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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOARD STANDING COMMITTEES - 03092015 - FHS Cte Agenda Pkt       FAMILY & HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE March 9, 2015 10:30 A.M. 651 Pine Street, Room 101, Martinez Supervisor Federal D. Glover, Chair Supervisor Candace Andersen, 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).   3. CONSIDER recommending to the Board of Supervisors the appointment of Jessica Hudson to Public Agency Seat #2 Central/South County on the Local Planning and Advisory Council for Early Care and Education, as recommended by the County Office of Education.   4. CONSIDER recommending to the Board of Supervisors that Tracy Ward be appointed to At-Large Seat #4 and Rebecca Loboschefsky be appointed to At-Large Seat #1, as recommended by the Commission for Women.   5. CONSIDER accepting an update from the Employment and Human Services Department on the operations of the Covered California Call Center and transmitting the report to the Board of Supervisor's for their information. (Wendy Therrian, Workforce Services Director)   6. ACCEPT the annual report on activities from the Local Planning Council for Child Care and Development and refer the report to the Board of Supervisors. (Ruth Fernandez, Council Staff)   7.The next meeting is currently scheduled for April 13, 2015.   8.Adjourn   The Family & Human Services Committee will provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities planning to attend Family & Human Services 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 & 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 dorothy.sansoe@cao.cccounty.us FAMILY AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE 3. Meeting Date:03/09/2015   Subject:Appointment to the Local Planning Council Submitted For: FAMILY & HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE,  Department:County Administrator Referral No.: 25   Referral Name: Appointment to the Local Planning Council  Presenter: Contact: Referral History: The review of applications for appointments to the Contra Costa Local Planning Council for Child Care and Development was originally referred to the Family and Human Services Committee by the Board of Supervisors on April 22, 1997. Referral Update: Please see the attached request from the Local Planning Council and the application. Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): RECOMMEND the appointment of Jessica Hudson to Public Agency Seat #2 Central/South County on the Local Planning and Advisory Council for Early Care and Education, as recommended by the County Office of Education. Fiscal Impact (if any): Not Applicable. Attachments Request Memo and Application  M E M O R A N D U M DATE: March 9, 2015 TO: Family and Human Services Committee Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V, Chair Supervisor Candace Andersen, District II, Vice Chair Contra Costa County Office of Education Karen Sakata, Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Pamela Comfort, Deputy Superintendent of Schools, Contra Costa County FROM: Ruth Fernández, LPC Coordinator/Manager, Educational Services SUBJECT: Referral #25 – LPC APPOINTMENTS Contra Costa County Local Planning and Advisory Council for Early Care and Education (LPC) RECOMMENDATION(S): 1) APPOINT the following new member to the Contra Costa Local Planning and Advisory Council for Early Care and Education, as recommended by the LPC: Name Seat Area Jessica Hudson Public Agency 2 Central/South County REASON/S FOR RECOMMENDATION: The Contra Costa County Local Planning Council for Child Care and Development (LPC) was established in April 1998. Required by AB 1542, which was passed in 1993, thirty members of the LPC were appointed by the County Board of Supervisors and the County Superintendent of Schools. Childcare consumers and providers, public agency representatives, and community representatives each comprise 20% of the LPC. The remaining 20% are discretionary appointees. Membership is for a three-year term. On January 7, 2003, membership was decreased from 30 to 25 members, due to the difficulty being experienced in filling all of the seats. On September 19, 2012 membership was decreased from 25 to 20, due to continued difficulty to fill vacant seats. Official reduction of appointed seats provides flexibility to ensure quorum is met in order to conduct Council business. Membership consists of the following: • Four consumer representatives - a parent or person who receives or has received child care services in the past 36 months; • Four child care providers - a person who provides child care services or represents persons who provide child care services; • Four public agency representatives - a person who represents a city, county, city and county, or local education agency; • Four community representatives - a person who represents an agency or business that provides private funding for child care services or who advocates for child care services through participation in civic or community based organizations; • Four discretionary appointees - a person appointed from any of the above