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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 03-15-2005-7aORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: March 15, 2005 Action Agenda Item No. _ SUBJECT: Accept Report from Social Services Board Regarding Day Care Funds and To Consider A Request to Release the Remaining $50,000 Appropriated far Day Care in the Social Safety Net Fund DEPARTMENT: Social Services PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No ATTACHMENT(S): Day Care Task Force Report (Under Separate Cover) Examples of Use of Trust Funds Letters of Support from Task Force Members INFORMATION CONTACT: Rosetta Wash Dee Gamble Nancy Coston, ext 2802 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough Chapel Hill Durham Mebane 732-8181 968-4501 688-7331 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To accept a report from the Social Services Board regarding day care funds and to consider a request to release remaining $50,000 appropriated for day care in the Social Safety Net Fund. BACKGROUND: The Orange County Commissioners, in recognition of the growing need for affordable childcare for families whc live in Orange County, identified funds that could be used to provide additional subsidy. The Commissioners requested that the Social Services Board develop a plan for the use of $100,000 in Social Safety Net Funds designated for this purpose. The Social Services Board formed a day care task force representing day care providers, the Orange County Partnership for Young Children, the Social Services Board, Child Care Services Association, the Board of County Commissioners, the County Manager's office and Social Services staff to explore needs and resources. The Social Services Board requested in December that these fiands be released to the Department of Social Services to provide services to children currently waiting for day care. At the December Board of County Commissioners' meeting, the Commissioners released $50,000 from the safety net and decided to hold the other funds until the Social Services Board presented more information about the planned use for these funds. As of March 1, 2005, Social Services had obligated $40,000 to provide services tc children. Since the December meeting, the Day Care Task Force has continued to meet to study the varicus isstaes related to day care and the families who need assistance. The full report of the Task Farce was accepted by the Social Services Board on Febniary 21, 2005 and is attached.. 2 The Day Care Task Force reviewed materials and data from the County Department of Social Services (DSS) Day Care Unit, the Partnership for Young Children, the Orange County Child Care Coalition, the Child Care Services Association and the Orange County Economic Development Office as part of the process of developing recommendations. The data reveal that, on average, nearly 600 children of employed parents receive subsidies and another 300 to 500 are eligible and waiting for subsidies in Orange County. Currently, for example, there are 363 children who are eligible for subsidy from the Department of Social Services who are not receiving any assistance with their child care needs. Furthermore, over 200 employers in Orange County have employees who receive or are waiting for child care subsidy, These subsidies provide a significant economic benefit for the business community. Since the Task Force formation was stimulated by a request from child care providers for relief in the form of subsidies far 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 from Child Care Services Association shows that the average pay of child care teachers in Orange County is approximately $10.80 per hour. 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. Other information gathered by the task farce showed that working parents with low wages were struggling to meet their child care needs. Employers with 20-75 employees who have child care subsidies include UNC, UNC Hospitals, Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools and Wal-Mart. Some parents in low wage service and retail jabs also do not have benefits. After reviewing all of this information, the Task Force developed recommendations for the $100,000 Day Care Trust Fund with two goals.. First, the Task Force felt it was important 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. If the waiting time can be reduced significantly through the use of the Day Care Trust Funds, then families will be able to make better plans far their children, The Task Force felt that all working families whose incomes are low enough to qualify for subsidy experience these same hardships. For this reason, it is recommended that children be served in the order they first 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 low-wage workers including child care teachers, 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 amount that Social Services would normally pay for the time period these persons were waiting for subsidy. The remaining costs would need to be paid by the employer or through same other sponsoring organization. Since there were many other groups with similar issues, the Task Force recommended this be available for any parents who had a sponsor or other means to meet these costs, As long as the amount of available subsidy funds is far below the need in Orange County, there will be hardships for families who are trying to work and to provide appropriate care for their children. Finding a fair way to direct these scarce resources