Agenda Item No.: IV

Agenda Item No.: IV Regular Meeting: 02-22-17

M E M O R A N D U M

TO: First 5 Lake County Commission

FROM: Carla Ritz, Executive Director

DATE: February 15, 2017

SUBJECT: Executive Director’s Report

DIRECTOR’S COMMENTS – The most impactful use of my time this month has been time spent with First 5 Lake secretary, Vicki Hays, time with the other First 5 executive directors from the NW region, time at community meetings and time spent reading and note-taking. Vicki and I are beginning to gel as a team and we are coming up with new methods of organization and tracking to maximize our efficiency. The First 5 ED’s from the NW region welcomed me warmly both in meetings and at the Advocacy Day event. I have already begun seeking feedback and resources from this group with great results. I was able to attend meetings of the Health Leadership Network (HLN), MCAH Advisory Board, Lake County Breastfeeding Coalition, and I’m beginning the process of putting the “providers and services” pieces together. I’ve also spent a considerable amount of time reading and taking notes on the First 5 Lake by-laws, ordinance, and policies as well as the Prop. 10 statutes pertaining to the creation of the California Children and Families Trust Fund, as well as pouring over the financial statements for the Commission. Things are coming together.

FEDERAL LEVEL – Betsy DeVos was confirmed and sworn in as the new education secretary. Efforts have already begun to draw Sec. DeVos’ attention toward the cost-benefit and impact of early childhood education (https://www.brookings.edu/blog/education-plus- development/2017/02/09/why-devos-should-embrace-early-childhood-education/)

STATE LEVEL – Nothing to report.

STATE FIRST 5 COMMISSION – The ECE Coalition - including First 5 - submitted comments on the Governor's Budget Proposal to the Assembly and Senate Budget Committees on February 7, emphasizing that the proposal breaks the promise to continually increase access to early learning opportunities for low-income Californians.

FIRST 5 ASSOCIATION – Over 100 First 5 representatives met with over 100 legislators and members of the Brown Administration to advocate for children, families, and First 5 funding on Advocacy Day (January 31). Kim Belshé and Moira Kenney co-authored an op-ed about prioritizing early education in the state budget, which ran in the Sacramento Bee on Advocacy Day. (http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article129650749.html) This op-ed helped set the stage for our advocacy efforts when heading into legislative meetings. I, along with a group of EDs and Commissioners from the NW Region, met with Senator Mike McGuire and with Darion Johnston, legislative aide to Asm. Cecilia Aguiar-Curry. Senator McGuire will be

1 Agenda Item No.: IV Regular Meeting: 02-22-17 looking into possible ways to funnel cannabis tax revenue into First 5 services. Asm. Aguiar- Curry is new to the legislature and new to First 5 so we had an informational visit. She and her staff are very interested in Lake County as a whole.

GRANT ACTIVITY UPDATES: (These are highlights, and not intended to convey the full scope of the work being accomplished by each grantee.)

IMPACT/QRIS – The contract with LCOE for the full scope of work for the IMPACT grant has now been executed! I created a quarterly reimbursement form and progress report form that coincide with the First 5 CA IMPACT requirements and Colleen Campbell and I spent time together going over the budget, narrative and contract language prior to finalization. The revised 2016/17 IMPACT budget was approved by the First 5 CA Commission.

MOTHERWISE – By the time we meet on the 22nd, I will have spent several hours with Jaclyn and her team and will have observed a group session. I’ll share an update with you at our meeting about that experience.

ADMINISTRATION

Financial Statements – A financial report covering October 2016 – January 2017 is attached.

Commissioner Application – Per the Commission’s request, I spent time this month revising this application form. I took the Commissioners’ suggestions and incorporated them into a draft document (attached). I also requested applications from several other First 5 County Commissions in the Region to see if there were additional fields we should consider including. If the Commission agrees with the changes that have been made, we are prepared to run a newspaper ad soliciting new applications.

Commissioner Meeting Locations – I have asked Vicki to look into moving the location of our monthly meetings for two reasons, 1) to split our meetings between Lakeport and the south side of the Lake, and 2) to relocate to a more spacious room that would be more conducive to a professional meeting of this nature. She is currently working out the details with Mendocino Community College and St. Helena Hospital and/or DSS. When we have confirmed locations we will publish a new calendar that includes those details. All meeting dates will remain the same, only the location will change.

Operations Manual – Vicki and I have agreed upon a tool to use for the creation of a First 5 Lake staff operations manual. We’ll be using Microsoft One Note to create a digital manual that we will both have access to. Each of us will thoroughly document our daily, weekly, monthly and periodical duties including how-to steps, processes, key contacts and locations of important documents. The purpose of this manual will be to serve as a stand-in should someone new need to step in and do the job of the executive director or secretary. This will be a lengthy process that we will work on as we have time, but we are both committed to making it happen by the end of this fiscal year. When the manual is complete it can be printed or shared electronically with the Commission Chair and Vice Chair so that there is sufficient access to the information if it is ever needed.

2 Agenda Item No.: IV Regular Meeting: 02-22-17

Q3 Transition Plan Update –

 January 12-31 o Attend County of Lake HR and Department of Health Services orientations o Attend IMPACT Regional Hub meeting in Ukiah o Attend First 5 Association Advocacy Day in Sacramento o Attend QRIS meeting at LCOE (monthly) o Attend LCCPC meeting o Meet with Roseanne Ibarra, ED of First 5 Mendocino o Complete the IMPACT Annual Performance Report survey o Review and revise budget and draft contracts for the remaining IMPACT work o Respond to First 5 CA re: pending requirements for Small Population County Augmentation Funding o Weekly meetings with Denise Pomeroy at DHS (ongoing)  February 1-28 o Meet with former ED, Tom Jordan o Meet with directors from each program funded by First 5 Lake County – in progress o Review financials and create new accounting coding system – in progress o Calculate money saved on ED vacancy and explore options for reallocation o Review audit and strategic plan – in progress o Clean and reorganize First 5 office space – in progress o Review legal code for First 5 Lake o Review Brown Act and pursue training o Attend local and regional meetings as appropriate (ongoing) – in progress  March 1-31 o Visit programs in action o Create an ED operations manual o Visit another Region 1 First 5 program (Sonoma?) o Meet with commissioners individually (as desired) – in progress