Frequently Asked Questions

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The 2021 Sneaker Ball will be hosted virtually via Zoom. Ticket purchasers will receive the link the week of the event, and a recording will be available afterward.

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We can’t share everything just yet, but rest assured that Sneaker Ball will feature an exciting line-up including a teen DJ, the first ever Sneaker Sensation Art Exhibit, performances from special guests, and more!

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The ASM Associate Board created the Sneaker Ball to support the work of After School Matters! Guests are invited to pair their coolest kicks with their best party outfit for this one-of-a-kind event. Though the first in-person Sneaker Ball was cancelled due to COVID-19 in May 2020, we are back with a virtual version adapted to bring the party straight to your home!

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To ensure stipend eligibility please do the following:

• Complete checklists in Cityspan so all teens appear as enrolled (not pending) on the Enrollment tab by the deadlines established in the Stipend Administration Handout (on Cityspan);
• Run the Enrollee Checklist Report (see Appendix A6) weekly to assist with this process;
• Check off documents you have received from teens and solicit any missing documents;
• Collect daily attendance sign-in sheets from Instructors on a weekly basis and maintain paper file; and
• Review attendance entered into Cityspan in coordination with your Instructor(s).

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If After School Matters cannot verify a teen’s social security number (SSN) or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) and name with the IRS you may need to obtain a copy of his/her social security card or ITIN documentation.

If you are having trouble verifying a teen’s address: Don’t use Google maps! Instead go here.  (Usps.com -> Quick Tools -> Look up a ZIP Code)

• Some teens may incorrectly fill out the form, and since we verify in bulk, we won’t catch this. Make sure the street number is only the number, etc.
• If all else fails, the best way to get a correct address is for a teen to bring in a piece of mail.

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Please immediately notify After School Matters to facilitate return of the check.

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If a teen check is lost, stolen, or never received, you must contact After School Matters at the Stipend Hotline at 312-768-5199 and either you or the teen (depending on who was in possession of the check when it went missing) must complete the Lost/Stolen Check Form provided on Cityspan.

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To request a change in your designated check delivery location email [email protected] two weeks prior to the check date.

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A program day cannot be cancelled (for any reason) without the prior approval of the Program Specialist.

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If a teen does not show up to a program without calling first, the Instructor or Liaison must call the parent or guardian to confirm knowledge of the absence.

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Teens may not leave early on any program date without written approval of the Program Specialist

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Unless another arrangement is agreed upon with your instructor(s), the Liaison’s responsibility is to collect signed attendance sheets from the Instructor(s) each week, confirm the accuracy of these sheets, enter accurate attendance information into Cityspan, and store physical attendance sheets for end-of-year pickup.

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New participants can be hired after the first day of program, but no later than two weeks after programs start.

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If there are teens who do not show up to the program once it has begun, these teens can be replaced with new participants. After School Matters strongly recommends establishing a waitlist of 5-10 eligible teens to ensure that you meet the 80% weekly attendance requirement.

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If a teen stops attending the program, you should drop the teen from the program in Cityspan. See the Overview and Policy Manual (in the Documents section on Cityspan) for acceptable justifications for dropping a teen.

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As a Liaison, it is your responsibility to assist the Instructor in gaining access to teens for recruitment activities (e.g. facilitating access for lunch time outreach; distributing in-school posters, intercom announcements; etc.

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All programs must meet the minimum required number of participants before a program can start- the minimum enrollment rate for any program is 80% of the target enrollment number (24 teens for a program with a target of 30, or 12 teens for a target of 15). However, to ensure maximum enrollment, all programs are encouraged to over enroll by 5% (A program of 30 would enroll 32; a program of 15 would enroll 16).

