Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 03-21-2006-7aORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: March 21, 2006 Action Agenda Item No. ~-Q SUBJECT: Proposal to Establish the Orange County Child Care Task Force and Suggest Individuals to Serve DEPARTMENT: Social Services PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): A) Suggested Membership B) Draft Invitation Letter C) 2/14/05 Orange County Child Gare Subsidy Report INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Coston, 245-2802 PURPOSE: To consider a proposal to establish the Orange County Child Care Task Farce and to suggest community representatives to serve. BACKGROUND: On November 29, 2005, a special briefing for Orange County employers on the impact of child care on today's workforce was sponsored by the Orange County Board of Commissioners and other local organizations, The purpose of this briefing was to begin a community discussion about the current child care resources and the needs of children in our community, The briefing included information about the economic impact of child care on businesses and some of the options currently available to employers. Commissioners Foushee and Carey attended the briefing. At the end of the meeting, Commissioner Foushee recommended that the Board of Commissioners appoint a task force with broad representation including employers and to charge the group with raising community awareness, and encouraging greater financial participation by the private, business and public sectors in providing child care resources, and championing workplace support for children and families, During the recent BOCC retreat and work sessions, the Commissioners further discussed establishing a Task Force to study the various issues related to child care. The Commissioners indicated their interest and support for this concept and provided additional input about the purpose of the task force, Based on this information, staff proposes that the Board establish the Orange County Child Care Task Farce as follows: CHARGE: To create community awareness of and support for the benefits of early childhocd education Ta increase private, business and public financial contributions for child care subsidies or scholarships To improve workplace support far children and families TASKS: As part of its report, the Task Force will include updated data about employers who assist employees with child are needs and those who benefit from existing subsidies or scholarships, Additionally it will study any creative ways to meet child care needs at new facilities such as public schools or Catalina North, The report will also inchade updated information about the number of children served and the number of children waiting to be served through subsidies or scholarships. TIMELINE: The Task Force will report on its findings and recommendations na later than June 2006, COMPOSITION: It is proposed that a total of fifteen individuals representing university, business, child care provider, school, non-profit, and local government interests be specifically invited by the BOCC to serve an the Task Force. Attachment A is a list of those organizations and persons suggested for consideration. Attachment B is a sample copy of the "invitation" letter that would ga out under the Chair's signature. The BOCC is asked to name 1-2 of its members to serve on the Task Force. Nancy Coston (DSS Director), Dianne Reid (Economic Development Director), and Sharron Hinton (Director of Community Programs) would also serve on the Task Force. Staff support functions would be shared among the three county departments. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no immediate and direct financial impact associated with establishing the Task Force, Task Force recommendations could likely entail increased spending requests to local government. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the BOCC consider the staff proposal and provide feedback or take action accordingly. 3 ATTACHMENT A Proposed Members of the Orange County Clrild Care Task Force Board of County Conmrissioners 2 Chambers of Commerce 4 (two from each chamber) Child Care Services Association Executive Director 1 Orange County Partnership for Young Children Dir 1 Orange County Department of Social Services Director 1 Orange County Economic Services Director 1 Day Gaze providers (appointed by their association) 2 Orange County Community Services Manager 1 Town of Chapel Hill 1 Town of Hillsborough 1 Town of Carrboro 1 School Superintendents 2 tJNC 1 LTNC Hospital 1 ATTACHMENT B DRAFT LETTER TO PROPOSED TASK FARCE MEMBERS Dear The Orange County Board of Commissioners has created a new child care task force to create community awareness of and support for the benefits of early childhood education, to increase private, business and public financial contributions for child care subsidies or scholarships and to improve workplace support for children and families. This task force will have representation from employers, government officials and child care providers and will report its recommendations directly to the Board of