four categories or outside of those categories at the discretion of the appointing agencies. Appointments to the Contra Costa County Local Planning and Advisory Council for Early Care and Education (LPC) are subject to the approval of the Board of Supervisors and County Superintendent of Schools, Karen Sakata. The Board of Supervisors designated the Family and Human Services Committee to review and recommend appointments on their behalf. Dr. Pamela Comfort, Deputy Superintendent of Schools, Contra Costa County has been designated to review and recommend appointments on behalf of the County Superintendent of Schools. FAMILY AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE 4. Meeting Date:03/09/2015   Subject:Appointments to the Contra Costa Commission for Women Submitted For: FAMILY & HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE,  Department:County Administrator Referral No.:   Referral Name: Appointments to Advisory Bodies  Presenter: Contact: Referral History: On December 6, 2011 the Board of Supervisors adopted Resolution no. 2011/497 adopting policy governing appointments to boards, committees, and commissions that are advisory to the Board of Supervisors. Included in this resolution was the requirement that applications for at large/countywide seats be reviewed by a Board of Supervisor's sub-committee. Referral Update: The Contra Costa Commission for Women has submitted a recommendation for the appointment of two new members to be considered by the Family and Human Services Committee. Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): Recommend to the Board of Supervisors that Tracy Ward be appointed to At-Large Seat #4 and Rebecca Loboschefsky be appointed to At-Large Seat #1. Fiscal Impact (if any): No fiscal impact. Attachments Application from Tracey Ward Application from Rebecca Loboschefsky FAMILY AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE 5. Meeting Date:03/09/2015   Subject:Call Center Update Submitted For: FAMILY & HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE,  Department:County Administrator Referral No.: 108   Referral Name: Call Center Update  Presenter: Wendy Therrian and Kathy Gallagher Contact: Referral History: On April 16, 2013 the Board of Supervisors referred oversight and receipt of updates on the establishment of the Contra Costa County Covered California Call Center to the Family and Human Services Committee. Referral Update: Please see the attached report. Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): ACCEPT the report and transmit the information to the Board of Supervisor's for their information. Fiscal Impact (if any): Not applicable. Attachments 7C Call Center Report FHS Report on 7Cs Call Center – Page 1 Kathy Gallagher, Director 40 Douglas Dr., Martinez, CA 94553 ‘ Phone: (925) 313-1579 ‘ Fax: (925) 313-1575 ‘ www.ehsd.org DATE: March 9, 2015 TO: The Family and Human Services Committee Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors FROM: Wendy Therrian, Workforce Services Bureau Director Cheryl O’Brien, 7Cs Call Center Site Director Carolyn Foudy, 7Cs Call Center Quality Control Manager SUBJECT: Update on the Contra Costa County Covered California Call Center (7Cs) A. Background Since the last report to your Committee in December 2014 the Department has continued to successfully operate the Contra Costa County Covered California Call Center and has assisted our customers through the second open enrollment period that was extended from the original end date of February 15, 2015 through February 22, 2015. Just days before the Health Benefits Exchange’s second open enrollment period (which began on November 15, 2014) was to have ended on Fe bruary 15, 2015, officials announced a five-day deadline extension for individuals who started an application or made an appointment with an enrollment counselor by February 15. Additionally, a special enrollment period began on Monday, February 23, 2015 and runs through April 30, 2015. Eligible consumers who did not understand or know there was a tax penalty for being uninsured in 2014 or who learned they may face a penalty for 2015 have this additional period to obtain health insurance coverage. Staff at our Covered California Call Center continue to update themselves on these and other policy and program changes, and continue to exhibit flexibility in assisting our customers with their health care coverage needs. B. Overall Performance 1. Number and Type of Calls Received The 7Cs Call Center continues to answer statewide calls and provide ongoing assistance to Covered California customers. The top five (5) types of calls taken at the Call Center include consumers: FHS Report on 7Cs Call Center – Page 2 o either renewing their health plans for 2015 o reporting a change o reinstating their cancelled plans o obtaining open enrollment information o inquiring on the 1095-A tax form. Federal Law requires that individuals must either have health insurance throughout the year, qualify for an exemption from coverage, or make a payment when filing 2014 federal income tax returns in 2015. Covered California is sending consumers a new tax form called a 1095-A, which