It’s time to renew the $5.1 million in grants for out-of-school time (OST) programs provided by 19 providers. Escambia Children’s Trust (ECT) created the Out-of-School Time RFP to help children and youth in underserved communities become better prepared for school, careers, and life. The funds from a half mil collected from Escambia County property owners over the past two years.
When it comes to outcomes, ECT wants to know the measurable outcomes and improvements of the participants and the return on the investment of each program funded. ECT staff has struggled to get from the providers a clear accounting to determine if they are meeting expectations and the full scope services listed in their grant proposals.
The staff has released a Year 1 report on the OST – read here. The report has a map that shows more than have of the participants live in the pockets of poverty – neighborhoods that have 20% or greater households living in high poverty.
However, when you take out of the equation the three programs with 70% or more participants from those high poverty census tracts—Children’s Home Society (73.4%), City Parks & Rec (71.7%) and Epps Christian Center (92.3%), the percentage drops below 40%.
Five programs are below the 50% mark: Chain Reaction (28.2%), James B. Washington Education & Sports (39.8%), Pensacola Little Theatre (37.2%), SALT Ministry (31.6%) and Valerie’s House (37.9%).
Three programs didn’t provide the data to determine how they met the high-poverty target: Central Gulf Coast Freedom School, Omega Lamplighters, and Urban Development Center.
Here are the remaining providers ranked by high poverty percentage:
| Provider | % |
| Boys & Girls Club | 60.3% |
| Covenant Care | 59.2% |
| Children’s Theater | 58% |
| YMCA | 57.4% |
| Pensacola Children’s Chorus | 57.1% |
| Dixon School | 53.2% |
| CMB Vision Unlimited | 50% |
Grant Dollars per Child Served
The highest cost per child using actual participants are Urban Development ($13,252), City Parks & Rec ($6,280), Covenant Care ($5,186), YMCA ($5,103), Pensacola Little Theatre ($4,134), Epps Christian ($3,861) and CMB Vision ($3,711).
The programs costing the least per child are SALT ($261), MESS Hall ($765), Omega Lamplighters ($1,264) and Children’s Home Society ($1,520).
| New Kids | Actual | Grant | Per Child | |
| Boys & Girls Club | 130 | 245 | $ 874,878 | $ 3,571 |
| Central Gulf Coast Freedom Schools | 150 | 104 | $ 215,045 | $ 2,068 |
| Chain Reaction | 116 | 62 | $ 195,580 | $ 3,155 |
| Children’s Home | 100 | 161 | $ 244,672 | $ 1,520 |
| Children’s Theater | 200 | 88 | $ 196,189 | $ 2,229 |
| City Parks & Rec | 235 | 86 | $ 540,041 | $ 6,280 |
| CMB Vision Unlimited | 60 | 79 | $ 293,184 | $ 3,711 |
| Covenant Care | 75 | 39 | $ 201,095 | $ 5,156 |
| Dixon School | 100 | 89 | $ 260,000 | $ 2,921 |
| Epps Christian | 40 | 66 | $ 254,800 | $ 3,861 |
| Benny Washington | 120 | 127 | $ 295,000 | $ 2,323 |
| Omega Lamplighters | 90 | 85 | $ 107,460 | $ 1,264 |
| Pens. Children’s Chorus | 35 | 30 | $ 96,201 | $ 3,207 |
| Pens. Little Theatre | 125 | 35 | $ 144,681 | $ 4,134 |
| MESS Hall | 100 | 112 | $ 85,648 | $ 765 |
| SALT | 15 | 44 | $ 11,489 | $ 261 |
| Urban Development | 250 | 30 | $ 397,556 | $ 13,252 |
| Valerie’s House | 133 | 48 | $ 105,215 | $ 2,192 |
| YMCA | 160 | 114 | $ 581,748 | $ 5,103 |
Academic Improvement
Only three programs provided any information on academic achievement.
Children’s Home Society reported 52% made A/B honor roll or higher. City Parks & Rec reported an increase in A/B honor roll but gave no specific data. Omega Lamplighters reported seven made A honor roll and 26 A/B Honor Roll – 39%.
Staff Recommendations
The staff questions whether grants should be renewed for the Central Gulf Coast Freedom School ($215,045), Chain Reaction ($192,975), Children’s Theater Company ($196,189), Urban Development Center ($408,044) and Valerie’s House ($163,278). The cuts would save the Trust $1.18 million.