Commissioners, We believe that the participation of your organization is critical and would ask that you appoint one representative who is willing to participate actively in these discussions, The task farce will work to develop recommendations far improving the community's response to the needs of working families with young children, We know that we have better employees when these parents know that their children are safe and are in quality programs, Dependable child care also results in better employee attendance. For many Orange County families, attaining such child care has become very expensive and many families need subsidies to be able to afford quality care, The waiting list for subsidy continues to be significant in Orange County with little hope of relief through additional federal or state funds. Through establishment of this task force, the Orange County Board of Commissioners is acknowledging the problem facing both the families and the employers as child care becomes harder to attain, The goal for the task force is to work toward community solutions for these issues. The County is committed to using the time of the committee members effectively and appreciates your interest in the needs of employees with small children. The organizational meeting of the task force will be on Aprii 18tH at 1:00 at Southern Human Services. Please let either Nancy Coston at ncoston@co.orange.nc.us (245-2802) or Sharron Hinton at shinton ,co.oranne.nc.us (245-2302) of your appointment to this important task force, They will also be willing to answer any questions you may have, ORANGE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES ORANGE COUNTY CHILD CART SUBSIDY DAY CARE TASK. FORCE REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR. CHILD CARE SUBSIDY FUNDING 02-14-2005 Table of Contents Topic Page Introduction 2 Need, Resources, Structure and Current Policies 2 Types of Child Care 3 Orange County Child Care Resources 3 Federal, State and County Subsidy Resources 4 Waiting Lists and Priority Applicants 4 Department of Social Services Subsidy Program 5 Families Currently Receiving Subsidies and Currently on the Waiting List at the Department of Social Services 6 Waiting far Child Care 6 Discussion 7 Recommendations 8 Attachments 1: BOCC Meeting Minutes 2; Staz System Information 3: Child Care Subsidy Funding Partners Graphs 4: Eligibility Charts-DSS and CCSA 5: Other Funding Sources-More at 4, Smart Start 6: State Market Rates for Orange County 7: DSS Waiting List Policy 8: DSS Serving and Waiting Client Information Charts 9: Employers and Child Care Subsidy (Economic Impact Report) 10: Improving the Retention of Child Care Teachers in Orange County ORANGE COUNTY 7 DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES ORANGE COUNTY ChIILD CARE SUI3 SIDY DAY CARE TASK FORGE REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHILD CARE SUBSIDY FUNDING 02-14-2005 Orange County Child Care DAY CARE TASK FORCE REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHILD CARE SUBSIDY FUNDING INTRODIICTION In Tune of 2004 The Orange County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) set aside "$100,000 from the social safety net and designate[d] it for child care subsidies" (Attachment 1). Dee Gamble, then Chary of the Orange County Departmern of Social Services Boazd, created a cask force in July of 2004 to respond to the request by the County Boazd of Commissioners, to study issues and needs for day care subsidies in Orange Coumy in order to advise the DSS Board and the BOCC on the dispersion of the $100,000, The Task Force members include Margaret Brown representing the BOCC, Michele Rivest from the Partnership for Young Children, Kate Sanford from the Orange County Child Caze Coalition ,Nancy Coston and Kathy Snethen from the Orange Cou~y Deparhne~ of Social Services (DSS), Teresa Derrick from the Child Caze Services Association, Sharon Iimton from the Orange Cou~y Manager's Office and Dee Gamble. This Committee represented the broad spectrum of knowledgeable stakeholders who have advocated for quality child caze in Orange Courrty. Diane Reid, Director of Economic Development, provided information on economic issues needed by the Task Force. Lindsey Shewmaker from Orange County DSS provided staff support, The Task Force reported to the ASS Boazd on three occasions, keeping it informed of the process and potential recommendations. It also reported to the BOCC on December 18 to provide a preliminary report, at the same time requesting that these funds be placed in a tnust fund for child care subsidies. At that time the BOCC released $50,000 to be encumbered for childcare subsidies, with the rema~n;ng $50,000 to be considered for release after receiving the final report. This report provides a broad picture of the significant co~ribution that child care subsidies make to working faznilies receiving them, to the children who benefit directly from the care, and to the economic well-being of the county as a whole. It also contains discussion of the issues examined, documerns that describe the current resources and current needs for child care