HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOARD STANDING COMMITTEES - 09122011 - FHS Cte Agenda Pkt
FAMILY AND HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
September 12, 2011
11:00 A.M.
651 Pine Street, Room 108, Martinez
Supervisor Gayle B. Uilkema, District II, Chair
Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V, Vice Chair
Agenda Items: Items may be taken out of order based on the business of the day and preference of the Committee
1. Introductions
2. Public comment on any item under the jurisdiction of the Committee and not on this agenda
(speakers may be limited to three minutes).
DISCUSSION
3. Referral #101 – Approve Appointments to the Family and Children’s Trust (FACT) Advisory
Committee (Presenter: Rhonda Smith, EHSD)
4. Referral #2 – Annual update on Oversight of the Service Integration Program (Presenter:
Paul Buddenhagen, EHSD)
5. Referral #5 – Annual updates on the Continuum of Care Plan for the Homeless (Presenter:
Lavonna Martin) and Healthcare for the Homeless (Presenter: Rachael Birch
The next meeting of the Family and Human Services Committee
is scheduled for October 10, 2011 at 11:00 a.m.
☺ The Family and Human Services Committee will provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities planning to attend
Committee meetings. Contact the staff person listed below at least 72 hours before the meeting.
Any disclosable public records related to an open session item on a regular meeting agenda and distributed by the County to a majority
of members of the Family and Human Services Committee less than 96 hours prior to that meeting are available for public inspection at
651 Pine Street, 10th floor, during normal business hours.
Public comment may be submitted via electronic mail on agenda items at least one full work day prior to the published meeting time.
For Additional Information Contact: Dorothy Sansoe, Committee Staff
Phone (925) 335-1009, Fax (925) 646-1353
dsans@cao.cccounty.us
Glossary of Acronyms, Abbreviations, and other Terms (in alphabetical order):
Contra Costa County has a policy of making limited use of acronyms, abbreviations, and industry-specific language in its
Board of Supervisors meetings and written materials. Following is a list of commonly used language that may appear in
oral presentations and written materials associated with Board meetings:
AB Assembly Bill
ABAG Association of Bay Area Governments
ACA Assembly Constitutional Amendment
ADA Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
AFSCME American Federation of State County and Municipal
Employees
AICP American Institute of Certified Planners
AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
ALUC Airport Land Use Commission
AOD Alcohol and Other Drugs
BAAQMD Bay Area Air Quality Management District
BART Bay Area Rapid Transit District
BCDC Bay Conservation & Development Commission
BGO Better Government Ordinance
BOS Board of Supervisors
CALTRANS California Department of Transportation
CalWIN California Works Information Network
CalWORKS California Work Opportunity and Responsibility
to Kids
CAER Community Awareness Emergency Response
CAO County Administrative Officer or Office
CCHP Contra Costa Health Plan
CCTA Contra Costa Transportation Authority
CDBG Community Development Block Grant
CEQA California Environmental Quality Act
CIO Chief Information Officer
COLA Cost of living adjustment
ConFire Contra Costa Consolidated Fire District
CPA Certified Public Accountant
CPI Consumer Price Index
CSA County Service Area
CSAC California State Association of Counties
CTC California Transportation Commission
dba doing business as
EBMUD East Bay Municipal Utility District
EIR Environmental Impact Report
EIS Environmental Impact Statement
EMCC Emergency Medical Care Committee
EMS Emergency Medical Services
EPSDT State Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and
treatment Program (Mental Health)
et al. et ali (and others)
FAA Federal Aviation Administration
FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency
F&HS Family and Human Services Committee
First 5 First Five Children and Families Commission
(Proposition 10)
FTE Full Time Equivalent
FY Fiscal Year
GHAD Geologic Hazard Abatement District
GIS Geographic Information System
HCD (State Dept of) Housing & Community Development
HHS Department of Health and Human Services
HIPAA Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Syndrome
HOV High Occupancy Vehicle
HR Human Resources
HUD United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development
Inc. Incorporated
IOC Internal Operations Committee
ISO Industrial Safety Ordinance
JPA Joint (exercise of) Powers Authority or Agreement
Lamorinda Lafayette-Moraga-Orinda Area
LAFCo Local Agency Formation Commission
LLC Limited Liability Company
LLP Limited Liability Partnership
Local 1 Public Employees Union Local 1
LVN Licensed Vocational Nurse
MAC Municipal Advisory Council
MBE Minority Business Enterprise
M.D. Medical Doctor
M.F.T. Marriage and Family Therapist
MIS Management Information System
MOE Maintenance of Effort
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
MTC Metropolitan Transportation Commission
NACo National Association of Counties
OB-GYN Obstetrics and Gynecology
O.D. Doctor of Optometry
OES-EOC Office of Emergency Services-Emergency
Operations Center
OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Psy.D. Doctor of Psychology
RDA Redevelopment Agency
RFI Request For Information
RFP Request For Proposal
RFQ Request For Qualifications
