Voyager Up and Running, at Lease in Ridgway

by Christina Callicott - Ouray County Watch

Posted by Erin Eddy - www.ridgwayland.com

RIDGWAY – The Voyager after-school program in Ridgway is up and running, though its status in Ouray is still up in the air, pending results of a survey on parent interest that was sent home with students last Friday Sept. 26.

“Our participation level, especially in Ouray, has gotten very low,” said Voyager Executive Director Karla Cline. She did an internal survey over the course of the summer regarding cost, programming, staffing, and need, and found that it came down to two students taking advantage of the Ouray after-school program on a regular basis. “Based on participation numbers from last year as well as our own financial situation, we had made the decision not to offer our after-school program,” she said.

However, if the results of Friday’s survey indicate a need, Cline said that they would reconsider.

Part of the problem is that a non-renewable grant that Voyager has enjoyed for the last 10 years has run out, leaving Voyager scrambling for funding. But didn’t they see it coming?

“That’s an interesting question. We have found replacement funds in the form of grants from foundations. There’s also been local support in terms of [the Ouray County Department of] Social Services, which has pledged support,” Cline said. “But this was a significant amount of money, and it’s very difficult to replace that amount.” She said the grant was for almost $90,000. She also said that funding or no, it doesn’t make good management sense to run a program with such low participation numbers as they were seeing in Ouray. “Funders want to see that they are getting the most bang for their buck, so to speak.”

Cline said that while the drop-in structure of the Voyager after-school program is convenient for families, it makes it extremely hard to plan for the right number of staff, snacks, even art supplies.

“In terms of staffing and management, it’s very difficult day to day when you never know how many students you’re going to have,” Cline said.

In response to the suggestion that perhaps student numbers were low because the program cost too much, Cline said that it’s one of the least expensive child care options in the county, at $7 per day for the after-school program and $25 for a full day when school is out. “You couldn’t get a middle schooler to sit with your kid for three hours for $7, and we have professionals who are trained, they have a background in this work, they have experience, and we’re doing fun things with the kids.”

A staffing snafu, which began with the resignation of Voyager’s program director at the beginning of the summer, has been corrected with the recent hiring of Debbie Hill as site manager for the Ridgway program. Hill is also a paraprofessional at Ridgway Elementary.

Cline is also looking for someone to implement Voyager’s drug and alcohol prevention programs, perhaps in combination with a Ouray after-school program if the numbers indicate a need for one.

“We don’t necessarily need huge numbers,” Cline said. “What I really need is for five or six parents to say, ‘I need the program and I will participate Tuesday through Thursday each week,’ or something like that. But I need that consistency, that’s the key to being able to have a program.”