On a warm summer evening in Cleveland, dozens of young people gathered with popsicles in hand to ask tough questions of their elected officials. What are you doing to support mental health for youth? How will you invest in afterschool programs in our neighborhoods?
The annual “Popsicles and Policy” event, hosted by MyCom, a nonprofit organization that creates out-of-school and employment opportunities for Cleveland youth, brought together youth council members with elected officials or candidates for office. And it had a powerful impact. Youth left with a deeper understanding of local legislative processes, practical skills in shaping and sharing policy ideas, and a belief that their voices matter. Policymakers were equally engaged and impressed by the clarity and thoughtfulness of the youth perspectives. Many requested follow-ups or invited youth to continue to share ideas in public forums. As a direct outcome, the event contributed to the development of a youth-driven policy agenda that now guides local advocacy on issues like mental health, public safety, youth employment, and education.
The gathering helped build bridges between generations of leaders, grounding policy conversations in lived experience and mutual respect. These are more than just feel-good events. They are part of a broader shift among citywide out-of-school-time intermediaries (OSTIs) to build sustainable, strategic support for youth programming—especially at a time when funding is uncertain and political divides run deep.
Out-of-school-time (OST) programs provide safe spaces with caring adults and enriching activities that promote learning and well-being outside school hours. Despite their importance, OST programs are consistently underfunded, with gaps in access evident in both urban and rural areas. With the end of COVID-era funding and potential shifts in federal policy, it is vital for the OST sector to make the case for its value on an ongoing basis, and OSTIs—the entities that support and coordinate these programs—are uniquely positioned to lead these case-making efforts.
Citywide OSTIs, such as municipal agencies and nonprofits, anchor the OST system by coordinating providers to promote quality, access, and equity. They lead partnerships with schools, community organizations, and government agencies on behalf of their network to expand opportunities and resources for children and families and to obtain additional funding. Beyond highlighting the benefits of their programs, OSTIs also advocate for resources that support the whole child—addressing both their academic and social and emotional needs. This is especially important now, as children continue to face ongoing mental health challenges post-pandemic. Youth with targeted identities in particular, such as LGBTQ+ and immigrant youth, are experiencing new stresses, further emphasizing the need for comprehensive support.
Tulsa’s Opportunity Project and Cleveland’s MyCom are two OSTIs coordinating efforts in their community on behalf of young people. Their work during the pandemic, highlighted in the report, Responding, Reimaging and Realizing: OST Coordination in New Era, built a strong foundation for advocacy. Since then, their efforts have continued to strengthen and evolve, using four strategies:
- highlighting the common ground that exists in supporting the healthy development of children;
- equipping their community members with tools and resources to effectively add their voices to the discussion;
- directly engaging with elected officials; and
- partnering with state level advocates.
Planting Roots During the Pandemic and Beyond
OST programs and citywide OSTIs across the country played a crucial role in supporting communities and protecting OST systems when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. As the crisis deepened existing inequities, OSTIs worked closely with funders and policymakers to secure resources that allowed programs to continue supporting children and families. They advocated for funding not just to sustain programming, but also to advance racial equity, pushing for higher wages for OST staff and greater access to funding for grassroots organizations. OSTIs also encouraged school districts to maintain a whole-child approach, balancing academic goals with social and emotional support. While much of this advocacy was informal, many OSTIs also began developing long-term strategies to secure sustainable, state-level funding beyond the pandemic. OST program leaders viewed this advocacy as one of the most impactful actions OSTIs took during the crisis.
In the words of one OST provider: “They can get in front of the 'right people' who have the ability to enact changes or to move resources differently. That's the critical link in terms of their advocacy: who they have access to, who they can get a meeting with that individual program leaders could not get."
OSTIs need to communicate the value of OST systems now more than ever to be positioned to support children amid new and challenging funding priorities. Here is a brief overview of how Tulsa and Cleveland have been operating in the wake of the pandemic and strategies they’ve undertaken to communicate with different audiences.
