Montana Afterschool Alliance Supports Students, Families and Communities

The really wonderful thing about afterschool is that it can serve, at a very basic level, just as a safe place to be. But it can also really enhance kids’ lives, and kind of create futures for them that they might not otherwise have. And that can go across the income spectrum of kids in Montana.

Childcare is a big topic of conversation across Montana, in schools and neighborhoods and among lawmakers. Under the broad “childcare” umbrella is a less-discussed programming need, called “out-of-school time” (OST) – typically afterschool hours before the end of the workday, and during the summertime and holiday breaks – for school kids over the age of five. But interest in OST programming is outpacing availability in our state. 

Cue the Montana Afterschool Alliance (MTAA): our only statewide group dedicated to OST programs. Through advocating for state policies and funding, connecting groups in shared communities, and working with Afterschool Alliances in other states and at the national level, MTAA is paving the way for innovative educational programming that benefits Montana’s kids, families and communities. 

We sat down with MTAA Director Rachel Wanderscheid, who said that OST programs can particularly benefit working families, and especially those without extended family nearby to help. According to an MTAA factsheet, 82% of Montana parents say afterschool programs help them stay employed. Rachel told us that kids “ are much better off if they can go to a safe place where there’s other peers and mentors and fun activities to learn and to support their schoolwork, rather than just going home to an empty house and waiting for their parents to come home.” 

Rachel calls that safe space “critical,” and adds these programs can also offer so much more – including a different perspective on academics.  

“A lot of times during our school days, kids are exposed to a subject, but they’re exposed to it in a way that’s geared towards testing, whereas in our afterschool space, we can find kids actually getting to try things out in a way that isn’t tied to performance,” she said. “And so where a kid may not think that they’re interested in science or math during the school day, they may actually realize they are, when they’re giving it more real-world application through some of the fun activities that they’re able to do in the afterschool space.”

She added that every community’s needs are different. MTAA isn’t prescribing solutions, but Rachel noted more OST options will benefit more families and communities. A wide variety of programs can help fill the gaps, ranging from independent nonprofits to libraries to science museums. In fact, she said those organizations are a major focus for MTAA this year. 

“ We provide professional development opportunities for these programs so that they are able to be getting new ideas and activities and reinvigorating their programs, potentially with best practices and ideas from even other locations, other states.”

Partnerships between these organizations can be mutually beneficial. For example, a science museum that wants to get the next generation interested in a new STEM topic may have more success bringing the topic to an afterschool program, rather than approaching overtaxed schools and teachers.

This important work requires supportive policy and funding – two of MTAA’s major work areas. The group made major headway with state lawmakers during the 2025 legislative session to add afterschool programs to a list of recipients for surplus Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds, which are federal dollars managed by states, but Governor Greg Gianforte ultimately vetoed the legislation. “ We were really grateful that it made it through both the House and Senate,” Rachel said. “And we think that there’s some good groundwork that was laid that we hope we can return to as another option for getting some funding to afterschool.”

Another major effort during the session was working with the Montana Department of Health and Human Services to streamline an optional licensing process that is more specific to afterschool programs and distinct from childcare programs geared toward infants and toddlers. Rachel noted that getting licensed makes programs eligible for federal funding. “ The key thing we worked on this session was making sure that the rules package did move forward and wasn’t again delayed by the legislature. And so that was a big piece of everybody’s work. And we did that with partners who also were in the childcare space and also wanted those rules to get through.”

Rachel said outside factors are slowing down the licensing process, but there are several Montana programs ready to move quickly when they get the green light, and still more that have expressed curiosity about licensure. 

But licensure won’t help programs get federal funding if there isn’t any money in those coffers. In fact, when the primary source of federal afterschool funding – the 21st Century Community Learning Center grants – were frozen by the Trump administration earlier this year, Afterschool Alliance chapters across the U.S. and their networks came together effectively to get the funds reinstated quickly. 

Buy-in at both the federal and state levels is critical for the success of afterschool programs, Rachel said. Data show that for every Montana child enrolled in an afterschool program, there are four more waiting to get in. “  While these programs are doing incredible work with very little resources, we are just seeing so much more need and so much more interest than any of our community programs that are already existing are able to meet.” 

Through ups and downs, MTAA is working to get Montana families and communities the support – and innovative afterschool fun – they need. Learn about Montana Afterschool Alliance and how you can get involved at www.mtafterschoolalliance.org.

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We’re honored to support the Montana Afterschool Alliance through our new Family Power Fund, which supports nonprofits that develop and engage leaders, drive advocacy for health-focused policies, and amplify stories that reveal health challenges and inspire solutions.