was the primary work of the Task Farce. Members of the Task Force were particularly pleased that the Board of County Commissioners recognized this need and hope that its commitment to helping low wage families through child care subsidies will continue. Recommendations The County funds appropriated in the Day Care Trust Fund will be used to reduce the amount of time families must wait to receive services. The funds will be managed as follows: Social Services will manage requests for child care 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 trust 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 funds allow until other subsidy becomes available. Up to 10% of the Trust Fund may be set aside as scholarships for eligible families 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 an the Social Services waiting list. The County Trust Fund will pay 50% of the rate that would have 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 are available, Therefore a person with a sponsor could be served before other persons on the waiting list, • The Trust Fund should become a recurring appropriation for future child care subsidies. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The approved budget for fiscal year 2004-05 included $100,000 in the Social Safety Net Reserve earmarked for day care subsidies. On December 14, 2004, the Board of County Commissioners approved an appropriation of $50,000 from the Social Safety Net Reserve to the Department of Social Services leaving $50,000 yet to be allocated. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board accept the Task Force Report along with the Social Services Board recommendation to release the funds to Social Services with the funds to be used to assist families on the Social Services waiting list under policies developed by the Social Services Board. 4 Example Benefits of Day Care Trust Fund to Families Needing Subsidy 1. An Orange County resident who is a teacher in a public school system in Orange County has a preschool child and is financially eligible for subsidy, The teacher is one of the top names on the waiting list based on date of application. Social Services estimates that no state or federal funds will be available for her for the next six months. The Day Care Trust Fund will be used to pay the full cost normally paid through subsidy (the parent must still pay the applicable parent fee) until she can receive funds from the state and federal subsidies, 2. An Orange County resident who is a teacher at a local child care center has a preschool child and is financially eligible for subsidy, The child care teacher is number 200 on the waiting list for subsidy, The child care program that employs the teachers offers to pay part of the costs of the child care while the parent is waiting for subsidy, The Day Care Trust Funds would pay half of the costs usually paid through the subsidy program (the parent must still pay the applicable parent fee) until such time as state or federal subsidies are available. 3, An Orange County resident who is employed by Orange County Government has a preschool child and is financially eligible for subsidy. This employee is number 100 on the waiting list. A local church has offered to sponsor this family until they can receive state or federal funds, The Day Care Trust Funds would pay half of the costs usually paid through the subsidy program (the parent must still pay the applicable parent fee) until such time as state or federal subsidies are available. 5 March 4, 2005 To the Orange County Commissioners, We, The Orange County Childcaze Directors, are supporting the recommendations as outlined in the report submitted by the Task Force to the Orange County DSS Board, Childcare teachers continue to wait list for subsidy from both with DSS and CCSA, Childcare Directors understand the economic benefit to having employee's children enrolled in quality child care programs, The typical wait for subsidy for a working family is 6 to 9 months. This is a hardship for employers and employees, We aze encouraged to see the Task Force making the recommendation that matching dollars would support a working family who meet eligibility criteria until full funding becomes available, We would like to thank the Orange County Commissioners for hearing and responding to our request for additional funds for subsidy. Establishing a Task Force to create a plan for spending the $100,000.00 brought agencies and information together generating a broader prospective of the struggles of low income families and the economic benefits to employers and government. We would also like to thank the Task Force for the collaboration, reseazch, and the hours that were committed to this project. The Orange County Childcare Directors would encourage the Orange County Commissioners to continue the financial support of committing county dollars for the purchase of child care slots. Childcare is a growing business that is a necessity for a strong economy. Childcare wages continue to be low and the cost of care continues to be high, making financial assistance to a teacher with young children a necessity. Subsidy dol]azs help keep quality teachers working in the childcare industry. Once again thank you for your understanding and commitment to this cause!! Sincerely, The Orange County Directors Kate Sanford, Representing the Orange County Directors ARANGE CAUNTY PARTNERSHIP FOR YOUNG CHILDREN March 3, 2005 1829 E. Franklin Stveet, Suite lzoo-C < Chapel Hill, NC z7514 Phone 919 967.9091 fax 