OSTIs need to communicate the value of OST systems now more than ever to be positioned to support children amid new and challenging funding priorities.
The Opp Project of Tulsa
The Opp Project is an OSTI founded in 2017 by the Tulsa Community Foundation that aims to ensure all Tulsa youth have equitable access to programs before and after the school day and in the summer that are dynamic, safe, and engaging. It offers professional development opportunities aligned to Tulsa’s OST standards, collects and shares data on OST programming, and drives quality programming through leveraging national tools. In addition, the organization seeks to empower its network of providers and other supporters to advocate for Tulsa youth, who need meaningful, safe, and engaging OST or ’expanded learning’ experiences, as they are referred to locally.
To help build relationships and buy-in with leaders across the political spectrum, the Opp Project emphasizes the common goal that they all share: educational success for young people.
“All Oklahomans want to see educational outcomes improve for the youth across our state,” says Lauren Sivak, Executive Director of the Opp Project. “The goal, in conversations with district leadership as well as with elected officials, is to convey that OST programming enhances educational priorities.”
In addition, the Opp Project has sought to build up the capacity of its community, particularly around funding. During the pandemic, the Opp Project pivoted to help OST organizations take advantage of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds—federal dollars provided to school districts to address the impact of COVID-19. It has since broadened its approach to create tools and resources to support anyone in making the case for OST programs, and it has built out the advocacy page on its website to share these tools and resources in English and Spanish.
“It became increasingly clear that not enough people knew what was made possible through [ESSER funding] and therefore what we were at risk of losing,” Sivak says. “Outlining the situation, creating images for social media, and drafting talking points became paramount to our case-making efforts. The goal is to continue expanding the circle of influence, and supporting folks not directly engaged in or affected by OST programming.”
The Opp Project also regularly engages with local elected officials to keep OST at the forefront of their agenda. One strategy has been to provide elected officials with data on OST programming in their area. After the newly elected council members were sworn into office in December 2024, the Opp Project sent emails to each council member to highlight the afterschool programs happening in their district. They drew on information fromTIDEL, Tulsa’s Integrated Data-System for Expanded Learning, which helps the Opp Project track youth engagement in real-time. TIDEL gives a clear picture of where programs are taking place in Tulsa, who is delivering them, how many students they serve, and how frequently they attend programs. This type of data helps more clearly illustrate the reach and value of these programs.
In addition, the Opp Project has sought other opportunities to build relationships and plant seeds about the value of OST. During the lead up to the last mayoral election in Tulsa, they met with candidates to understand their positions on education broadly and on OST specifically. During Afterschool Professionals Appreciation Week, the Opp Project secured a mayoral proclamation, published an op-ed in the Tulsa World, delivered public statements at the City Council and Tulsa Public Schools Board meeting, and distributed buttons that read “I Am An Afterschool Professional” and “Tulsa Loves Afterschool Professionals.” The goal was to amplify the contributions of afterschool professionals in Tulsa, ensuring their critical role is recognized and celebrated by every member of the community, while driving actionable support through advocacy, awareness, and community pledges.
“Tulsa’s youth-serving workforce plays a critical role in our city,” Sivak says. “These are highly skilled, talented, and dedicated professionals who reach thousands of youth annually, and it was our responsibility and privilege to celebrate them.”
Across its efforts, the Opp Project tailors its messaging to diverse audiences and political interests, making the case broadly for how out-of-school-time programs can help to advance a range of different policy priorities, from academics to safety. If we are communicating with district officials, we might focus on the impact the afterschool programs have on chronic absenteeism,” says Sivak. “If we are communicating with a statewide elected official, we might highlight the effect afterschool programs have on community safety. It’s this strategic thinking that allows us to build a stronger and more diverse coalition.”
