February 2003

Nearly 250 youth, parents and after-school providers from throughout Maryland went to Annapolis on Martin Luther King Day with a message for the Governor and state legislators: support after-school funding in the state budget.

At stake is Maryland's After-School Opportunity Fund (MASOF), established in 1999 to help keep programs at low or no cost to families. Governor Robert Ehrlich's fiscal year 2004 budget proposal would cut $5 million in order to help close the $1.8 billion state budget deficit the new Governor inherited. Currently more than 19,000 young people from across the state are participating in after school programs supported by the Fund.

The visit to Annapolis, which was called by some young people a "freedom ride" to commemorate Dr. King's legacy of advocating for issues that create opportunities for all people to succeed, was supported by the After-School Institute, Advocates for Children and Youth, Baltimore's Safe and Sound Campaign and other organizations.

These organizations not only want to preserve full funding of the MASOF at its current level, but also want the Fund's long-term support and growth to be a critical part of the legislature's plans for the future. In a recent poll of likely voters in Maryland, 87 percent favored expanding after-school programs. Seventy-one percent said such program s should be a high priority for the use of state funds. The young people told the policymakers that the proposed $5 million cut would mean that 9,500 fewer kids would have access to after school opportunities which are helping them become more confident and perform better in school.

State Senator Lisa Gladden of Baltimore took members of the group to meet with Governor Ehrlich and Lt. Gov. Michael Steele. Other legislators who met with the group were Del. Maggie McIntosh and Sen. Ralph Hughes.

Young people from the group presented Ehrlich and Steele with 1000 signed petitions in support of continued state funding for after-school. Legislators were given a framed Dr. King quote crafted by youth in the after-school programs to commemorate his birthday and to highlight the need to support state funding for after-school. In addition, parents explained to the policymakers how state-funded after-school opportunities provide extracurricular activities at a low cost, helping their families make ends meet and allowing them to work full days without worrying about their children's safety.

Organizers of the group are planning return visits to the Capital, as the Legislature's Budget Committees will be working on the budget proposal in the next few weeks.

For more information on this website about Baltimore's Safe and Sound Campaign, click here. For more articles on this website about campaigns and communications, click here.