Contra Costa

Children and Families Commission

MINUTES

November 6, 2000

Item 1.0 Call to Order.

The meeting was called to order at 6:12 p.m.

Item 2.0 Roll Call.

Commissioners in Attendance:

TonyColn, John Cullen, Violet Smith, Kathleen Tabor, Dr. William Walker, Dr.Michael Zwerdling

Alternates in Attendance:

Ronda Garcia, Barbara Langsdale, Dr. Paula Moten-Tolson, LindaSmith, Maria Theresa Viramontes-Campbell

Item3.0 Public Comment on Implementation Plan.

Thisitem was on the agenda in error and was not discussed.

Item4.0 Consent Items.

Item 4.1 - Approve minutes for October 2, 2000 and October16, 2000 Meetings.

The Commission voted to approve the minutes for theOctober 2, 2000 and the October 16, 2000 meetings.

Item 4.2 - Acknowledge Monthly Financial Reports.

       Updateon Financial Management

Executive Director Blasingame reviewed the financialreports with the Commission.

A request was made tohave a future financial information presentation occurring mid fiscal year andat the end of fiscal year.

       Informationabout Yearly Audit

Executive DirectorBlasingame informed the Commission that a hearing will be held on theCommissions Annual Audit in December.

Item5.0 Old Business.

Item 5.1 - Update from Civic Engagement Committee.

       YearTwo Funding Proposal

Commissioner Smith informed the Commission that theCivic Engagement Committee submitted the Proposal for Civic Engagement Year 2funding. Civic Engagement CoordinatorTracy Irwin distributed a copy of the Proposal and reviewed it with theCommission. She informed the Commissionthat civic engagement community organizers will be hired part time to establishrelationships, do outreach, and gather information with the goal being that bysummer there will be four regional civic engagement advisory committeesestablished.

Item6.0 New Business.

Item 6.1 - Discussion and Approval for Release.

Commissioner Taborupdated the Commission on the work of the Implementation Committee. She reviewed the Projected Timeline forRelease of RFPs, RFQs, and RFAs. Shealso informed the Commission that the following applications have beenreleased: Family-Friendly CommunityGrants, Substance Abuse, and Child Care Availability and Accessibility Grants.

       ProfessionalDevelopment Quality Improvement Plan

The Commission voted to approve the release of theEarly Education Professional Development Quality Improvement Pilot Program RFPwith some editorial amendments.

       Tobacco Cessation

The Commission voted to approve the release of theTobacco Cessation Program RFP with some editorial amendments.

Public Comment

TheCommission received Public Comment.

Item 6.2 - Discussion and Approval of Roles andResponsibilities of Commission, Executive Director, and Staff.

Commissioner Cullen reviewed the roles andresponsibilities document. He requestedthat the Commission note that number 2 and number 5 have been revised and toreview the remainder of information.

Item 6.3 - Discussion and Approval of ExecutiveStructure and By-law Changes.

Commissioner Cullen reviewed the By-law draftchanges with the Commission. Herequested the Commission to note any changes or additions and forward commentsto the Executive Director.

Commission Tabor informed the Commission that theNominating Committee would be charged with proposing a slate for the December4, 2000 Commission meeting, which will be mailed out. The Commissioners will also receive a draft of the By-law Changesin order to approve the By-laws at the December meeting. The Commission may also move on adopting aslate at the December meeting.

Item 6.4 - Executive Directors Report.

Executive Director Blasingame informed theCommission of the following:

       ThePackard Foundation will be funding the Executive Directors Association for twoyears in order for the Association to have staff for the business operations ofthe Association. The Prop 10 TA Center functions will be moving to beingcontracted directly with the Association.

       Update on State Commission Activities

o      The State Commissionapproved and passed the matching funds for child care incentives. The match is 25% for large counties and 50%for small counties.

o      The Association had itsfirst item on the State Commissions agenda, which was funding for ruralcounties, who are spending 17-30% of their funding on administration. The Association presented a proposal for theState to fund them with a minimum of $125,000 for administrative purposes. This means they will be able to put themajority of their funding into programs.

o      The State Commissionapproved a $4 million / 4 year parent education research project. It will set standards for parenteducation.

o      Public Affairs CoordinatorGabriela Casteln has been working with the States Director of Communicationson the community communications piece of the states 90 million dollar mediabudget. Locally we would form regionalmedia committees to work on local media and communications. This will be discussed and voted on at thenext state meeting.

o      Brenda is activelyparticipating in the Conference Planning Committee for the annual Prop 10 /Commission / staff conference that will take place in San Diego during themonth of February.

o      The State Commission hasestablished a new process, which is to have staff bring information to them fordiscussion and then bring it back for further discussion and final decisions atthe next meeting.

       Meeting with Tri Valley Community Fund

The Tri Valley Community Fund serves Southern ContraCosta and Eastern Alameda County. TheFund is interested in partnering with the Commission on funding in this regionof the county. Further discussions willneed to occur on how this partnership can work for the Commission and theCommunity Fund. They are also pursuingthe same with the Alameda County Commission.

       General Administration Update

o      We are working on acquiring the office suitenext door to ours in order to expand our space.

o      Introduced Sean Casey,Evaluation and Research Manager.

Item6.5 - Discussion of Commission Open House and Holiday Dinner.

TheCommission agreed to a tentative date of January 22, 2000 to hold a dinner forCommissioners, Alternates, and Staff.Administrative Support Shawn Garcia will email the Commission in orderto determine the best time and location for the Dinner.

TheMeeting was adjourned at 8:02 pm.