COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Health Department

DATE:

August 31, 2006

BOARD MEETING DATE:

September 12, 2006

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Charlene A. Silva, Director, Health Department

Brian J. Zamora, Director, Public Health & Environmental Protection Division

SUBJECT:

Grant Agreement with First 5 San Mateo County

RECOMMENDATION:

Adopt a resolution authorizing the President of the Board to execute a grant agreement with First 5 San Mateo County (First 5) to support the Prenatal to Three and Black Infant Health/Prenatal Advantage programs for the term of July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2009, in the amount of $3,000,000.

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitment: Ensure basic health and safety for all

Goals 5, 6, & 7: Residents have access to healthcare and preventive care; Children grow up healthy in safe and supportive homes and neighborhoods; Help vulnerable people – the aged, disabled, mentally ill, at-risk youth and others – achieve a better quality of life

The agreement contributes to these goals by allowing the Prenatal to Three Initiative (Pre-3) and Black Infant Health/Prenatal Advantage (BIH) to continue to provide nursing, behavioral health, and case management services to parents of young children in high risk families in San Mateo County.

Performance Measure(s):

Measure

FY 2005-06
Actual

FY 2006-07

Projected

Number of families served by Pre-3 Public Health (public health nursing or alcohol and drug services)

1,227

1,700

Percent of families served by Public Health in which child is assessed for developmental delays

93%

95%

BACKGROUND:

The explosion of knowledge about how infants and toddlers develop has led to a new appreciation of the ways in which a baby’s earliest experiences set the stage for later socio-emotional competence and achievement. First 5 allocated $2 million per year for a 10-year initiative on early brain development. In 2003 the Commission approved a three-year contract with Pre-3 at $1 million per year, for a total of $3 million. In June of this year, the First 5 Commission renewed Pre-3’s grant for an additional three years at the same funding level.

DISCUSSION:

With the support of the Board of Supervisors and funders like First 5, Pre-3 has grown into a nationally recognized early intervention program. The Health Department Divisions of Public Health and Mental Health collaborate to provide new and expectant parents and children to age 5 on Medi-Cal services that include:

•

Public health nursing

•

Screening for depression in mothers and developmental delays in children

•

Mental health assessment and treatment

•

Community worker services

•

Case management for parents with alcohol and drug problems

•

Nutrition counseling

•

Parenting classes

•

Parent-child drop-in support groups (Touchpoints groups)

•

Early literacy activities

Through these interventions, Pre-3 is making measurable progress towards meeting its goals of building parenting skills and confidence, facilitating early identification and treatment of problems (primary prevention), and improving access to the healthcare system.

BIH provides expectant and new African American parents in the county intensive case management services (including nursing case management), social support and empowerment classes, and parenting support for fathers. Through these intervention models, the BIH program has made dramatic progress in reducing African American infant mortality. Progress has also been achieved in reducing late entry into prenatal care and incidents of low birth weight.

FISCAL IMPACT:

First 5 funds comprise approximately 24% of Pre-3’s annual budget and partially support fourteen Public Health and four Mental Health staff positions. This First 5 grant enables Public Health and Mental Health to leverage approximately $600,000 per year in Medi-Cal funds.

The new grant of $3 million will be expended between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2009. One million was included in the tentatively Adopted FY 2006-07 Budget and the remaining $2 million will be included in future budget requests. First 5 dollars may not be used to supplant County or State funding and do not have a required match, resulting in no Net County Cost.