COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Human Services Agency

 

DATE:

May 20, 2002

BOARD MEETING DATE:

June 4, 2002

 

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Maureen D. Borland, Director, Human Services Agency

 

Stuart Oppenheim, Director, Children and Family Services

SUBJECT:

Approval of an Agreement with Redwood City School District

 

Recommendation

Adopt a resolution authorizing execution of an Agreement between the County of San Mateo and the Redwood City School District. The School District will reimburse the County partial payment of the salaries and benefits of staff, which are out posted to the Family Resource Centers. This Agreement is from July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002.

 

Background

In 1998, the County and the Redwood City School District agreed to support the Redwood City Family Centers (formerly the Healthy Start Network) located at Taft, Fair Oaks and Hoover schools. The family resource centers provide human services, health services, educational support and community development activities to a community of 2,000 residents. Each year the County of San Mateo, through the Human Services Agency, employs Psychiatric Social Workers who provide counseling services at these sites. Redwood City School District is the fiscal agent for the collaborative and oversees sites reimbursement to the County for part of the salaries and benefits of these positions.

 

Discussion

The goals and objectives of the Redwood City Family Centers are aligned with those of HSA's. These include improving the educational success of children through impacting social skills and behavior and increasing family involvement in child's education. The academic scores of the children that the schools serve have increased every year. This year a new Center opened at the John F. Kennedy Middle School, which received a Healthy Start Grant for three years. Services are also being expanded to the pre-school population of the school district with the Early Intervention Program, which will be housed at Hoover School. The City of Redwood City, the County and The Redwood City School District contributes financial support to the Redwood City Family Centers. For the past four years the County hired and out posted four psychiatric social workers at these sites. As in previous years, the collaborative plans to reimburse the County salaries and benefits for two positions at 50% and two positions at 25%. With the expansion, two new Psychiatric Social Workers were hired. The collaborative, through its fiscal agent the Redwood City School District, will reimburse the County for 50% of the salary and benefits of one new position and 100% of the second new position.

 

This contract is late as the amount of the contract was in question due to the delay in hiring the two new Psychiatric Social Workers. The last one was recently hired in April 2002, and the amount of the contract was projected based on filling these positions. The Redwood City School District requires three signed originals to be returned to them for final signatures and processing.

This Agreement has been reviewed and approved by County Counsel as to form.

 

Vision Alignment

The contract with the Redwood City School District keeps the commitment to Provide equal access to educational opportunity and goal number 3: All children ages 0-5 years have access to childcare/early learning opportunities that contribute to their entering kindergarten ready to succeed. It also provides for goal number 6: All children grow up healthy in safe and supportive homes and neighborhoods. The contract contributes to these commitments and goals since Redwood City School District, through their Redwood City Family Centers, provides counseling to children and their families in the kindergarten readiness programs.

 

Performance Measures

The Redwood City Family Centers will work to improve the educational success of children.

 

Performance Measure

Source of Data

Actual

FY 99-00

Actual

FY00-01

Estimated

FY 01-02

* Children will improve in their academic performance as documented by Sat 9 and SABE tests.

School District

Increased 8.7% in reading 5.8% in math

Increased 11.54% in reading and 9.39% in math*

Goal is to increase the normal curve scores on Sat 9 or SABE test by 5 %

 

*Under the academic Performance Measures, the Human Services Agency is working with a new population each year. The goal of 5% is the amount over the normal curve scores on the Sat 9 or SABE test. Any increase over 3% is considered significant.

 

Fiscal Impact

This contract is a revenue contract for the School District to reimburse San Mateo County for the salaries and benefits for the Psychiatric Social Worker positions up to $157,090.