January 29, 2026
Good Morning Councilmember Lewis George, members, and staff of the Committee on Facilities. My name is Njeri Jenkins, and I am the OST Advocacy Manager at DC Action. I support the Out-of-School-Time (OST) Coalition, which represents dozens of community-based organizations delivering high-quality youth development and enrichment programming to thousands of young people across all eight wards of the District.
OST providers are essential partners to DC Public Schools and multiple District agencies. Many programs rely on consistent, reliable access to school buildings in order to operate safely, predictably, and at scale. These systems, managed by the Department of General Services (DGS), particularly those related to facilities access, security contracts, and custodial services, have a direct, material, and monetary impact on whether OST programs are able to serve students as intended.
Across the coalition, providers continue to raise systemic concerns that point to the need for stronger accountability, clearer processes, and improved oversight within DGS-managed facilities operations. The challenges described below are structural in nature and recur across schools, wards, and program models, indicating persistent gaps in how facilities-related services are administered and monitored.
OST providers need reliable access to DGS-managed facilities.
One ongoing challenge involves the Realty Office and the process for securing and maintaining building use agreements. Providers report frequent delays, inconsistent guidance, and difficulty resolving issues related to access approvals, amendments, and renewals. These challenges are not isolated incidents; they are raised repeatedly by providers operating in different wards and school and DPR facilities. When access issues are not resolved in a timely manner, programs are forced to delay start dates, reduce services, or reassign staff away from direct youth engagement to administrative problem-solving. These disruptions undermine program stability and weaken the District’s broader OST infrastructure.
DGS facilities, billing, and custodial processes create barriers for OST programs.
Billing practices related to building use, security, and custodial services remain a significant concern. OST providers routinely receive invoices that are unclear, delayed by months, or difficult to reconcile with the services outlined in their building use agreements. In some cases, providers are billed for services they did not request or receive, with no clear or standardized process for disputing charges or obtaining timely corrections. For nonprofit organizations operating on fixed public grants and limited private funding, this lack of transparency creates serious budgeting challenges and financial risk.
Providers also report persistent custodial-related challenges, including uncertainty about custodial coverage, inconsistent preparation of program spaces, and limited clarity regarding roles and expectations. Providers are often not informed upfront whether they will be required to pay for premium custodial or security services, or how those determinations are made. These gaps in communication and coordination directly affect daily program operations and raise questions about how custodial services are monitored and enforced across facilities.
Greater accountability is needed within DGS facilities operations.
These ongoing challenges demonstrate the need for greater accountability and modernization within DGS systems that govern after-hours building use. OST providers need clear points of contact, predictable timelines, transparent and timely billing, and consistent enforcement of standards across school facilities. Without these safeguards, responsibility for resolving systemic gaps continues to fall on individual providers rather than being addressed through agency-level solutions.
The OST Coalition urges the Council and DGS leadership to prioritize improvements that increase transparency, streamline administrative processes, and establish clear accountability for facilities-related services. Doing so would reduce administrative burden for community-based partners, improve coordination across agencies, and strengthen the District’s overall investment in out-of-school-time programming.
For additional context, the Council should refer to first-hand provider testimony from the Washington Urban Debate League and Higher Achievement, which further illustrates how these DGS-related challenges affect program operations on the ground.
OST providers remain ready to be collaborative partners in this work. However, collaboration must be paired with systems that function reliably and equitably. We appreciate the Council’s continued oversight and urge concrete action to ensure that DGS facilities operations fully support the programs and partnerships the District relies on to serve students and families across the District. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Njeri Jenkins
njenkins@dckids.org