COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Human Services Agency

DATE:

June 2, 2005

BOARD MEETING DATE:

June 21, 2005

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Maureen Borland, Director, Human Services Agency

SUBJECT:

Agreement with First 5 San Mateo County for Preschool for All

RECOMMENDATION:

Adopt a Resolution:

1.

Waiving the Request for Proposal process; and

2.

Authorizing the execution of an Agreement with First 5 San Mateo County for the Fiscal Years 2005-2008 to support Preschool for All Infrastructure and Quality Enhancement

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitment 2: Provide Equal Access to Educational Opportunity

Goal 3: Children in San Mateo County all enter kindergarten ready to learn.

Performance Measure(s):

Measure

FY 2004-05
Actual

FY 2005-06
Projected

FY 2006-07

Projected

FY 2007-08

Projected

Percent of kindergartners with preschool experience in Preschool For All (PFA) target communities

65%

70%

75%

80%

BACKGROUND:

First 5 San Mateo County was created in 1998 with the passage of Proposition 10, the California Children and Families First Act. The Act levied a tobacco tax to support a comprehensive, collaborative and integrated system of information and services that promote early childhood development for children ages 0 to 5. The Act also created a state commission and individual county commissions to oversee expenditures and funding priorities. The First 5 San Mateo County Commission is an independent body comprised of nine members, including a member of the Board of Supervisors, the Human Services Agency Director, the County Superintendent of Schools, the Chief of Pedriatics (San Mateo Medical Center), the County Manager or designee and four public members appointed by the Board of Supervisors.

In 2001, First 5 San Mateo County (First 5 SMC) launched a study and hosted a community strategic planning process to determine the feasibility of providing voluntary, high quality universal preschool to all three and four year olds in the County. As a result of this early and intensive planning, San Mateo County is the first county in California to implement Preschool for All (PFA). The first Preschool for All classrooms opened in March 2005 and are now serving 172 children in new and upgraded spaces in Redwood City. PFA plans to make preschool available to 1,500 children per year by 2008 and within 10 years, PFA hopes to offer all three to four year olds in San Mateo County the opportunity to participate in preschool—an estimated 10,000 children per year.

First 5 SMC has selected the San Mateo County Office of Education as the lead agency to carry out the program with eight partner agencies.

First 5 SMC has pledged $8.2 million for the first 3 years of the program and an additional $2.7 million per year for an additional 7 years, toward the implementation of Preschool for All. In addition, First 5 California has committed $1 million per year for the first three years as part of its PFA Demonstration Grant process. Since 2001, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation has committed more than $400,000 to San Mateo’s efforts to plan and implement PFA.

In December 2004, the San Mateo County Human Services Agency made a commitment of $1 million in seed funding and $250,000 per year for three years - beginning in Fiscal Year 2005-06 - to support Preschool for All San Mateo County ($1.75 million over three years).

Additional sources of matching funds for the first year total more than $4.6 million. These local sources include: facilities contributions; funds for accreditation of centers and homes; CARES funding prioritized for teachers at PFA sites; SmartKids facilities improvements funding for PFA sites; community college tuition; book grants to teachers in the PFA target communities; as well as support for the administration of PFA at the County Office of Education.

DISCUSSION:

Why PFA is Important:

Quality preschool increases children’s abilities to develop emotional, intellectual and social skills that benefit them throughout school and life. Children who attend preschool are more likely to attend college, be better socialized, and are less likely to become involved in crime or have unwanted pregnancies.

According to the California Research Bureau, currently 35 percent of the county’s three to five year old children are not participating in preschool. One reason that families do not enroll their children in preschool is that quality programs are often not affordable. A recent supply and demand study of San Mateo County revealed that more than 70 percent of families would enroll their children in a quality preschool program that is affordable or free.

Where and when PFA will start:

The boundary areas of the Ravenswood and Redwood City School Districts will be the first locations to receive new and upgraded preschool slots. These sites were selected because they have the highest percentage of English Learners, low-income children, First 5 SMC School Readiness sites, and available facilities, and because more than 10 percent of San Mateo County’s preschool age children reside there and school district personnel and other leaders have demonstrated commitment to the PFA planning process and are willing to contribute the time and resources necessary to be early implementers of PFA.

