More financial assistance is now available for Ohio families seeking funding to help pay for before-school or after-school educational programs, day camps, music lessons, or tutoring services.
Earlier this month, the amount parents and caregivers can receive through the Ohio Afterschool Child Enrichment Program for such activities doubled to $1,000 per child from $500 last year. Family eligibility also was extended to households with incomes at or less than 400 percent of the federal poverty level — up from 300 percent last year.
The program for children ages 6 to 18 is being offered through an Ohio Department of Education contract with Merit International, Inc. Taimarie Adams, Merit’s executive director of education, said Thursday the program is subsidized through federal pandemic relief funds to provide educational activities to students who experienced learning loss during the past few years.
“Before last week, when there was those expansions in eligibility of the program, it was really popular and we received a lot of good feedback from over 25,000 students who were participating,” she said. “It's really exciting, because with the increased amount a family can choose to use some of those dollars to get some tutoring and also make sure their child is able to participate in field trips or other programs.”
Parents and caregivers can apply for funding at aceohio.org. The site also lists the more than 800 approved vendors throughout the state and can search the list of vendors by name, location, and offerings based on the child’s school grade level, Ms. Adams said.
Searches can also be based on activity types, which fall under 10 categories including field trips, language or instrument lessons, tutoring, and camps.
Once approved, she said parents can download the Ohio ACE app that allows them to track each child’s spending dollars for programs.
The increased amount and eligibility expansion was part of a slew of tax and spending provisions in Ohio House Bill 45, passed last year. A family of four’s gross income could not exceed $83,250 to qualify last year, but that limit has increased to $111,000 for the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years.
Other qualifiers include those who participate in income-based programs such as Medicaid, SNAP, and Ohio Works First, or who reside in school districts “experiencing high rates of chronic absenteeism,” or whose schools are EdChoice-eligible.
Aimee Reid, executive artistic director for the Children’s Theatre Workshop in Toledo, said she was one of the first to sign up as a program vendor last year. She described the program as a “game-changer” for several families who wanted to provide after-school and summer camp opportunities for their children but couldn’t always afford it.
Rather than have to ask for assistance and grants from those at the theatre workshop, she said families could utilize their “ACE Program” dollars and avoid feeling any potential embarrassment.
Now that the program has been expanded, she said, parents have more funds to use for multiple purposes rather than picking and choosing between child care, tutoring, or an after-school program.
“You can almost hear this audible sigh of relief from one of our families because they’re like, ‘Oh my God, now I don't have to tell my kid you can do this program but not that program,’” she said. “So much of Toledo is just working-class families who have working-class jobs and wages, and so even if you aren't struggling with poverty, it can be difficult to make ends meet and also give your kids these really meaningful experiences.”
Enrollment continues to be open for families and vendors for the Afterschool Child Enrichment Program, which can serve approximately 120,000 students for the current school year. The 2023-2024 school year application window will open in July.
All active ACE accounts for the current school year have already been credited the additional $500.
First Published April 16, 2023, 6:00 p.m.