consumers will use when filing taxes to: x Demonstrate they had health coverage in 2014 x Reconcile the amount of Average Premium Tax Credit (APTC) they received based on their estimated income with the amount of the tax credits they are eligible for based on their actual income reported on their tax return. As a result of this reconciliation process, some consumers may be eligible for a tax refund, while others may receive a reduced refund or owe back some of the APTC they received. During the most recent Open Enrollment period, approximately 1,316,043 calls were handled by the Covered California Call Centers. Of the total calls received, the 7Cs Call Center handled approximately 7% or 87,972 calls. Eighty-one percent (81%) of the calls were English, 16% Spanish, 2% Asian, and 1% other. 2. Key Performance Measures Based on the data reports received from Covered California, the following represents the primary metrics of performance for all three Centers. The chart reflects statistics received after our December report to your Committee. Month Number of Calls Handled Average Speed in which Calls are answered (ASA) in Minutes* Average Call Talk/Handle Time (AHT) in Minutes** November 2014 181,826 21 21 December 2014 309,736 11 21 January 2015 374,496 3 18 February 2015 449,985 5 16 Overall Total/ Average 1,316,043 10 minutes 19 minutes 7Cs Center 87,972 12 minutes*** 21 minutes**** FHS Report on 7Cs Call Center – Page 3 * This is the average amount of time callers wait in the queue before calls are answered by agents ** This is the average amount of talk time, hold time, and wrap time necessary to complete the phone transaction *** No specific stipulated contract performance requirement **** Contract performance measure allows for up to 51 minutes of handle time per call Although not as prevalent, the same issues as those experienced at start-up continue which encompass periodic system, process, and technology problems; and challenges with policy and business procedure development and implementation. Targeted efforts to find workable and permanent solutions to these issues have been ongoing with some success, and Covered California continues to work with us and its other contractors to address these continued system and telephony challenges. Our partnership with Covered California to provide access to affordable healthcare has continued to be strong, open and collegial; and the 7Cs Call Center management and support staff continue to be involved in regular conference calls and meetings. 3. Contracted Performance Measures We have consistently maintained hours of operation and staffing ratios as required/approved by the Health Benefit Exchange. Based on our own internal performance assessment including informal feedback received from Covered California (not yet formally measured), the key performance measures as outlined in our existing contract are being met. Scheduled Adherence is currently under review with Covered California. x Quality Monitoring which measures the overall quality of agent interactions with customers, adherence to established procedures, and overall accuracy of information provided and data entered: 85% (previously in the contract at 91%) The 7Cs Call Center Quality Action Team (QAT) which is comprised of Customer Service Agent (CSA) II’s and their respective Supervisors continue to assist with both the more difficult calls and consumer escalations providing a better quality of service to our customers. Based on Covered California guidelines, the QAT also monitors and scores all CSAs on script adherence and mandatory customer authentication procedures. The 7Cs QAT meets weekly and works with all Agents and Supervisors to ensure minimum compliance of 85%. x Customer Satisfaction determined by independent customer surveys on courtesy, understanding, knowledge, and problem resolution: 87% x Schedule Adherence (measures the percentage of time an agent is actively logged into the Automated Call Distribution (ACD) system compared to the forecasted schedule): 90% (was previously 97% under our contract) FHS Report on 7Cs Call Center – Page 4 Schedule Adherence is defined by individual agents logged into the phone system and available for calls. Agents must log on timely at the beginning of their shifts, and take their breaks and lunches as scheduled by the Covered California Command Center. They must meet the schedule and number of hours on the phones as previously determined by the Command Center. We are currently working with Covered California to confirm our performance on Schedule Adherence and to determine the calculations used to determine our overall percentage of Schedule Adherence which requires adjusting to our specific business processes as stipulated under our existing contract. The provisions under our existing contract most impacting Schedule Adherence are as follows: o Exhibit A.A.1.a.: The Exchange shall not restrict County hiring conditions, processes, or any other matters relative to the employment of staff under this contract such as required attendance at County or Department trainings, meetings and any necessary work activities of accommodations. o