HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 11281995 - SD2 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS F&HS-01
.,�...5;..:......o� Contra
FROM: FAMILY AND'HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEECosta
County
DATE: November 13, 1995 rr�•�_aua
SUBJECT:
STATUS REPORT ON SERVICE INTEGRATION, POLICY ACADEMY, AND
FAMILY MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATION
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. ACCEPT the attached reports from Bill Weidinger on.Service Integration, the Policy
Academy on their work, and Mary Foran on the Family Maintenance Organization.
2. REMOVE these subjects as referrals to the 1995 Family and Human Services
Committee and instead refer them to the 1996 Family and Human Services
Committee for continuing oversight.
3. REQUEST the County Administrator and Health Services Director to make further
status reports to the 1996 Family and Human Services Committee during the month
of February, 1996.
BACKGROUND:
On June'20, 1995 the Board of Supervisors approved a report from our Committee which
included the following recommendation, among others:
6. REQUEST the County Administrator, Health Services Director,
Acting Social Services Director, County Probation Officer and
Community Services Director to report to the Family,and.Human
Services Committee in September with reports on the status of
Service,Integration, the Policy Academy and Family Maintenance
Organization, as well as each of the assignments made above.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD C MMIT E
APPROVE
kARED e�S A U L N I E MITH
SIGNATURES
ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
ABSENT:— ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. LL
ATTESTED 0)6LACI[L�ti�J
Contact: PHIL BATCHELOR.CLERK OF THE BO RD OF
CC: SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
See Page 2
BY DEPUTY
F&HS-01
The September 25, 1995 meeting was canceled because of Rosh Hashanah and was
rescheduled for November 13, 1995.
On November 13, 1995, our Committee met with representatives from the Policy Academy,
the Health Services Department and the Service Integration Teams. Rich Clarke
summarized the attached report on the status of the Service Integration Programs. Mary
Foran reviewed her attached report with our Committee. Rich Clarke also reviewed with
our Committee the attached report on the work of the Policy Academy, outlined the five
strategies on which the Policy Academy has been working and the status of each of them.
Mary Foran supplemented her written report by noting that the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation is coming to the County for a site visit on November 30, 1995. Because the
Foundation prefers not to grant funds for direct service delivery, staff are reviewing the
budget to determine how it can be revised in order to comply with the Foundation's
preferences. Ms. Foran also noted that in this era of cutbacks in funding at all levels of
government, it is important that we all remember the importance of prevention programs.
We are pleased to see that as much progress has been made in each of these areas.
Supervisor DeSaulnier noted the delegation of educators from a number of other states
which visited the Service Integration site in Bay Point recently.
We believe that substantial progress has been made in a number of areas and would like
to have the 1996 Family and Human Services Committee continue to provide oversight of
these subjects.
cc: County Administrator
Health Services Director
Social Service Director
Community Services Director
County Probation Officer
Sara Hoffman, Senior Deputy County Administrator
Mary Foran, Director, Office for Service Integration, HSD
Bill Weidinger, Program Coordinator, SIT
Karen Mitchoff, Supervisor DeSaulnier's Office
[for the Policy Academy]
- 2 -
t '
County Administrator Contra Board ofSuperdtsors
Jim Rogers
County Administration Building Costa 1st District
651 Pine Street, 11th Floor Jeff Smith
Martinez,California 94553-1229Count
O t� / 2nd District
(510)646-4080. �/ Gayle Bishop
FAX: (510)646-4098 3rd District
e sE--L
t, o
Phil Batchelor __– ==_•� Mark DeSaulnier
County Administrator - r - 4th District
Tom Torlakson
5th District
ST'9 EOON'� '
September 25, 1995
TO: Supervisor Mark DeSaulnier
Supervisor Jeff Smith
Family and Human Services Committee
FROM: Bill Weidinger
Program Coordinator
Service Integration Team
SUBJECT: Progress Report on Service Integration
Since the June 6, 1995 report, progress has been made in the following areas:
Client Enrollment and Services
The Bay Point and North Richmond teams continue to serve approximately 1400 families.
