it matters.

Read the complete ACT Now Illinois Statewide Afterschool Quality Standards here.

 

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