subsidies, and a description of the considerable economic advantage for both families and businesses that child care subsidies provide, Finally, this report provides recommendations for how best to use the $100,000 trust fund set aside by the BOCC for child caze subsidies. NEED, RESOIIRCES, STRIICTIIRES AND CIIRRENT POLICIES Why is Child Care Necessary? Child care is an importarn and necessary part of the lives of most working families in Orange County, Parents or guardians may utilize child care £or a variety of reasons. The pazern(s) may work full or part-time, attend school, have an illness necessitating child supervision, or require a break from the demands of child care. Without available childcare, a pazem/guazdian may be in danger of losing a job or forced to leave a child in less than ideal conditions. For the majority of families there are relatively few options for safe and secure child care.. Families may utilize relatives, babysitters, and neighbors, but most tend to seek more permanent solutions in the form of licensed childcare centers.. Types of Child Care There aze severs] types of licensed child care available; the type of care appropriate for one faznily may not be the best for another, A child care home is licensed to care for five or fewer preschool age children, and an additional three school age children. Licensing as a center is required when six or more children are cared for in a residence or when three or more children are in care in a budding other than a residence.. Additionally, many schools, both public and private, offer before and after school care. In order to increase the quality of child care in North Cazolina, in September 2000, the Division of Child Development issued star rated licenses to all eligible Child Caze Centers and Family Child Caze Homes.' The staz rated license is a voluntary licensing system where a child care program can earn poims in three different azeas: ^ Program Standards ^ StaffFducation ^ Compliance History with Child Care Regulations Programs that aze meeting higher standards can receive recognition for their efforts, and families can use this information to search for a child care program., (For more information on the star system see Attachment 2) Orange County Child Care Resources to Orange County there are 54 licensed ceders and 51 licensed homes, providing care for over 2,000 children.. Roughly 89°/n are enrolled in child Caze centers, and 11%aze enrolled in family child care homes. Of the 105 total licensed programs in Orange County, 86% of them are 3, 4, or 5 staz rated, compazed to the statewide average of 68%. Of the total, 55%aze four or five staz rated. Ninety- three percent ofpreschool children enrolled in child care are in 3, 4, or 5 staz rated programs. Sin~y-eight percelrt aze enrolled in 4 or 5 star programs.2 These numbers accentuate the high quality of care found in Orange County's child care centers. Quality child care is very expensive to provide. In a good program there are low child to staff ratios. The environment is clean, safe and stimulating, with many fun, child-oriented and age- appropriate toys and activities, and lots of space for children to move azound, Well-trained and compensated teachers, toys and equipment, space and nutritious meals add up to high costs. Families can spend over $1,000 a month per child for full time day cares In our society, most of the responsibility of paying for childcare falls on pazents. Orange County has the highest rates for child care of any county in the state.. Many families cannot afford the cost of care on their own. ~ Religous-sponsored child rare programs may contivue to operate with a aolice of compliance and would then not receive a slat ~g Division of Child Developmem, 10/2004 ~ Child Cme Services Association 3 i~ Federal, State and County Subsidy Resoarces Because of the high costs, many working families have difficulty affording quality day caze for their children. A pazent making less than a prescribed income, and meeting certain eligibility criteria maybe eligible for help to pay part of their childcare costs. North Cazolina's Division of Child Development uses a combination of state and federal funds to provide subsidized child care services to eligible families through a locally administered state-supervised voucher system. Annually, each county Departrnent of Social Services receives a combination of state and federal funding from the Division of Child Development for subsidized childcare services. The amour of funding allocated to each county is determined by legislation, This enables increased access to child care for low income families.. Orange County is one of only a few conrriies in the state that has a dual subsidy system. Both Child Caze Services Association (CCSA) and the Orange County Department of Social Services (DSS) handle child care subsidies, and the two agencies have different but complementary roles. The funding sources for the programs differ, as do eligibility criteria and waiting list priorities (See Attachments 3 & 4). DSS provides the majority (more than 60%) of all childcare subsidies in Orange