The number of families served will remain at this level until the AB 1741 waivers are
obtained and then the number may eventually grow to 2800. Our families receive service
and benefits from the following programs: AFDC, Medi-Cal, Food Stamps, Juvenile
Probation,. Public Health Nursing, Child Welfare, GAIN, Mental Health and Alcohol/Drug
Recovery.
At the North Richmond site, the Grandparent Group is active and the contact with the
Senior Center has been beneficial. The St. Vincent de Paul Job Training Program started
in August. Enrollment was light, but increasing as word of this program spreads. Day care
for our AFDC parents is a barrier, but work is proceeding to see if day care can be
arranged for our families. A recent inquiry from Rubicon was received to house a job
developer at our site and this will be discussed with the team and the STMT.
Members of the SIT and Verde School have met to discuss closer working relationships,
particularly with the children we both serve. We are hopeful that a teacher from Verde
School will be able to serve as a liaison with the SIT. Our Public Health Nurse has
organized a health screening day in October that will enable most of the Verde children
to obtain this valuable screening and immunizations.
Two of our team members served on the Family Preservation Support Program and helped
to coordinate focus groups in the community that led to the development of community
priorities. Our Child Protective Services worker organized a group of her clients to give
input into this process.
The Ambrose Team continues their active involvement in the community. Team members
were very helpful in working with the Five C's Program and the Healthy Start Program to
put together a summer activities program for youth at the Ambrose Center. Some of our
team members continue with the Teen Center and other members helped work the back
to School Festival at Riverview School.
Ambrose Team members have also made a number of presentations to various groups.
Most notable was the presentation that six of our members made to the State Department
of Social Services in August. The State team was impressed with the coordination and
focus of services that the team demonstrated in working with a very complex family
situation.
Through the auspices of the Healthy Start Project and numerous members of this
collaborative, a clinic at Riverview School is being planned. Once a week, a CHDP clinic,
immunizations and sports exams will be held. In addition, a Health Education component
will be added to this clinic that will benefit many of the Bay Point residents.
Conversations with the Family Maintenance Organization staff are being held to determine
how we may work more closely together in order to provide a wide spectrum of services
for families in Bay Point.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the collaborative efforts that were envisioned in the
planning of the SIT are becoming a reality.
Staffing Issues
Staffing continues to be an issue that never quite seems to be stabilized. The half-time
Recovery Counselor at Ambrose returned to her previous district assignment in late August
and currently, this position is unfilled. The new Recovery Counselor in North Richmond
came on board in mid August and is working 10 hours a month at the SIT. Conversation
continues as to how we can fill, and hopefully increase, the hours of these two very
important positions.
A Deputy Probation Officer was assigned to the North Richmond team in early August and
the team is looking forward to her working with some of our more troubled youth.
2
Traininci
In late June, the County learned that the S. H. Cowell Foundation awarded the Greater
Bay Area Family Resource Network(GBAFRN) $400,000 to provide training to the SIT for
three years. We were delighted with this good news and have been working with the
BGAFRN staff to develop this training program. The Cowell Foundation believes that the
Service Integration concept is "cutting edge" and that replication of this training will be
invaluable to other counties or states providing similar service.
Currently, the plan is to provide 8-10 days of formal training per year with the very
important addition of having a "coach" on each site '/ to one day per week. The benefit
of having this "coach" is to really implement some of the valuable concepts that were
addressed in the formal training. The coach will help the teams work through some of their
issues and provide the teams with the skills and abilities to perform at a high level of
successful functioning when the coaches are no longer present.
The main issues to be addressed during this training are team building, case management,
building capacity of the communities and making meaningful systems change. The formal
training will include not only the teams, but staff and managers from the district offices and
representatives form the employee organizations.