RN Registered Nurse
SB Senate Bill
SBE Small Business Enterprise
SWAT Southwest Area Transportation Committee
TRANSPAC Transportation Partnership & Cooperation (Central)
TRANSPLAN Transportation Planning Committee (East County)
TRE or TTE Trustee
TWIC Transportation, Water and Infrastructure Committee
VA Department of Veterans Affairs
vs. versus (against)
WAN Wide Area Network
WBE Women Business Enterprise
WCCTAC West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory
Committee
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Schedule of Upcoming BOS Meetings
Sept 13
Sept 20
Sept 27
1
Joe Valentine, Director
40 Douglas Dr., Martinez, CA 94553 Phone: (925) 313-1579 Fax: (925) 313-1575 www.cccounty.us/ehsd
MEMORANDUM
DATE:September 12, 2011
TO:
Family &Human Services Committee
Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V, Chair
Supervisor Gayle B. Uilkema, District II, Vice-Chair
cc:Dorothy Sansoe
FROM:Joe Valentine, EHSD Director
Paul Buddenhagen, Program Manager, Service Integration Program
SUBJECT:Report on the Contra Costa County Service Integration Program
RREECCOOMMMMEENNDDAATTIIOONN
ACCEPT the attached report on the activities and achievements of the Contra Costa County Service
Integration Program.
EEXXEECCUUTTIIVVEE SSUUMMMMAARRYY
Established in 1994, the Contra Costa County Service Integration Program co-locates County and
non-profit agency service providers and community residents in neighborhood-based centers to
provide accessible, coordinated public services tailored to meet the specific needs and goals of low-
income families, while also engaging families in resident-driven efforts to revitalize their
communities. The success of this program’s Service Integration Team (SIT) model stems from the
synergistic relationship between its two key program components: (1) integrated case management
services and (2) neighborhood-building activities.
This year the Service Integration Program has had two major changes. The first is that the SIT
budget was eliminated and the second is that the SIT Program Manager position was combined with
the East Bay Works One Stop Administrator position. These changes have made operating SIT more
challenging but also created a pathway to enhanced integration of the One Stops and SIT.
The Service Integration Program is widely recognized as a leader in the development of successful
strategies that improve outcomes for low-income children, youth and families. Key Service
Integration innovations include:
Developing new paradigms of inter-agency collaboration and creating necessary tools to
support this work, including cross-agency information-sharing protocols, an integrated
case management system and an effective family conferencing model.
2
Redefining County-community partnerships to help fundamentally shift the way in which
our public agencies work with residents of low-income communities.
Launching new initiatives and strategies, such as free tax preparation services (Volunteer
Income Tax Assistance), community career centers, employment-focused service delivery,
County--Schools projects, the Supporting Fathers Involvement Program, SparkPoint and
others
Serving as a local model of public sector “systems change”by implementing
performance-based results and new strategies for leveraging public and private
investments.
The success of the Service Integration model is evident in the measurable improvements achieved in
the lives of the children, families and communities it serves. Recent examples of Service Integration
Program outcome measures include:
For the 2011 tax season SIT’s Bay Point Works’ staff prepared and filed 271 tax returns –
more than any other site in the County --saving low-income community residents more
than $27,000 in filing fees, while helping put more than $428,000 in federal tax refunds
back in the pockets of working poor Bay Point residents (and circulating in the local
economy). Significantly, $154,056 in Earned Income Tax Credit and $141,943 were
returned to families for whom Bay Point Works SIT staff prepared and filed taxes. EITC
is the single most effective government program in lifting people out of poverty and Bay
Point SIT has helped many people in the community claim a Federal benefit that helps
them escape poverty.
North Richmond SIT completed work on the first phase of the Supporting Father
Involvement Program which culminated in researchers from Yale University, Smith
College and UC Berkeley publishing a groundbreaking study on the importance of
including fathers in social services work in the Journal of Marriage and Family. This
research and intervention represents the first randomized, controlled clinical trial focused
on father involvement in low income families.You can read the full study here:
http://www.supportingfatherinvolvement.org/jmf-2009-article.pdf
More than 200 families in the child welfare system statewide (43 in Contra Costa County)
participated in 32 hours of group sessions with ongoing case management support and the
research confirms that when fathers become more involved in parenting --and in working
with mothers as co-parents and partners --the result is healthier families and healthier
children.Parents experience reduced stress and anxiety,more relationship satisfaction,
and children are less hyperactive and aggressive.
Based on SFI’s demonstrated success, last month the Service Integration Program applied
for a $2.4 million 3 year federal grant that combines the best of Supporting Father
Involvement with SparkPoint.