Eligible Sites:

PFA will fund half-day programs in classrooms that are part-day only, part-day with wrap-around services, or full-day programs. Eligible programs are: publicly funded Head Start Centers accountable to the Federal Head Start Performance Standards; State Preschools of General Child Care programs funded by the California Department of Education/ Child Development Division and accountable to Title 5/Desired Results; privately funded centers (non-profit and for-profit) accredited by National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC); large family child care homes accredited by National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC)

Eligible Children and Families:

Three and four-year-old children residing in the target communities are eligible. Four year olds and those with special needs receive enrollment priority. Family income is not a factor in determining enrollment priority. If the number of eligible applicants exceeds the number of available spaces, a random selection process is utilized to determine enrollees.

Program Quality:

Preschool for All establishes rigorous quality standards for all participating programs by requiring programs to meet Center and Family Child Care Preschool for All Quality Standards that raise the bar, build on existing quality standards and address 12 performance areas including: curriculum quality, assessment, group size/ratio, staffing qualifications and compensation. External validation and monitoring will assure that participating programs meet the quality standards.

Evaluation:

An extensive evaluation plan is in the final stages of development. An RFP will be released in Summer 2005 for a contractor to fulfill the mandates of that plan.

Workforce Development:

Research tells us that better-educated teachers are more responsive, are more engaged, and are associated with higher test scores and social emotional well-being in children. PFA will require at least one teacher in every classroom to have a Bachelor’s Degree and Master Teacher Permit by 2010. In 2004 an individual can be qualified as a PFA teacher with an AA, but must be working toward a higher degree. PFA is committed to education and compensation parity with the K-12 system.

Partner Agencies:

The San Mateo County Office of Education serves as the Lead Agency for Preschool for All San Mateo County along with the following eight partner agencies: San Mateo County Human Services Agency, the Child Care Coordinating Council of San Mateo County, the Institute for Human and Social Development, Peninsula Partnership for Children, Youth and Families, Professional Association for Childhood Education, Ravenswood City School District, Redwood City Elementary School District/City of Redwood City and the San Mateo County Community College District.

Funding from the Human Services Agency will support the following PFA quality and capacity outcomes:

• The program is accessible to children with disabilities and other special needs (Special Needs Inclusion Specialist)

• Individual providers will meet or exceed National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) or the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) accreditation standards (Accreditation Support)

• PFA Programs meet and maintain high quality standards and meet the requirements of the evaluation (Technical Assistance Coordinator)

• By 2010, each class will have a lead teacher with a Bachelor’s degree and a Master Teacher Permit. (Academic Counselor with a focus on Early Childhood Education at San Mateo Community College District)

• Children and their families experience a smooth transition between preschool and kindergarten (Transition Activity Planning)

• Children are socially and emotionally competent and healthy (Mental Health Consultation)

• English Language Learners are successful in preschool and beyond and maintain a connection to home language and culture (Parent and Teacher Training)

• Child care centers and family child care homes in the target communities are prepared to meet the quality standards of PFA (Program Capacity Building)

• The impact of PFA on entering kindergarteners is measured using validated assessment tools (School Readiness Assessment)

Given the creation of First 5 San Mateo County pursuant to the California Children and Families First Act, as well as the County’s prior collaborative efforts with First 5 San Mateo County, it is in the County’s best interest to waive the RFP process.

FISCAL IMPACT:

This Agreement with First 5 SMC provides for $1,750,000 from the Human Services Agency for the term of July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2008. Appropriation was not included in the Recommended Budget for Fiscal Year 2005-06. A June Revision will be submitted for Board of Supervisors’ approval adding $1,250,000 to the Recommended Budget for Fiscal Year 2005-06 and $250,000 for Fiscal Year 2006-07. An additional amount of $250,000 has been committed for Fiscal Year 2007-08. Funding is from the Agency Child Care Realignment Trust Funds set aside for this purpose. There is no Net County Cost.