Management Information System
At last report, we had arrived at an estimate for the cost of both the hardware and software
for this vital piece of the program. Since that report, the County has been approached by
the East Bay Foundation Consortium to view several other systems that have been
developed and been in use in other programs throughout the State. Most notable is the
system used in the New Beginnings project in San Diego. The SIMT has agreed to view
these programs and the Foundation Consortium is paying the cost for several members
of the SIT to attend a conference in Costa Mesa on October 12, 1995. After this
conference, a decision will be made as to the system we wish to use in our work.
Employee Organizations
On June 25, 1995 and July 24, 1995, meetings were held with the employee organizations
and management personnel to continue our discussion about the issues raised by the SIT
program. Management's negotiator will be scheduling the next session when she returns
from a trip out of the country.
3
1741 Status
Several meetings with the State's 1741 team have been held and one of these meetings
included representatives from the other 1741 counties. The fourth person in less than a
year has been appointed to head the State's team. Indications are now that the State is
serious and focused on working with the counties to assist us in this waiver process. The
Undersecretary of State, Tom Nagel, was in Contra Costa last month to meet with us along
with twelve members of the State's team. Contra Costa has met with the State separately
to discuss our waivers and we have focused on enlarging the target population eligible for
GAIN services.
The focus and assurances from the State that they want to facilitate the waiver process
is welcome. However, this process will be arduous and some waivers may involve the
Federal Government as well. To this end, several training sessions have been set up with
the Federal and State representatives in October to better understand the various Titles
that are the subject of AB 1741 counties waiver requests.
Additional Notable Items
In August, the SIT teams celebrated their one year anniversary! The Ambrose team put
together a luncheon with great guest speakers, including Congressman George Miller;
Supervisors Torlakson and DeSaulnier; County Department Directors Gerald Buck, John
Cullen, Joan Sparks; Sara Hoffman from the County Administrator's Office; Mary Foran
from Health Services; Debra Mason from the Bay Point MAC; Damita Davis-Howard,
representing the Employee Organizations; and Rich Clarke from Healthy Start. What was
also very moving was the presentation by two of the women who were served by the SIT.
The North Richmond team hosted a spaghetti luncheon for families and providers in the
North Richmond Community. Both these events were filled with celebration and a feeling
of pride and joy that we are able to be of meaningful service.
In August, the County was notified that the Service Integration Team Program was one of
seventeen programs in the country that was to receive an Honorable Mention from the
"Models That Work Competition." This competition is sponsored by the U. S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Primary Health Care. Over 200 programs
nationwide submitted applications.
4
SE L
Health Services Department
'- - • OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR
71
•;' Z Office for Service Integration
' 597 Center Avenue, Suite 365
"Z Martinez, CA 94553
(510) 313-6254
(510) 313-6708 - Fax
sr9,cotix`�`1
To: Supervisor Mark DeSaulnier
Supervisor Jeff Smith
Family and Human Services Committee
From: Mary Foran
Director, Office for Service Integration
Date: September 19, 1995
Subject: PROGRESS REPORT ON PLANNING THE FAMILY
MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATION
After sixteen months of dedicated planning and over three years of conceptualization,
the planning phase of the Family Maintenance Organization has been completed. On
August 25, we submitted a proposal to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
requesting funding for the first two years of a five-year_demonstration project
($328,000 in Year One, and $410,000 for Year Two). A summary of the proposal is
attached for your review.
The funds requested will allow,' us to design, implement and test a pilot program to
see whether our theories will prove effective in practice. A multi-level evaluation will.
be conducted. The FMO Demonstration Project will serve families in Bay Point who
are users of the county's Health Services Department programs. The Project will build
upon the successful efforts of the SIT teams, and the proposed services of the Family
Preservation and Support Program. The FMO Project will increase Health Services
capacity to provide care coordination, parent education and support, and intensive
assistance with serious family health issues, such as substance abuse and violence in
the home.
The FMO has come a long way. The proposal reflects the hard work and thinking of
county staff as well as a multitude of advisors, health and human services professionals
and many Contra Costa parents.