3
In partnership with Helms Middle School in San Pablo, SIT’s Helms Involving Parents
program last year helped make significant reductions in absenteeism, suspensions, and
bullying. At the same time through the SIT created coffee club, parent involvement was
dramatically increased. These changes resulted in a calmer school with more ADA
revenue and parent volunteers. Based on this success we have been able to raise money to
continue the expanded Nystrom Involving Parents program.
Due to the effectiveness of this model, the Service Integration Program has received local,
state and national awards; has been the subject of articles and research studies; and
frequently is represented by Service Integration staff at conferences as a “best practice”
model.
The Service Integration Program has been successful in leveraging its positive outcomes
to raise money for new innovative programs that benefit Contra Costa’s most
impoverished families. The chart below contrasts SIT’s private revenue with net county
cost during the past ten years.
SIT Revenue 2000/01 –2011/12
NCC VS Non County
$-
$100,000
$200,000
$300,000
$400,000
$500,000
$600,000
$700,000
$800,000
$900,000
2000/01 2002/03 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011-12
Net County Cost
Revenue
4
Like public agencies across the nation, Contra Costa County is also severely impacted by the ongoing
recession. This year for the first time since its creation, the Service Integration Program budget has
been eliminated. Staff assigned to SIT draw revenue from their respective departments and nonprofit
agencies but SIT has no budget for programs. As you can see in the chart above all resources
dedicated to SIT are raised by SIT staff from private and public grants.
BBAACCKKGGRROOUUNNDD
Established in 1994, the Service Integration Program is a multi-disciplinary collaboration of three
Contra Costa County departments (Employment & Human Services, Health Services and Probation),
two school districts, community-based organizations (CBOs) and neighborhood residents. The
Service Integration Program’s two Family Service Centers were designed to take an innovative
approach to working with families that historically have posed some of the greatest challenges to
service providers: families involved in two or more county systems who live in the County’s most
economically disadvantaged communities. This unique model co-locates County and non-profit
agency service providers and community residents in neighborhood-based centers to provide
accessible, coordinated public services tailored to meet the specific needs and goals of low-income
families, while also engaging families in resident-driven efforts to revitalize their communities.
The success of the Service Integration Program model stems from the synergistic relationship
between its two key program components: (1) integrated case management services and (2)
neighborhood-building activities. The integrated case management services component places cross-
disciplinary Service Integration Teams comprised of Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Counselors, Employment Specialists, Probation Officers, School Family Resource Workers, Social
Workers and other specialists in Family Service Centers located in Bay Point and North Richmond.
Based on the premise that the challenges facing low-income families and communities are inter-
related, these teams embrace a holistic approach. The teams focus on the whole family unit, rather
than just the individual, and build upon family strengths to provide services driven by and customized
to each family’s unique circumstances. In addition to providing families with more personalized
services in the communities where they live, this multi-disciplinary approach produces a
comprehensive, consistent strategy for each family, reducing conflicting expectations and demands
made by different programs.
The Service Integration Program’s two neighborhood-building projects, Bay Point Works (BPW) and
the North Richmond Empowerment Collaborative (NREC), were born out of the recognition that an
integrated team of county and community-based organization staff was a necessary, but not sufficient
mechanism for addressing the full range of challenges facing the communities of Bay Point and
North Richmond/San Pablo. BPW and NREC were designed to harness the talents and skills of
neighborhood residents in the process of revitalizing their communities. This strategy has galvanized
the creation of highly innovative and successful programs (designed specifically by and for
community members) that support and build upon local cultures and traditions and fill critical gaps in
the formal service delivery system. Perhaps most important of all, the neighborhood-building
5
projects have expanded the long-term capacity of the Bay Point and North Richmond/San Pablo
communities by developing the skills of numerous neighborhood residents and providing
opportunities for them to give back to their communities and build stronger connections in the
neighborhoods where they live.
BPW’s community-building efforts started with the establishment of the Bay Point Community
Career Center in May 1998 and have expanded steadily from there. Every year since, BPW has
strengthened its services and, in turn, helped more and more Bay Point residents get jobs, keep jobs
and move up the job ladder. In recent years, BPW has offered a number of supportive services that
go well beyond the traditional employment services package, such as free income tax preparation for
low-income Bay Point workers to help them capture the benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit
(EITC) and free structured activities for the young children of “working poor” parents during school
holidays.
NREC’s community-building activities also initially focused on boosting neighborhood employment.
Early successes included reinstituting night bus services in North Richmond, creating several in-
home family day care centers and establishing the North Richmond Community Career Resource
Center, which continues to serve neighborhood residents after having been spun off to a CBO in
2000. After making a number of strides in the area of employment, NREC decided to take on an
issue of great importance to neighborhood residents: low levels of student success and parental
involvement at Verde Elementary School. This focus resulted in the establishment of NREC’s Verde
Involving Parents (VIP) Program, which has played a critical role in initiating and sustaining the
renaissance of Verde Elementary School over the past seven years. With private foundation support,
the VIP program was recently expanded to Helms Middle School, which is where kids leaving Verde
go to continue their education.
