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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 07221997 - D1 F&HS-03 IX I gE G To: BOARD OF StiPERVISORS Contra FROM: FAMILY AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE Costa County DATE: July 14, 1997 �osT;court .T SUBJECT: REPORT ON THE COORDINATION OF CHILD CARE SERVICES IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. AGREE to direct all child care block grant issues to the Social Service Department and the Community Services Department, in order that they can coordinate services with the TANF block grant. 2. AGREE in principle to reconstitute the Child Care Planning Council (Child Care Task Force) to comply with whatever changes may be required by changes in State law this year. In connection with this recommendation, DIRECT the Social Service Director and Community Service Director to advise the Family and Human Services Committee what changes are required in order to comply with the law so appropriate recommendations can be made to the Board of Supervisors. 3. INDICATE the Board's intent that child care funding be universally accessible to all low-income families, whether or not they receive welfare. 4. DIRECT the Social Service Director and Community Services Director to ensure that all parents requesting child care receive the counseling they need to make responsible child care choices. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE -OTHER V_r VQ, SIGNATURE S: ACTION OF BOARD ON duly 22, 1997 APPROVED AS RECOM ED X OTHER 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. CI, County Administrator ATTESTED July 22, 1997 Social Service Director PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF Community Services Director SUPE ND COUNTY ADMI Aro Executive Director, Contra Costa Child Care Council • Dean Lucas, Staff to the Child Care Task Force, CAO M382 (10/88) BY ristine Wamp er F&HS-03 5. SUPPORT changes in the child care payment system for TANF and former TANF recipients so they are treated the same as any other child care consumer by providing parental choice in child care providers and method of payment, specifically to make it possible for the TANF recipient or former TANF recipient to pre-pay their child care costs, as do individuals purchasing child care privately. 6. RECOGNIZE that there is an unmet need in East County for additional child care services and that the Board of Supervisors should support expansion of Community Services Department child care facilities in East County at such time as those services can be provided while simultaneously insuring that existing services are provided in a quality manner. 7. SUPPORT expansion of Head Start into a full-time, year-round program. 8. SUPPORT training programs for volunteers from TANF, Head Start and Child Development parents to become child care providers. 9. SUPPORT efforts for development of a countywide child care tracking system. 10. REQUEST the Child Care Task Force to review the recommendations made to the Board of Supervisors by the Executive Director of the Contra Costa Child Care Council and the responses provided by the Social Service Director and Community Services Director and design an action plan which can be returned to the Family and Human Services Committee for further consideration. 11. ENCOURAGE the Social Service Director and Community Services Director to meet with the Executive Director, Contra Costa Child Care Council, in an effort to reach consensus on how the coordination, development, funding and delivery of child care services in this County should proceed. BACKGROUND: On April 22, 1997, the Board of Supervisors received and referred to our Committee a presentation from the Executive Director, Contra Costa Child Care Council regarding the status of child care in the County. Ms. Ertz-Berger made several recommendations and identified several strategies she felt the County should follow. We asked the directors of the Social Service and Community Services Departments to respond to Ms. Ertz-Berger's comments and provide their own recommendations for consideration by our Committee. On July 14, 1997, our Committee met with the Social Service Director, John Cullen; the Community Services Director, Scott Tandy; the Executive Director of the Contra Costa Child Care Council, Kate Ertz-Berger, members of their respective staffs and members of the Child Care Task Force. ' We again reviewed the comments and recommendations made to the Board of Supervisors by Ms. Ertz-Berger and received and reviewed the attached report from Mr. Cullen and Mr. Tandy. We also reviewed and discussed the recommendations made to our Committee by the Social Service Director and Community Services Director. There was general agreement with all of the recommendations included in Mr. Cullen's report, except for#5 and #6. -2- Y /1 F&HS-03 Recommendation #5 needs some clarification because of the fact that TANF recipients, in fact, frequently are not currently treated like other child care consumers because their child care costs are reimbursed after the fact, rather than being paid in advance as is common with most other child care services. Mr. Cullen clarified that it was his desire that this payment system be changed so TANF recipients were able to pay for their child care costs in advance. With this clarification, there was agreement