DATE: April 13, 2021
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: David Pomaville, Director, Department of Public Health
SUBJECT: Retroactive Revenue Agreement with Fresno County Superintendent of Schools
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a retroactive revenue Agreement with Fresno County Superintendent of Schools for the Early Care and Education - Early Stars Program for trainings and technical assistance on health and safety standards at early childhood education sites, effective July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2022, total not to exceed $605,200.
REPORT
There is No Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. Approval of the recommended action will provide the Department of Public Health with two years of funding from Fresno County Superintendent of Schools (FCSS) to support the Early Care and Education - Early Stars Program. The program provides training, consultation and technical assistance on health and safety policies and procedures standards to early childhood education sites enrolled in the Early Stars Program. The funding will support salary and benefits for two Public Health Nurses (PHNs). This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
There are no viable alternative actions. Should your Board not approve the recommended action, the Department would be unable to fund the services provided to Early Stars Program.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT:
The recommended Agreement is retroactive to July 1, 2020. The recommended Agreement was received from FCSS on February 12, 2021. The time required to prepare and review the recommended Agreement did not allow presentation to your Board at an earlier date. Services impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic required additional budget and scope of work negotiations. Invoices for services totaling $72,464 are on hold for reimbursement pending approval of the recommended Agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The maximum amount of the two-year revenue agreement is $605,200. The allocation covers salary and benefit costs for two PHNs and indirect cost recovery of 7.4% of total personnel costs in the first year and 6.838% in the second year. The Department’s current indirect cost rate is 22.674%; Health Realignment will cover the 15.274% and 15.836% difference ($37,715 and $48,833). Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Department’s Org 5620 FY 2020-21 Adopted Budget and will be included in the FY 2021-22 budget request.
DISCUSSION:
FCSS developed the Fresno County Training and Technical Assistance (T&TA) Hub, in partnership with Central Valley Children’s Services Network, WestEd’s Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC), and the Department to provide coaching, training, technical assistance and assessments to childcare and early learning programs pursuing quality improvement. On March 26, 2019, your Board approved an agreement with FCSS that allowed Department PHNs to continue connecting County families with high quality licensed care and education providers, while supporting the providers in their efforts for continuous quality improvement of their services.
The recommended agreement will provide continued funding for two PHNs to provide California Health and Safety Code technical assistance, consultation and training to local childcare and early learning sites enrolled in FCSS’s Early Stars Program while utilizing the T&TA Hub. In FY 2019-20, the two program PHNs achieved the following:
• Provided assistance at 409 sites by incorporating best practices aligned with the Early Stars Quality Rating Improvement System;
• Supported the Early Stars Program providers by referring children with special needs and their families to nurse case management for assessment and referral; and,
• Provided trainings to 188 childcare providers and the general early childhood education community regarding health and safety concerns in childcare settings such as licensing compliance and communicable disease follow-up, including COVID-19.
The PHNs assisted in the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic, fulfilled duties as Leads for various COVID-19 response areas, and completed follow-up with every childcare site that had a positive case. They provided information on COVID-19 testing, cleaning, disinfecting, and ensuring staff and children were isolated and quarantined safely. Finally, the PHNs also assisted with creating a manual on COVID-19 specifically for Fresno County Childcare Providers.
Approval of the recommended agreement will allow the Department to continue providing the services that address the health and safety issues facing county childcare providers and the families they serve.
The recommended agreement differs from County’s model contract as it does not include County’s preferred indemnification language and insurance requirements. The agreement has been reviewed by Risk Management and deemed to be acceptable for this agreement between public entities.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #40, March 26, 2019
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Agreement with FCSS
CAO ANALYST:
Ron Alexander