MINUTES: October 7, 2002
6:00 pm
Boys and Girls Club
1001 Stoneman Avenue, Pittsburg, CA

Item 1.0 – Call to Order.
The meeting was called to order at 6:20 p.m.

Item 2.0 – Roll Call.
Commissioners in attendance:
Susan Wittenberg for Maria Theresa Viramontes-Campbell, Dr. Michael Zwerdling, Cindy Wheeler, Violet Smith, Dr. Paula Moten-Tolson, Supervisor John Gioia, Dr. William Walker, Tony Colón, John Cullen

Alternates in attendance:
Ronda Garcia, Barbara Langsdale, Mary Foran, Danna Fabella

Item 3.0 – Consent Items.

Item 3.1- Approve minutes for September 9, 2002 meeting.

Item 3.2 - Review, Discuss and Acknowledge Preliminary Financial Reports for July and August 2002.

Item 3.3 - Executive Committee Report.
Chairman Cullen informed the Commission that the following items were discussed:

• Reviewed and discussed the agency Workplan. The Executive Committee will receive a quarterly update. Adjustments to the Workplan will be made in the spring for the next fiscal year.
  

• Received an update on the FY 01-02 Audit process. Staff will set up a meeting with Finance and Investment Committee and the independent auditor to review audit findings.
  
  
• Discussed terms of service for committee chair positions. Committee review and membership decisions will be aligned with the election of new officers on a calendar-year basis. Commission members will be asked to state their interest in committee membership for the year.
  

• Discussed Commission member attendance and participation. The Executive Committee will review records of attendance twice yearly.
  
  
• Discussed and developed the Agenda for the October Commission meeting.
  
  
• Discussed and developed the framework for the October budget special retreat meeting. The meeting will include addressing the possible impact on Commission strategies; discussion and considerations for the Commission; and discussion of what community process will be used. The Program and Evaluation Committee will also discuss the framework for the retreat at their next meeting.
  

A motion was made and seconded to approve Item 3.0-Consent Items.

The Commission voted and approved the stated motion.

Item 4.0 - Executive Director’s Report.
Brenda Blasingame gave the following report:

• October Children & Families Association meeting
  The Association meeting will take place in Long Beach. The afternoon will be dedicated to Commissioners and information on budget issues and advocacy.
  
  
• Ready, Set, Read
  Four Ready Set Read events will be taking place throughout the county with Clifford the big red dog attending each event. Backpacks and books will be given out at the events. Ready, Set, Read applications are due October 15, 2002.
  
  
• West County Regional Group Super Saturday
  The west county regional group is sponsoring Super Saturday on October 12 in Richmond. There will be a variety of booths and events for children and families.
  
  
• Included in the packet is the Workplan, which is a broad based look at the work of the staff.
  
  
• The Program and Evaluation Committee meeting scheduled for October 9 has been cancelled.
  
  
• The Early Childhood Education Think Tank is scheduled for October 8 at the Holiday Inn, Concord. CCTV will be taping the Think Tank, which will air on CCTV later this month.
  
  
• October 21,2002 special retreat meeting on budget issues
  The special meeting is scheduled for 9 am - 2 pm at the Hilton Concord. David Barkan will assist in the facilitation of the meeting. Presenters will include: State Level, Christian Griffiths, Assembly Budget Project; Local Level, Dorothy Sansoe, Contra Costa County Administrator’s Office; a representative from the San Francisco Children & Families Commission. Each presenter will be given twenty minutes, then a full group discussion will be held.
  
  
• Commissioners requested staff attempt to:
  • Obtain a presenter from the California Dept. of Finance, Betty Yee and Scott Carney were suggested as possible presenters.
  • Allow short presentations from Health Services, Employment and Human Service, and Community Services departments on how budget cuts will affect their departments.
  • Invite John Sweeten, Contra Costa County Administrator to the meeting.
    

Item 5.0 - Committee and Program Updates.

Item 5.1– Program and Evaluation Committee.
Lisa Johnson stated that in an attempt to align contracts within the fiscal year in which they are awarded, staff and the Program and Evaluation Committee recommend granting one cycle of Family Friendly Community Grants.

a. Family Friendly Community Grants

Consider the following recommendation: To approve moving the Family Friendly Community Grant funding cycle from twice a year to once a year for FY 02-03 with an evaluation of the process in March by the Program and Evaluation Committee.

Commissioner Smith requested the language for the motion be changed to read:

To approve moving the Family Friendly Community Grant funding cycle from twice a year to once a year for FY 02-03 with an evaluation of the process in March by the Program and Evaluation Committee.

A motion was made and seconded to approve moving the Family Friendly Community Grant funding cycle from twice a year to once a year for FY 02-03 with an evaluation of the process by March by the Program and Evaluation Committee.

The Commission voted and approved the stated motion.

b. Update on Grantee activities

The Commission received updates from Family Friendly Community Grant recipients Gearline Duplessis and Virginia Bowman.

Public Comment
The Commission received no public comment.

Item 5.2 – Presentation by the Commission evaluation team on the Commission’s Implementation Phase covering FY 00-01 and FY 01-02.
The Commission received a presentation from CS&O and Harder Associates.

Following the presentation, the Commission held a question and answer session.

Item 5.3 – Commission Events Calendar.
The Commission received the most recent events calendar.

Item 6.0 – Communications.
The Commission received no communications.

Item 7.0 – Adjourn.
The meeting adjourned at 7:48 p.m.