| MINUTES: February 4, 2002
Item 1.0 – Call to Order.
The meeting was called to order at 6:14 p.m. Item 2.0 – Roll Call.
Commissioners in Attendance:
Maria Theresa Viramontes-Campbell, Dr. Michael Zwerdling, Cindy Wheeler, Violet Smith, Dr. Paula Moten-Tolson, Mark De Saulnier for John Gioia, Dr. William Walker, Tony Colón, John Cullen
Alternates in Attendance:
Barbara Langsdale, Mary Foran, Pat Stroh Item 3.0 – Consent Items. Item 3.1- Approve minutes for January 7, 2002 meeting.
A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes for the January 7, 2002 meeting. Commissioner Viramontes-Campbell abstained from voting because she was not present at the January meeting. The Commission voted to approve the minutes for the January 7, 2002 meeting.
Item 3.2 - Review, Discuss and Acknowledge Financial Reports for December 2001.
Chairman Cullen reviewed the Financial Reports with the Commission. Item 3.3 - Executive Committee Report.
Chairman Cullen informed the Commission that the following items were discussed:
a) Received an update regarding the Home Visiting #2 study session. Staff will develop a complete services and allocation plan utilizing the MRMA process which will be brought forth to the Commission for approval in April. b) Received an update on the implementation of the substance abuse strategy. A follow-up progress report will be presented to the Commission in May or June. c) Received an update on the composition of the evaluation team. Staff will make a contract change that will change the role of Children and Families Futures to a more specified evaluation piece and bring on Harder-Company as the primary evaluator on the project. d) Bylaws changes were discussed. Staff will develop a draft of the known changes for the February Commission meeting for review and for final vote in March. e) Reviewed and discussed the draft of the Personnel Policies. Changes were recommended and county counsel will review prior to adoption by the Commission. f) Discussed the evaluation of the Executive Director, which will be presented to the full Commission in March. This evaluation time period is for six-months ending January 2002. The purpose of having the evaluation at this time is that it will allow the Committee to begin an annual evaluation cycle at the beginning of each calendar year. g) Received a brief update on statewide activities including the status of Prop 10 funds and the Governor’s budget; the Association’s Panel presentation before the State Commission; status of the Executive Director position for the Association; and the newly elected Vice Chair of the Association, Brenda Blasingame. h) Developed the agenda for the February 4, 2002 Commission meeting. A motion was made and seconded to approve Item 3.0 – Consent Items. The Commission voted to approve the Consent Items. Item 4.0 - Executive Director’s Report.
Brenda Blasingame reported the following: - Fran Biderman has been hired as a contract employee to begin the foundation work and infrastructure building for the CCKids Learning Center. This is the one strategy the Commission voted to keep in house to examine training and cross training.
- Rita Alfred has been hired as the Home Visiting Community Program Specialist.
- The Statewide Conference will be held in San Diego March 20-22, 2002. For Commissioners who are not able to attend all three days, it is recommended that they attend the March 20 presentation by Phil Eisenberg on the budget, and the presentation on the Policy Platform for the California Children and Families Association.
- The Commission/Staff dinner has been schedule for February 21, 2002. This is the annual social event for the Commission and Staff. Dinner will begin at 6:00 p.m.
- The updated Workplan is included in the packet.
- Update on East Bay Community Foundation presentation. Several months ago Mike Howe of the East Bay Community Foundation gave a presentation to the Commission regarding the funding the Foundation had received from the Endowment and their interest in working with the Contra Costa and Alameda Commissions on developing a social marketing campaign. This process is still being defined and the Commission will be updated when the project is further along.
- Statewide Activities Update:
- Development of a policy platform for the Children and Families Association. The Association is considering items to take leadership on. The Association presented a policy panel for the State Commission which addresses four issues: continued funding of small counties; requesting the state to invest in the building of a family support infrastructure throughout the state; to invest in the development and infrastructure of ‘211’ with a zero to five capacity; and a pilot project working with migrant families which can be used as a model by other county commissions.
- The Association held elections in January 2002. Brenda Blasingame was the previous chair of the urban caucus and has been elected as the
Vice President of the Association.
- There are no updates on the state budget at this point. The May revise will most likely be the next time activity occurs.
Item 5.0 - Committee and Program Updates. Item 5.1 – Program and Evaluation Committee.
a) General Committee Update
Commission Member Viramontes-Campbell informed the Commission that a special meeting was held on the home visiting strategy.
b) Home Visiting Strategy
Brenda Blasingame reported the following: A home visiting study session was held and the group was asked to look at various components of the Commission’s home visiting strategy such as service area and defining allocations. The group considered depth [services focused in certain areas] vs. breadth [disbursement of Commission dollars] of services. The Commission’s next vote on the Home Visiting Strategy will be to determine the allocation of funding. The group agreed upon the following: - Home visiting would be from the prenatal stage to age three. This is a change from the Strategic Plan.