Exhibit B.A.1.: Customer Service Agents (CSAs) will also be allowed 30 minutes following the end of their shifts to end calls, complete any wrap-up activities and log- off of systems. This “end of shift” policy allows our CSAs to finish assisting consumers without jeopardizing their shift departure and without the need or use of overtime which is not currently available for the 7Cs Call Center. Consequently, the use of the 30 minute wrap-up period guards the use of County funds, but may have a negative impact on our overall schedule adherence percentage. We are currently in discussion with Covered California on the preliminary information received on this measurement. We have just recently received preliminary reports from Covered California in regards to key performance indicators from February 1 through February 15 and are aligned with the performance of other Centers. Performance Indicator 7Cs Rancho Fresno Greenhaven Armstrong Average Handle Time in Minutes 18 17 18 17 19 Average Calls Per Hour 1.5 1.4 1.7 2.5 2.4 Average Attendance 93.6% 92.9% 90.1% 87.2% 85.6% Average Schedule Adherence 70% 64% 65% 74% 71% FHS Report on 7Cs Call Center – Page 5 C. Staffing There are currently one hundred and thirty-four (134) Customer Service Agents (CSAs) an increase of fifty-four (54) CSAs since our December 2014 report, eighty-three (83) of which are permanent full-time and fifty-one (51) permanent intermittent. There are ten (10) CSA Supervisors (eight (8) permanent full-time and two (2) permanent intermittent), a Quality Assurance Monitor, a Trainer, a Quality Control Manager, and a Site Director. These staff are supported by a four (4) member clerical/administrative team. Your Board recently approved the conversion of two (2) permanent, intermittent CSA Supervisor positions to full-time permanent. With this approval, ten (10) of our twelve (12) CSA Supervisors will be permanently in place at the 7Cs Call Center. The position numbers have been approved and a request for bids will be disseminated to staff. All CSAs hired throughout October, November and December of 2014 have completed training and are currently taking calls. This was a total of ninety-one (91) agents: 5 full-time CSA IIs, 3 full-time CSA ls and 83 permanent intermittent CSA ls. The CSA ll test will be announced soon as we continue to recruit and test as planned to meet our contractual agreement. Both CSA l’s and CSA ll’s can be hired from the list established by this test. With the non-open enrollment period beginning February 16, 2015 , our schedule changed to adhere to the new operational hours of Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; and Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Staff were allowed to bid new schedules to accommodate these new hours. D. Media Campaigns and other Covered California Events Covered California has consistently praised the 7Cs Center for its level of performance, cooperation, dedication and enthusiasm. Peter Lee, the Executive Director of Covered California, visited the 7Cs Center on Monday, January 5, 2015 to express his appreciation and to motivate staff for the current open enrollment period. He also shared that Covered California spent a major part of January planning press events to raise awareness of the 1095-A tax form and the processes consumers would need to follow accompanying the form. Other campaigns and data: o Covered California recently completed an immigration fact sheet for immigrant and undocumented family members advising them that information provided to Covered California will not be used for immigration enforcement purposes even if family members are undocumented or immigrants in Temporary Protected Status or deferred action. In 2013, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (CE) clarified that it “does not use information about immigration obtained for purposes of determining eligibility as a basis for pursuing immigration enforcement action”. FHS Report on 7Cs Call Center – Page 6 o Covered California is offering a special enrollment opportunity for consumers who did not know or understand there was a tax penalty for being uninsured in 2014 or who learned they may face a penalty for 2015. From February 23 until April 30, 2015 consumers are eligible to apply for health coverage during special enrollment by attesting that they did not realize there was a tax penalty. Peter Lee told reporters that many Californians may only be realizing they face penalty as they file their taxes for 2014, the first year that they are required to have health coverage. While there is no way for most of those people to avoid a fine in 2014, Covered California wants to give them more time to avoid one when they file in 2015 at which time the penalty will double, to at least 2 percent of household income. o Enrollment since October 2013 totals 1.4 million individuals with approximately 474,000 signing up during the last open enrollment period. E. Contract and Fiscal 1. Contract An amendment to the original contract (to have ended January 31, 2015) was successfully negotiated and executed on January 26, 2015 extending the contract through June 30, 2017 at a total