Resources:
Lee Van Roth's Feature Article: EMU's Bright Futures after-school program faces federal funding rollercoaster and uncertain future
New York Times: Trump Withholds Nearly $7 Billion for Schools, With Little Explanation
Transcription:
Lee Van Roth: You're listening to 89.1 WEMU. I'm Lee Van Roth, and this is On the Ground Ypsi. Eastern Michigan University's Bright Futures after-school and summer camp program is facing funding uncertainty following a national hold of nearly $7 billion in federal funding for similar programming at the beginning of July. While their funding has been temporarily restored through summer 2026, the future of Bright Futures and the 5,000-plus students across 22 schools remains up in the air. Today, I'm here with Bright Futures project director, Suzie Staley, to learn a bit more about how this pause impacted ongoing camps and other summer programs, what 2026 may look like, and how she and her team will and continue to put Ypsi students and families first. Hi, Suzie! Thanks so much for being here today!
Suzie Staley: Hi, Lee! Thank you for having me!
Lee Van Roth: So, can you walk us through what those first few days after the pause announcement kind of came out? What were the feelings going through your head? What were the immediate plans? What was going on?
Suzie Staley: Yeah, sure. I think, when it first started, I think, understandably, we have about 200 staff, and people were in a panic. Parents and families were panicking because they didn't know what would happen with child care or the meals that we provide, let alone the programming, which is our focus. But the truth is we provide child care--free child care--to working families and meal assistance. Young people get at least a meal and a snack, if not two meals the day. I think for staff, we were certainly scared for our jobs and our livelihood, but heartbroken for the kids and families of our community that we may not be able to serve. And when we didn't get the funding on July 1st, we went into full-blown panic because, frankly, we didn't have money to get by. And had the state not made some accommodations, we would have been able to last about a week-and-a-half before we shut down and many programs across the state did shut down and did have to lay off.
Lee Van Roth: You mentioned how these programs are providing food assistance and child care in these ways. What were some of the more immediate and visible effects on the programs that were happening already when the pause happened? Were there cancellations of activities and field trips, lack of classroom supplies, things like that? What was that impact? What did that impact look like?
Suzie Staley: Yeah, we immediately cut all spending for everything, so no more supplies. We cut field trips. And one of the most heartbreaking aspects is that we cut what we call vendors, which would really be local artists and educators who work in a gig economy in our community. So, that's another layer that I don't know that people fully understand, that we support local artists and educators and folks that really rely on a gig economy, and we were forced to cut their contracts for the summer.
Lee Van Roth: And then, as far as the funding has since been reinstated, there is some question about what that's going to look like next summer. As project director, what is kind of going through your head right now? What does Bright Futures do for families and these students right now, knowing that, in a year or about a year, there could be another scare like this or worse and, hopefully not, the discontinuation of Bright Futures?
Suzie Staley: Right. So, as of right now, yeah, 21st Century Funding, which is how Bright Futures and other programs like ours across the country get funded, is zeroed out of the budget or the proposed budget. The Senate Appropriations Committee did put it back in, but we have no idea whether or not it will actually get reinstated. So, yeah, I mean, we're hoping to start to secure and leverage other funding. But in this economy, I mean, so is everybody else with all of the federal cuts. So, we are terrified that all of these really vital services to our community will be cut off. And again, we're working hard. We're hoping that the community can support us. I mean, I think, even calling legislators, not just legislators in Michigan, but across the country, because this pot of money affects marginalized and vulnerable communities across the country.
Lee Van Roth: Is there a contingency plan in discussion right now if funding next year goes away? What happens to Bright Futures at that point? You mentioned looking at potential other sources and things like that, but if there is an issue with funding for all of the services that Bright Futures provides, what is the plan from there?
Suzie Staley: Yeah. I mean, we're hopeful that we can leverage funding, but there would have to be some deep adjustments and potentially cuts if we had to leverage a different model. I can't remember the exact figure, but I remember hearing that if all of the private foundations pulled together all of their money to support programming that the federal government supports, it would only last like eight or 10 days.