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All teens that meet the stipend eligibility requirements will receive a stipend. To learn more about Teen Pay, click here

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To ensure stipend eligibility please do the following:

• Complete checklists in Cityspan so all teens appear as enrolled (not pending) on the Enrollment tab by the deadlines established in the Stipend Administration Handout (on Cityspan);
• Run the Enrollee Checklist Report (see Appendix A6) weekly to assist with this process;
• Check off documents you have received from teens and solicit any missing documents;
• Collect daily attendance sign-in sheets from Instructors on a weekly basis and maintain paper file; and
• Review attendance entered into Cityspan in coordination with your Instructor(s).

close

If After School Matters cannot verify a teen’s social security number (SSN) or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) and name with the IRS you may need to obtain a copy of his/her social security card or ITIN documentation.

If you are having trouble verifying a teen’s address: Don’t use Google maps! Instead go here.  (Usps.com -> Quick Tools -> Look up a ZIP Code)

• Some teens may incorrectly fill out the form, and since we verify in bulk, we won’t catch this. Make sure the street number is only the number, etc.
• If all else fails, the best way to get a correct address is for a teen to bring in a piece of mail.

close

Please immediately notify After School Matters to facilitate return of the check.

close

To request a change in your designated check delivery location email [email protected] two weeks prior to the check date.

close

A program day cannot be cancelled (for any reason) without the prior approval of the Program Specialist.

close

If a teen does not show up to a program without calling first, the Instructor or Liaison must call the parent or guardian to confirm knowledge of the absence.

close

New participants can be hired after the first day of program, but no later than two weeks after programs start.

close

If there are teens who do not show up to the program once it has begun, these teens can be replaced with new participants. After School Matters strongly recommends establishing a waitlist of 5-10 eligible teens to ensure that you meet the 80% weekly attendance requirement.

close

If a teen stops attending the program, you should drop the teen from the program in Cityspan. See the Overview and Policy Manual (in the Documents section on Cityspan) for acceptable justifications for dropping a teen.

close

All programs must meet the minimum required number of participants before a program can start- the minimum enrollment rate for any program is 80% of the target enrollment number (24 teens for a program with a target of 30, or 12 teens for a target of 15). However, to ensure maximum enrollment, all programs are encouraged to over enroll by 5% (A program of 30 would enroll 32; a program of 15 would enroll 16).

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There are various compliance requirements that must be met during the duration of your program. These include entering attendance into Cityspan, retaining all receipts for purchases made for After School Matters programming, and completing end-of-program reports and surveys of various sorts. More information on these will be provided.

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You will be notified through an email from our contracting department in the event that you are selected to become a program provider with After School Matters.

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You will need to complete a Renewal. Please note that if you are offering a new program or changing your program (different than the previous program you held with us), then you will need to fill out a Request for Proposal (RFP). In addition, if you change your contractual identity, you are required to do an RFP.

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In order to be a program provider with After School Matters as a community based organization, you must complete a Request for Proposal (RFP). In addition, you will asked to comply with the following:

• Contracted with us as a CBO (i.e. have gone through all of the fingerprinting for instructors/liaison, obtained required insurance, etc.)
• Meet average daily attendance requirements/ input attendance on time
• Find and secure space for programming
• Have a designated community liaison (serve as primary contact for PS & ASM, sometimes may be different than contract administrator)
• Program Quality (this is assessed by visits from Program staff and the executive team, as well as YPQA assessments, and program deliverables (i.e. final products and showcases)
• Submit expense reports and teen documents to finance within 2 weeks after program ends
• Program Report (complete & detailed)

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Teens interested in applying to assistantships must be at least 16 years old and are paid an hourly rate of $8.25/hour. These opportunities range from program assistance to school-wide support for programming to outreach and engagement activities.

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The next step after being accepted as an intern or assistant is to turn in the internship/assistantship packet. This packet contains the I-9 form, W-4 forms and the Intern/Assistant Program Acknowledgement Consent and Release form, which you will need to complete if you are selected for an internship or assistantship program. Be sure to have your parent/legal guardian sign it as well. Please provide us with your Social Security card and your photo identification (school ID or state ID) in order to be eligible for a full stipend. If you do not have a Social Security number, please read the final question in this FAQ.

