Toolkit: Building Management Information Systems to Coordinate Afterschool Programs

Posted by on September 24, 2012

New Toolkit for Cities on Building Management Information Systems to Coordinate Afterschool Programs

Building Management Information Systems to Coordinate Citywide Afterschool Programs: A Toolkit for Cities

A major new report developed by NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education and Families (YEF Institute) offers city leaders a detailed guide for building management information systems in order to coordinate local afterschool programs more effectively.

Over the past decade, municipal leaders have been at the forefront of efforts to develop comprehensive, citywide afterschool systems that expand the number of high-quality programs available, increase youth participation, and improve outcomes for young people.  To obtain better information about the scope and impact of afterschool opportunities in their communities, city officials are increasingly developing management information systems to collect, analyze and share data on local programs.

Developed with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and The Wallace Foundation, the new YEF Institute report, Building Management Information Systems to Coordinate Citywide Afterschool Programs: A Toolkit for Cities, includes a wealth of information and advice for city leaders and a growing library of online resources, including:

A summary of the top four uses of management information systems that support high-quality afterschool programs, gleaned from dozens of conversations with city leaders across the country;
A “how-to” manual, including straightforward instructions for sourcing, implementing and expanding a management information system, illustrated with city examples;
Strategies for negotiating privacy and security concerns, including an update on the December 2011 rule-making by the U.S. Department of Education that eases some of the burden on cities and school districts; and
A feature comparison of six leading commercial MIS vendors that includes a cost calculator to help city leaders estimate the one- and five-year costs of these various products.

Also available online are a model request for information, sample data sharing agreements, afterschool needs assessments, and links to resources published by NLC policy partners and member cities.

http://www.nlc.org/find-city-solutions/institute-for-youth-education-and-families/afterschool/building-management-information-systems-to-coordinate-citywide-afterschool-programs-a-toolkit-for-cities