I hope this update addresses any questions or concerns you might have. I look
forward to meeting with you on the 25th.
rhf:hf a8!SeptFHS.rpt
A-3 b 6 cc: Mark Finucane
Contra Costa County
the training and continuing support to navigate among the various health system
disciplines and programs.
Community health staff will work closely with nursing, medical, and family
intervention staff. This approach recognizes that different situations call for different
kinds of expertise. Sometimes the family will require a low-key "neighborly" approach;
at other times only a physician or other clinician will do. The purpose of the team
approach to services is to match family needs with the most appropriate kind of help.
Integration of Family Improvement Initiatives at the Inter-Agency
Level
FMO services will be provided at the Ambrose Center; at a nearby elementary school
where space for child health and immunization clinics as well as health education and
support group meetings is being created; at the Pittsburg Health Center, the County-
operated primary care center for the area; and when desired, in participants' homes.
The FMO activities will be integrated with the other family service improvement
projects at Ambrose Center or in Bay Point including:
• Service Integration Team, a local initiative to integrate staff and programs at
one site for families using multiple county services. The components include
income maintenance, GAIN, child protective services, adult and juvenile
probation and health staff.
• Healthy Start, a State program to encourage schools to become the hub for
family services.
• Family Preservation/Family Support, a federally mandated child welfare
initiative to shift the emphasis toward helping families avoid out of home
placement and take good care of their children.
All four projects share a holistic approach to improving outcomes for families and
children; a commitment to interdisciplinary team work and a strengths-based
approach to family work; and a willingness to integrate functions and explore how the
blending of funds can expand the system's capacity to better allocate resources and
improve family health and well-being in its broadest sense.
JS:FMOdisk#6:summdoc.all/September 19,1995
Implementing the FMO A Project Summary
Office for Service Integration Page 3
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
POLICY ACADEMY
TO: Family and Human Services Committee
Supervisors Mark DeSaulnier and Jeff Smith
FROM: Policy Academy
DATE: November 9, 1995
RE: Quarterly Report
I
SUMMARY
Since last reporting to the Family and Human Services (FHS) Committee, the Policy
Academy has continued to meet and discuss issues surrounding the five current
strategies: Service Integration, Out-of-Home Placement, , Family Maintenance
Organization, Juvenile Justice System, and Family Preservation/Family Support.
With the exception of Out-of-Home Placement, all strategies are moving forward.
Attached are copies of recent status reports from the Family Maintenance
Organization strategy and the Family Preservation/Family Support strategy. The
Service Integration strategy report is being presented to you under separate cover
for the November 13th meeting. .
Other issues have been on the Policy Academy agenda; specifically, the ongoing need
for staffing and restructuring our organizational status. The issues are discussed
separately below.
MISSION STATEMENT/MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES and STRATEGIC PLAN
Attached to this report are two documents: The "Mission Statement/Major
Responsibilities" and'the "Policy Academy Strategic Plan." Both documents outline
and complement the ongoing work of the Policy Academy and its charge from the
Board of Supervisors to serve as the umbrella organization through which other
groups (public, private, community-based) communicate their various efforts and
programs. How that will be accomplished is an item for discussion at the November
13th meeting.
RESTRUCTURING THE POLICY ACADEMY ORGANIZATION
The Policy Academy has been utilizing a meta-decision making process whereby roles
of leadership revolve to all members. While the concept is good in theory, revolving
chairs and decision makers has created logistical problems. For instance, who
speaks for the Policy Academy? Who signs correspondence? Who makes decisions
that are required between meetings? To address these concerns, the group has
agreed to continue utilizing the meta-decision making process itself but has elected
three co-chairs: Rich Clarke, Carol Hatch and Gary Rutkin. An executive
committee has been elected consisting of Taalia Hasan, Nancy Hobert, Debra Mason
and Karen Mitchoff.. Ms. Hasan and Ms. Mason represent the community, and Ms.