Lee Van Roth: Oh, wow!
Suzie Staley: It's across the country. All of the federal money that we get is so critical, and we're so reliant on it. And without it, a lot of our systems would really come to a halt.
Lee Van Roth: What would be the most difficult or challenging aspect of potentially not having Bright Futures for the families and the students that you serve? So, if in a year's time, Bright Futures has to close its doors, what does that impact look like on the folks that you're currently serving?
Suzie Staley: Well, like I mentioned, I mean, certainly, we focus on the highest quality programming. I mean, we want to be of best and highest service to young people and their families at all times. And I think Bright Futures ceasing to exist would not allow that. And frankly, it would make vulnerable families have to choose. It would really force their hand to choose whether or not they work. Because, again, as I've mentioned, we provide and take great pride in the high, high, high-quality programming and experiences that we provide educationally and through enrichment opportunities for young people. But if we're looking at the nuts and bolts of our program, we provide childcare and food.
Lee Van Roth: For free!
Suzie Staley: For free. For zero dollars. And honestly, if you look at this particular pot of money, we were part of the $7 billion freeze.
Lee Van Roth: Right.
Suzie Staley: 21st Century is about $1.4 billion of that. If you look the number of young people that that pot of money serves across the country, it's essentially like $946.87 per young person, 32 weeks of programming in a school year and six weeks in the summer, so all school year, all summer, plus meals. So, for less than $1,000 of investment from the government, we're providing all these high-quality opportunities, but frankly, providing childcare and food to young people. You can't get anything cheaper than that. And so, I think it would force vulnerable families to figure out if they can work or not, because childcare is astronomically expensive, and it would be more advantageous to not work. And I think, certainly, people want the dignity of being able to work hard and contribute to their community, but also this administration is coming in with so many threats to working families, but they're pulling their supports out from under them. So, I think that's probably one of the most heartbreaking things that's happening.
Lee Van Roth: This is WEMU's On the Ground Ypsi. I'm talking with Suzie Staley, the program director for EMU's Bright Futures program. Suzie, from your perspective in this role that you occupy and with all of the staff that you work with, what makes a program like Bright Futures more than just after-school care?
Suzie Staley: I think all of our staff, all of the full-time staff that lead buildings, they all have minimally a bachelor's degree in education or social work or a related field. Most of our site coordinators, who essentially they run each site, a school where programs happen, most have master's degrees. Staff get over 125 hours a year in professional development, and we really, really focus and continuous improvement, being data-driven, and really, really showing up with best youth-driven practices. So, I mean, in terms of the programming, it really is of the highest quality, and we pride ourselves on that.
Lee Van Roth: And is there anything that you would say to policymakers or even just community members about why protecting and expanding funding for resources like this is an investment and not an expense?
Suzie Staley: Absolutely! Well, like I said, one, it's not really that big of an expense. It costs less than a $1,000 a year for a young person to participate. But also, we are changing and saving lives. Access to college and higher ed and trades after high school increase exponentially if young people are involved in after-school. And vulnerable young people deserve the same opportunities as their middle and upper-class counterparts. And we're simply leveling the playing field for the young people--the beautiful, bright and brilliant young people--in our community.
Lee Van Roth: Well, Suzie, I want to thank you so much for chatting with me today! Our community is very fortunate to have a program like Bright Futures, and I'm sure communities across the state and the country feel very lucky to have the programs that they have that are like Bright Futures and hopefully talking about how important it is gets some more folks aware of why this funding is so important for these communities.
Suzie Staley: Thank you so much!
Lee Van Roth: For more information on today's topic and links to the full article, visit our website at WEMU.org. On The Ground Ypsi is brought to you in partnership with Concentrate Media. I'm Lee Van Roth, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti. Celebrating 60 years of broadcasting at Eastern Michigan University!
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