This report to the Family and Human Services Committee of the Board of Supervisors summarizes
some of the Service Integration Program’s key innovations and contributions to improving the
wellbeing of Contra Costa children, families and communities over the past 15 years.
SSEERRVVIICCEE IINNTTEEGGRRAATTIIOONN PPRROOGGRRAAMM AASS AA LLEEAADDEERR IINN ““BBEESSTT
PPRRAACCTTIICCEESS””
Since its inception over a decade ago, the Service Integration Program has emerged as a leader in the
development of successful strategies that improve outcomes for low-income children, youth and
families. The Service Integration Program reaches far beyond the traditional “agency service
provider” model by involving low-income residents as integral partners in the process of addressing
the needs and aspirations of the neighborhoods where they live. This small, inter-agency program
draws down flexible funding from private foundations and outside contracts to complement more
traditional federal, state and county funding streams. As a result, Service Integration has managed to
maintain a flexibility and inventiveness unusual to public sector agencies. SIT has launched
programmatic, fiscal and organizational innovations that have laid the foundations for the
development of more effective and efficient services to children, families and communities
countywide.
6
Due to the effectiveness of the Service Integration model, Contra Costa County has received local,
statewide and national recognition and has been the subject of research papers and studies, including:
North Richmond Gets Its Buses Back: How a Poor Community and an Urban Transit Agency Struck
Up a Partnership (Institute of Governmental Studies Press, University of California, Berkeley, 1999),
which focuses on NREC’s successful strategy for partnering with A.C. Transit to bring night-time
bus service back to North Richmond; and A Case Study on North Richmond (Abt Associates, on
behalf of the Ford Foundation, 2004), which highlights the VIP Program as a successful model of
school-community revitalization. The latter study credits VIP as being “largely responsible for the
major improvements in school attendance, parent involvement and student behavior that have taken
place at Verde…” THree years ago the National Center for Children in Poverty at Columbia
University highlighted SIT’s VIP program as a best practice intervention in their report,Present,
Engaged, and Accounted for: The Critical Importance of Addressing Chronic Absenteeism in the
Early Grades
Some of the Service Integration Program’s major areas of innovation are summarized below:
Inter-Agency Collaboration:Service Integration has been at the vanguard of Contra
Costa’s efforts to develop effective models of collaboration and cross-program and -
agency partnerships, paving the way for greater collaboration countywide. Service
Integration has developed new organizational structures to support this collaboration at the
management oversight level (e.g., the inter-agency Service Integration Executive
Oversight Committee), as well as at the frontline service delivery level (e.g., multi-
disciplinary teams). The infrastructure and tools established through Service Integration’s
partnership model and the relationships that have formed as a result have laid the
groundwork for and facilitated the success of many other inter-agency initiatives.
County-Community Partnerships:Service Integration has redefined relationships
between public agencies and residents of low-income neighborhoods while developing a
viable model for bridging the all too common gap between agency “service providers” and
the communities they serve. In 1997, in the wake of Federal Welfare Reform, each of the
SIT sites engaged neighborhood residents in planning efforts to determine how these
communities could succeed in this new policy environment. These efforts resulted in the
establishment of two innovative community-building projects, Bay Point Works and the
North Richmond Empowerment Collaboration. Last year we surveyed Bay Point residents
to find out how we could better help them into economic stability. The results of this
survey will lead the way in our effort to partner with community based nonprofit
organizations.
Cross-Agency Information-Sharing:Working together, key Service Integration partner
agencies (i.e., EHSD, CCHS, Probation, CAO) and County Counsel developed Contra
Costa’s first informed consent agreement for integrated services in 1994. This
confidentiality release gives permission for Service Integration staff from participating
agencies to share information to better serve families. This “Agreement to Participate”
form served as a model for more recent integrated services programs, such as the mental
health “Spirit of Caring” Initiative, and contributed to the establishment of the Service
Integration Program as Contra Costa’s first official “Multi-Disciplinary Children’s
Services Team”.
7
Outcomes/Performance-Based Accountability:Service Integration spearheaded Contra
Costa County’s early efforts to implement performance-based accountability. In the
early-and mid-1990’s, the inter-agency Service Integration Management Team developed
a set of meaningful outcomes that could be used to evaluate the success of the Service
Integration Program by concretely measuring the program’s impact on the lives of
children and families. Service Integration staff has diligently tracked these program
results since 1996. Service Integration’s novel approach led to wider adoption of outcome
measures by other County programs and laid the groundwork for the 1997 establishment
of Contra Costa’s Children and Families Report Card.
