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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 03031987 - I.O.4 TO- BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FROM: Contra INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE Costa DATE: February 26, 19 87 County SUBJECT: Prevention Programs SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Authorize the Chair to send letters to all County department heads commending their efforts in the area of prevention services, encouraging their. present efforts, and requesting that they comment in their budget presentations to the Budget Committee what further efforts they can make during the 1987-88 fiscal year. 2 . Request the Health Services Director to report to our Committee on April 27, 1987 on the current programs being operated by the Health Services Department in the area of preventing teenage pregnancy and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) , including at least the following: A. What efforts are currently being made in this County to prevent teenage pregnancy and AIDS? B. What is the rate of teenage pregnancy and the rate of AIDS in this County compared with other jurisdictions in the Bay Area? C. What, in the opinion of the Health Services Director and his staff, are the causes of teenage pregnancy and what steps could be taken to reduce the incidence ' of teenage pregnancy? D. What are the costs of teenage pregnancy to the taxpayer and the community in general ' versus the cost of prevention efforts in this area? E. What are the projected costs of the AIDS epidemic in this County versus the cost of a prevention and public education program? F. How would the Health Services Director recommend spending additional funds for the prevention of teenage pregnancy and for the prevention of AIDS if the CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: _ YES SIGNATURE: _ RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR X RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE X APPRO)/E OTHER lag SIGNATURE(S1. Nan .y Fanden Tom Torlakson t� p ACTION OF BOARD ON March 3, 1987 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE X 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. cc: County Administrator ATTESTED � rJ Department Heads (via CAO) PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BYpdt-� ,DEPUTY M382/7-83 b. Page 2 F. ( continued) Department were given dedicated funds in $50,000 increments between $50, 000 and $250,000 for the 1987-88 fiscal year, and what are the Director' s anticipated long-term results from such an investment of funds? 3 . Request the Health Services Director, in reporting to our Committee on April 27, 1987, to suggest areas in which funds could be transferred within his budget to provide more dedicated funds for prevention programs, particularly from the existing contract for methadone programs. 4 . Refer this report and all materials to the Human Services Advisory Commission and ask that they report back to the Internal Operations Committee with their recommendations and comments. BACKGROUND: During Budget Committee hearings last summer, a request was made that each County department compile all of the prevention programs being operated by the department. This has been done and was presented to the Board on January 27, 1987 . The report was referred to our Committee. We reviewed the report on February 23, 1987 . We were impressed with the number of prevention activities which are being carried on. We were also troubled by a theme which seemed to run through the reports from all the departments: prevention is important and effective, but is the first thing we have to eliminate in times when money to operate our primary intervention programs runs short. We believe strongly that prevention programs, particularly in the human services area, need more support. We are particularly troubled by the impact caused by teenage pregnancy, both in personal tragedy and in the expenditure of public funds. Taken together, with the growing crisis presented by the AIDS epidemic, we see a tremendous need for public education to prevent the later problems presented to the health, welfare and criminal justice systems by teenage pregnancies. Teenage pregnancy appears to impact the public health, hospital, welfare, probation and Sheriff ' s budgets whereas prevention of each such pregnancy could save money in each of those budgets and prevent the associated personal tragedy which is too often associated with teenage pregnancy and parenthood. We have, therefore, made the above recommendations in an effort to see what can be done to increase our prevention effort specifically in the area of preventing teenage pregnancy and AIDS. At the same time, we want to ask each department head to comment in his or her budget presentation on the need for additional prevention efforts, and to suggest areas where money might be diverted to support prevention programs.