Commission Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2008 1000 San Leandro Blvd. 9:00 AM 11:30 AM Third Floor Conference Room Commissioners Present: Chair: Pamela Simms-Mackey M.D., Keith Carson, Marge Deichman, Gilda Gonzales, Rosemary Obeid, Deborah Roderick Stark, Albert Wang, M.D. Staff Present: Mark Friedman, Janis Burger, Deborrah Bremond, Elizabeth Ford, Rebecca Gebhart, Teddy Milder, Christine Hom Chair Simms-Mackey called the meeting to order at 9:03am. 1. Public Comment Chair Simms-Mackey reminded the public to complete public comment cards if they wished to address the Commission. There was no Public Comment. ACTION ITEMS 2. Approval of minutes from December 13, 2007 Board Action: The Commission approved the minutes from December 13, 2007 upon motion by Commissioner Obeid, seconded by Commissioner Deichman and unanimously carried (6 in favor, 0 opposed, 0 abstentions). INFRASTRUCTURE 3. Contract Authorizations Rebecca Gebhart, Director of Finance and Administration presented the contract authorizations to the Commission. Children s Hospital & Research Center at Oakland (CHRCO) - approve a $400,000 sole source contract for FY 2007-09 Fremont Unified approve a $40,000 contract for FY 2007-09 Hayward Unified approve a $140,000 contract for FY 2007-09 Livermore Valley Joint Unified approve a $40,000 contract for FY 2007-09 Oakland Unified approve a $140,000 contract for FY 2007-09 San Lorenzo Unified approve a $140,000 contract for FY 2007-09
Commissioner Roderick Stark stated that the aggregate contract amount for Children s Hospital & Research Center at Oakland (CHRCO) appeared incorrect. Ms. Gebhart stated that the aggregate contract amount was incorrect in the last contract authorization but was corrected in this document. Board Action: The Commission approved a $400,000 sole source contract for Children s Hospital & Research Center at Oakland upon motion by Commissioner Obeid, seconded by Commissioner Deichman and unanimously carried with Chair Simms- Mackey abstaining from the vote (5 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention). Board Action: The Commission approved contracts for Fremont Unified ($40,000), Hayward Unified ($140,000), Livermore Valley Joint Unified ($40,000), Oakland Unified ($140,000) and San Lorenzo Unified ($140,000) upon motion by Commissioner Wang, seconded by Commissioner Obeid and unanimously (6 in favor, 0 opposed, 0 abstention). 4. 2007-2008 Second Quarter Financial Report Commissioner Carson arrived at the meeting. Ms. Gebhart presented the 2007-08 Second Quarter Financial Report to the Commission. Revenue: Expenses: Revenue and available funds are $7,256,595, or 26.7% of the budgeted figure of $27,153,616. Only four of six months of tobacco tax revenue has been received to date Revenue from the Alameda County Child Care Planning Council for AB 212 funds ($927,141) is typically received later in the fiscal year We have received only one payment related to the Health Care for All grant and have yet to receive budgeted payments from the First 5 California School Readiness and CARES grants Medical Administrative Activities (MAA) and Title 4-E payments have exceeded the budget goals for the year Investment revenue is lower than the 50% anticipated due to the reversal of the accrual explained in the Second Quarter Investment Report Expenses are $9,022,596 on a total budget of $27,153,616, or 33.23% spent Salaries and benefits are under projections because the report does not include the final pay period of 2007, salaries are budgeted at the top of the scale thus creating budget savings in some positions and during the first six months of 2007-08, six positions were unfilled creating budget savings Contract and grant payments are 32.02% spent.