with this recommendation. In regard to Recommendation #6, concern was expressed regarding whether Community Services' child care programs had expanded too fast to maintain high quality services and perhaps should not be expanded in the near future until it was clear that high quality services could be provided to all children. There was agreement that there is certainly a need for additional child care services in East County. The only concern was whether further expansion to meet that need should be undertaken until it was clear that there were adequate controls in place to ensure high quality services. This concern resulted from reports by the State Licensing Division regarding the alleged treatment of some children in child care programs run by the Community Services Department. In regard to the recommendations made to the Board in April by Kate Ertz-Berger and the responses included in Mr. Cullen's report, we would like the Child Care Task Force to review both the recommendations and the responses and formulate an action plan to address these recommendations. It is clear to our Committee that there has not been enough open discussion between County Departments and the Contra Costa Child Care Council and that such discussions should be undertaken in an effort to identify and clarify differences of opinion and differences of emphasis, identify areas of agreement and areas of disagreement and work toward resolving those differences for the benefit of the families and children who are served by both the County and the Child Care Council. -3- CONTRA COSTA COUNTY Social Service Department TO: Family and Human Services Committee DATE: July 14, 1997 FROM: John Cullen Scott Tandy SUBJ: Child Care and Welfare Reform The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 (PRWOA) requires Contra Costa County, along with the rest of the county, to redesign our approach to assisting families to become self-sufficient. The Contra Costa County Social Service Department and the Community Services Department stand in the forefront of this change through our service responsibilities to needy persons in this county. In this role, we recognize that making changes to better enable parents to support their families without assistance will require a coordinated use of resources to help needy families achieve self-sufficiency. One of the greatest needs of families as they make this transition will be child care. Under PRWOA, the essential need for child care is recognized through the creation of the Child Care and Development Block Grant which now includes the child care monies from GAIN, Supplemental Child Care, child care disregard, Transitional Child Care, non-GAIN Employment and Training, and State Department of Education programs. There are many different issues related to child care that will be discussed over the next few years -- availability, accessibility, affordability, quality, and parent choice, to name a few. The availability of child care resources in Contra Costa County is largely defined by its funding sources. Although funding comes from many different sources, of greatest concern to the county, the community, and child care advocates is the availability of government money. In preparing to deal with these issues within the context of welfare reform, it is important to have a baseline understanding of current child care resources and service delivery systems. This report covers only government sources of funding, Federal, State and County money, as they stand in 1997, and the programs funded. Having an understanding of what is currently available and the challenges that lie ahead is a necessary part of planning for change. The report is comprised of charts that indicate the different child care subsidy programs available to low-income families in Contra Costa County. It includes programs administered by the County Social Service Department, Community Services Department and the Private Industry Council. It also includes information on child care funding to schools and community based organizations. BACKGROUND Government funding for child care in the County currently comes from three sources: the California Department of Education (CDE), the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), and the County. Monies from CDE and CDSS are a combination of Federal and State funds. The small amount of County General Fund money used in child care programs comes from Community Development Mitigation fees, the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) that forms the Child Care Affordability funds, and the Social Service Department budget. Under past state law, each county was required to establish a Local Planning Council under the auspices of either the County Board of Supervisors or the County Board of Education to recommend priorities for the use of Federal Child Care and Development Block Grant funds in the county. By agreement, the Board of Supervisors is the appointing authority in Contra Costa County. ROLE OF THE LOCAL PLANNING COUNCIL The Local Planning Council in Contra Costa County is the Contra Costa County Child Care Task Force. This Task Force was appointed by the Board of Supervisors in August, 1991, to design a County Plan and to make recommendations for priorities for use of Federal Block Grant funds. In 1994, at the request of the Child Care Task Force, the Task