On July 1, 2008, the City of Philadelphia designated PHMC as the new fiscal and management intermediary for Out-of-School Time (OST), a city initiative that provides after-school and summer services to more than 20,000 Philadelphia schoolchildren and their families. PHMC assumed full responsibility for operations on July 1 as part of the $38 million contract with the city, $36 million of which is designated to pass through to the agencies providing direct services.

Out-of-School Time is a citywide initiative that strives to provide children and their families with a safe, enriching environment to pursue various extracurricular activities. OST offers two types of programs to Philadelphia schoolchildren: the After-School Initiative (ASI) and Beacon. ASI brings a variety of activities to children in grades K-12 including sports, homework assistance and other traditional after-school activities. The Beacon program engages both children and adults in activities centered around schools in their communities.

As the intermediary for OST, PHMC supports providers in numerous ways, such as program planning and quality improvement, compliance with fiscal and contractual requirements and budget development. PHMC is also responsible for the management information system that supports OST. “PHMC is pleased to partner with the City of Philadelphia in assuring that children, families and communities have access to quality out-of-school time services,” says Amy Friedlander, vice president of PHMC’s Management Services.

Over the years, PHMC has provided intermediary services to a number of organizations and government agencies. In addition to OST, PHMC currently partners with the City of Philadelphia in the DHS Parenting Collaborative, serving as the fiscal and program monitor for the provider agencies.