Commission Meeting. 9:00 AM 11:30 AM Every Child Counts Conference Center, Conference Room A

Transcription

1 Commission Meeting Thursday, January 25, San Leandro Blvd. 9:00 AM 11:30 AM Every Child Counts Conference Center, Conference Room A Commissioners Present: Chair: Chet Hewitt, Vice Chair: Helen Mendel, CMD, Keith Carson, Linda Olivenbaum, Pamela Simms-Mackey, M.D., Albert Wang, M.D., Gail Ward Staff Present: Mark Friedman, Janis Burger, Deborrah Bremond, Elizabeth Ford, Rebecca Gebhart, Teddy Milder Chair Hewitt called the meeting to order at 9:05am. 1. Public Comment There was no public comment. CONSENT 2. Approval of minutes from December 7, 2006 Board Action: The Commission approved the minutes upon motion by Commissioner Olivenbaum, seconded by Vice Chair Mendel and unanimously carried (7 in favor, 0 opposed). 3. Contract Authorizations Ms. Gebhart reviewed the contract authorizations. Several of the agencies funded through the One Time Only Grants Program had received a previous grant and/or contract for the current fiscal year, requiring Commission authorization of several agencies at the highest cumulative amount of their awards. Board Action: The Commission approved the Alameda County Information Technology Department contract upon motion by Vice Chair Mendel, seconded by Commissioner Olivenbaum and unanimously carried (7 in favor, 0 opposed). Board Action: The Commission approved the following contract upon motion by Vice Chair Mendel, seconded by Commissioner Ward and carried with Commissioner Simms-Mackey abstaining from the vote (6 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention). Kerry s Kids - $97,274 Board Action: The Commission approved the following contracts upon motion by Vice

2 Chair Mendel, seconded by Commissioner Olivenbaum and carried with Commissioner Ward abstaining from the vote (6 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention). Kidango - $105,000 Luna Kids Dance - $85,585 4Cs of Alameda County - $570,547 The Commission approved the following contract upon motion by Vice Chair Mendel, seconded by Commissioner Simms-Mackey and carried with Commissioners Ward and Olivenbaum abstaining from the vote (5 in favor, 0 opposed, 2 abstentions). Chabot College - $314,651 The Commission approved the following contract upon motion by Vice Chair Mendel, seconded by Commissioner Olivenbaum and carried with Commissioners Ward and Carson abstaining from the vote (5 in favor, 0 opposed, 2 abstentions). Asian Health Services - $115,000 The Commission approved the following contract upon motion by Vice Chair Mendel, seconded by Commissioner Ward and carried with Commissioner Olivenbaum abstaining from the vote (6 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention). Berkeley-Albany YMCA - $97,010 Board Action: The Commission approved the following contracts upon motion by Vice Chair Mendel, seconded by Commissioner Olivenbaum and unanimously carried (7 in favor, 0 opposed). Alameda County Public Health Department, WIC Program - $123, Childhood Matters $108,841 Children s Fairyland - $95,341 Family Support Services of the Bay Area $590,000 Jewish Family and Children s Services of the East Bay $110,695 Korean Community Center of the East Bay $81,029 Mills College $28,024 Museum of Children s Art $91,000 Seneca Center $90,009 Through the Looking Glass $87,448 Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center $712,820 Tri-Valley Haven $102,800 Women s Daytime Drop-In Center - $$80, Election of Officers

