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Education, Health and Welfare Committee
Part 1
CHARTER
The Education, Health and Welfare Committee is responsible for investigating
complaints and other issues relating to the school districts, Health Department
and Welfare Department.
Committee Members
JoAnn Souza, Chairperson
P.J. Carlson
Mark Gillaspie
Adam Tuomala
I. CHILDREN AND FAMILIES COMMISSION
BACKGROUND
The 2000-2001 San Benito County Grand Jury investigated the newly formed San
Benito County Children and Families Commission. This Commission was formed
shortly after the November 1998 enactment of Proposition 10, the California
Children and Families Act of 1998. Proposition 10 increased the tax on tobacco
products and created a trust fund for revenues collected. Eighty percent
of these revenues were mandated to be annually distributed to the 58 individual California
counties to benefit children aged zero to five years old. The remaining
twenty percent is earmarked for the support of statewide programs and research.
The State Commission identified strategic outcomes for improvements in the
development of strong families, preparing children for school and improving the
health of children. To meet these needs, commissions were formed throughout the
State to distribute State tobacco tax funds to various agencies based on submitted
written proposals. The California Children and Families Act of 1998 mandates the
composition of these commissions. Following this mandate, the San Benito County
Commission consists of seven members representing the service areas of county
government; public health, social services, education and early child care and
learning.
The Commission developed a state mandated Strategic Plan, hired a competent
and experienced Executive Director, developed a Letter of Intent and then a
Request for Proposals. These were then sent out to those community agencies that
met the criteria that were developed as a result of gathered information and
community input regarding the current condition of the County. Based on their
findings, and in accordance with the intent of the California Children and Families
Act of 1998, proposals received were required to address the need for (a) parent
education and support services, (b) childcare and early education, (c) health and
wellness services.
Professional readers were employed to review and evaluate the submitted Proposals
using a scoring Rubric system. Evaluation of the proposals was based upon
individual program's compatibility with the commission’s goals with the focus
on programs aimed at improving the lives of children ages zero to five. Any
program focusing on that age group was eligible to submit a proposal, including,
but not limited to local public or private preschools, public or private daycare
centers or providers and health clinics.
The end result was the awarding of $976,744.00 to eleven agencies located in
San Benito County. The intent is to fund programs for only a limited amount of time –
one to two years. Each program must be able to sustain their project without Prop
10 funds at the end of the contract period. Seed money is to remain in a trust
account to help secure future funding for County programs.
METHOD OF REVIEW
Review of Documentation:
Strategic Plan
Letters of Intent
Request for Proposals
Submitted Proposals
Minutes of Commission meetings
Bylaws of Commission
Budget |
Attendance at Commission meetings
Interviews:
Health and Human Services Director – San Benito County
Executive Director of Children and Families Commission |
OBSERVATIONS, FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
The Grand Jury looked at the structure of the Children and Families Commission
and the program from its inception. We reviewed the formation of the Commission, the
appointment of directors, the plan of action, the intent of the Commission and its
budgeting process. It is our opinion that overall the program is developing in a
satisfactory manner. Leadership appears to be strong and goals for the most part
are being met. A few areas of concern were noted and should continue to be
monitored.
A conflict of interest among several members of the San Benito County Children and
Families Commission exists and is acknowledged by Commission members. Several of
them work for the same groups that sought funding from the Commission. The issues
of conflict of interest in the Prop 10 Commissions are statewide due to the way
the State structured the county commissions and the State is attempting to rectify
this problem. However, we feel it is an area of concern that needs to be
monitored.
Budgetary discrepancies were noted due to funding received from the State and administered by the County. These discrepancies have been resolved, but we feel the budget should continue to be monitored due to the large amount of monies involved.
It was noted that the Request for Proposal was worded in a manner that was difficult to understand for some of the potential submitters. We were informed that steps are being taken to rewrite the Letter of Intent and the Request for Proposals in a user-friendly manner.
It was further noted that a few of the submitted proposals included funding of vehicles for programs. Our concern – especially on one-time funding requests – is what happens to that vehicle when the original fund request expires.
As the Commission is presently structured, The Executive Director is an employee of the San Benito County Health and Human Services Agency. We feel that this needs to be a separate department under the San Benito County Administrator in order to be more effective and to ameliorate the conflict of
interest issues.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Grand Jury recommends that:
| 1. |
The conflict of interest among Commission members continue to be monitored
by future Grand Juries. |
| 2. |
The annual audit of Prop 10 funding continue to be monitored by future
Grand Juries. |
| 3. |
Letters of Intent and Requests for Proposals be written in simpler terms. |
| 4. |
Future Requests for Proposals
clarify how fixed assets are handled. Commission should look very
closely at proposals requesting large expenditures (such as
automobiles) to determine a cost benefit analysis and long-term
benefit of such a purchase. |
| 5. |
County Administrator and County Counsel should pursue establishing a
separate department for Children and Families Commission to preserve the autonomy
of the Executive Director and to alleviate some of the conflict of interest
problems. |
AFFECTED AGENCIES
Children and Families Commission
County Counsel
County Administrator
County Board of Supervisors
RESPONSE REQUIRED
California Penal Code s/s 933 requires that a response to this final report's
recommendations be delivered to the presiding judge within 90 days of the
receipt of the report.
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