Hobert and Ms. Mitchoff represent the two supervisors' offices. The co-chairs are
also part of the executive committee.
The Policy Academy has been meeting twice monthly. When the schedule was set up,
several policy decisions were still required for many of the strategies. We also
arranged the schedule so that members could attend at least one meeting each month.
At this time, however, the strategies are being implemented, and the Policy Academy
is provided with status reports. The Policy Academy is now reviewing the concept
of meeting only once a month and utilizing the time for the second meeting to be used
for subcommittee work rather than a meeting of the whole body.
The Policy Academy now finds itself at a crossroad: in order to move forward in a
proactive manner to provide policy recommendations to the Board of Supervisors,
active participation by department heads will be required. The Policy Academy
believes_that with two new department heads in the county (Probation and Social
Services), and a new one to be added within the next year (Health Services), these
three major department heads' attendance is necessary for the Policy Academy to
meet its charge from the Board of Supervisors. Additionally, Supervisor DeSaulnier
has offered to assist in chairing meetings, and Supervisor Smith would be welcome
to join in that role also. The Policy Academy sees these individuals' participation as
a key element as the discussion moves forward towards systems change in the
delivery of services.
STAFFING
Each member of the Policy Academy brings a wealth of talent, effort and ideas to the
table. Unfortunately, the collective group is stretched to its professional limits in
terms of work currently being performed within each department. The Policy
Academy once again respectfully requests the need for an identified staff person
whose role is defined as both programmatic and administrative.
SE L Health Services Department
Ott. o�
•: �. ``_` • OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR
Office for Service Integration
597 Center Avenue, Suite 365
Martinez, CA 94553
(510) 313-6254
(510) 313-6708 - Fax
srg_covr��
Implementing the Family Maintenance Organization
in Contra Costa County: Demonstration Project
In April 1994, the Contra Costa County Health Services Department received a grant
from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to plan the Family Maintenance
Organization. The broad goals of the FMO are:
■ To improve the overall health status of families, where health is defined to
mean optimum physical and mental well-being;
■ To create a health delivery system for families which, through a greater focus
on prevention, early intervention, and coordination of services shifts utilization
from higher cost services to more appropriate levels of care.
More specifically, the proposed FMO demonstration project is designed to test a
model which will:
■ Combine categorically-funded public health family programs with intensive
support services for vulnerable families and link them both to medical care, in
order to improve family health outcomes and redirect utilization.
■ Adopt a family-strengths approach to improving outcomes and decreasing
inappropriate utilization.
■ Create a capitation rate to fund the consolidated program which has the
flexibility to address particular family health problems through the pooling of
resources.
Program Components
The FMO is a way to package services which go "beyond medical care" in order to
achieve better results for families and increase the efficiency of the health care system.
The FMO will begin as a pilot project in Bay Point and serve families which use the
County's Health Services Department programs. The following program components
A-306
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will be developed by supplementing and building upon existing parent assistance
resources:
Parent Warm Line: To provide parent support and timely access to information
about services and resources for families. The Warm Line will help parents connect to
social support resources, as well as to the most appropriate service in the health care
system. It will provide personal, friendly advice to parents who have questions and
concerns or just want someone to talk to about being a parent.
Education and Support: To offer an array of classes and support groups to help .
parents with coping, medical self-management and practical skills. Specially designed
child health clinic sessions will be expanded, with attention to helping parents
understand more about child development. Classes and groups will include a focus
on how to use the health care system and how to manage common health problems
with high incidence in the area, such as childhood asthma and otitis media. Topics
will be selected based on parent requests.
Intensive Assistance: To provide intervention, brief counseling, care coordination
(case management) for families experiencing more serious problems such as substance
abuse or violence in the home. The purpose is to assure effective intervention and
avoid escalation of problems to an even more serious level. Services will include:
• Brief counseling where there is no specialized program or until a bed or space
is available for more specialized treatment.
• Managing the linkages across programs when more than one service is
required, so that utilization stays with the most appropriate services.