dollar amount of $33,754,425. Other contract terms successfully negotiated or included were: o Identified and included all Center services including health care plan enrollment and certification; addressing questions/discrepancies in health care plans, coverage, or payments, or to assist with broker assistance; and, in determining the status of either paper or on-line applications. o Deleted existing references in Exhibit A pertaining to the ratio of Customer Service Agents (CSAs) to Supervisors and the ratio of Supervisors to Managers for performance and cost purposes o Included chat and email as other means of customer communication with the 7Cs CSAs beyond phone calls o Allowed for reimbursement for the time our CSAs log-on and off the CalHEERs and CRM systems o Included Covered California informing us in advance (when feasible) of any system or technology problems which may affect Call Center operations, service levels, or performance o Deleted the training certification as a pre-requisite for CSAs to take calls o Included a new mandated section on Background Investigations for staff FHS Report on 7Cs Call Center – Page 7 2. Fiscal Since the initiation of the 7Cs Center, the Department has followed the budget detail and payment provisions as specified under the contract and by the Board of Supervisors with there being no outlay of County General funds. All invoices submitted for payment/reimbursement for contract expenditures incurred from April 2013 to November 2014 have been subsequently paid in full. The composite reimbursement of these seventeen (17) fiscal demands totals $13,115,114.57. The most recent payment demand in the amount of $742,580.61 was mailed out on February 13, 2015. We have experienced no problems or delays in our invoice submissions and payment from Covered California. F. Customer Feedback Customers continue to provide feedback and share their stories and compliments on the excellent customer service provided at the 7Cs Call Center. Below are a few comments received since our last report: o “Sherry took my difficult phone call; her customer service was more than excellent, professional and kind. Sherry was knowledgeable and very patient with all my millions of questions. I was a little stressed out about picking a plan. Her attitude and demeanor helped calm me down. I feel so much better about my health plan. I can’t say enough about how professional she was.” o “Kelly was great and very patient. I am very appreciative of the time and effort she took to assist me.” o The consumer stated that her agent was one of a kind and walked her through the various changes in her plan. o Consumer was very happy and satisfied with Teri’s assistance. She stated that Teri was a pleasure to work with in getting her issue solved. o Consumer stated that the agent did an excellent job in helping her enroll. She had a great, great, great experience with Heidi. She stated that Heidi was really knowledgeable and helpful. The consumer was really pleased with her experience. o A customer was very happy to have spoken to Mary. The customer called and had been enrolled in an enhanced silver plan and interested in a gold plan. Mary took the time to explain the benefits of an enhanced plan and helped the customer make a decision on her plan selection. The customer was very pleased with the results. She further stated that Mary walked her through and helped her understand what was difficult for her to understand. Mary was patient and repeated. The customer stated she has never had better customer service in her life. She stated that Mary was the very best and her patience and professionalism was wonderful to experience. FHS Report on 7Cs Call Center – Page 8 o “Ted saved my life. I did everything with my insurer that I could do, and they would not take my money. Ted came in and fixed everything. He got me better coverage with a lower premium. He saved my life. I have a prescription that I had to have. He took the time to fix it. I am so grateful. I am 43 years old and I have never had this kind of customer service before. You cannot imagine my gratitude. I don’t break down easily, but he really made a difference in my life.” G. Important Next Steps We continue to work with Covered California in taking statewide calls from consumers. The types of calls have changed from primarily taking applications and processing renewals and plan changes to assisting the consumers with special enrollment and tax inquiries. With an emphasis on performance; we continue to concentrate on our quality monitoring of staff, internal performance data reviews, and on-going training of our Center staff to assure the 7Cs meets, if not exceeds, all performance expectations. Our long-standing contacts and liaisons with Covered California are changing, but we are confident our close working relationship with Covered California will continue the excellent partnership we have established in providing and enhancing our services to the residents of California to readily access and obtain affordable health care coverage. FAMILY AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE 6. Meeting Date:03/09/2015   Subject:Local Planning Council for Child Care and Development Activities Submitted For: FAMILY & HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE,  Department:County Administrator Referral No.: 81   Referral Name: Local Child Care Planning & Develoment Council Activities  Presenter: Contact: Referral History: On January 17, 2006 the Board of Supervisors referred to the Family and Human Services Committee an annual review of the activities of the Local Planning Council for Child Care and Development to provide a pathway for communication between the Council, the Department of Education and the Board of Supervisors. Referral Update: Please see the attached report. Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): Accept the report from the Local Planning Council for Child Care and Development and refer the report to the Board of Supervisors. Fiscal Impact (if any): Not applicable. Attachments Local Planning Council Activity Report Page 1 of 4 M E M O R A N D U M DATE: March 9, 2015 TO: Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V, Chair Supervisor Candace Andersen, District II FROM: Ruth Fernández, LPC Coordinator/Manager, Educational Services SUBJECT: Local Planning Council for Child Care and Development – Council Activities- Referral #81 CC: Contra Costa County Office of Education Karen Sakata, Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Pamela Comfort, Deputy Superintendent of Schools, Contra Costa County RECOMMENDATION(S): ACCEPT written report of activities, accomplishments and challenges during fiscal year 2014 -2015 for the Local Planning and Advisory Council for Early Care and Education (LPC). The Contra Costa LPC is proud to report key accomplishments during the fiscal year 2014-2015. Projects and activities of the Contra Costa LPC align with legislative intent for Local Planning Councils to serve as a forum to address the child care needs of all families and all child care programs, both subsidized and non- subsidized in Contra Costa County (Ed code Sections 8499.3 and 8499.5). Activities are organized under the four goal areas identified in the Contra Costa Countywide Comprehensive Early Care and Education Plan 2014-2017. ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Plan and coordinate the 2015 11th Annual Young Children’s Issues Forum—“Speak Out For Children: Educate and Advocate” to be held on Saturday, March 28th, 2015 at the Pleasant Hill Community Center, in Pleasant Hill, CA. Expect over 300 preschool teachers and administrators, college faculty, community advocates, parents, public officers and school district administrators attended the event. Forum registration open on-line at: http://www.plan4kids.org/events.html Hosted first Annual LPC Community Café on October 7, 2014. Convened over 50 community stakeholders in Contra Costa County to learn about LPC scope of work, projects and opportunities for collaboration. LPC plans to host at least one Community Café during each fiscal year. Recruited and successfully processed three LPC appointments therefore reducing number of outstanding vacancies. Only three vacancies remain, two in East County and one in Central/South County. LPC received one-time funding allocation from the CA Department of Education to administer the new California Transitional Kindergarten Stipend Project with an allocation of $405,286 over a three-year period. The 2014-15 California Budget Act determined that lead teachers placed in Transitional Kindergarten (TK) classrooms after July 1, 2015 must have a minimum of 24 Early Childhood Education (ECE) credits, or a Child Development Teacher Permit, or comparable professional experience. Additionally, after July 1, 2015 all TK classrooms would be required to align their curriculum to the CA Preschool Learning Foundations and Frameworks. While current TK teachers Page 2 of 4 are "grandfathered in," any TK teachers hired after July 1, 2015, will have 5 years to meet the above requirements. The 2014-15 Budget Education Act allotted $15 million for Local Planning Councils (LPC) to support these teacher educational requirements. This one-time funding allocation makes it possible for TK teachers to receive reimbursement for educational costs linked to the new educational requirements for TK educators. Local Planning Councils are charged with disbursing funding through a local model that meets the needs of TK teachers across school districts within the county. CHALLENGES: Continued 50% reduction in annual state funding allocation for the Local Planning Council – See Attached LPC Profile. 