Force was redesigned to exclude representatives from the Social Service Department and Community Services Departments. Ultimately, and based on a decision of the Task Force, these department representatives were assigned the designation "Child Care Expert," and were directed to represent themselves rather than their departments. Voting members of the Task Force are now comprised of 13 licensed center providers and private non-profit agencies, 4 parents, 7 experts, 2 business/labor, 2 government, and 2 Office of Education. As a result of these designations, recommendations from the Task Force have routinely addressed the needs of licensed center providers, but have not adequately addressed the needs of low-income families for subsidized child care or welfare reform issues critical to the County government itself. DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE CONTRA COSTA COUNTY CHILD CARE TASK FORCE AND THE CONTRA COSTA CHILD CARE COUNCIL At the time of the formation of the Task Force, confusion arose over the roles of the Contra Costa County Child Care Task Force and the Contra Costa Child Care Council. The Child Care Task Force was appointed by the Board of Supervisors as a "Public/private partnership committed to parent choice and responsibility in meeting child care needs convened for the purpose of setting local priorities for direct services under the Federal Child Care and Development Block Grant." On the other hand, the Contra Costa Child Care Council evolved separately as a private, non-profit organization and the contract resource and referral agency designated by State CDE in this county. Part of the confusion has occurred because the Executive Director of the Contra Costa Child Care Council currently chairs the Contra Costa County Child Care Task Force. In general, there is a problematic conflict of interest with this dual responsibility because the Contra Costa Child Care Council also receives some of the Federal Child Care and Development Block Grant money for which the Child Care Task Force is charged with setting priorities. This potential conflict exists if any of the Task Force members who receive Block Grant money chair the Task Force. WELFARE REFORM In the proposals from the Super-Conference Committee for welfare reform in California, there will be legislation requiring Local Planning Councils to advise about child care issues under welfare reform. Local Planning Councils would be appointed half by the Board of Supervisors and half by the Board of Education. Membership would be comprised of child care providers, child care consumers, local government and community representatives. The Local Planning Council would be responsible for conducting needs assessments and developing local priorities as well as coordinating waiting lists and programs. Some state funding would be available to these groups. Such a redesign in the membership of the Contra Costa County Child Care Task Force would give County Government more input in discussions and recommendations. This would permit the County to better coordinate services and meet the needs of low income families in our community and permit more careful planning on how the $25 million Contra Costa Count receives will be spent. Under the proposal agreed upon in the legislative Super-Conference Committee, child care would be divided into three stages. The first stage, for recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF - formerly called "Aid to Families with Dependent Children" or "AFDC") who are seeking employment, will be paid through the Social Service Department. Stage two, for TANF recipients in training or education, and stage three, for needy, working families regardless of TANF status, would be administered by Alternative Payment (AP) providers. As we work through welfare reform, Contra Costa County's position is enhanced because the Social Service Department is also an AP provider for CDE. Statewide, only a few counties are AP providers. Having this source of child care funding available to the Social Service Department in a single program, and coordinating with other County AP providers, will enable us to provide virtually seamless child care to families as they transition from TANF to self-sufficiency. RECOMMENDATIONS In consideration of the welfare and child care block grant changes, the Contra Costa Social Service Department and Community Services Department make the following recommendations for consideration by the Board of Supervisors: 1. Direct all child care block grant issues to the Social Service Department and Community Services Department, in order that we may coordinate services with the TANF block grant; 2. Reconstitute the Planning Council to perform duties envisioned under welfare reform. In addition, include in this reconstitution a Task Force chair who is not receiving or directing any activities involving government funding for child care, thereby avoiding conflict of interest; 3. Ensure that child care funding.is universally accessible to all low-income families, whether or not they receive welfare; 4. Ensure that all parents requesting child care receive the counseling they need to make responsible child care choices; 5. Support a system that treats TANF or former TANF recipients the same as any other child care consumer, 6. Support expansion of Community Services child care