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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 08012006 - D.62 . l 5 L TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS �`���� =�F• Contra _ FROM: John Cullen, County Administrator o! Costa DATE: August 1, 2006 cOsra �e;rye`A~ County SUBJECT: Community Services Department Monthly Update b Z SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION: ACCEPT monthly update on the operations of the Community Services Department. FISCAL IMPACT: No impact from this update. BACKGROUND: To enhance oversight of the Community Services Department the County Administrator is conducting monthly meetings with the department to receive updates on program issues and to plan and/or authorize actions that may be needed. To ensure they remain updated regarding the status of the program, the Board of Supervisors directed the County Administrator, or his designee, to provide them with a monthly status report. Attached is the regular monthly report,on the operations of the Community Services Department. This report includes updates on the activities of the Policy Council, personnel issues, fiscal and audit reports and other programmatic issues. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: NO YES SIG ATURE: ✓ RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE (S): ACTION OF B&ON n g�o © 4 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED _ OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. UNANIMOUS(ABSENT � ) AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: Contact: Dorothy Sansoe(5-1009) cc: Community Services Department ATTESTED © IV b OKp County Administration JOHN CULLEN CLERK OF THE BOARD OFSUPERVISORS BY: DEPUTY I I i i N_.. C 0,.. C 0 U N T• To: John Cullen, County Administrator COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT From: Joe Valentine, Executive Director Joe Valentine Subject: Monthly Report Executive Director Date: July 21, 2006 Patricia Stroh,PhD Program Services Director I am submitting the following report to ensure ongoing communication with the County Administrator regarding all issues pertaining to the Head Start program and the Community Services Department (CSD). A.Policy Council 1. At its July 19 meeting, the Head Start Policy Council: • approved the Head Start 2006-2007 Service Plan • approved two new hires [promotions of existing staff • were briefed by Joe Valentine on the July 14 Brookside incident • were briefed on the Annual Update of the Community Assessment • heard a presentation on proposed by-laws revisions • were provided an overview of the Self-Employment Workshops the Department is sponsoring for parents • received training on"Anger Management and Conflict Resolution" from the Family Stress Center. 2. Male Involvement: The Male Involvement subcommittee met on July 6th and will meet again July 24th. They are in the process of developing an Action Plan that will incorporate best practices for the development& implementation of a viable Head Start Male Involvement program. B. Personnel Report ' Current Staffing Activities: 1. The department is in the process of hiring an outstanding Site Supervisor for the Verde Site in Richmond and the Ambrose Site in Bay Point. Additionally, we are hiring two very qualified Assistant Family Advocacy Managers. 2. Human Resources Dept has completed the recruitment process for the Personnel Services Analyst III and the Mental Health Clinical Supervisor positions. 3. We are in the process of recruiting for an Administrative Services Assistant I11, Child Nutritionist, and an Information Systems Technician. 4. Ongoing recruitment continues for all teaching and Food Services classifications. 5. Interviews are underway for Intermediate Clerks and Associate Teachers. Labor Relations: 1. During the negotiation meeting of the all unit tables held on Sunday, June 4- th th 25 and again on Friday, July 7 , some progress was made. However, there 4yti C fIN'fY are still several items on the table that need resolution. 2425 sisso cane Drive,Suite 260 2. Abeyances have been filed on all Step 3 and Step 4 grievances. Currently Concord,California 94520 have 15riev�ances at the 3rd or 4th level and a total of 30 outstanding Tel 925 646 5540 g Fax:925 646 5904 grievances. www..cccesd.org r John Cullen Page 2 July 21,2006 C. Fiscal and Audit Reports 1. In a closeout report dated June 7, 2006, the State's Department of Community Services and Development indicated that the department fully expended its Department of Energy (DOE) contract allocation of$123,945 and served 95'dwellings during program year 2005-06. 2. In compliance with Federal regulations, the department submitted to Administration of Children and Families (ACF) a request for a program services change effective July 1, 2006. If approved, the department would be able to amend its current contract with the Richmond Foundation and provide enhancement funding that is equal to the enhancement funding the Department provides to other contractors for the 40 Head Start slots in the pre-school the Foundation operates at the site of the old Maritime childcare center. This contract amendment was approved by the Head Start Policy Council on June 21 and by the Board of Supervisors on June 27, 2006. 3. The County's Auditor-Controller's Office has completed the examination of the department's fiscal practices and procedures for the period January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2005. The Auditor-Controller's Office is expected to issue a report containing the results of the examination and their recommendations. 