One year after federal funds withheld, Nebraska after-school providers share importance of programs

When Elizabeth Hunt stepped into her role as director of Chadron Public Schools’ after-school program a year ago, it was an immediate emotional roller coaster.

Last July, President Donald Trump’s administration withheld more than $7 billion in national education funding, including $40 million earmarked for Nebraska. That included about $6.5 million for the 21st Century Community Learning Center grant that goes toward after-school programs.

“Chadron’s program has actually been a staple in our community for 25 years at this point,” Hunt said. “To step into my role and not know if I was still going to have my role was really scary. It made me super nervous that there was gonna already be setbacks.”

Hunt said the federal grant is crucial to keeping her program open. She added that during those first few weeks, parents were reaching out and asking about what was happening.

“I said, one way or another, we will figure it out. We have a plan A through Z, and if we have to go all the way through those letters of plans, I will find a way to come up with more plans,” Hunt said. “I fear that the community also felt the same nerves that I did, fearful of what that withholding was going to do to our program.”

The Trump administration eventually released the funds for afterschool programs after pressure from several Republicans, including two Nebraska congressional representatives. Nicole Everingham, development director at Omaha afterschool provider Collective for Youth, said the withheld funds highlighted the need for more awareness about the importance of after-school programs.

“We knew that there were thousands of kids that wouldn't be able to attend an after-school program come August when school started,” Everingham said. “We were really worried about the safety of those kids and what working families would do in order to provide a safe place for kids to go when the school bell ended.”

Across Nebraska, more than 115,000 children are not in afterschool programs, but would be if one was available. In Omaha, three out of four children are missing out, according to data Collective for Youth helped commission with Afterschool Alliance following the federal withholding.

Everingham said in addition to providing students opportunities for new experiences, afterschool programs help keep parents in the workforce.

Robert Patterson, CEO of Kids Can Community Center in Omaha, said that between his organization’s childcare and afterschool programs, about 750 businesses would be impacted if they closed for one day.

“You can imagine if we cut out our afterschool programs just across the city, let alone the state, how many businesses that would affect,” Patterson said.

The 21st Century Community Learning Center grant is the only federal funding source for afterschool programs. Everingham said about $250,000 comes from state lottery money, which gets mixed in with the awards for the federal grant.

Patterson said the federal allocation for after-school funding hasn’t increased in more than a decade.

“I can guarantee you my grocery bill does not look the same in 2026 as it did in 2016, so we're not immune as a nonprofit or afterschool programs to the inflation of insurance and food and the market rate to pay competitive salaries,” Patterson said.

The Trump administration was again attempting to cut funding for the 21st Century Community Learning Center grant in its fiscal recommendation for 2027. However, Everingham said so far, Congress has kept the grant funded. Everingham said she spoke with Nebraska’s five congressional representatives during a visit to Washington, D.C. this summer, and all of them agreed that afterschool programs are needed.

“They all agreed that it is vital, and they want to see it kept in the budget,” Everingham said. “So far, Congress has responded in the same way.”

Hunt in Chadron said finances are one of her biggest struggles, especially in a rural community where there are fewer resources. She also tends to take on the emotional toll that comes with keeping that funding.

“I am always scared I'm going to let my students down, my families down, my administrators and teachers down,” Hunt said. “Sometimes, as a personal struggle, I get down on myself because I get almost too emotionally involved with the grant itself."

Hunt said she hopes to see afterschool programs continue in her community, across the state and nationwide.

“I don't want to wonder if I'm going to have my program next year,” Hunt said. “I don't want the students to have to wonder if they're going to have somewhere to go after school. I want to see continuance, I want to see stability.”