Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 02142006 - C.65 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS = ` ` __ ,, Contra FROM: John Sweeten, County Administrator o aonm z Costa DATE: February 14, 2006 °sT---�oU�� County SUBJECT: Community Services Department Monthly Update owe SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION: ACCEPT monthly update on the operations of the Community Services Department. FISCAL IMPACT: No impact from this update. BACKGROUND: To enhance oversight of the Community Services Department the County Administrator is conducting monthly meetings with the department to receive updates on program issues and to plan and/or authorize actions that may be needed. To ensure they remain updated regarding the status of the program, the Board of Supervisors directed the County Administrator, or his designee, to provide them with a monthly status report. Attached is the regular monthly report on the operations of the Community Services Department. This report includes updates on the activities of the Policy Council, personnel issues, fiscal and audit reports and other programmatic issues. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: NO YES rIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE -----APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE (S): > ACTION OF BOA N APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED _e%6 0JhTER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: Contact: Dorothy Sansoe(5-1009) f 7 cc: Community Services Department ATTESTED County Administration JOHN SWEETEN,CLE OF THE BOARD OFSUPERVISORS BY: DEPUTY CONTRA COSTA COUNTY RECEIVED C"'. c...,. To: John Sweeten, County Administrator VOMTY DEPAiRT ENT SERVICES From: Joe Valentine, Executive Director FEB " 2 2006 Joe Valentine Subject: Monthly Report Executive Director Date: January 20, 2006 OFFICE OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Patricia Stroh,PhD Program Services Director I am submitting the following report to ensure ongoing communication with the County Administrator regarding all issues pertaining to the Head Start program and the Community Services Department(CSD). A. Policy Council 1. The monthly Head Start Policy Council meeting was held on Wednesday, January 18, 2006. The Policy Council Chair reviewed the Head Start and Early Head Start monthly fiscal reports with the group. I reported on several key program items, including preparation for our"Self-Assessment" and the recent letter we received from the Administration for Children and Families regarding the decision to hold grantees financially accountable for enrollments of less than 100% [see below]. 2. In December, 4 members of the Head Start Policy Council Executive Committee attended the National Head Start Association Conference in Washington, D.C. This experience helped them to build their advocacy skills and gain a deeper understanding of the national issues that affect Head Start. The Policy Council chair reported what the group learned to the Policy Council at their January 18 meeting. Highlights of the conference included learning more about shared governance and the roles each governing body plays, and speaking one-on-one with legislators. 3. The Male Involvement Subcommittee held its first meeting for the new school year in December. The members of this committee expressed strong enthusiasm and commitment to increasing the involvement of males in the daily activities of our centers and in the lives of our Head Start children. They plan to produce a large-scale mailing to raise the awareness of the need for male participation in the lives of children and to disseminate information about local resources that support men in the community. B. Personnel Report 1. The Department has hired, or is in the process of hiring, the following positions: Executive Secretary, Accountant III, Accountant Clerk, Personnel Services Assistant III, Information Systems Tech I, Intermediate Clerk for the IT Unit, Two (2) Assistant Managers for Head Start, Seven(7) Teachers and 12 Associate Teachers. The Department recently received letters of ". .; .� resignation from employees who held the following positions: Administrative Services Assistant III and Site Supervisor for the Crescent Park site. Two Teacher positions are vacant as a result of terminations. 2. Eight(8) employees are currently out on FMLA or LOA. Two (2) staff are out on workers compensation. !425 B cood,California 94520 g y so Lane Drive,Suite 260 Concord, 3. During the last several months, over 1,000 teacher recruitment flyers have Tel 925 646 5540 been circulated throughout the county to the local community colleges, Fax 925 646 5904 businesses and churches. Also, the Department participated in an on-site www.ceccsd.org John Sweeten Page 2 January 20,2006 recruitment drive on December 6, 2005 at the One-Stop Center in Pacheco. Ten people attended, and one person has since been hired as a Teacher Assistant Trainee. The Department will participate in another on-site recruitment drive on February 28, 2006 at RichmondWorks, and we are expecting a good turnout. 4. Unit negotiations continue. We have had two meetings with both the line Staff and Site Supervisors. They have placed a total of 14 issues on the table. Management has 5 proposals. 5. Management and labor have started the process of forming a Department Labor/Management Committee. We have hired a consultant from Interaction Associates to facilitate the process. One meeting has been held with key individuals from labor and management. A second meeting is scheduled for January 26, 2006. 