3 Chair Hewitt asked for a nomination for Chair and Vice Chair of the Commission. Commissioner Olivenbaum nominated Chair Hewitt and Vice Chair Mendel to remain in their positions. The Commission approved the nomination for Chair and Vice Chair of the Commission upon motion by Commissioner Olivenbaum, seconded by Commissioner Ward and unanimously carried (7 in favor, 0 opposed). PROGRAM 5. Ethics Training The Ethics Training will be presented at the March Commission meeting. 6. State Commission and Association Reports Mr. Friedman and Ms. Burger presented the State Commission and Association Reports. a) First 5 State Commission has begun a new strategic planning process. b) First 5 Alameda County will no longer be the fiscal agent for the First 5 California statewide conference. c) There isn t an indication that Rob Reiner will be becoming more involved with the State Commission now that the election is over. d) First 5 Alameda County convened a meeting of representatives from Bay Area counties to discuss forming a mental health partnership group. The California Endowment has agreed to provide funding for 2 years to research mental health policy issues. First 5 Alameda County will be hiring a consultant to facilitate this process. 7. Annual Report Presentation, Part 2 Ms. Milder presented the second half of the Annual Report. The annual report is available on the f5ecc.org website. a) Chair Hewitt asked what types of interventions Special Start provides. Ms. Bremond responded that Special Start links children and parents to services that they are eligible for (e.g. food stamps, educational training, interpretation, the Regional Center). b) Chair Hewitt asked if there was additional work the agency could do to increase our work around the children of teen parents and Special Start clients obtaining dental exams. Ms. Burger responded that there is increased outreach and pediatricians are getting more involved with the dental health of children through our work with the Alameda County Public Health Department, Healthy Kids Healthy Teeth program. Commissioner Simms-Mackey stated that there are trainings and education being provided to pediatric offices around fluoride treatments. In addition, pediatricians will possibly be reimbursed for their work with children on dental issues. Mr. Friedman stated that he had participated in a

4 meeting with the Dental Association and Dental Health Foundation who have a state grant to do expanded outreach to pediatricians. Since new state law requires all children entering kindergarten to show documentation of a dental check-up, the implementation of this will hopefully filter down to younger children. c) Commissioner Carson asked for more information on the Parent Infant Toddler Curriculum training provided. George Philipp, Early Care and Education Program Administrator stated that it was a pilot program run by WestEd on infant toddler development. 70 child care providers were trained on a curriculum that has be used for several years. This type of training has been done for child care center staff in the past, and is now being expanded to family child care workers. Commissioner Olivenbaum stated that all trainings occur in the evenings and that training family child care providers helps children transition to Kindergarten. 8. BA/MA Scholarship Fund Ms. Ford asked the Commission to approved an expansion of the Early Care & Education (ECE) BA/MA Scholarship fund for up to $700,000. The Executive Committee approved the expansion of the fund at their meeting on January 22. a) The Fund enables and supports the implementation of ECE quality improvement strategies through the development and implementation of BA and MA degree programs at three four-year institutions in Alameda County (CSU East Bay, Mills College and UC Berkeley). b) The program will be sustained through solicitation of funds from donors. c) Rory Darrah will serve as the consultant overseeing the implementation of this project. d) Chair Hewitt stated that continued work needs to be done to explore diversifying the field and having that be reflected in the selection criteria. e) Commissioner Olivenbaum stated that statewide, there is discussion on articulating the issues around the aging workforce, the BA and MA degree programs and how to move forward. Board Action: The Commission approved the expansion of the ECE BA/MA Scholarship Fund up to $700,000 upon motion by Vice Chair Mendel, seconded by Commissioner Simms-Mackey and carried with Commissioner Olivenbaum abstaining from the vote (6 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention). INFRASTRUCTURE Second Quarter Financial Report Ms. Gebhart summarized the financial report and reviewed the agency s revenue and expenses for the second quarter. a) As of December 31, 2006, the tobacco tax revenue was below projections for the year at 31% instead of at the 50% mark.