For child behavior problems or developmental concerns, development of local
capacity to diagnose and treat problems.
Approach to Providing Assistance
The FMO shares with other family system change efforts the commitment to a
strengths-based approach. The FMO services will be easily accessible, respectful of
cultural and community preferences and flexible and responsive to families. People
providing FMO services will focus on the family as a whole, will pay attention to the
individual and collective strengths of the family and will work in partnership with
families to make changes families want.
Community health workers will provide many FMO services. Community health
workers are drawn from the community to be served; are matched well with the
ethnic, racial and cultural diversity of the service population; and are provided with
Implementing the FMO A Project Summary
Office for Service Integration Page 2
the training and continuing support to navigate among the various health system
disciplines and programs.
Community health staff will work closely with nursing, medical, and family
intervention staff. This approach recognizes that different situations call for different
kinds of expertise. Sometimes the family will require a low-key."neighborly" approach;
at other times only a physician or other clinician will do. The purpose of the team
approach to services is to.match family needs with the most appropriate kind of help.
Integration of Family Improvement Initiatives at the Inter Agency
Level
FMO services will be provided at the Ambrose Center; at a nearby elementary school
where space for child health and immunization clinics as well as health education and
support group meetings is being created; at the Pittsburg Health Center, the County-
operated primary care center for the area; and when desired, in participants' homes.
The FMO activities will be integrated with the other family service improvement
projects at Ambrose Center or in Bay Point including:
• Service Integration Team, a local initiative to integrate staff and programs at
one site for families using multiple county services. The components include
income maintenance, GAIN, child protective services, adult and juvenile
probation and health staff.
0 Healthy Start, a State program to encourage schools to become the hub for
family services.
• Family Preservation/Family Support, a federally mandated child welfare
initiative to shift the emphasis toward helping families avoid out of home
placement and take good care of their children.
All four projects share a holistic approach to improving outcomes for families and
children; a commitment to interdisciplinary team work and a strengths-based
approach to family work; and a willingness to integrate functions and explore how the
blending of funds can expand the system's capacity to better allocate resources and
improve family health and well-being in its broadest sense.
JS:FMOdisk#6:summdor-all September 19, 1995
Implementing the FMO A Project Summary
Office for Service Integration Page 3
� c�r�adc�
1995
FANILY PRESERVATION AND SUPPORT PROGRAN — --
NORTH RICHNOND
Community Needs Asscssmcnt and FPSP Activity Recommendation
North Richmond Demographics
North Richmond is a community of 2,500 people. The population is 70% African
American, 18% Asian American, 9% Latino, 1% Caucasian. The median
household income is $8,800, one-fifth of the median salary in this county. That's
about the average salary for one game for a professional baseball player. A lot
of families are trying to make it on that one-game salary.
The unemployment rate is 29%, and approximately 50% of the households live
below the poverty level. The owner-occupancy rate is 28%. Fewer than 10% of
the jobs in the community are filled by North Richmond residents. If you were
to take out the name, you might believe these statistics from a Third World
country, but, in fact, this is a place less than 30 miles away and is repeated in
every county, in every city throughout this country. There are drugs and drive-by
shootings. There's a high homicide rate. Fifteen people were killed in North
Richmond last year in a community of 2,500 people. That's a very high rate.
(Quote taken from John Gregory, Deputy County Administrator, Contra Costa
County)
According to a recent report distributed by the Office for Service Integration. The
following demographics for North Richmond included:
► North Richmond is the poorest census tract in the county (3650.02) with
50.8 percent living in poverty. 23.6 percent of those in the larger
catchment area for the Center for Health live below the poverty level.
Poverty level defined at $12,575 per year for a family of four.
► Approximately 4 percent (32,239) of the county's population lives in the
catchment area.
► The area has a greater percentage of children under five, as well as 5-17
year olds, than the county overall.
► 36.8 percent of adults, 25 years or older, have no high school degree or
equivalent.