6. Local One has filed 12 grievances at the 3 d, 4th, or 5t' steps. Hearings have been scheduled to be held during the months of January and February. 7. This week was our official Teacher Assistant Trainee (TAT) kickoff. In an effort to "grow our own," we have selected 30 TATs who will complete the 18-month program sponsored by CSD. The Department pays for tuition, parking, and books for the students and provides a Mentor-Teacher who works closely with the TAT throughout the 18-months. In return, the TAT signs an agreement to complete the 12 units required to become an Associate Teacher over the required 18 months. We are hoping to have at least 30 more each year. C. Fiscal and Audit Reports 1. On December 30, we received a letter from ACF Region IX Head Start, as did other programs in the region, informing us that their review of our Program Year 2005 Report indicated we had an"under-enrollment" of 117 children during the course of the July 1, 2004- June 30, 2005 Program Year. They have directed us to report an "un-obligated" balance at the end of the 2005 "fiscal year" (ending December 31, 2005). Because of the high level of teacher vacancies we had during the year, we have a sufficient level of funds to cover the balance. We do not anticipate this level of under-enrollment to re-occur. In the current program year, we've been able to achieve and maintain our enrollment levels closer to the 100%target. 2. The County Auditor-Controller is conducting a regular examination of the Department's fiscal practices for the period January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2005. The examination is in accordance with the County's Administrative Bulletin#212. D. Special Projects/Activities 1. I met with Sal Vaca, the Employment and Training Director for "RichmondWorks,"to request assistance in recruiting teachers for our West County sites which suffer from frequent staff vacancies. He was enthusiastic about partnering with us, and has agreed to host regular job fairs as well as do outreach to potential populations for whom our entry level positions might be of interest. John Sweeten Page 3 January 20,2006 2. I have agreed to let my name be put forth by the First Five Commission's Nominating Committee as their recommendation for Commission Chair for 2006. 3. The Department is exploring the possibility of partnering with an organization called the "Women's Initiative"to offer Self-Employment Workshops for parents in our program. We're surveying our parents to determine how many might be interested and whether we also need to offer the workshop in Spanish as well as English. 4. We successfully raised $1,153.63 in private and corporate "in-kind" donations to purchase books for our Holiday Book Drive. Along with the cash donations, we received book donations at our drop off locations and collected 529 books that were distributed to various centers throughout the county. 5. In an effort to provide as many resources to parents as possible, we have partnered with the following agencies: • Richmond One-Stop Center to provide resources and presentations at the parent meetings to inform West County parents about their services • West Contra Costa County Adult School, Childcare Council and WCCUSD State Preschool to provide a series of parenting classes in the evenings. The first class planned will be "Positive Discipline for Parents" and will be located at the Brookside site in February. • One-Stops throughout the county. We continue to have a staff member rotate to each One-Stop to provide resources and referrals to Head Start eligible families. 6. CSD staff are part of a collaboration with the Childcare Council and several other state-funded child development programs throughout the county to develop a county-wide central eligibility list for children. The vision, as mandated by the State Department of Education, will allow all agencies in the county to share one waiting list for childcare. Although the Childcare Council will host the list, all agencies will be able to draw down eligible children from the list to enroll in their program. 7. Program for Infant Toddler Caregivers (PITC): CSD has been selected to participate in a site based PITC training program. PITC is a collaboration between the California Department of Education and WestEd(educational training institute) and offers programs in California, nationally and internationally. The training will provide four hours of training out of the classroom every month for eight months. The trainers will offer training and technical assistance in the classroom of every participant before and after the out of classroom time. Participants may chose from three incentives that are offered upon successful completion of the program. These are: a cash incentive, program enhancement funds or academic units from Pacific Oaks. All of our staff selected academic units. Twenty-six CSD infant toddler teachers and site supervisors have made the commitment to participate in this training and look forward to it starting in February 2006. John Sweeten Page 4 January 20,2006 8. CSD reported to Community Care Licensing an allegation by a parent who later called the police to the site. No action was taken by the police. Cc: Pat Stroh, Program Services Director Policy Council Family &Human Services Committee Maria Fort, ACF