Leveraging Public and Private Investments:Service Integration has designed its fiscal
strategy around encouraging private foundations and other funders who do not typically
support county ventures to invest in innovation in the public sector. SIT currently has
commitments of more than $700,000 from private and public sources to fund a variety of
family support projects through June 2012. Through its strong track record of capturing
measurable results, promoting public-private partnerships and engaging community
residents in the process of bettering their neighborhoods and their lives, Service
Integration has helped to convince many new funding partners that investments in the
public sector can galvanize sustainable individual, family, neighborhood and systems
change.
Holistic, Integrated Case Management System:The Service Integration Program
pioneered the County’s first integrated case management process. Focusing on the whole
family unit, rather than just the individual, this process allows SIT staff to build upon
family strengths and provide services driven by and tailored to each family’s unique
needs. Service Integration created the Family Assessment Record to support the
development of comprehensive plans for addressing issues in a range of interdependent
life domains, such as child care, child and adult health, transportation, school,
employment and other social supports. First developed in 1995, this tool and the SIT case
management process as a whole have been refined over the years to support continuous
improvement and better integration of Service Integration services. SIT staff, funded by a
generous grant from the S.H. Cowell Foundation is nearing the end of a 2 year project to
re-evaluate the case management model and make updates. One of the interesting findings
is that in order to truly strengthen individuals and families we also have to strengthen the
communities in which they live. We are embarking on a community
development/organizing model in Bay Point and will report progress next year.
Family Conferencing:The Service Integration Program’s “Family Conferencing” model
brought a new way of doing business to Contra Costa County. Service Integration began
conducting inter-agency case conferences with client families in the mid-1990s. The
success of our family conferencing model helped open the doors for similar family-
focused models in Contra Costa, such as “Wraparound” in Children’s Mental Health and
“Team Decision Making” in Children and Family Services.
8
Employment-Focused Service Delivery:In 1995, prior to the passage of Welfare
Reform, Service Integration was the first County program to implement an employment-
focused service delivery model. The Service Integration model transitioned “eligibility
workers” into “employment case managers” and tapped into the resources of all
disciplines to move welfare recipients into the workforce. Due to the effectiveness of this
model, the Service Integration Program was invited to co-develop EHSD’s redesign plan
for restructuring its eligibility determination function into an employment-focused service
delivery strategy.
Free Tax Preparation Services (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance):In 2003, the
Service Integration Program piloted the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) free tax
preparation model at the Bay Point and North Richmond SIT sites. Based on the success
of this pilot, Service Integration played a lead role, along with a number of other partner
agencies, in launching a countywide VITA campaign in 2004:Earn It! Keep It! Save It!
Contra Costa. This year, the Bay Point Works VITA site filed more tax returns than any
of the County’s thirteen VITA sites.
Community Career Centers:In May 1998, Bay Point SIT’s BPW project established the
Bay Point Community Career Center, a forerunner to the County’s One-Stop Career
Center system. In January 2000, NREC established a second Community Career Center
in North Richmond. The Career Centers introduced community-based employment
resources delivered via a neighbor-helping-neighbor model to the communities of Bay
Point and North Richmond. The Bay Point Community Career Center continues to be a
heavily utilized hub in the community; 7,563 people have enrolled as members of the
Career Center since it opened in 1998!
Verde Involving Parents (VIP):Service Integration’s VIP Program, established in
February 2001, has reaped impressive results. VIP is a team effort of parents, students,
teachers and county agencies and non-profit organization staff who live and work in North
Richmond. Their goal: get our children to school –every day, on time and ready to learn.
Due to the dramatic impact of VIP on student attendance and parent involvement at Verde
Elementary School, the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) invested
$125,000 in the VIP Program during the 03/04 and 04/05 school years. During the first
half of 2004, at the request of WCCUSD Superintendent Dr. Gloria Johnston, the VIP
staff and managers met with principals and staff from four low-performing elementary
schools to offer technical assistance and training on the VIP school improvement model.
In summer 2004, the VIP Program presented the WCCUSD with a Training Handbook to
support its VIP replication efforts. In the last year SIT has expanded by working with
parents, teachers and administrators at Nystrom Elementary School and Helms Middle
School to implement the “involving parents’ model at those two schools.
Supporting Father Involvement (SFI):We are pleased to offer an evidence based
program that improves families’ lives to Contra Costa County. Service Integration’s
North Richmond family service center is one of five sites statewide to provide the SFI
program. For the next three years, SFI will be working with families in the child welfare
system to reconnect fathers with their families and increase protective factors so that they
stay healthy.
