HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 05-19-1998 - 10a1
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Action Agenda
Item No 10- q
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: May 19, 1998
SUBJECT: REQUEST FROM DAY CARE SERVICES ASSOC.
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DEPARTMENT County Commissioners PUBLIC HEARING YES NO x
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BUDGE T AMENDMENT : _YE S NO
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT
Letters dated 12/27/97 Commissioner Moses Carey, Jr.
and 4/6/98 TELEPHONE NUMBER
Hillsborough 732-8181
Chapel Hill 968-4501
Mebane 227-2031
Durham 688-7331
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PURPOSE: For the County Commissioners to discuss a request from Day
Care Services Assoc. for capital funding.
BACKGROUND: Day Care Services Association wants to provide permanent
housing for their agency. They have located a facility at 1729 East
Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. They are asking the County to consider
allocating $15,000 for each of the five years for a total contribution
of $75,000.
RECOMMENDATION: As the Board decides.
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~a~i -~CaTe~::xvices Association
P.O. Bvx 9(3'i, Cfiupei iiiil, N,~rthC~alina 27514
teleF+hone (919) 9fi7--3272 ~a*~+:~ (919) 967-768
December ?3,1997
Moses Carey
901 Lystra Lane
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Dear Commissioner Cazey,
Day Care Services Association is seeking your support for our capital campaign to provide
permanent housing for our agency. We are currently trying to locate either a building to
purchase that would meet our needs now and in the future or a piece of land on which to build a
building to meet our needs_ We are asking the County to help us in this effort.
Since 1975 Day Care Services Association hob provided programs in Change County to improve
the quality of child care and to help parents pay for it. Last year 3b2 children received child care
scholarships so their parents could work or attend school. over 1,000 referrals were given to
Orange County faaulies trying to locate child care. The agency has made spectia! efforts to help
latinv families and families seen for services and support through the Orange County
Department of Social Services. Child care providers in the county received scholarships to
attend college through our T.E,A.C.H. Early Childhood Project; on-site technical assistance to
.upgrade the regulatory or accreditation status of their program and salary supplements
designed to address their low wages and to encourage continuing education and longevity with
their child care program. Children in four Northern orange centers and six Southern Orange
centers received over 215,000 meals from our kitchen, insuring a good nutritional program and
more efficient center management
The above is just a small sample of the innovative Services the agency prvvide5 in our
community. In a recec~t United Way community survey "child care issues" were ranked as the
number one need in Orange County. Clearly, the need for a quality, coordinated and effective
child care delivery systeu~ for our community is critical for our children's futxire success in
school, our families' ability to work and our community's economy_ The need ~ make welfare
reform successful. for fa~on.ilies will hinge fur many on the availability of a quality child care
placement.
We are writing to ask for help. Day Care Services Association has reached a point where we
have to literally limit our services and our growth because the space we occupy is too small.
Currently, there are over 30 different funded projects with over 45 staff people operating out of
4,400 square feet of office space. This space includes a reception area, a resource library for
providers and parents and a small conference room. In addition to overcrowded space, DCSA is
spending a large amount of money each year to rent space, money that could be used to build
Prc~mnting Affnrdahlo~ A~ra~ecihlo. H;gh C~..al;iy CF,;lri C'arP
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equity in a building of our own. Please see the attached fact sheet called "Considering a
Permrmerct Home". We have formed a committee of community leaders to help us examine the
issues in considering a permanent home. We have enclosed a packet of information about Day
Care Services Association and a list of our committee members_
iN~e would like the opportunity to talk with you about this. We are asking the County to help us
meet the costs of this project through a $75,OOD contribution paid over a five year period, or
$15,000 a year. We believe this partnership of county dollars with other dollars raised for this
ef#ort will produce a beer space to serve families and child care providers in Orange County.
Please do not hesitate td rail if you have any questions.
Thank you for your wnsidEratinn.
Sincerely,
~hunton Baker, Pre5ldEnt
Board of Directors
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Sue Russell
Executive Director
cc john Link
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Day ~~ ;CaTe..S'ei~rices Association
P.O. Box 901, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 2751
telephone (919) 967-3272 facsimile (919) 967-768
April 6, 1998
Moses Carey
901 Lystra;Lane
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Dear Commissi Carey,
Day Gre ' es Association has exciting news which pertains to the capital support proposal wt-sent
you dated December 27, 1997 (see attached}. As you know, I~CSA excels at partnering public and
private dollars to make good things happen for children. Using this strategy, DCSA has successfully
reached out to Quintiles Transnational Corporation, who owned a perfect office building for our needs
locatied at 1729 East Franklin Street, in Chapel Hill Quartiles ~+ecognized DCSA's important work in our
community, and donated half of the cost of the building, a value of over $4?5,000. Quintiles has set the
corporate pace for our capital campaign, but now we need to match that gilt with strong public support
We are asking again for the county to help us in this effort.
DCSA has become a national leader in programs to improve the quality acid affordability of child care.
President Clinton is touting DCSA's T.fi.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Scholarship Project as a nationa!
model. Other states struggling with this universal issue regularly contact DCSA for assistance and
direction Whether the projects operate locally, statewide, or nationally, DCSA's visors is serving as a
catalyst for much needed Change and setting a standard for producing progams with positive,
measurable outcomes. After years of a poor reputation for child care, North Carolina is enjoying a
positive turnaround due largely to the successes of Smart Start and DCSA's T.E.A.C.H. Early
Childhoodt9 Scholarship Project. It is frustrating and unfortunate to have physical space be a barrier for
DCSA's future innovative projects and services, or for the continued growth of our current successes_
Further, it is no longer feasible or cost effective to rent space that is inadequate and expensive.
We are requesting an opportunity to talk with you about this. As we stated in our attached proposal, we
are asking the County to help us meet the costs of this project through a $75,000 contribution paid over a
Five year period, or $15,000 a year. We believe this partnership of county dollars with other dollars raised
for this effort will produce a better space to serve families and child care provider in Orange county.
Please do not hesitate to call if you have any questions_
Thank you again for your consideration.
Singly,
Quinton Baker, President Sue Russell
Board of Director Executive Director
Pmmc~ting Affc~rdahl~+, Arcr+ccihla. High Qnalihy C`f+ild Caro
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