44% reduction in annual state funding allocation for the AB212 Professional Development Program Staff Retention activities (2009-2015). ACTIVITIES IDENTIFIED FOR REPORTING PERIOD (July 2014 – March 2015) GOAL 1: Access to Quality Child Care Facilitated and hosted an information session about the Federal Early Head Start (EHS) Partnership Grants application to increase services provided for infants and toddlers in Contra Costa County. All publicly funded agencies were invited to the information session. The intent of the information session was to promote dialogue among possible applicants, foster ideas for collaboration and partnership, review application guidelines and types of applications, and to invite questions about the application process. Contra Costa County Office of Education and Contra Costa LPC submitted a letter of support for this grant application. Contra Costa County successfully secured $1,100,000 for infant/toddler slots through an EHS Partnership Grant led by Contra Costa Community Services Bureau. Actively participate in County’s Consortia coordinating and implementing the federal Race-to-the Top (RTT) Early Learning Challenge Grant Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) Initiative. Additionally, the LPC also supported the application for the California State Preschool QRIS Block Grant for FY 2014-15 which secured $1.4 million in new state funding for rating and continuous quality improvement services for state preschool programs in the County. The LPC Coordinator administers and oversees CCCOE’s contract with First 5 Contra Costa for the monitoring and rating of 100 programs participating in the RTT QRIS Initiative led by First 5 Contra Costa. The LPC Coordinator will also co-lead the administration of the new QRIS Block Grant awarded by the CA Department of Education to the Contra Costa County Office of Education and First 5 Contra Costa. The LPC continues to convene quarterly meetings with all state-funded contractors in Contra Costa County. The State-funded Program Administrators Network meetings are held at the Contra Costa County Office of Education and are facilitated by the LPC Coordinator. The work of planning and coordinating local services, ongoing professional learning opportunities and quality improvement activities will be a key focus for the state funded network meetings facilitated by the LPC Coordinator. Potentially, 32 out of 58 State Preschool Sites in Contra Costa will be actively participating in QRIS activities. The Contra Costa State Funded Program Administrators Network is committed to: a) problem solve, share, and test new ideas; b) share best practices and strategies; c) build consensus about local challenges Page 3 of 4 and opportunities that Title V programs face in Contra Costa County; d) be a sounding board for discussion and collaboration amongst programs representing a variety of funding sources and program models; e) provide support for Directors of Title V programs, especially new Directors; f) leverage on free collaboration opportunities; g) make connections to local, state, nationwide resources and information; h) give input to the LPC about the needs that Title V programs face regarding staff's professional development, retention, and continuing education. LPC Coordinator continues to inform State contractors about the Voluntary Temporary Transfer of Funds (VTTF) opportunity and key timelines and eligibility requirements. The California Department of Education (CDE) directed each Local Planning Council (LPC) to establish a local fair and transparent policy regarding the voluntary, temporary contract fund transfer process established by California Education Code Section 8275.5. The primary intent of the VTTF process is to ensure to the greatest extent possible that state funds allocated for Contra Costa County child care services are spent within the county. GOAL 2: Develop and Nurture a Trained Early Care and Education Workforce The LPC administers AB212 state funding through the Contra Costa County Office of Education with the goal to retain qualified staff at State-funded Programs in Contra Costa County. Funding allocation for fiscal year 2014-15 is $278,303. During 2014-15 staff working at State-funded programs in Contra Costa County continue to benefit from services provided by the AB212 Professional Development Program. Services offered to teaching staff, site supervisors and program directors include: CA Child Development Permit processing, Temporary County Certificate processing, professional growth and educational advising, coaching, mentoring, and customized trainings and professional development opportunities. Component I - Contra Costa’s AB212 Professional Development and Retention Program –- offers financial incentives to staff working at State-funded programs that meet program eligibility and participation requirements. The AB212 Professional Development Program provides stipends for the following categories: 1) Annual Participation Stipend (stipend amount determined at end of year based on number of eligible applications received and funding availability – not to exceed $1,200) – participants complete a minimum of 6 approved college units toward degree completion. 2) Degree Completion Stipend - $1,000 – Upon certification of degree completion from an accredited educational institution. 3) Lost Wages Stipend – not to exceed $1,000 – Stipend determined by approved hours of a practicum course at an accredited educational institution. 