919933.1008 www..0rangeSmartStart.org Dorothy Gamble Chair, Orange County Day Care Task Force Department of Social Services Dear Dee: We aze writing to offer our support for the work being done by the county's Day Care Task Force and Social Services Boazd to establish a Day Care Trust Fund. We know from research that quality early childhood education provides the beginnings of a sound education and a sound economy. There remains a critical shortage of funding to support working families in our county despite the fact that more than $5 million is invested annually in child Gaze subsidies and scholarships by our organization and via state and federal sources through the Deparment of Social Services. Each yeaz, there are hundreds of children and families who cannot access quality child Gaze in our' community, and the consequences aze devastating for our county: Young children aze not able to access high quality early childhood education opportunities which would help ensure their success in school and in life. Their pazents maybe forced to quit their jobs or will lose their employment because they cannot afford child care services. Local employers do not have access to qualified employees and the work force needed to ensure successful businesses. The Day Care Trust Fund proposed by the task force would be an hnportant step in establishing the county as a funding paztner for child Gaze subsidies: the current fenders cannot meet the community need. The Pazmership itself aheady commits nearly 60% of its total Smazt Start allocation for child care subsidies for working families, and the state/federal share is capped and based on population. With the county's leadership, I believe that other partners, including the business community, would become more involved and supportive.. Funding for child care subsidies is an investment not only in families but also in the county's economy. A recent study demonstrated that the child care industry is a vital pazt of the state and local economy, Irr Orange County, the chIld care sector contributes $136 million annually to our economy. So this is not just an investment in children and families, but an investment in our economy as well. The Partnership looks forward to working with you and the county to make the Day Caze Trust Fund a reality. You can count onus to continue our current invesnent in child Gaze subsidies, and to promote the Day Care Trust Fund to other paztners in our' community. Please let us know how we can be of assistance to you in this important work for' children and families in Orange County Si~ereurs, Z Shazon Ringwalt Chain, Board ofDirectors BOARD Fletcher Barber, lr. N.C. Cooperallve Fnlenslon Orange County Center Lynn Blanchard Carollw Center for PUbllc Servlcet Jennifer 8o~ger Vowd Roses oundaiion Bob Brizendine Hillsborough Presbperian lay Bryan Allomey Shirley Carraway Orange County Schoolt Di1ta Castro Frank Porter Graham Child Development institute Mark Chilton EnPOWERmenl.lnc Barbara Coafiey Chapel Hill/Canbom Clry Schoolz Pre K/Head Start program Nancy Costmt Orange County Department of Social gervices joe OiCostanzo rarem Anita Farei UNC School of Public Health Lisa fischbeck Churth aflhe Advoratc Stephen Halkiotis Orange County Commissioner Rachel Hawkinz Piedmont FA1C Paula lanes Crwllve Preschool john Link, lr. Orange County dlawgcr Mike Ma(hers Chapel HIII Tralniny Outreach Neil Pedersen Chapel HIII/Canbaro Cily Schools Dann Reed parent Sharon Ringwalt Orange CounryPreubaol Interagency [oundl Sue Russell Child Care Services Assodation Kate Saltford Clmpei HIII Day Care Center Lica Smith Whole FOOds Alsket 8reltda Stephelts Onn4e Caunry library Rosemary Summers Orange County Health Depstmenl Judy Truitt OPC hlenlal Hcallh Michele Rivesf GIVING EVERY CHILD A CEJ~J~~~ I N ORANGE < O U N T Y ExenniveOircetar Child Care Services Association 0 March 4, 2005 Dee Gamble, Chair Orange County Day Care Subsidy Task Force Orange County Dept. of Social Services P.O. Box 8181 Hillsborough, NC 27278 Dear Dee, P.O. Box 901, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514 telephone (919) 967-3272, facsimile (919) 967-7683 www.childcareseivices.oig Child Care Services Association supports the Day Care Subsidy Task Force's recommendations to increase access to child care subsidy funds in Orange County. As the child care subsidy administrator for the community-based funds in Orange County, we see every day the need for more resources in the child care subsidy system. Every day families call us who need child care subsidy funds so that they can keep working, return to work after maternity leave or go to school and every day we have to tell at least one family that we are sorry, there is a waiting list fbr help. This is a problem not just for this family and this child, but for our community too. We are particularly pleased with the recommendation to set aside a portion of the money for matching funds which has the potential to bring even more funds to the table.. We appreciate the county's willingness to recognize this as a persistent issue for the welfare and school readiness of children and for the economic development of Orange County. It is important for all of us to work together -the County, community agencies and child care providers - to create strategies and resources that address these very important needs in our community. Sincerely, 'l Teresa M. Derrick Vice President for Child Care Resource and Referral Services Y~~ ~ Ensuring Affordable, Accessible, High Qimlity Child Cnre UMtm W`uy gmariCmps