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If you do not have a Social Security number or ITIN, you can still participate in After School Matters programs! Please talk to your program instructor for more information.

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Teens interested in applying to internships are required to be at least 16 years old, to interview for internship positions, and if hired to complete an I9 along with federal and state W4’s. As a teen intern, you will earn $10.50 an hour. Internships positions include camp counselors, corporate administration, retail and customer service, and more…

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Yes, at this time, all interns and assistants are paid in the form of a stipend.

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Yes, however, programs with a high volume of applicants might not interview/audition all applicants.

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All teens that meet the stipend eligibility requirements will receive a stipend. To learn more about Teen Pay, click here

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Yes. To find out more about our internships and advanced internships, please click here.

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To participate in an After School Matters program, you must:

• A resident of Chicago.
• 14 years old by September 1, 2020.
• A current Chicago public high school student. Some spots are available to non-CPS high school students.
• For summer program session, rising freshman and just-graduated seniors are eligible to participate.
• For internships and assistantships, a teen must be 16 years old by the first day of the program.
• Certain programs may have other requirements that will be noted on the application.

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Instructors will be communicating directly with teens as they finalize their program rosters throughout the Summer recruitment period – from now up until the first day of programs. ALL teens who apply to Summer programs will receive a status notification via email in late May. This email will let you know whether or not you have been placed in each program to which you applied. Teens who are not placed in programs at that point will be encouraged to apply for additional programs.

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If a program is in need of additional participants, they may pull teens from the waitlist. In this case, an instructor will reach out to a teen via email or phone to invite them to interview.

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You may apply to up to 3 programs per program cycle.

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When completing your application, it is important for you to have your CPS ID number ready (if applicable) and a functioning email address and/or phone number. A valid Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) is accepted but not required for your application.

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To apply for an After School Matters program, fill out our online application by clicking here.

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No. Applicants are accepted on a rolling basis.

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You may apply to up to 3 programs per program cycle.

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When completing your application, it is important for you to have a functioning email address, etc.

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To search for programs, click here.

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By January, if you had received more than one Award for Program Completion through After School Matters programs totalling more than $600 during the previous year, you will receive a tax form 1099. The purpose of the form 1099 is to tell you the total amount of money that you received from After School Matters during the previous year. If you were a pre-apprentice, apprentice or advanced apprentice, no taxes were withheld from your Awards and the total of all of your checks/deposits is reported on a 1099 form.

If you were an intern at any time during the previous year, you were considered an After School Matters employee and will receive a tax form W-2. The purpose of the form W-2 is to tell you the total amount of wages After School Matters paid to you and the taxes withheld from you during the previous year. The amounts withheld from your wages were based on the form W-4 that you completed at the beginning of your internship.

The information on the form 1099 and W-2is also reported to the IRS.

After School Matters cannot offer tax advice, so we cannot tell you whether you have to file a tax return. Please contact your tax advisor or visit www.irs.gov. You may also call City Services at 311 for free tax information.

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No, you may only participate in one program per program session. We do encourage you to participate in more programs in future sessions.

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Notify your instructor and liaison immediately. You should provide accurate documentation to avoid getting dropped from the program.

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An ITIN is an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number issued by the Internal Revenue Service to people who do not have a Social Security Number. To obtain an ITIN, you need to fill out IRS Form W-7 and attach a valid federal income tax return. These forms can be accessed online at www.irs.gov or by calling 1-800-829-3676. You also must provide forms that prove identity and foreign status to the IRS. The IRS Web site suggests that if you need assistance in obtaining this number, visit an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC). The Chicago Center is located at 230 South Dearborn Street and is open Monday-Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm.

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If you would like to switch programs, contact your school liaison or program staff. It is preferable that all program switches take place by the first week of a program.

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Your school may have a specific grade participation policy. Please contact your school liaison to find out what the policies are.

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Yes, as long as you meet the program attendance requirements.

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