Wyoming afterschool programs need trained workers, links to schools and a network of professional support if they are to be successful in helping families, children and the economy develop, advocates say.

A group of people who want to create a network for afterschool programs in the state met in Casper Monday to continue work on an application for $75,000 from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, which has created similar afterschool networks in dozens of other states.

A network is important for Wyoming because parents and teachers want to know that there are safe, quality programs for their children after school hours.

"We live in a state where full-time working families are the norm," said Samin Dadelahi of the Wyoming Community Foundation, one of several groups that has offered matching funds for the Mott grant proposal.

"It is critical for our communities to have good quality programs and equal access," she said.

The group wants to:

* Work with the state's community colleges to create new "youth development" degree programs and a career path for those who work in afterschool education

* Add credibility to the industry of afterschool programs by ensuring they are educational and not just entertaining

* Support children who have nowhere to go after school but an empty home, reducing drug use and other risky teen behavior

* Support Wyoming's economy by providing safe places for children to be while parents work

* Educate people in Wyoming about the need for afterschool programs

* Advocate for policies and funding to protect and strengthen afterschool programs.

Darcy Dixon of Casper's Youth Empowerment Council, a group of teens who work together on social advocacy projects, said she could have used a network when she started the council several years ago.

"When I first started this job, it was, 'What do I do?'" she said. Dixon said she didn't know who to call for help or how to get professional training. Now she wants to save others the trouble.

"None of the programs know what the other groups are doing," Dadelahi said.

While some communities such as Casper have solid afterschool programs in the Boys and Girls Club, the Youth Empowerment Council and more, others in smaller communities are struggling to piece together and maintain services, Dadelahi said.

There is no central list of afterschool opportunities or a database of how many children participate, they said.

The Mott grant proposal is due June 8, and would be approved by August with the money available in October. If the grant is not approved, the group still plans to forge ahead, hiring at least a part-time coordinator with the pledged money they already have.

Working on the proposal along with Dixon and Dadelahi are Craig Williams, vice president of the Wyoming Education Association; Kimberly Prey, afterschool programs consultant to the state department of education; and Linda Barton, director of the Lights on in Lander program.