9
MMoovviinngg FFoorrwwaarrdd::SSIITT AAss aa MMooddeell ffoorr CChhaannggee ––SSppaarrkkPPooiinntt
One of the Service Integration Program’s strengths is its flexibility to respond to local, community
need in a collaborative, public-private, outcomes focused way. This dexterity has allowed SIT to
pilot many new ideas that were then replicated in other locations. Not in decades has the economic
landscape been as rocky and challenging as it is now. Unemployment rates are at 25 year highs,
obesity is more prevalent than ever, school test scores are falling and budgets have cratered. How
health and human services agencies respond to this crisis to remake the social safety net will be a
serious challenge. The Service Integration Program is taking up this challenge by working closely
with local residents, county departments, nonprofit agencies, schools, community colleges, private
foundations, and businesses to rethink and reorganize a fractured and wobbling safety net system.
Creating a new system that builds collaborative goals and brings leveraged resources to bear on the
problems of poverty is our current focus.
This focus and thinking has led us to SparkPoint, a novel antipoverty approach that is taking shape in
Richmond and Bay Point. In Bay Point, a group of nonprofit, funder and government leaders are
helping to transform the existing service integration family resource center into a SparkPoint center.
We are building on years of community based services to transition our focus from general family
support to specific economic support.
The SparkPoint center opened to the public in June 2011 and focuses on helping low-income people
from East County become economically stable. Four specific outcomes we are measuring over three
years:
Reducing Debt to no more than 40% of take home pay
Improving Credit Scores to 650 and above
Increasing income through getting a job
Increasing assets by amassing at least one month of liquid savings
We have raised more than $250,000 from private foundations in support of the Bay Point SparkPoint
Center with a goal of helping 250 East County residents thrive financially.
5
1
CONTRA COSTA HEALTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
TO: Family and Human Services DATE: Sept. 12, 2011
Committee Members
FROM: Rachael Birch, Project Director, Health Care for the Homeless
SUBJECT: Health Care for the Homeless Annual Report
Recommendations
1. Accept this report from the Health Services Department; and
2. Forward this report to the Board of Supervisors for acceptance; and
3. Direct staff to continue to report on an annual basis to the FHS Committee
regarding progress and status of the Health Care for the Homeless Program and
to submit an additional written report to the Board of Supervisors, at six-month
intervals.
Background
Since 1990, the Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) Project has provided health
care services to the homeless population through mobile clinics, as well as
through the CCHS integrated ambulatory system of care, and the Departments of
Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drugs. Primary health care services
provided by the HCH Mobile Team include routine physical assessments, basic
treatment of primary health problems such as minor wounds and skin conditions,
respiratory problems, TB screening, acute communicable disease screening, and
coordination and referrals for follow up treatment of identified health care needs.
A significant portion of the homeless patients seen in the mobile clinics have
chronic diseases, including asthma, hypertension, diabetes, and mental
health/substance abuse issues.
The mobile team is comprised of a Medical Director, Family Nurse Practitioners,
Nurses, Community Health Workers, Financial Counselor, Mental Health
Specialist, and a Substance Abuse Counselor.
Homeless patients who receive care on one of the mobile clinics are referred into
one of the CCHS ambulatory care health centers for primary and specialty care,
into County mental health and substance abuse services and to Contra Costa
Regional Medical Center for emergency, inpatient hospital, outpatient surgeries,
laboratory and radiology. There are currently four ambulatory care clinics,
2
located throughout the County, designated specifically for homeless patients to
help them transition from the mobile clinic setting into the ambulatory care
system. HCH staff members are present at each of these clinics. The HCH
project also provides Public Health Nurses at each of the County shelters,
providing comprehensive Targeted Case Management for homeless patients.
During 2010, CCHS treated 16,055 homeless patients who generated 102,367
visits. This is an increase from 2009, when CCHS saw 15,094 homeless patients
who generated 96,572 visits. The increase is likely due in part to the economic
recession, which placed further demand on the safety-net system, including
CCHS, and partly to the addition of three Community Practice Clinics in Concord,
Antioch and San Pablo.
Table 1 (below) indicates the Board of Supervisor’s District where homeless
patients reside. If no residential zip code data are available, the zip code where a
patient received care is used.
Table 1: Percent of Homeless Patients by Supervisorial District, 2009
District 1- Supervisor Gioia 33%
District 2- Supervisor Uilkema 20%
District 3- Supervisor Piepho 2%
District 4- Supervisor Bonilla 23%
District 5- Supervisor Glover 22%
The attached presentation contains additional demographic information on our
HCH population.
New Actions
The following activities and updates have occurred since the last briefing to the
Board of Supervisors on HCH activities:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funding
In July 2009, the HCH Project received a Capital Improvement Project award to
replace the Martinez Family Practice Site (Building 2 on the CCRMC Campus).