County, These funds are federal, state and county. Eligibility guidelines aze determined by the state and are listed in Attachme~ 4. CCSA is a coumy as well as national organization, and provides subsidies from funds provided by Smart Start, The University of North Carolina, the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and private donations, The largest source of subsidy at Child Care Services Association is Smart Start, and the amount of those funds as well as the eligibility criteria aze established by the Orange County Partnership for Young Children. Subsidy eligibility for CCSA is designed to extend the subsidies provided by DSS, Eligibility Hiles differ in part because of differed fending sources, and in order not to duplicate efforts. In a county with great need and high quality resources, flexibility is required to provide subsidies for the greatest number of people in need. In addition to subsidies and irrtensive family referrals in Orange County, CCSA also engages in a range of professional development initiatives for child care providers including training, health i„~,*:+~ce, and salary supplements across North Carolina and in twenty one states.. Additional sources of subsidy come from specialized funding that may tazget specific groups, Examples of this type of funding aze Smart Start, More at Fow, and the UNC Chancellor's Fund. For additional examples and further detail, see Attachment 5, Waiting Lists and Priority Applicants If the county department of social services or other local purchasing agency does not have enough funding to serve all families who apply for subsidized child care, the agency may establish priorities for services. For example, an agency may choose to give priority to working paze~(s) or families who need child care to support child protective services, and may change the priorities at any time. In Orange Count', when insufficiem funds are available to meet demand, waiting lists aze implemented by the Department of Social Services and Child Caze Services Association, and aze coordinated between the agencies. As funds become available, names aze taken from the top of the waiting lists for services. Each agency has tazgeted priority groups that move to the tap of the waiting lists and receive services first when funds become available (See Attachment 4). Waiting List numbers periodically experience lazge fluctuations. The Division Of Child Development requires that people an the Department of Social Services waiting list be surveyed at least every six months to determine if they aze still in need of child care subsidy. People who fail to respond to the survey, or are no longer eligible for subsidy are deleted from the list. Historically there is a poor response to waiting list surveys. In November 2004, Social Services staffmailed waiting list surveys to 257 pazems, Only 41 surveys were returned, This resulted in the names of 288 children being deleted from the waiting list. Historically, many of the families deleted from the waiting list will contact the agency again and be placed back on the waiting list. Child Care Services Association also periodically purges their waiting list to be certain that those on the list still require subsidy and are still eligible. This is done to maintain accurate waiting lists, but causes the number of children reported as waiting to change significantly based on the date waiting list numbers aze reported.. Department of Social Services Child Care Subsidy Program If a family meets the eligibility criteria for the Department of Social Services, a portion of the cost of child care wIll be paid for them. Pazents are free to choose a child care azmngement that best fits their needs as long as the provider chosen participates in the Subsidized Child Gaze Program, The amount the state pays for childcare depends on the family's situational criteria, the family's income, and the cost of the child care provided. (See Attachment 6 for state market rates paid by Orange County). Most families must qualify based on need and income, and are required to pay a percentage of child caze costs based on their countable monthly income. The percentage depends on the number of people in the family, but ranges from 8 to 10 percent of income. There is one fee for families receiving subsidized child day care, regardless of the number of children in care., A family may receive child care assistance for one or more of the following reasons if they aze income eligible: • They aze worlciug; • They are in school or in a job training program; • Their child is receiving child protective services; Their child needs care to support child welfare services or because the family is experiencing a crisis; or • The child has developmental delays. The Orange County Department of Social Services Boazd determines tazget groups and priority applicants for subsidy, The following policy outlines the currem priority for payment when a waiting list is in place. The following children or cases will receive services and will not be subject to the waiting list: ^ Child Protective Services ^ Foster Care ^ Work FirsdEmploymern