Voices For Alabamas Children

The AELA (Alabama Expanded Learning Alliance) program is related to a fiscal sponsorship agreement between AELA and VOICES. AELA's mission is to ensure Alabama youth, families and communities have access to high-quality programming during out-of-school time that promotes positive development and life-long learning.

Tracking data that details child well-being is the most important indicator of Alabama's long-term economic and social future. Our research, specifically information collected for the Alabama kids count data book, establishes a solid foundation for all of our work from raising the visibility of children's issues to informing decision making at the state and local level. For more than 30 years, the Alabama kids count book, has served as both a benchmark and a road map to improving Alabama's child well-being on core indicators, including infant mortality, health, poverty, school readiness and grade level reading. Our research products are distributed widely as well as to statewide and local media, lawmakers, state agency heads, business stakeholders and community leaders.