- To meet families at their level of need it was determined that the following is required:
- Non-duplication of services
- A common intake form to create the referrals in the system
- The following areas need to be considered:
- Service levels
- Capacity building
- Maximizing dollars
- Building off what exists
- Requirement of baseline data
A Meet to Reach Mutual Agreement (MRMA) process will bring stakeholders to the table to develop a plan to implement the Commission’s Home Visiting Strategy. The group will look at the gaps in the system and make a mutual decision. The group will submit their report to the Program and Evaluation Committee for review. The report will then be brought forth to the Commission. Barbara McCullough, The Perinatal Council, in public comment asked how the family resource centers and home visiting strategy link. Brenda Blasingame stated that it is the intention of the Commission to have family resource centers, home visiting, and early childhood mental health connected. The stakeholders will be asked to make a recommendation to the Commission as to how they will be linked. Mary Kay Miller, Employment and Human Service Dept. Staff, in public comment asked about the common intake form. Brenda Blasingame stated that the Commission would request the use of a common intake form. d) Update on Family Friendly Community Grants Sean Casey reported the following: The Commission recently approved Family Friendly Community Grants and staff received three requests for playground equipment. After site visits were made to all three it was determined that two sites did not meet the criteria established by the Commission that they be fully accessible to people at all times and therefore, will not be funded. The first of the two not funded is a proposed site located on the Antioch fairgrounds and is locked except from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and open only on Saturdays if there is an event at the fairgrounds. The second is a site located on church property in the rear of the church and accessible only to those who would be at the church and a public park with playground equipment is located within two blocks of the church. The third proposed site that was granted is located at a school in Richmond, which has an open yard, that is accessible at all times, except for when school is in session. Included in the packet is a new release schedule for the Family Friendly Community Grants. In order to assist applicants with the process and to be clear and educate people about the Commission’s criteria, there will be mandatory applicants information conferences held. There will also be an opportunity for applicants to meet with a grant writer to assist with completing the application. The application has been modified to include specific categories such as playgrounds, safety, community events, etc. and will include a list of criteria for each category in order to assist applicants in determining their eligibility. Public Comment.
Marlene Mirabella, of Miss Marlene’s Daycare, stated that she is a recipient of the Family Friendly Community Grant and the idea for a checklist on the application is a great idea and will be very helpful for applicants. d) Update on Grantee activities The Commission received updates from Ready, Set, Read grantees Dee Dee Jenson and Marlene Mirabella. Following the presentation there was an opportunity for Commission members to ask questions of the grantees. The Commission requested that staff make re-application a simpler process for those projects that reapply for funding. Brenda Blasingame stated that staff could make it easier for re-application for those grantees that would like to replicate their projects.
e) Sustainability Plan Draft Chairman Cullen informed the Commission that staff would be presenting the sustainability plan concept. The Commission will be asked to vote on a sustainability plan at the March retreat. Commissioner Viramontes-Campbell stated that the sustainability plan draft includes strategy roll out over ten years. If the Commission continues to fund these great programs, at the level in the Strategic Plan, the Commission will find itself needing to spend more that it receives in revenue. She thanked the Commissioners for their wisdom in maintaining a sustainability fund. Treasurer Zwerdling stated that after discussing this issue the Finance and Investment Committee is very anxious to be able to sustain the Commission’s funding. The Commission will need to reevaluate the plan periodically. The dollars in the sustainability fund and the interest accrued will allow the Commission at least ten years of funding. Brenda Blasingame stated the fact that the Commission has moved slower in rolling out the Strategic Plan, and the fact that the Commission has taken 18 months to roll out initial funding puts the Commission in a good position to be able to make this decision. Chairman Cullen stated that the reason the Commission is discussing this issue is because programs funded will have rising costs and tax dollars will decline over time. The Commission must set up a plan that allows funding to continue at a sustainable level. He then reviewed the sustainability plan draft with the Commission. Sean Casey then reviewed the estimated sample budget with the Commission. The Commission then held a discussion with staff. At the next Program and Evaluation Committee meeting, recommendations for program funding for sustainability will be reviewed and discussed and forwarded to the Commission for consideration at the March retreat. Item 5.3 - Finance Investment Committee.
Commissioner Zwerdling reviewed the monthly financial reports with the Commission. Item 6.0 - Outline and discuss the March 8-9, 2002 Retreat Agenda.
Brenda Blasingame stated that the Commission set the retreat for one and one-half days, Friday, March 8, 2002 from 1-5 pm, and Saturday, March 9, 2002 from 9 am –5 pm at the Concord Hilton.
A portion of the retreat will be facilitated by Family Support California. The Commission will discuss the sustainability plan, which will include revisiting the strategic plan, and make a final decision regarding family resource centers. The Commission needs to decide if a meeting will be held on March 4, 2002 and if the retreat should be only one full day. Commissioners requested that staff give an updated presentation on the original strategies. Brenda Blasingame stated that if the Commission moves to not hold a March meeting, other than the retreat, the minutes, bylaws, and financials will need to be discussed at the retreat. Vice Chair Moten-Tolson suggested that the Commission suspend the March meeting, and hold a one-day retreat on Saturday, March 9, 2002. The Commission members agreed to hold a one-day retreat, Saturday, March 9, 2002 and to cancel the March 4, 2002 Commission meeting. The Commission requested David Barkan facilitate a portion of the retreat. Item 7.0 – Bylaws Change.
Chairman Cullen stated that suggested Bylaws changes are enclosed. The Commission will vote on changes at the March retreat. Brenda Blasingame stated that one of the Bylaws changes being suggested is to add a Public Affairs Committee. Another change to the Bylaws would allow for Alternate Commissioners to chair committees. In the Civic Engagement section of the Bylaws, a paragraph needs to be added that would allow the committee to have a vice chair position, and for that position to be elected from the community members of the committee. Item 8.0 – Communications.
The Commission acknowledged receipt of communications. Item 8.0 – Adjourn.
The meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. |