Services Participants ^ Teen Pazerns The following children or cases will receive services in this order and based on their date of application within each category: ^ Full-time employment ^ Part-time employment • Education or training leading to employment is ^ Children needing care for developmental needs For more infomration on the Department of Social Services waiting list policy, refer to Attachment 7.. Families Currently Receiving Subsidies and Currently on the Waiting List at the Department of Social Services In December of 2004, the Orange Cou~y Department of Social Services was serving over 656 children through the Day Care Subsidy Program.. Of'these children, 40%were school age, 28% were 3-5 year olds, 14%were 2 year olds, and 18%were infants/toddlers. The families being served by Deparhne~ of Social Services subsidy at the time broke down in the following way: 79%were being served for employment reasons, 2% for child welfare services, 11 % for training leading to employment, 7% for child protective services, and 1 % for developmental needs.. (See Attachment 8) Although many families are receiving help to pay childcare costs, there are currently 363 children eligible for Department of Social Services (DSS) subsidy that aze unnerved and waiting. This number is relatively low due to the recent purging of the waiting list, Of those waiting, approximately 25%aze school age, 2?% are 3-5 yeaz olds, 18% are 2 yeaz olds, and 30% are infantsltoddlers. Of the families waiting to be served, roughly 99% require services to maintain employment, and 1%require services to support training leading to employment. Waiting for Child Care While the Orange County Departrne~ of Social Services and Child Case Services Association do everything possible to provide all needy families with child care subsidy, there are rarely sufficierrt resources. Prior to the survey completed in November of 2004, there were over 300 children on waiting lists for child care subsidy, most of whom required child care to maintain employment. The goal of both organizations is to eliminate waiting lists and serve every diem as soon as possible, Unfortunately, this is not the reality, Families are often forced to wait for subsidy funds to become available, sometimes up to six months or more, In Orange County, there have been long child care subsidy waiting lists for the last few years. Smart Start first came to the community in 1993-94 along with a large influx of federal funds to the Depaztme~ of Social Services.. Due to increased funding, the waiting lists were eliminated for a few years and remained relatively short for a few more. Recently, however, the length of the waiting lists has reached the levels that pre-date Smart Start. There aze a few reasons for this. While funding to Social Services has increased, the increase is not enough to cover all the families requiring subsidy. The state budget crisis has also affected funds available through Smart Start, causing them to either hold steady or decline in recent yeazs, At the same time, child care providers in Orange County worked very hard to improve their quality by sending more of the staff to school, hiring better educated staffs improving their child-to-staff ratios and earning higher star ratings, To support these changes in quality, they needed to increase their tuition rates for care, I-Tgher tuition rates mean higher payme~ rates for child care subsidy. A higher cost per child per month without a commensurate increase in funds available has meant that fewer children can be served and waiting lists have increased.. It also means that fewer pazents aze able to afford the costs of care on their own, i~ Child care subsidy waiting lists aze a critical issue for Orange County, They affect both our economy and our ability to ready children for school. Because high quality child care in Orange County costs about $1,000 per month, many ]ow••income working pazents simply cannot afford to pay for it on their own. These families face the choice of not working or placing their children in low quality or potentially unsafe child care arrangements. These decisions have consequences for the children, the families and our community as a whole. (See Attachmern 9) One group of workers that cannot afford the cost of child caze on their own is the child Gaze workers themselves, Not having child care subsidy funds available affects their ability to support other workers in the community. As a result, the Orange County Child Care Coalition went before the DSS Boazd and the Board of County Commissioners in Agril of 2004 to secure additional child care subsidy funds that would specifically support childcare teachers and public school employees. In response to this increased awazeness, the Board of Coumy Commissioners appropriated $100,000 from the social safety net and designated it for child caze subsidy. The DSS Board Chair created the Day Care Task Force to examine the issue further and make recommendations for action. DISCIISSION The Day Caze Task Force reviewed materials and data from the County DSS Day Caze t7nit, the Partnership for Young