4) Foreign Transcript Evaluations – up to $350 – Evaluation services of foreign transcripts are offered to eligible and active AB212 Professional Development Program participants. Component II - AB212 Site Supervisor and Director Professional Learning Community – The LPC recognizes that investing in a program's leadership is essential and crucial to quality improvement. The Site Supervisor and Director Professional Learning Community (PLC) strives to support and nurture leadership competencies for administrators. As essential change agents in their programs, participant engage in regular reflection and discussion with other peers about skill building, staff development, communication, advocacy, leadership, professionalism, and other topics that support a culture committed to continuous quality improvement. The Site Supervisor and Director PLC goals are to: Develop a stronger framework of administration and supervision, leadership, and professionalism in early childhood programs in Contra Costa County; Build a network of colleagues across the county for supports and resources that strengthen your professional competencies; Page 4 of 4 Provide opportunities to complete profession al development that supports QRIS and ongoing professional growth for supervisors and directors of early childhood programs; and Benefit from financial incentives that support your professional development goals. GOAL 3: Foster and Promote Coordination and Collaboration with the Community Implementation and Development of A Road Map to Kindergarten © Project The Contra Costa LPC and the Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE) continue to partner with Community Services Bureau and the five First 5 Family Resource Centers to implement A Road Map to Kindergarten© as a family involvement initiative. The LPC established the School Readiness Committee to oversee the implementation and ongoing expansion of A Road Map to Kindergarten© Project. The LPC School Readiness Committee identified the following goal and strategies to guide their work: Goal: Promote systemic sustainable school-family partnerships in Contra Costa County that involve and engage families. Objectives: 1. Support families’ knowledge of the K-12 education system and opportunities for involvement in school readiness using the RMTK. 2. Support early educators in preparing children and families for school success. 3. Enlist a variety of community and civic resources to support school readiness using the Road Map to Kindergarten as a means for support. The CCCOE in partnership with Mills College secured an internship position for a Mills’ graduate student in the Early Childhood Education Program to work under the supervision of the LPC Coordinator to continue to collect relevant data about the impact of A Road Map to Kindergarten© on parents’ preparedness to support their children’s transition to Kindergarten. The LPC Coordinator will continue to offer countyw ide Trainer-of-Trainers seminars on the use of A Road Map to Kindergarten©. Provide Leadership and Contribute to Ongoing Work of Early Childhood Leadership Alliance (ECLA) The LPC Coordinator is currently the Chair for ECLA and LPC Chair also actively participate in ECLA’s Steering Committee. ECLA’s mission is to bring together leaders from child-serving agencies in Contra Costa County to work collectively to reduce barriers and effect systemic change for the benefit of our community’s children. ECLA strives to ensure that all families have equal access to effective early detection, support, and intervention for their children’s medical, mental health, and developmental needs. ECLA has identified three key goal areas to guide its work: Goal 1 - SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT: Comprehensive services are provided to children 0-5 years and their families by organizations that work together in an efficient and coordinated manner. Goal 2 - COLLECTIVE ADVOCACY: Collective impact is magnified by developing a unified voice and shared strategies for influencing policy that affects families with young children. Goal 3 - COMMUNITY AWARENESS & EDUCATION: Providers understand the importance of children’s development and the system of services that support it GOAL 4: Advise Sponsoring Entities on Local Issues and Priorities Related to Early Care & Education The LPC will be identifying local funding zip code priorities for Contra Costa County by May 30th, 2015. Proposed zip code priorities for child care services to be submitted to the Family and Human Services Committee for approval in May 2015. SAVE THE DATE! for the 11th Annual Young Children’s Issues Forum 2015 “Speak Out for Children: Educate and Advocate” A forum for discussion among State Legislators, local elected officials, educators, business leaders, and the community at-large regarding current children’s issues. When: Saturday, March 28, 2015 Where: Pleasant Hill Community Center 320 Civic Drive Pleasant Hill, CA 94523 Invited Guest Speakers Include: State Legislators, Local Elected Officials and Business Leaders Register now: http://11thannualforum2015.eventbrite.com Please visit the Local Planning Council website to view last year’s Forum. www.plan4kids.org For more information, please call Ruth Fernández at 925-942-3413 Coordinated by the Contra Costa County Office of Education Contra Costa County Local Planning and Advisory Council for Early Care and Education (LPC) • • • • • •