facilities into East County; while protecting the quality of care in the facilitites; 7. Support expansion of Head Start into a full-time, year-round program; 8. Support training programs for volunteers from TANF, Head Start and Child Development parents to become child care providers; 9. Support efforts for development of a countrywide child care tracking system. In addition, we agree with the recommendation of the Board's Policy Forum Family Support Task Force that the Board of Supervisors bring together the major stakeholders in child care to: • agree upon the necessary elements of a quality, affordable, accessible child care system for children and youth (considering the Family Support Task Force findings), • Identify critical service delivery and organizational infrastructure issues and options from the perspective of all stake holders, • develop consensus, where possible, on critical issues with an implementation action plan for issues under local control and an advocacy action plan for issues under state or federal control. Change can come to Contra Costa County smoothly and efficiently, as we all work together. Our goal is to ensure adequate funding for and availability of quality child care throughout the county. The Board of Supervisors has also asked that our departments comment on the child care recommendations presented to the Board on April 22 by Kate Ertz-Berger in her capacity as the Executive Director of the Child Care Council. Attached are our responses. l 1. Contact our state legislators and urge them to take the federal option to waive work participation requirements for mothers of children under 12 months of age. We agree with this. Developmentally for children, it's wise. Fiscally, it avoids the high cost (and lack of availability) of infant care. 2. Pay providers directly under the parent choice subsidy programs administered by the Department of Social Services. In recognition of parental choice and encouragement of self-sufficiency, the Social Service Department provides parents with funds for child care. Additionally, when decided by the parent, the Department also pays providers directly. 3. Support Senator Rainey's bill SB 158 which will make funding available for facilities. We support the basic idea which would help increase quality of sites and providers. 4. Ask the Youth Commission to convene an information sharing meeting of all parties concerned about the 10 to 13 year old population. We support. This is the'population that starts getting into trouble with too much unsupervised time. 5. Insure that all TANF recipients receive the counseling they need to make informed child care choices by making sure that child care experts are available at all DSS offices. We support all families receiving the counseling they need. We currently have a unit of child care experts at Marina West who handle all CDE money and who will be providing this counseling as part of the Marina West pilot project. 6. Keep separate the child care needs of welfare recipients and the employment opportunities that child care as a profession may offer. We see these as opportunities that welfare reform should address. Providing child care is an employment opportunity regardless of welfare reform. We are offering training in west county on a voluntary basis in cooperation with ROP, Contra Costa College, the Adult Schools and Head Start. Trainees will be qualified care providers, as well as learning something about starting their own Family Day Care. We anticipate Head Start hiring the trainees in the Fall. We 1 are discussing expanding this program to Pittsburg in the Fall. We have responded to CDSS' request for pilot projects to offer training to TANF recipients. 7. Explore the feasibility of child care training programs with the community colleges. We are currently doing this. CDE has put out a Request for Application for a 2- year training and mentoring program. We gave a letter of support to the college and Child Care Council when they responded to this RFA. 8. Make sure that all welfare recipients have access to adequate child care consumer education. We have some information available in our District offices. We also refer to the Child Care Council for information. We will continue to pass on information in coordination with the efforts of the Council to make sure all parents have access to this education. 9. Support Senator Watson's bill, SB 309, which would require a minimum level of training for all exempt (unregulated) care givers paid with public subsidy. We support this concept. 10. Support requiring all exempt (unregulated) care givers paid with public subsidy money to be Trustlined to insure they have never been convicted of a violent crime, such as child abuse. We support extending Trustlihne to all providers. 11. Move immediately to transition the Head Start Program from a part day, part year program to a full day, full year program which can met the needs of welfare recipients transitioning to work. We support. Head Start has been proven effective for helping children get a better start on their education. Community Services has begun the process to transition into full day, full year program. 12. Support federal legislation which would expand funding available for child care: Representative Woolsey's bill- HR 899, and Senator Dodd's bill- S19 We support. July 3, 1997 katerecm