Children, the Orange County Child Caze Coalition, the Child Caze Services Association and the Orange Courity Economic Development Office as part ofthe process of developing recommendations, Some ofthese materials have been included as attachme~s to this report. The data reveal that on average nearly 600 children of employed parents receive subsidies and another 500 aze eligible and waiting for subsidies in Orange Courrty. Furthermore, over 200 employers in Orange County have employees who receive or aze waiting for child caze subsidy, The significant economic benefit of child care subsidies on the business community can be found in Attachment 9. Since the Task Force formation was stimulated by a request from childcare providers for relief in the form of subsidies for their teachers, these needs, as well as the needs of other school and government based employees were of particular concern to the Task Force members. Recent information shows that the average pay of child caze teachers in Orange County is approximately $10..80 per hour.4 Families that rely solely on the wages of a child care teacher would be eligible for child care subsidies. Low wages and lack of comprehensive benefits have also resulted in significant turnover in the child care field,. Additional information on this issue can be found in Attachment 10. Other information gathered by the task force showed that all working pazents with low wages were struggling to meet their child care needs, Employers with 20-75 employees who have child care subsidies include I1NC, i1NC Hospitals, Chapel Hill/Cazrboro City Schools and Wal-Mart. Some paze~rts in low wage service and retail jobs also do not have benefits. Improving do Rclmtian ojChBd Can IY/v~kns in Omnge County, Cold Care Services Association i+ After reviewing all of this information, the Task Force developed recommendations for the $100,000 Day Caze Trust Fund with two goals, First, the Task Force felt it was hnportant to use the largest portion of this fund to reduce the length of time families have to wait to receive the available subsidies from state and federal funds.. Ifthe waiting time can be reduced significantly through the use of the Day Care Trust Funds, then families will be able to make better plans for their children, The Task Force felt that all working families whose incomes aze low enough to qualify for subsidy experience these same hardships. For this reason, it is recommended that children be served in the order they Srst were added to the waiting list.. A second goal of the Task Force was to recommend the use of a smaller portion of the funds to address the needs of child care teachers or other low-wage workers, at the same time providing a stimulus for additional funds to be generated through scholarships. For this reason, a portion of the funds were recommended to be used to pay half of the costs of the day caze for the time period these persons were waiting for subsidy, Since there were many other groups with simiLu• issues, the Task Force recommended this be available for any paze~rts who could find a way to pay the remaining costs. As long as the amount of available subsidy funds is far below the need in Orange County, Urere will be hardships for families who are trying to work and to provide appropriate care for their children, Finding a fair way to duect these scazce resources was the primary work of the Task Force, Members of the Task Force were particularly pleased that the Boazd of County Commissioners recognized this need and hope that its wmmiiment to helping low wage families through child care subsidies will contnre, RECOMMENDATIONS The coumy funds appropriated in the Day Care Trust Fund will be used to reduce the amourn of time families must wait to receive services. The funds will be managed as follows: • Social Services will manage requests for childcare subsidy under the policies established by the Social Services Board. Social Services will maintain a waiting list of all families eligible for subsidy through Social Services and will serve families based on the date they were placed on the waiting list. When Social Services funds are not available to serve these families, the county child care trast funds may be used to pay the portion of care that DSS subsidy would normally pay to the provider for as many children on the waiting list as the foods allow u~il other subsidy becomes available. Up to 10% of the Trust Fund may be set aside as scholarships for eligible fan~ilies to be matched by a sponsor. To receive these scholarships, these families must meet the same eligibility criteria as established by the Social Services Board and be on the Social Services waiting list, The county Trust Fund will pay 50% of the rate that would Lave been paid through the DSS subsidy to the provider to assist with the costs, This payment would continue until the family becomes eligible for other subsidies. These .families may be served regardless of their relative placement on the waiting list as long as scholarship funds aze available, • The Trust Fund should become a recurring appropriation for future child care subsidies.