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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 06081993 - IO.10 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS I.O.-10 SE.L. Contra ,.E FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE f Costa County May 24 1993 f DATE: Y r.SC V �K SUBJECT: MEETING WITH CHILD CARE TASK FORCE SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1 . ACCEPT this report from the Internal Operations Committee of our meeting with the Child Care Task Force on May 24, 1993 . 2 . ACKNOWLEDGE the action of the Child Care Task Force in sending letters to this County's legislative delegation urging that some $71 million in Federal Title IV-A funds which have been earned by the State by providing child development services to Title IV-A. eligible children be dedicated to child development services and not be diverted to other State General Fund uses. 3 . REQUEST County Counsel to advise the Board of Supervisors regarding what authority it has to prohibit smoking in child day care homes and centers inthe unincorporated area of the County during the hours of operation of such child day care homes and centers . 4 . JOIN the Child Care Task Force in writing to this County' s legislative delegation urging that the Legislature take whatever steps are necessary in order to prohibit smoking in child day care homes and centers during their hours of operation and AUTHORIZE the Chairman to sign such letters . 5 . REQUEST, the County Administrator to determine how the 1991-92 Transient Occupancy Tax funds which were to be dedicated to the Child Care Affordability Fund were spent and report his findings to the Child Care Task Force. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION O COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD E APPROVE OTH CF SUNNE WRIGHT McPEAK J F SMITH SIGNATURE(SI: ACTION OF BOARD ON mune-8, 1993 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED _X_ 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. ATTESTED Contact: PHIL BATCHL R,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF cc: See Page 3. SUPERVISO AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BY DEPUTY I.O.-10 6 . ACKNOWLEDGE the position of the Child Care Task Force that as soon as possible, preferably for the 1994-95 fiscal year, the funds from the Transient Occupancy Tax be dedicated again to the Child Care Affordability Fund. 7 . ACKNOWLEDGE the recommendation of the Child Care Task Force that the County develop a booklet on how an individual or organization can start a child care program in Contra Costa County. REQUEST the County Administrator, upon receiving an outline from the Child Care Task Force of the items which should be included in such a booklet, to work with appropriate department staff to prepare a mock-up of such a booklet for review and approval by the Child Care Task Force. 8 . ACKNOWLEDGE the position of the Child Care Task Force that, in regard to the question of continuing eligibility of a child and a family for child care, preference for all except teen- age parents should be given to the continuity of care so that once a family is eligible on thebasis of the age of a child, the family and all children remain eligible as long as any child remains eligible on the basis of age. Teen-age parents should be certified for only one year and should have to be recertified each year in order to avoid situations where a parent could be in his or her late 20 ' s or early 30 's and still qualify as a "teen-age" parent simply because the child is still eligible on the basis of age, thereby eliminating the possibility that additional teen-age parents will be able to obtain needed child care. BACKGROUND: Our Committee continues to provide liaison and oversight on behalf of the Board of Supervisors to the work of the Child Care Task Force. The above points summarize the significant actions taken by the Task Force at its meeting on May 24, 1993. In terms of recommendation #2 above, it was reported to the Task Force that there is $71 million of federal Title IV-A funds which were earned through the provision of child development services which some are trying to divert to assist in covering the State's deficit situation. The Task Force believes strongly that these funds should remain dedicated to child development programs . In regard to recommendations #3 and #4 above, there is some question regarding whether State licensing regulations prohibit smoking in a child day care home or day care center while children are present. The Task Force has asked whether the Board of Supervisors and city councils can, under the terms of their existing smoking control ordinances, prohibit smoking in such facilities . In terms of recommendation #5 above, the Task Force had conflicting information regarding where the Transient Occupancy Tax funds which were dedicated to the Child Care Affordability Fund were spent during the 1991-92 fiscal year. Frances Greene, Executive Director of the Pittsburg Preschool Coordinating Council, which was believed to have received some of these funds, denied that her program had ever received these funds . Thus we are asking that this matter be clarified for the Task Force. In terms of recommendation #6, while the Task Force recognizes the need for the Board of Supervisors to have diverted the Child Care Affordability Fund money for the 1992-93 fiscal year and perhaps the 1993-94 fiscal year to support essential contract services previously funded by the Social Services Department, the Task Force does feel strongly that as soon as possible these funds should be returned to their original purpose. The Task Force has noted the complexity of trying to determine what permits, fees, licenses, etc are required in order to operate a child care program in the unincorporated area of Contra Costa County or any of the cities. The requirements differ among jurisdictions and often involve multiple departments . As a result, -2- I .O.-10 as is reflected in recommendation #7, the Task Force would like to work with the County and each city to develop a booklet which would answer commonly asked questions about what the requirements are for establishing a child care facility in a particular jurisdiction. The Task Force has agreed that it will develop the outline of the questions which need to be answered and would like to then forward that outline to each jurisdiction to have answered and then prepared in a booklet format which could be readily available to those who are interested in operating a child care facility or program. As background to recommendation #8 above, the question of eligibility to child care services is one which has been discussed before and was discussed at this meeting with sharply divided opinions. The issue is between continuity of care, which guarantees eligibility to a family once eligibility is established but which in doing so reduces the number of children who can be served, versus restricting eligibility and requiring annual recertification, meaning that a given child may be made ineligible after only a year but that more children can be served, even if only for a relatively short period of time. Following an extended debate on this issue, there was a consensus that continuity of care was more important in most cases and that all children in a family should remain eligible for child care as long as any child remains eligible, with the exception of "teen-age" parents . We are scheduled to meet with the Task Force again on July 26, 1993 and. will report thereafter to the Board of Supervisors . cc: County Administrator Social Services Director Community Services Director Community Development Director County Counsel Child Care Task Force (Via CAO) -3-