How to count Clover Kids
I got the same question twice today (from Joanie D. and Deb Christiansen): What delivery mode should Clover Kids be?
There's more than one correct answer to that question, which should be good, but isn't always. You have to think about the group--when and how often do they meet, how consistent is the membership, what's the primary purpose of the group?
Here's what I wrote to Joanie when I got the FIRST question:
Under the federal guidelines, a Clover Kids group could be correctly recorded as one of the following delivery modes:
4-H After School Club
4-H Special Interest/Short Term Program
School Aged Child Care Education Program
During my Tour De State last year, we discussed those different delivery modes specifically as they related to Clover Kids groups, and what type of group would best fit in each one of the different categories.
For instance, a group that meets every Tuesday after school, basically the same group of kids, consistently throughout the school year, same club starts up again next year with same & different kids = After School Club
A group that meets every Tuesday & Thursday for 3 months in the winter with primarily the same group of kids, but maybe some in-and-out attendees as well = Special Interest (especially if there is a specific content focus, like Nutrition and Health).
A group that meets every MWF after school, providing a safe place for kids to be during the after-school hours, with an inconsistent membership, no real content focus = SACC
These are probably extreme examples, but they give you an idea of how these different delivery modes could "fit" the many different faces of Clover Kids programming.