5 b) Only four months of tobacco tax revenue has been received and the two outstanding months of revenue will be accrued to at year-end. The four months of revenue annualized, is $17,580,758. c) Additional factors affecting revenue at the six-month point are late payments of AB212 funds, School Readiness, CARES and Health Access for All grants. Investment revenue at the six-month period has exceeded the annual goal. d) The total amount of grants received by First 5 Alameda County for the fiscal year is approximately $2.5 million. e) As of December 31, 2006, the agency s expenses are $10,013,121 or 36.49% spent. f) During the first six months of , seven positions were unfilled for various lengths of time, creating budget savings. Vacancies in staff were due to a small amount of staff turnover and the fazing in of programs articulated in the Strategic Plan, specifically including lactation, mental health and child development specialty providers. Ms. Gebhart stated that budget is in an appropriate position for this time of year. Depending on actual Revenue and Expenses, this could be the first year the funds are used from the Sustainability Fund Second Quarter Investment Report Ms. Gebhart stated that investments were made in the 3 rd and 4 th quarters of and that this is the second quarter that all three money managers have been managing the funds. a) The agency is continuing to refine its internals controls with the general and subsidiary ledgers being posted with each investment transaction. In addition, Kevin Harper, Fiscal Consultant, is training staff on the quarterly reconciliation between the money manager statements and the custodial account statements. b) Agency staff will attend a two-day training by the Government Finance Offices Association (GFOA) on Investing Public Funds. This information will be shared with the Commission in case Commissioners are interested in attending. Chair Hewitt stated that the Commission needs to strengthen internal knowledge about public fund investments to promote sustainability and maximize resources available. He encouraged all Commissioners who have the time and interest in investing to attend the training. c) The total investment income from money managers (net of all transactions except fees) for the second quarter is $727,040. Additional investment revenue was received from the Alameda County Treasury investment pool. The investment feels paid totaled $80,725 with the net investment income equaling $767,351. d) The unrealized gain (loss) as of December 31, 2006 is a gain of $23,575 which is also shown in the 6 month financial report. e) Investment yields are listed below with appropriate benchmarks:

6 Brown Brothers Harriman 4.430% Holland Capital Management 4.900% RNC Genter 5.250% Local Agency Investment Fund (LAIF) 4.937% as of 9/30/06 Lehman 1-5 Government Credit Index 4.240% Alameda County Treasurer (net of fees) 3.760% as of 9/30/06 f) Money manager fees are determined based on the percentage of the funds that they hold, typically.2 basis points of investment. g) First 5 staff communicates with the money managers via phone and . Patricia Zapanta, Controller, asks for transmittal slips of every transaction. h) The money managers were chosen based on the strength and size of their firms. Interviews were conducted by the investment committee. i) Kevin Harper, Fiscal Consultant stated that investments should be looked at over a longer period of time and compared to what you would be getting if you weren t using money managers at all. Mr. Harper also stated that the performance of money managers can be assessed by determining if the yield is too low, or if the managers are not following your policy and/or whether they are responsive to their client to ensure compliance Budget Modification Recommendation Ms. Gebhart stated that the annual budget is approved by the Commission in May and that in either the following December or January, a mid year budget modification is conducted to recognize any changes in revenue and expenditures. The budget modification was reviewed by the Executive Committee and recommended to the Commission for review. a) Increase Revenue and Available Funds by $279,819, from $27,442,401 to $27,722,220. b) Decrease in tobacco tax revenue of $510,350 from $18,091,108 to $17,580,758. c) Increase of $750,550 to Sustainability Fund from $4,111,528 to $4,862,078 to offset lower revenue and changes in expenses. The balance of the Sustainability Fund is approximately $53 million. Total funds available including the Sustainability Fund is approximately $75 million. d) Increase of $31,619 as restricted carryover from the statewide conference contract with First 5 California. Expenses increased by $279,819, from $27,442,401 to $27,722,220 due primarily to personnel increases for additional Family Support Services, Support Strategies and Administration staff, the reallocation of funds in the Quality Enhancement Program budget and the budgeting of Training Coalition grants. Travel expenses in the Evaluation & Technology division were explained to represent expenses of staff in sharing and disseminating best practices, and presenting the replicability and sustainability of programs.

7 Board Action: The Commission approved the Budget Modification upon motion by Vice Chair Mendel, seconded by Commissioner Simms-Mackey and unanimously carried (7 in favor, 0 opposed). MISCELLANEOUS 12. Staff Announcements a) Two of the three mandatory applicant information sessions for the Community Grants Initiative have been conducted. The last information session will be held on February 5. b) On February 3, the agency will be hosting an event for ECE providers and Kindergarten teachers to address common goals and activities that support children and families as they transition to Kindergarten. c) On February 23 and 24, the agency will hold a two-day leadership team meeting for the assessment center planning process. d) Ms. Milder showed the Commission the new ECC website and demonstrated it s capabilities. 13. Communication from Commissioners There was no communication from Commissioners. 14. Adjourn Chair Hewitt adjourned the meeting at 11:07am.