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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 8382 City of Palo Alto (ID # 8382) City Council Staff Report Report Type: Consent Calendar Meeting Date: 9/11/2017 City of Palo Alto Page 1 Summary Title: Approval of $75,000 for an Assessment of the Needs of Families & Young Children Title: Approval of Budget Amendments in the General Fund and the Child Care Trust Fund to Hire a Consultant to Conduct an Assessment of the Assets, Resources and Challenges of Families and Their Young Children in Palo Alto From: City Manager Lead Department: Community Services Recommendation Staff recommends that the City Council amend the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Appropriation Ordinance for: a. The Child Care Trust Fund by: i. Increasing the transfer to the General Fund by $75,000; and ii. