Santa Barbara County Child Care Planning Council Steering Committee Minutes of Meeting of August 28, 2013 Rabobank, 1330 Copenhagen Drive, Solvang, CA 93463
Members present: Jennifer Bergquist, Flo Furuike, Michelle Graham, Becky Grant, Eileen Monahan Members absent: Trudy Adair-Verbais Staff present: Joyce Stone
I. Call to Order Chair Jennifer Bergquist called the meeting to order at 9:02 a.m.
II. Public Comment Period There was no public comment.
III. Approval of Minutes of June 26, 2013 Flo Furuike moved to approve the minutes of June 26, 2013. Eileen Monahan seconded the motion. There was a correction to Item IX to add Becky Grant as having completed the ethics training. MSC.
IV. Approval of 2013-14 Meeting Calendar Joyce Stone presented a draft Meeting Calendar for Council and Steering Committee meetings for 2013-14. The Buellton Recreation Center will be rented from 8 am until 2 pm on the dates of the Council meetings. Committees will be encouraged to meet before and after the Council meetings. Becky Grant moved to approve the Meeting Calendar for 2013-14. Eileen Monahan seconded the motion. MSC.
V. Public Policy/State Budget Update State advocates are talking about advocating for restoration of funding in the coming budget year. The Child Care and Development Fund released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to amend the regulations that govern the Child Development Block Grant funds. Public comments were due in early August. The National Women’s Law Center and other groups are collecting stories of how quality programs enhance children’s learning in an effort to support the President’s early learning plan. The current budget allocated $25 million for partial restoration of part-day state preschool statewide. We need to survey our local contractors to see if any of the funds were received in Santa Barbara County.
VI. Review of Internal Plan Joyce Stone distributed copies of Goal 1 of the 2012-13 Internal Plan for review and updating. Joyce will distribute copies of the updated Plan at the CCPC Retreat on September 11. There was a discussion about how to report out the work of the Action Team and Committees (Goal 2). Jennifer will collect the “Top Three” successes from each group and Joyce will create a document for the Retreat. She will also bring updated work plans for posting, and blank templates for the activity plans.
VII. Retreat Planning Update Dan Fontaine joined the meeting via telephone. Michelle Graham reported that the Planning Committee last met on August 14 and had a tour of the site. Karin Dominguez agreed to work with Joyce Stone on member appreciation but requested that it be done after the opening gratitude exercise, which the committee agreed to do. Karin will also lead the installation of officers. Joyce will purchase parking passes and finalize the food order after the September 4 registration deadline. Michelle Graham will finalize the signs. Maggie Espinoza and Eileen Monahan have agreed to procure vans for carpooling from both Santa Maria and Goleta. Michelle and Joyce will finalize the instructions for the small group scenarios. VIII. Needs Assessment Update Joyce Stone reported that data purchased from the American Institutes for Research will be released soon. The Needs Assessment Committee should be re-convened late September or early October to review what data elements are still critical to update.
IX. Update on SB Foundation Proposal Joyce Stone reported that Martha Harmon has retired from the Santa Barbara Foundation, but it is unknown what effect that might have on the proposal we submitted on July 12. The notification will occur in October or November.
X. Collaboration with Parent Click Jennifer Bergquist reported that Rachel from Parent Click would like to meet with members of the Council to discuss how we can collaborate. Jennifer requested that Michelle Graham and Eileen Monahan join the meeting, but a date has not yet been set. Michelle Graham reported that Children’s Resource & Referral has purchased an ad on their website in the past. Committee members will look at their website and strategize at the September 25 Steering Committee meeting.
XI. Update on ECE Leadership Project Eileen Monahan and Joyce Stone provided an update on the current planning process for 2014 and beyond. We have hired a facilitator, Angela Antenore, to lead the expanded advisory group meeting on September 27. That meeting will be followed by two meetings of a smaller work group to develop a detailed plan for next year’s Series. There was a suggestion to give ECE Leadership a larger focus in the Council’s next strategic plan.
XII. Coordinator’s Report Joyce Stone distributed a report on her activities since the June 26 Steering Committee meeting.
XIII. ECED Updates Eileen Monahan reported that she, Michelle Graham and Joyce Stone attended the QRIS Consortium meeting in Sacramento on August 27. California will receive an additional allocation from the federal government, with approximately $504,000 for Santa Barbara over two years. The details of what will be required for utilizing these additional funds is not yet known; the Governor’s Office is working out the details. First 5 is working with the consultant group Viva on creating the new website portal for quality child care. The strategic planning process is underway; two focus areas are family support and quality ECE. The Strategic Plan will be presented to the Commission in November, and RFPs will go out in January.
XIV. Agenda for September 25, 2013 Steering Committee Meeting Agenda items will include: Retreat Debriefing, Internal Plan Review, External Plan Review, Data Review, and discussion of Parent Click.
XV. Agenda for September 11, 2013 Council Meeting The agenda will include: Gratitude Exercise, Member Recognition, and Installation of Officers.
XVI. Other Business/Announcements Joyce Stone asked Jennifer Bergquist to sign the Member Certification Statement, which will be forwarded to the Superintendent of Schools and the Board of Supervisors for signature, before being submitted to CDE.
XVII. Adjournment Chair Jennifer Bergquist adjourned the meeting at 11:46 a.m.