4. The Countyl Auditor's report will include recommendations from the County Auditor's Information Systems Auditor. The Department has already begun implementing these recommendation in order to strengthen security and business continuity procedures. These include: stronger password management; better tracking of software security patches, more comprehensive documentation of the network environment, and additional safeguards for business continuity D. Licensing Issues 1. We are currently investigating a report that on July 14 a child at our Brookside Center was inadvertently left behind in the classroom when the rest of the class went out to the playground. According to the report,the child was found by a parent picking up her own child and was taken to the office of thel Site Manager whose office is just a few feet away from this classroom. The child suffered no harm and was reunited with his class. We have requested a Case Conference with Community Care Licensing to discuss the incident and the options for continuing the Child Development program at Brookside. We have added additional checks and balances to our existing head count procedures and are training staff at all of our centers on these additional guidelines. PC and our funding sources have been alerted. E. Special ProjectsI ctivities 1. CSD's Conira Costa College Child Care Center has been notified by the "National Association for the Education of Young Children" [NAEYC] that their application for NAEYC accreditation has been approved. NAEYC accreditation is considered the highest level of accreditation that a Pre- School program can achieve. There are only 37 Head Start Centers in the John Cullen Page 3 July 21,2006 entire state of California that have achieved this level of accreditation and 11 of them are now in our Department! 2. Our collaboration with Brookside Medical Center and John Muir Health Center has brought the Ronald McDonald Van to Balboa children's center to treat CSD children. These children were identified as needing treatment and either do not have dental insurance or the cost of care is a financial hardship. The Ronald McDonald Van comes to Balboa every two weeks to . treat our children and provide ongoing care. They are currently treating over 15 children. 3. In Partnership with West Contra Costa County Unified School District, Adult Education, and Contra Costa Child Care Council, we held a 4 week session of positive parenting classes at GMIII in the month of May averaging about 18 students per class. 4. In July, we'll,begin recruitment for the Self Employment entrepreneurial readiness classes called, "Business Action Planning"that the Department is sponsoring. They are being provided by an organization called the "Women's Initiative" who have offered similar workshops to over 13,000 women. This 2 hour class helps women to assess their readiness to start their own business. 7 entrepreneurial readiness classes (3 in Spanish, 4 in English) are scheduled to be held at various sites in West County in the month of August. 5. Our full-day full-year programs are almost fully enrolled as of July 17, 2006. Six eligibility and enrollment clinics are scheduled around the county which will enable us to reach our target of 100% enrollment by July 31, 2006. Our part-day, part-year program is scheduled to start on September 5 with waiting lists increasing each day. Additional recruitment activities include: ■ Participation in 3 community events during the month of July: o Iron Triangle Neighborhood Picnic, Saturday, July 15 o Immunization Fair, Brookside Community Health Center, Saturday, July 22 o North Richmond Multicultural Children and Family Day, Saturday, July 29 ■ Inclusion of a banner ad on the Contra Costa County website home page. The user can click on the banner and be taken to a page with our enrollment details and a link to our pre-application screening form. ■ Specific in-depth outreach to First Five Centers and Welcome Home Baby. 6. The Department's new "Bridge Assignment"program that we've been developing with the assistance of"Norman Peterson & Associates" is proceeding on schedule. Approximately 20 new Bridge Assignments have been created that would speed the transition of injured staff back to their regular duties as well as provide additional support in our classrooms. Mr. Peterson trained CSD staff on final project implementation on July 20`f'. e John Cullen Page 4 July 21,2006 7. The Department's ongoing efforts with the Rosie the Riveter Trust and the U.S. Park Service to secure enough funds to renovate and reopen the historic Maritime Children's Center have resulted in a larger partnership with the City of Richmond, West Contra Unified School District, other local community agencies and the County to develop a master plan for not only the Maritime Center, but the adjacent Nystrom Elementary School and Martine Luther King Center as well. The County Board of Supervisors will be asked in early September to adopt a joint resolution between all of the parties suppotting implementation of this plan. 8. The Contra Costa County Fire Marshal conducted a fire inspection at our San Pablo Center on July 17 to complete the inspection process needed as part of the Department's request for a change in its license. This will change San Pablo's license from a center that can care for Preschoolers and Infant/toddlers to a license that will accommodate Preschoolers and Toddlers only. This change allows CSD to increase their capacity to care for more preschool age children at the San Pablo center. 9. Trainings on the state child assessment instrument"DRDP-R" were conducted during the week of July 10-13. All teaching staff received the three hour training on implementation of the newly designed "DRDP-R". This assessmi nt identifies strengths and weaknesses of each child. Cc: Pat Stroh, Deputy Director Policy Council) Family & Human Services Committee Maria Fort, ACF