HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12192005 - C.73 m
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TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS .:'" Contra
FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
Costa
`� Coun
DATE: DECEMBER 19'2005 ° - t Y
rA cooKT'I . ,1
SUBJECT: REPORT ON LESSONS LEARNED IN THE TRANSITION OF A COUNTY-OPERATED
PROGRAM TO A PRIVATE COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION
I
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATIONS)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
•
RECOMMENDATION:
ACCEPT report prepared by the Health Services Department on lessons learned in the transition of the
George Miller Centers to the private Association for Retarded Citizens.
BACKGROUND:
On June 28, 2005,the Board of Supervisors directed the County Administrator to report within six
months to the Internal Operations Committee on the process of the transition of County programs to
private entities, including any recommendations for improvement to the process for future transitions.
Since the model program transition—,the George Miller Centers—was substantially orchestrated by the
Health Services Department under the Board's guidance,the County Administrator requested the Health
Services Department to make the requested report.
On December 19, 2005,the Internal Operations Committee received the attached report from the Health
Services Department, which provides insight into what worked well and what can be improved should
the County ever again transfer programs to private agencies.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: r
i
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR COMMEND I OF BOARD COMMITTEE
:::_ PROVE
PROVE _OTHER
(ABSENT)
SIGNATURE(S):
GA E B. (J1Lkt3&<CHA1R MARK DeS ULNIER
ACTION OF BOARD ON V APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
UNANIMOUS(ABSENT �) AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE
AYES: NOES: SHOWN.
ABSENT: ABSTAIN:
ATTESTED: JANUARY 17,2006
CONTACT: JULIE ENEA(925)335-1077
JOHN SWEETEN,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
CC: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE STAFF
HEALTH SERVICES DIRECTOR
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
BY DEPUTY
-_� LWALKER,M.D. CONTRA COSTA
HE
HE ALTH TH SERVICES DIRECTOR T,-,
WENDEL BRuNNER,M.D. PUBLIC HEALTH
PUBLIC HEALTH DIRECTOR 597 Center Avenue,Suite 200
Martinez,California
CONTRA COSTA 94553-4669
PH 925 313-6712
HEALTH SERVICES FAx 925 313-6721
wbrunner@hsd.co.contra-
costa.ca.us
To: Internal Operations Committee Date: December 14, 2005
Gayle B. Uilkemal, District 2
Mark DeSaulnier,+District 4
Julie Enea, Deputy County Administrator
From: Wendel Brunner, MD Re: George Miller Centers Transition—
Director of Public Health Lessons Learned
The operations of all the Miller Centers programs has been successfully transferred to ARC
effective November 1, 2005. There has been no interruption of services to any Miller Centers
client.
The ARC has received the operating license for the Adult Program in Richmond, and expects to
obtain provisional licenses for the Early Intervention Program (Center-based nursery programs)
for both Richmond and Concord this month. The Adult Program in Concord and the After-
School Programs in Richmond and Concord are currently being operated by ARC staff under
the direction and oversight of Bill Sorrell and Contra Costa Health Services until ARC completes
the licensing process for both those programs. The ARC expects the Concord Adult Program
provisional license to be obtained shortly and the After-School provisional licenses by the end of
February 2006. At that point, Contra Costa Health Services will not be involved in any aspect of
the Miller Centers. Twenty-two months after initial discussions with ARC about transitioning the
Miller Centers programs, one lesson learned is that things take longer than one might expect.
Much of the success of the Miller Centers transition is the result of the formation and active
involvement of the Miller Centers Task Force, under the leadership of Gina Jennings, chair of
the Developmental Disabilities (DD) Council. The Miller Centers Task Force brought together
parents, staff, DD providers and advocates, the East Bay Regional Center, and representatives
of local elected officials to help(work through the complex issues of this transition and to keep all
parties moving forward. Witho l t the determination of the Miller Centers Task Force, and their
ability to bring the necessary parties to the table, many of the obstacles facing the transition
effort would have been insurmountable.
Parents and caregivers of Miller Centers clients experienced much anxiety during the transition,
but the greatest disruption was faced by the Miller Centers employees. We soon learned that
clear, honest, and frequent communication with the staff through the auspices of their union
representatives and the meet-and-confer process, as well as directly with the employees, was
the best way to mitigate an inherently difficult situation. Through that process, and working with
Health Services and County Human Resources, we were able to relocate approximately 50
displaced Miller Centers employees into other County positions. Given how difficult the situation
was for the Miller Centers staff; we needed to be very alert and responsive to indications either
r' Cl Contra Costa Community Substance Abuse Services D Contra Costa Emergency Medical Services O Contra Costa Environmental Health O Contra Costa Health Plan
0 Contra Costa Hazardous Materials Programs D Contra Costa Mental Health C Contra Costa Public Health D Contra Costa Regional Medical Center 0 Contra Costa Health CE
from employees or their union representatives that our communication was inadequate or
incomplete.
The clear direction from the Boa d that they wanted a successful conclusion to the transition
facilitated the County agencies working together to come up with creative and innovation
solutions to some very knotty bureaucratic problems. The collaborative efforts of County
agencies, as well as the George+Miller Centers Task Force, were essential to move past what
otherwise would have been intractable obstacles.
Finally, the Miller Centers transition points out just how precarious the system of services for the
developmentally disabled in California has become. Even a competent, well-run agency like
ARC, supported with substantial)County resources, is barely able to maintain quality programs
with the reimbursement available through the Regional Centers. The apparent epidemic of
autism in California and the country further threatens to overwhelm the fragile state DD system.
Health Services will continue to work with and support the Developmental Disabilities Council in
efforts to sustain adequate services for the existing developmentally disabled population and to
meet the growing challenge of the autism epidemic impacting our state and our County.
cc William Walker, MD, Director, Contra Costa Health Services
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