1
COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT
In 1993, the North Richmond Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) completed a
needs assessment which identified the following as priorities (placed in order of
importance) for North Richmond:
1 . .lob Creation and Economic Development
2. Public Safety & Physical Environment
3. Health Care
4. Housing
5. Child / Youth / Senior Services
6. Cultural Awareness and Communication
Although the priorities listed above was identified by the North Richmond MAC.
There was no detailed description to inform others of what each category
included. Therefore one of the first priorities assigned to the convened EPSP
Working Committee Group was to define each priority. They generated the
following definitions:
1. Job Creation and Economic Development
Focus on business in the community. To create jobs that bring tax funds
back into the community in order to uplift community so that it may
become self-sufficient. Also working on breaking down the stigmatization
of living in North Richmond when it comes to applying for employment.
2. Public Safety & Physical Environment
To create an environment that is safe and free from crime and vandalism.
Where people can feel free to move around and do what they need to do.
A community where residents are proud and small children can safely play
off the streets.
3. Health Care
Health plan for the community. Good, subsidized, full-body Health Care
should be provided.
4. Housing
Well maintained, low & moderate, safe, clean housing should be available
at all time.
2
5. Child / Youth / Senior Services
More activities that caters to youth promoting community pride. Alleviate
gang activities. Activities should stimulate. When focusing on Seniors an
escort service should be available.
6. Cultural Awareness and Communication
As a diverse community we need a diverse multi-cultural program in order
to provide a way in which multi-cultural diversity can be celebrated.
Many of the above priorities listed programs that were suppose to already be in
operation, unfortunately this was not the case. Therefore focus groups and
interviews centered mostly around the theme of the above listed priorities (since
examples were far and few in between); focus groups and interviews also
centered around the following topics:
► Personal priorities for Self and Family
► Services needed to Support the Community
► What services would the Community get involved in
► Services that should be available to those parents who May have trouble
taking care of there Children.
Among the 12 focus groups were:
• 2 with Las Deltas tenants (Youth and Senior)
• 2 with Mein/Lao Ethnicities (Male & Female)
• 1 with Hispanic/Latino
• 1 with African American
• 1 with Homeless Families
• 1 with Senior Citizens
• 2 with Youth (16 - 22 years)
• 1 with CPS Clients
• 1 with Youth, College and Working Group
There were a total of 108 focus group and interview participants. After total
calculations of top priorities and themes, the following list of findings was
composed by the Working Committee (Placed in Order of Priority):
(#1) JOB CREATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
A. Skill Center:
-High Tech., Basic=Resume's, Wood, Metal, Job skills
B. GED / Literacy / Tutoring
3
(#1) Job Creation Cont.
C. Locating jobs in specific areas
D. entrepreneurial training - Fast Track
E. Youth jobs / employment . . . preparing to work at an early age.
(#2) PUBLIC SAFETY AND PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
A. Police security / more Patrols (Involve FED's)
B. Signal lights / streetlines / cross-walks
C. Speed bumps
D. Neighborhood Watch (If people are serious)
E. Crossing guards - school
(#3) HEALTH CARE
A. WIC Program
B. Mobile Van
-Improving and list times
C. Health Facility
-Planned Parenthood, literature on STD's, Pharmacy
*Special attention to children and seniors (Dental and Pediatrics)
(#4) HOUSING
A. Enforce existing laws and knowledge / use of existing programs:
-Clean-up (part of enforcement), Inspection (Health, Fire Dept. Social
Services), vacant housing/lots issues, Property owners liability
B. Rental Support:
(Section 8, Rent control)
(#5) CHILD / YOUTH / SENIOR SERVICES
A. Child Care
B. Specific recreational programs:
-Horseback riding, baseball and sports activities
C. Gym
D. Planned program:
-big Brothers/Big Sisters, SIMBA, Mentoring Program, After-school
tutoring, Library
E. Meals on wheels
F. Talent recognition
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(#6) CULTURAL AWARENESS AND COMMUNICATION
A. Community Events:
-Picnics, Carnivals, Festivals and Performing Arts
B. Learn about own African American culture before we began to learn
about others.