This project will modernize the clinic and streamline clinic flow for maximum
efficiency. The new unit will enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of providing
clinical services to patients through reduced waiting times for clinic appointments
at the Martinez site and throughout the CCHS system. A homeless-specific clinic
will be offered at this site upon its opening. Funding for this project was
calculated on a formula basis at $683,000. During the past year, CCHS devoted
3
time to meeting all conditions associated with the grant award prior to beginning
construction, including extensive environmental assessments.
The new clinic will have both medical and mental health components. Its design
has been completed and is currently under review by the Department of
Community Development.
In December 2009, CCHS received $12 Million in ARRA funds for the
construction of a new West County health center, to replace the Richmond
Health Center. Construction is well under way on the 50,000 square foot, two
story clinic. It will house a comprehensive array of outpatient medical services
and support functions. The goal is to have the building achieve LEED certification
for environmental quality.
In May 2009, the HCH Project was awarded an additional $220,000 in stimulus
funds to address the “Increased Demand for Services.” This amount of funding
was calculated by a formula based on the number of homeless patients served
by the HCH Program. This funding has been incorporated into our HCH base
grant, increasing our annual amount to $958,795
Affordable Care Act
In August 2011, the HCH Project received a New Access Point (NAP) grant from
HRSA for $649,185 per year. The funding will help pay for a team of HCH staff to
operate a homeless clinic in Concord, at 3024 Willow Pass Rd., Concord. This
team will include one RN, one PHN, one Community Health Worker, one Medical
Doctor, one Care Coordinator, one Mental Health Specialist, one Substance
Abuse Specialist and one Registration Clerk. This funding will be incorporated
into our HCH base grant, increasing the annual amount to $1,607,977.
Integrated Primary Care Clinic in Concord
The HCH Project will soon be opening an integrated primary care (IPC) clinic at
Concord Mental Health. The proposed site will provide primary health care with
specialty referral and coordination to adults with serious mental illness (and co-
occurring substance abuse) and will be located at 1420 Willow Pass Road,
Concord, CA. Referrals will initially come from enrolled consumers within
Concord Mental Health, where it is estimated that at least 50% of the actively
enrolled consumers do not have regular access to primary care and 70% are
homeless.
Homeless Respite Care and Shelter Clinic
The HCH Project opened a licensed ambulatory care clinic at the Concord
shelter in May 2011. The clinic serves homeless individuals staying at the
Concord shelter and Respite, as well as all clients who meet the homeless
4
criteria. Open four days (20 hours) per week, the clinic includes an RN, FNP and
Community Health Worker.
The HCH Project continues to provide all medical and nursing care at the Philip
Dorn Respite Center.
Pro-Bono Dental Health Services for Homeless Clients
The Homeless Consumer Advisory Board and HCH launched a partnership with
a small group of private dental providers who provide services free of charge to
homeless individuals who do not qualify for dental coverage through other
programs. The Advisory Board has been a strong advocate about the need for
this free service given a lack of affordable dental services, and we are very
pleased that a pilot program will address some of this unmet need. A second
client recently received free treatment and a complete set of dentures, at no cost,
courtesy of the generous care from Dr. Alijanian, DDS, of Walnut Creek. A third
client will soon begin receiving services from Dr. Michael Tobian. Dental services
are essential to regaining employment and exiting homeless.
Rentry Program for Individuals Exiting Incarceration
The HCH Project continues to provide staff at the PACT (Probation and
Community Together) meetings, providing parolees with assistance in entering
our health care system. Kate Schwertscharf, HCH Public Health Nurse Program
Manager, receives phone calls and referrals from the San Quentin Medical
Project, Richmond Parole Office and the West County Detention Facility,
assisting clients in accessing health services.
New Medical Director
The HCH’s Medical Director, Dr. Kate Colwell, retired after 24 years with CCHS.
A new Medical Director, Dr. Nishant Shah, M.D., M.P.H. was identified from
within the organization and was oriented by the previous, Dr. Kate Colwell.
Summary
This has been an exciting and busy time of growth and planning for the HCH
program in CCHS. We expect that our next report will have significant updates
on the milestones achieved for these new projects, while we also work hard to
sustain the ongoing work of the mobile clinic team and homeless ambulatory
care clinics.
5
Health Care for the HomelessContra Costa Health ServicesPresentation to the Family & Human Services Committee Contra Costa County Board of SupervisorsSept. 12th, 2011
Rachael BirchHCH Project DirectorKate Schwertscharf, PHNNurse Program Manager
Who qualifies as “Homeless?”zAll homeless people in Contra Costa County•Lacking a fixed, regular, adequate nighttime residence•Primary nighttime residence in a shelter, welfare hotel, transitional housing•“Doubled-up” without name on a lease, couch surfing, etc.
Funding for HCH ServiceszSection 330(h) Public Health Services ActHealth Care for the Homeless grant from the Federal Government (BPHC/HRSA) – approx. $1.6M per year.
