Community Hope Centers - Oklahoma State Department of Education & Partnerships

Oklahoma State Department of Education & Partnerships

All of the above required components of the Community HOPE Centers align
with allowable activities within the Title IV, Part B – Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community
Learning Center competitive grant program. These programs provide academic and other
well-rounded activities to students before and after school. With the impact of COVID-19,
we know many schools are providing a variety of education models this fall. A waiver would
give Oklahoma the ability to permit a current 21st CCLC grantee to operate during normal
school hours. For example, this could allow the program to operate in conjunction with
hybrid school models to offer activities to students when school is in session but the student
is not receiving in-person instruction. The waiver is intended to give flexibility to districts
and schools to provide academic enrichment and other well-rounded education activities in
whatever way best supports students this year.

Important note: OKDHS intends to provide an embedded worker (a current OKDHS
employee) in each center, allowing the agency to provide resources to the families of children
in Community HOPE Centers, including referrals to workforce programs, safety net
programs and other opportunities to promote upward mobility. This opportunity helps the
agency to achieve its goal of being preventive, solving problems for families before a crisis
occurs. OKDHS is looking for this deeply embedded model worker to potentially inform the
future of human services resource delivery in the State of Oklahoma.