In addition to these local efforts, Tulsa also partners with advocates at the state level to bring attention to the benefits of OST. As a member of the Steering Committee for Oklahoma Partnership for Expanded Learning (OPEL), the Opp Project collaborates closely with the statewide Network Director of OPEL to have strategic conversations with local, state, and federal leaders and stakeholders to advance policies, funding, and resources to support OST in Tulsa and across Oklahoma. The OPEL Network Director oversees regular convenings with statewide entities and school communities to ensure that all corners of Oklahoma are represented.
MyCom of Cleveland
Cleveland’s MyCom (My Community, My Commitment), was founded in 2006 through support from the Cleveland Foundation and Cuyahoga County. MyCom describes itself as a positive youth development network in the City of Cleveland that connects services across systems and neighborhoods. It partners with grassroots OST organizations throughout Cleveland to identify the unique needs within each neighborhood and across the city and develop solutions. Like other OST intermediaries, MyCom provides professional development, program quality support, program assessment, evaluation, and data support to OST providers in its network.
MyCom elevates youth voice and includes advocacy as a key focus of its mission. And, like the Opp Project, MyCom has continued to develop its case-making efforts in the community and beyond.
“MyCom’s aim is to be recognized within local, state, and national advocacy efforts to support positive youth development investments,” says Kasey Morgan, MyCom’s executive director.
MyCom operates as a nonpartisan organization and has endeavored to expand the circle of those who can serve as champions for OST. As part of its advocacy work in 2025, the organization organized two forums through which it could share information about the rapidly changing federal landscape and the impact it could have on its network members. The organization also shared practical steps that attendees could take back to their neighborhood partners and tools to enable network members to stay apprised.
“These events were intended to provide information to our network,” Morgan says. “And in the work of MyCom, they were the start of building advocacy and awareness.”
In addition, MyCom has supported young people in the community to develop an advocacy agenda. It recently brought neighborhood youth councils together with the Thorton Buckeye Group, an organization that specializes in state government relations. The resulting four priorities, adopted by MyCom, included support for mental health programming, community violence prevention, essential youth programming, and social and environmental justice. The agenda has been used to advocate for Cleveland’s youth priorities at the state level as well as by the national Afterschool Alliance in its work to uplift the voices of young people and support OST across the country. MyCom is now working with its network of OST providers and youth in a similar effort to create a new Youth Advocacy Agenda by the end of 2025.
Looking Toward the Future
The experiences of Tulsa and Cleveland offer practical strategies for other OSTIs to consider in how they talk about the value of out-of-school time in their own settings. In both cities, the OSTI’s efforts centered around four key strategies.
- Building the capacity of OST providers to make the case for the value of OST
The Opp Project recognized that many of its constituents were balancing competing priorities and did not have the tools they needed to advocate for OST programs. The organization has offered talking points, hosted storytelling workshops, and broken down the advocacy process into quick steps to help get started. Equally important is centering trusted messengers and embracing the fact that those who make up the OST community are the real experts—this boosts confidence and leads to stronger advocacy at the local, state, and national levels.
- Supporting young people to identify policy priorities and advocate
Creating spaces for young people to speak to local elected officials and supporting neighborhood youth councils to develop a youth policy agenda that could be used for advocacy at the state level are two ways MyCom has done this.
- Building relationships with public officials and intentionally engaging in public spaces to promote the value of OST
Tulsa and Cleveland invited elected officials and those running for office to venues in which they could speak to OST providers and young people. The Opp Project also helped advise public officials to communicate about the value of OST, providing local data specific to their constituency. The Opp Project also utilized opportunities such as Afterschool Professionals Appreciation Week to attend city council and school board meetings to make the case about OST more publicly.
- Partnering with state-level advocates for broader influence
Both Cleveland and Tulsa have partnered with state-level networks. These relationships offer the opportunity to broaden OSTIs’ influence beyond their own cities, to find common ground with others in their state, and to seek funding opportunities.