(ACROSS-THE-BOARD)
I. Newsletter/Information Bulletin informing what's going on in all categories.
2. Transportation
FPSP PROPOSED ACTMTIES
The Working Committee has proposed the following activities. These activities
are still in their "Draft" form.
FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES:
"Family Resource & .lob Skill Center"
To be handled through an RFP. Specifically the contractor will provide:
I . Certified / degree program - New skills training for high tech information
age = Computers, semi-conductors, computer/chip component.
2. Certified / degree program - training to help people upgrade existing skills
for new employment opportunities. eg-shipyards to construction, toxic
clean-up, environmental.
4youth (maybe I I year - 16 - 2 I)job readiness preparation and placement
in part-time work.
3. Manage an apprentice program for North Richmond residents
4. Job Development and placement services - expertly develop option for
non-traditional employment.
5. Local GED classes offered in community with subsidized support for
books and test fees.
6. Offer Small Business Development Classes eg: WISE
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Family Support Services (Skill Center) Cont.
7. Informational support services to newly employed parents to help maintain
their healthy family environment.
Process
1. Convene Community Advisory Board to monitor the program performance
to be liaison between community and DSS - Help DSS choose the private
contract.
2. RFP process is currently under advisement.
FAMILY PRESERVATION:
Target population: Provide personal assistance to families that need
practical assistance in taking care of their children and
direct in home services because of the lack of
transportation/child care and lack of incentives.
2. Families from among the working poor now ineligible
for lots of services.
3. Families where parents are trying to improve their
education and become self-sufficient
Examples of services to be provided:
1 . Helping people set support systems that solve day to day problems of
childcare, transportation, service ineligibility problems.
2. Information and referral to existing services, giving detailed help to obtain
services by helping people find transportation , childcare . . .
3. In home practical assistance for families in crisis who request this help.
4. Help people find and use parent education.
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CONTRA COSTA COUNTY POLICY ACADEMY
MISSION STATEMENT
The Policy Academy is a collaborative body representing multiple viewpoints,
including communities, advocates, education, community-based organization
service providers and county government:
A. that is focused on the health and welfare of children and families;
and
B. whose purpose is to:
• coordinate, integrate and evaluate the five current strategies'
and future strategies for collaborative, community-based,
child-centered, culturally competent, family-focused,
outcome-driven services.
• proactively develop new strategies in anticipation of, and in
response to, changing conditions and demands.
• make recommendations to decision makers regarding
actualization of strategies.
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES
The Policy Academy responsibilities relate directly to its charge to improve the
effectiveness and efficiency of systems and services that affect the health and
welfare of children and families. These responsibilities include:
1. Assessment
+ Relationships between services and systems, including gaps
and overlaps
+ Evaluation - outcomes and methodology
2. Federal and State Initiatives
+ Understanding impact on the county
+ Strategic utilization to meet the county's needs
3. Allocation of Resources
+ Understanding of resources and allocation process
+ Recommending strategies to leverage resources
The five current strategies are service integration, out-of-home placement, family maintenance
organization, family preservation, and juvenile justice systems.
POLICY ACADEMY STRATEGIC PLAN
LEADERSHIP
VISION
Healthy Children, Healthy Families, Healthy Communities
Mission
CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS (Whats)
Outcomes
• Improve health and safety status of children and families
• Increase the economic stabilit and self-sufficiency of families
• Encourage, support and promote the integrity of families
• Increase the number of children succeeding in schools
KEY STRATEGIES (Hows)
Strategies:
• Service Integration
• Out-of-Home Placement
• Family Maintenance Organization
• Juvenile Justice System
• Family Preservation/Family Support
Areas of Work:
• Communication strategies
• Evaluation strategies
• Training
• Out-of-Home Placement
• Staff support/resources
Social Health Probation County Other
Services Services Schools