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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 06211988 - S.5 \ ..�". TO: 4_ � � ]BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FROM: �,• . Contra Supervisor Tom Torlakson M � r Costa k 41 A.�Y. DATE: Introduced June 14, 1988 for County Board Action on June 21, 1988 SUBJECT: LICENSED CHILD CARE FACILITIES, ITS IMPACTS ON THE SCHOOLS r N flS FOR FOSTER PARENT PROGRAM SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) 8c BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDED ACTION: Refer to the Internal Operations Committee the matter of how licensed child care facilities for children with special physical and education needs are impacting the east county school districts and the need to address housing needs of our foster care program. Direct the Community Development Department, Social Service .Department and the Housing Authority to analyze the ideas outlined below and provide a report for consideration by the Internal Operations Committee. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Concerns were recently expressed to me by a number of school district officials about the impacts of increasing number of licensed child care facilities in East County. The number of children in foster care homes with physical and mental handicaps is greatly increasing. I had a very productive and informative meeting on June 9, 1988, with representatives of the east county school districts, the county Social Services Department, the State Community Care Licensing Department, and the State Regional Center, regarding licensed child care facilities impacts on school districts in East Contra Costa County and on our Social Services Department and foster child care system. As part of these discussions, I was reminded again of how critically short we are in having foster parent positions and foster parent homes available for children with special physical and educational needs. I believe the housing part of this situation needs to be addressed more directly and more aggressively than we as a county have addressed it in the past. One of the major reasons the school districts are being impacted in East County is because San Francisco and other higher cost housing areas are referring clients to areas where housing is more affordable and placement is more economical. There is probably also a close correlation between the more affordable housing of East County with foster parents looking for adequate facilities within their income means. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: x YES SIGNATURE: I #Y�j RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S) ACTION OF BOARD ON June 21, 1988 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ) I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AYES: NOES: AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN ABSENT: ABSTAIN: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: Internal Operations ATTESTED all Mr? County Administrator hil Batchelor, Clerk of the Board of Community Development $Upervisomand CoU17tyAdfi inistraWr Social Services Housing Authority �� M382/7-83 BY Oax-V-4' DEPUTY Licensed Child Care Facilities Page TWO I would like to refer the following to the Community Development Department, the Social Services Department and the Housing Authority to analyze for a report to our Internal Operations Committee: 1. Develop specific language on foster care housing needs for the Housing Element of our General Plan. 2. Investigate the possibility of the Social .Services Department applying for Community Housing Developing Block Grant funds for housing rehabilitation projects--to be made available to current and prospective foster parents but cannot afford the costs of rehabilitating their homes or expanding their homes for handicapped foster children. 3 . Investigate the possibility of the Social Services Department and the Community Development Department, in conjunction with the Housing Authority, jointly applying to the Community Housing and Development Block Grant and other sources for funds to acquire homes to rent to prospective foster parents. If we develop an inventory of two to three houses and "revolve" reduced rental payments we would collect back into a home acquisition fund, we might be able to develop an inventory of an additional ten to twelve houses for foster parents over the next ten years. In other words, let' s find a way to buy homes that we could rent to foster parents and use the rents to buy additional homes for this purpose. 4. Direct the Housing Authority to explore ways to incorporate dedicated housing units at subsidized or reduced purchase or rental levels for foster parents. The Housing Authority, in recent years, has done great things in conjunction with the Community Development Department in providing a certain percentage of new development projects for low-income persons. I am suggesting that we have a policy to designate a certain percentage of our low-income housing units that we participate in developing to foster home placement needs. 5. Also explore the availability of HUD Section 202 funds that have been set aside for handicapped housing needs. 6. Explore ways that the redevelopment agencies can work with the guidance of Board policy in this area to develop more affordable housing opportunities for foster parents with particular consideration towards spreading the "other fiscal impacts" of handicapped foster children throughout the county equitably. A more detailed report on the fiscal impacts on our social service system and our county' s school districts will be forthcoming.