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FAMILY AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE

Meeting Date:	06/13/2016
Subject: Proposal to Eliminate Federal Head Start Home Based Slots and Increase State Preschool Slots
Submitted For:	FAMILY & HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
Department:	County Administrator
Referral No.:	78
Referral Name:	Community Services Bureau / Head Start Oversight
Presenter:	Camilla Rand, Community Services Bureau Director	Contact:	Enid Mendoza, 925-335-1039

Information

Referral History:

Oversight of the Community Services Bureau and Head Start programs was originally referred to the Family and Human Services Committee on March 1, 2005. Since that time the program has provided the Committee with annual updates on the programs and services provided.

The attached report submitted by the Community Services Bureau of the Employment and Human Services Department is to propose a program model change that impacts Federal Head Start childcare slots, and is therefore being presented to the Family and Human Services Committee (F&HS).

Referral Update:

Please see the attached proposal submitted by the Community Services Bureau of the Employment and Human Services Department. The department will return to F&HS later this year with the full annual report update on the programs and services provided.

Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):

ACCEPT and recommend to the Board of Supervisors the following proposed program model changes that will result in a reduction of 150 Head Start slots and an increase of 168 new State slots:

A reduction in class size of seven Head Start classrooms in an effort to enroll more three year olds; and
The conversion of select classrooms from part-day, part-year to full-day, full-year to best meet community need; and
The elimination of 72 preschool home based slots to meet the growing demand of center-based care; and
An increase of 168 new State preschool slots to fully earn the State contract and generate additional revenue through partnerships in Antioch, Pittsburg, San Ramon and Concord.

ACKNOWLEDGE that the following proposed program model changes will have the following staffing impacts:

Six of the seven Early Childhood Educator - Project positions, recommended by the department and approved by the Board of Supervisors on April 12, 2016 (D.5), to be re-established effective August 22, 2016 due the summer lay-off period of staff for the part-year preschool home based program model, will no longer need to be re-established; and
Six of the seven former Early Childhood Educator - Project employees would not return to work on August 22, 2016, as requested by the department on March 25, 2016, and would remain in lay-off status; however, the department will provide the six impacted former Early Childhood Educator - Project employees the opportunity to bid and be placed in other vacant project positions they qualify for to prevent any of them from losing employment beyond August 21, 2016.

ACKNOWLEDGE the department's plan to minimize impacts to families and children by case managing each impacted family to ensure them the opportunity to receive classroom based preschool services in other classrooms at nearby child care facilities.

Fiscal Impact (if any):

There is no anticipated impact to the Head Start funding allocation since the department has proposed to use the funding from the slot reduction to pay for unfunded Head Start program mandates and facility updates. The department anticipates fully earning the State contract for preschool services, which if sub-contracted through partnerships, would still result in an estimated $90,976 in administrative funding to the department.

Attachments
CSB Slot Reduction Model Justification