Training expenses and general expenses are underspent. Training expenses in the areas of postage and supplies are being charged to general expenses; coding errors will be corrected in the 3rd Quarter Financial Report AGENDA ITEM 2 Commissioner Obeid asked if this is the first year that money could be used from the Sustainability Fund. Ms. Gebhart responded that in past years First 5 projected to use funds from the Sustainability Fund, but due to a combination of increased revenue and underspending, the agency has not needed to. However, if all of the contractors spend 100% of their contract amounts, then the agency will use funds from the Sustainability Fund. Mr. Friedman stated that the agency has budgeted to use the Sustainability Fund as detailed in the Long Range Financial Plan as the tobacco tax declines. Commissioner Gonzales asked how successful the agency has been with grants and philanthropic activity. Ms.Gebhart stated that the agency s grants this year are the same as last year and that the major source of funding is First 5 California and other entities such as the Packard Foundation. Ms. Janis Burger, Deputy Director stated that First 5 also supports grantees and contractors in seeking other funding to sustain their programs. Mr. Friedman added that Ms. Burger and Ms. Bremond spearheaded an effort to receive a grant from the California Endowment for work around the Mental Health Services Act and to expand the activity state-wide. 5. 2007-2008 Second Quarter Investment Report Ms. Gebhart presented the 2007-2008 Second Quarter Investment Report to the Commission. There has been an increase in portfolio value of $614,903 in the last quarter The 2006-07 Accrual of $389,989 was reversed this fiscal year so that the funds are not counted twice Investment fees include the final payments of the three money managers (Brown Brothers Harriman, Holland Capital Management, and RNC Genter Capital Management), the first payments of the two new money managers (MBIA and Chandler) and the account custodian (Union Bank of California). Total fees paid during this period were $31,056 Yield Benchmarks include the Alameda County Treasury Investment Pool, Local Agency Investment Fund and the Lehman 1-5 Year Government Credit Index Total investment earnings for the second quarter are $603,255 net of fees Portfolio value as of 12/31/07 is $36,782,065 Commissioner Carson asked for a description of the fee structure. Ms. Gebhart responded that fees are based on the total portfolio under management and that fees from MBIA and Chandler are significantly less than those of the three previous money managers. Commissioner Carson asked how First 5 communicates with the money
managers. Ms. Patricia Zapanta, Controller, stated that every time a money manager makes a significant investment, she receives a call from them informing her of the transaction. She also stated that the money managers provide First 5 with documentation of all of the transactions. 6. 2007-2008 Budget Modification Ms. Gebhart walked the Commission through the 2007-08 Budget Modification Recommendation. The operating budget for FY 2007-08 was approved in May 2007 as the first year of the two-year, 2007-09 budget. Typically, First 5 adjusts its budget midway through each fiscal year to address changes in revenue that have occurred, or changes in expenditures that have been authorized by the Commission. Revenue and Available Funds: The approved 2007-08 budget projects revenue and restricted carry over funding totaling $27,153,616. The proposed budget modification changes this amount to $27,962,354, an increase of $808,738 AB212 grant from the Alameda County Child Care Planning Council increased by $1,082,141 to $2,009,141 Contract with Alameda Alliance for Health increased from $168,750 to $218,750 If all funds are received and disbursed according to the budget, First 5 would need to use $4,082,147 to cover expenses from available funds and revenue. This amount decreased due to the decreases in the Child Development Corps expense projections Expenses: Agency salaries and benefits will be budgeted based on actual salaries including the 3% Cost of Living Adjustment instead of budgeting salaries at the top of the scale Total increase in Personnel is $186,047 Agency space rental charge of $25,000, which was based on First 5 s share of building operating costs against a base year assessment In the Family Support Services budget, the primary change is the consolidation of the Pediatric Strategies program budget in to the Healthy Steps program. The absorption of these costs increases the Healthy Steps budget by approximately $181,123 In the Early Care & Education budget, the net increase to the Contracts/Grants/Professional Services area is $385,466; most of the items are shifts and increases in contracts that have been authorized by the Commission, as noted in the recommendation Child Development Corps stipends reduced from $1,290,625 to $800,000 based on actual program performance with lower than anticipated stipend payments
In the Support Strategies budget, the Pediatric Strategies program costs were eliminated and Child Development program training costs were added equaling a decrease of $85,163 The only changes in the Community Grants and Evaluation & Technology budgets are the agency wide changes referenced in the recommendation In the Administration budget, two Supplies line items (one in Trainings and one in General Supplies) was consolidated into one Supplies line item located in Training/Administration. Funds from the Sustainability Fund are projected to decrease by $285,628. Commissioner Deichman asked for Ms. Deborah Bremond, Director of Family Support Services to speak to the work of the mental health contractors. Ms. Bremond responded that First 5 has funded mental health programs for six years to develop standards of practice in the delivery of mental health consultation to child care. First 5 hopes to receive funds from the Mental Health Services Act to supplement and leverage the funds that are currently being spent. Ms. Bremond also said that First 5 is looking at strategies to serve family child care providers where most Alameda county children receive care. Commissioner Carson asked what travel expenses consist of. Ms. Gebhart responded that most travel expenses occur in the Family Support Services division for direct service providers who do home visiting as part of their work. Other travel costs are for staff who attends meetings or professional development conferences. Chair Simms-Mackey stated the 2007-08 budget modification recommendation was discussed in depth by the Executive Committee. Board Action: The Commission approved the 2007-08 Budget Modification Recommendation upon motion by Commissioner Roderick Stark, seconded by Commissioner Gonzales and unanimously carried (7 in favor, 0 opposed, 0 abstentions). PROGRAM 7. 2006-2007 Annual Report Presentation, Part 2 Teddy Milder, Director of Evaluation & Technology presented the Annual Report to the Commission. She acknowledged Evaluation and Technology staff for their efforts in compiling and analyzing the data. She also stated that diversity and race/ethnicity information was embedded in the report and that a presentation on the Postpartum Home Visiting Program was included. The Annual Report was presented as follows: Goal 2, Outcome 2E: Children enter kindergarten ready for school