Funding ReceivedzIncreased Demand for Services (2009)- $112K per year – rolled into base Section 330 grant.zCapital Improvement Funds (2009) - $683K to replace Martinez bldg 2 with new modular unitz$12 Million award to rebuild Richmond Health Center (2009)zNew Access Point funding (2011) - $650K per year (Increasing base funding from $958K to $1.6 million per year) to open new homeless clinic in Concord.
Number of Patients in 2010z16,055 unduplicated homeless patientsz102,367 visits: mobile clinics, ambulatory clinics, emergency department, mental health, substance abuse programs.
Number of Patients in 2009 z15,094 unduplicated homeless patientsz96,572 visits: mobile clinics, ambulatory clinics, emergency department, mental health, substance abuse programs.
How Patient Demand is Growing Over Time:z2008 vs. 2009:•22% increase in patients•17% increase in visitsz2009 vs. 2010:•6.4% increase in patients•6% increase in visits
Why the increase?zExpanded ability to provide services through increased grant funding. -Increased access to care through new clinic openings.zEconomic situation creating increased demand
HCH ServiceszMobile Clinic:•routine physical assessments•basic treatment of primary health problems such as minor wounds and skin conditions•treatment for respiratory problems•TB testing•acute communicable disease treatment•referrals for follow up in ambulatory/specialty care•substance abuse and mental health services
2 Mobile Clinic Teams,5 days a weekzAdult Emergency Shelters Concord & RichmondzCalli House (youth), RichmondzBay Area Rescue MissionzGRIP Souper Center & Family Shelter, RichmondzNeighborhood House of North RichmondzMonument Futures, ConcordzMonument CorridorzHome Depot : El CerritozMulti-Service Centers, Richmond, AntiochzAOD Treatment FacilitieszSt. Paul’s, Walnut CreekzAmbrose Community Center, BaypointzLove-A-Child, BaypointzMartinez Waterfront
Ambulatory Care ClinicszOperate specialized homeless clinics in the Richmond, Concord and Antioch health centers & at Concord Respite Center for homeless patients •Bypasses waiting times for appointments•Bypass financial counseling process•Make the process more “user friendly” for homeless patients•Helps patients transition to mainstream health care delivery system
Ambulatory Care, Specialty, & Hospital Services•4 ambulatory care clinics specifically for homeless patients in Richmond, Concord, Antioch•Family practice care•Specialty care•Outpatient surgery•Emergency Department•Inpatient care•Laboratory•Radiology•Pharmacy
Mental Health ServiceszMental Health Treatment Specialist provides screenings, assessments, referrals into the Mental Health system for medication and treatment of clients in the shelters and at other mobile clinic sites
Alcohol and Other Drug ServiceszSubstance Abuse Treatment Specialist provides screenings, referrals, and coordination of detox and recovery services specifically for homeless patients in shelters and other mobile clinic sites
Patient Demographics 2010z50.5% malez49.5% femalez24% of homeless patients are completely uninsured, on no publicly-funded programz52% Medi-Cal; 2% Medi-CarezAll of our patients at 100% of the Federal Poverty Level and below.
Race/Ethnicity in 2010Race HCH CountyWhite 36% 58.5%Latino/Hispanic 26% 24%Black/African American 23% 9%Asian/Pacific Islander 9.5% 15%American Indian/Alaskan Native 0.5% 0.58%Unknown 5% 2%
Which Supervisor Districts were Patients from in 2010?I- Supervisor Gioia 33%II- Supervisor Uilkema 20%III- Supervisor Piepho 2%IV- Supervisor Mitchoff 23%V- Supervisor Glover 22%Total 100%
Which Supervisor Districts were Patients from in 2008 & 2009?District 2008 2009I- Supervisor Gioia30% 31%II- Supervisor Uilkema13% 15%III- Supervisor Piepho6% 2%IV- Supervisor Bonilla19% 20%V- Supervisor Glover26% 31%Other5% 0%
Strong Consumer InvolvementzActive consumer advisory board•Helped to create pro-bono dental services for homeless clients; third patient is receiving services and will receive a free set of dentures courtesy of Dr. Michael Tobian in Walnut Creek
Changes & Updates – ClinicalzRespite Care program - HCH is pleased to continue our collaboration with the Behavioral Health and Homeless Program to provide higher level of medical care to medically fragile shelter clients.zConcord Shelter Clinic – HCH recently opened a licensed ambulatory care clinic located next to the Concord Shelter and Respite, open 20 hours per week.zTwo public health nurses are providing comprehensive medical case management at each adult shelter in the County.
Changes & Updates - ClinicalzNew Medical Director, Dr. Nishant Shah – Staff physician.
Changes & Updates - WCHC