States put kids first with new revenue streams

Several new state revenue streams are emerging in states from Alaska to Maryland, and lawmakers in those states are recognizing the value of investing in young people and families with the funds generated.

In Louisiana, revenue from sports gambling is being used to support early childhood programs, and early childhood advocates are making a similar case in Tennessee. In Maryland, a new digital advertising tax will contribute to K-12 and early childhood education as part of the Blueprint for Maryland's Future. In New York, online sports betting revenue will be used to support youth sports programs. In Vermont, tobacco settlement funds have been used to provide funding to afterschool programs. In Nebraska, afterschool programs benefit from lottery revenue.

In recent years, adult-use cannabis revenue has become one of the fastest-growing new state revenue streams. Approximately half of states that have legalized adult-use of cannabis—including Alaska, California, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont—are already investing, or have plans to invest, cannabis tax revenue into youth development programs, including afterschool and summer programs.

A new brief is now available for afterschool advocates in states where adult-use cannabis legalization is being considered or has already occurred, but did not initially include youth development, afterschool, or summer programs as intended uses of the revenue. The brief showcases how revenue is helping four states—Alaska, Illinois, New York, and Vermont—to address the tremendous demand for afterschool and summer programs. The brief also includes promising practices and suggested action steps to help advocates successfully make the case.

Diversifying funding for afterschool and summer programs is critical to ensure more young people have access to programs. Across the country, demand for afterschool programs has skyrocketed, and the number of children and teens waiting for an afterschool program has continued to grow during the last 15 years. Today, while 7.8 million youth participate in afterschool programs, nearly 25 million more would enroll if a program were available.

Dedicating funding from adult-use cannabis revenue to afterschool and summer programs will ensure more young people benefit from the safe spaces, caring adults, engaging learning opportunities, and skill building activities that can help lead to healthy futures. Across the nation, state legislatures are currently in session and several are positioned to legalize adult-use cannabis. Our new brief can help make the case for dedicating that revenue to afterschool and summer. Stay tuned to the Afterschool Snack for updates on state policy, including new afterschool revenue streams, during the coming months.