Commissioner Gonzales asked how schools are identified other than considering Academic Performance Index (API) scores to receive services. Erin Freschi, School Readiness Program Administrator, stated that the First 5 State grant requires us to serve schools with low API scores and that schools that have no support system available are typically selected. First 5 also works with District Administrators to determine which sites are committed to implementing and sustaining new services. Ms. Freschi also stated that First 5 has also developed county wide activities to provide support potentially to every school and create some level of systems change. Commissioner Gonzales asked about the ethnic breakdown of Latino children being served and whether this accounted for monolingual or bilingual children. Ms. Freschi responded that children who receive services are not functioning bilingual but are mostly monolingual which is why a bilingual staff person is required to be on site. Goal 3, Outcome 3A:Increased support for breastfeeding mothers Goal 3, Outcome 3B: Children are healthy, well-nourished and receive preventive and on-going health & dental care from primary providers Ms. Bremond presented on the Postpartum Home Visiting Program and Anna Gruver, Family Support Services Administrator presented on lessons learned and the redesigned model. Postpartum Home Visiting Program launched in October 2000; First 5 contracted with Alameda County and City of Berkeley Public Health Nurses (PHNs) to provide visits Under this model: home visits occurred within 48-72 hours post hospital discharge to address medical issues; PHNs provide holistic family services including lactation support, resources and anticipatory guidance; Specialty Provider Team available for consultation, support and joint home visits; Interpretation services available to meet linguistic and cultural needs Lessons learned include a dedicated model is critical to assure quality services and a best practices model including beginning services prenatally if possible, providing at least one year of services for high risk families and providing ongoing relationship-based supervision and support Postpartum Home Visiting re-designed model is the result of a two year collaborative process with Alameda County Public Health Nursing (ACPHN) including a joint decision to not renew the contract with ACPHN and release an RFP for contractors to implement the re-designed model Commissioner Gonzales commended the staff s work on the lessons learned and the re-design of the program. Commissioner Deichman stated that to achieve systems change, it is important to serve impoverished families. Goal 4, Outcome 4A: Increased sharing of resources & ability to leverage blended funding
Goal 4, Outcome 4B: A common set of results, indicators and performance measures across participating ECC agencies Goal 4, Outcome 4C: Contractor Trainings Goal 4, Outcome 4D: Increased access to and utilization of ECC programs & services for all families in Alameda County s diverse communities Goal 4, Outcome 4E: Increased county-wide service coordination & collaboration identified by systems-wide initiatives Challenges 8. State Commission and Association Updates Mr. Friedman stated that the First 5 Association was planning for an Administrative and Fiscal Summit to take place in late February in Emeryville under the leadership of Rebecca Gebhart. 9. Legislation and Public Policy Discussion- Linkage Developer Fee Mr. Friedman introduced Angie Garling, Child Care Program Coordinator from the Alameda County Child Care Planning Council. She distributed copies of the Executive Summary of the nexus study conducted to assess the need for child care within the areas of new development within unincorporated Alameda County. For all new commercial and residential development within unincorporated areas, a small fee would be exacted from the developer Developer would have a choice to build child care in their development or pay a fee Revenue would help leverage funding that is provided to the child care community and Low Income Investment Fund Commissioner Obeid stated that it is important to note that developers agreed that the fee was manageable. Commission Wang asked how the funds would be used. Ms. Garling responded that the money would be set aside in a separate fund and be overseen by a committee of individuals with representatives from the Alameda County Board of Supervisors offices. Commissioner Deichman stated that the overall intent is to move toward universal access to child care in the County. Ms. Garling added that the goal is also to address the need of child care as the community grows. Board Action: The Commission agreed to provide support for the Linkage Developer Fee upon motion by Commissioner Obeid, seconded by Commissioner Deichman and unanimously carried (7 in favor, 0 opposed, 0 abstentions). MISCELLANEOUS 10. Staff Announcements
Ms. Elizabeth Ford, Director of Early Care & Education announced that the annual Spanish Child Care Provider Conference would be held January 26, 2008 at Chabot College. Ms. Ford also announced that First 5 was planning to host a meeting for representatives from community colleges and four-year institutions to discuss planning for and the importance of higher education for child care providers in Alameda County. The meeting will be held on March 14, 2008. 11. Communication from Commissioners There was no communication from Commissioners. 12. Adjourn Chair Simms-Mackey adjourned the meeting at 11:44am.