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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 08011995 - D.1 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HS.01 ? .. Contra FROM: FAMILY AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE ` \' Costa DATE: July 24, 1995 `QST ..�� County . 4 COIiVS SUBJECT: STATUS REPORT ON COORDINATION AMONG VARIOUS FAMILY AND _CHILDREN'S SERVICES ADVISORY BOARDS, COMMITTEES AND COMMISSIONS SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)8 BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. DIRECT the following Department Heads to meet with the Family and Human - Services Committee and members of the Policy Academy on a quarterly basis, beginning .on September 25, 1995, in an effort to develop and maintain closer coordination among County Departments, the Family and Human Services Committee, the Policy Academy -and the advisory boards, committees and commissions in the family and children's services area: The County Administrator The Social Service Director The Health Services Director The Community Services Director The County Probation Officer Invite the County Superintendent of Schools or his designee to attend these meetings' 2. AUTHORIZE the Family and Human Services Committee to plan a Workshop with the above Department Heads, members of the Policy Academy and members of the advisory boards, committees and commissions in the family and children's services area in an effort to identify ways in which the Board of Supervisors can: ❑ -Make more effective use of the citizen's input`which is available in the membership of the Policy Academy and the various advisory boards, committees and commissions; CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD C MITTE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON August 1 1995 APP OVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER r VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE ----------- X UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: See Page 4 ATTESTED August 1, 1995 PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR � M382 (10/88) ' - -�� DEPUTY HS.01 ❑ Identify areas in which advisory bodies overlap each other's areas of responsibility; ❑ Identify areas in which advisory bodies compete inappropriately with each other; and ❑ Identify ways in which the policy advice being provided to the Board of Supervisors in the area of family and children's services can be consolidated and streamlined. 3. AUTHORIZE the Family and Human Services Committee to discuss with the members of the Policy Academy, the affected Department Heads and the affected advisory boards, committees and commissions how reporting requirements for private non-profit agencies providing services on behalf of the Board of Supervisors can be streamlined or made more unified and consistent, based on the following guidelines: ❑ Elected officials need to decide funding priorities among all of the competing interests. ❑ Community representatives (including members of advisory bodies) can perform a valuable service by helping to decide which agencies should receive funds in support of those priorities through the use of experienced readers of Requests For Proposals. ❑ The responsibility to provide oversight and monitoring of agencies which are providing family and children's services on behalf of the County should be the responsibility of County staff, not members of advisory boards. 4. AUTHORIZE the Family and Human Services Committee to discuss with the members of the Policy Academy, the affected Department Heads and the affected advisory boards, committees and commissions the implications of setting as goals for the Policy Academy: ❑ Responsibility to design a policy blueprint for family and children's needs in Contra Costa County and how to fill them. ❑ Recommending funding priorities for family and children's services in Contra Costa County. ❑ Coordinating departmental and advisory committee input on family and children's services to the Board of Supervisors. 5. AUTHORIZE the Family and Human Services Committee to discuss with the members of the Policy Academy, the affected Department Heads and the affected advisory boards, committees and commissions the implications of having advisory boards, committees and commissions in the family and children's services area coordinate their policy input to the Board of Supervisors through the Policy Academy, possibly by having the Chair or another designated member from each identified advisory group attend meetings of the Policy Academy. 6. AUTHORIZE the Family and Human Services Committee to discuss with the members of the Policy Academy, the affected Department Heads and the affected advisory boards, committees and commissions the feasibility of designating a body to prepare a comprehensive annual Family and Children's Services Work Plan, along with an organizational matrix which identifies at least the major programs operated or funded by the County and how they interrelate with each other. 2 HS.01 BACKGROUND: On May 2, 1995, the Board of Supervisors approved a report from our Committee which included the following recommendations: 2. AMEND the listing of "Children and Family-related Advisory Boards, Committees and Commissions"which have been referred to the Family and Human Services Committee for the purpose of reviewing the manner in which priorities and set and policy advice is provided to the Board of Supervisors in the family and children's services area,as reflected in Resolution 941356 dated July 12, 1994,to add the Juvenile Systems Planning Advisory Committee and the Juvenile Justice/Delinquency Prevention Commission to that listing. 3. DIRECT the County Administrator to invite each of the advisory boards, committees and commissions identified in Section I.A.of Resolution 941356,as amended by Recommendations 1 and 2 above, to provide the Family and Human Services Committee with their comments and recommendations for how they could be more effective by responding to the following questions: A. What is the best way in which the advisory body believes it can provide priority-setting and policy advice to the Board of Supervisors on family and children's issues? B. How does the advisory body believe the County can best deliver family and children's services to the citizens of the County and what changes does the advisory body believe are needed in order to achieve that "best"service delivery methodology? C. How would the advisory body recommend reorganizing the process by which the Board of Supervisors receives overall priority-setting and policy advice from its advisory boards,committees and commissions in the family and children's area? 4. AUTHORIZE the Family and Human Services Committee to meet again with the identified advisory boards, committees and commissions to receive their responses to these questions on July 24,1995 at 9:00 A.M. On July 24, 1995, our Committee met with representatives from the Policy Academy and the advisory bodies in the general area of family and children's services. We received and reviewed the attached written responses from three of the advisory bodies to the questions we posed. Supervisor Smith noted that the Board of Supervisors needs to have more consistent policy input from advisory bodies that moves the County forward in a more organized and effective manner. We discussed with those present various mechanisms for strengthening the role of advisory bodies in the family and children's services area. Supervisor DeSaulnier suggested the possibility of having the Policy Academy provide the overall coordinating role for family and children's services. Mary Lou Laubscher provided some historical perspective in terms of the similar role the Human Services Advisory Commission played for a number of years. Suzanne Strisower suggested that some body needs to look at all of the dollars that are allocated in the family and children's services area. Kate Ertz-Berger indicated that it was important that County departments have similar reporting requirements for agencies which contract with the County to provide services. Currently, some departments require what is essentially a pre-audit before payments will be made, while other departments reimburse the contractor for services that are provided. She also suggested that it should be the responsibility of elected officials to set priorities. Advisory bodies can help decide who should get the money by helping provide readers who would review and evaluate RFP's from competing non-profit agencies. However, she noted that County staff should be responsible for monitoring contracts. This should not be the responsibility of advisory bodies. 3 HS.01 Our Committee would like to move in the direction of having the Policy Academy serve as the focal point for policy input to our Committee and the Board of Supervisors from our various advisory bodies in the family and children's services area. We also see a clear need to involve the affected department heads and advisory bodies in our consideration of this issue. As a result, we have outlined the above recommendations. With the Board's approval of this general direction, our Committee will meet with all interested parties in September and will make further recommendations to the Board following that meeting. We would note, however, the need at some point in the near future to develop a source of funding to hire staff for the Policy Academy. cc: County Administrator Acting Social Service Director Health Services Director Public Health Director Community Services Director County Probation Officer 4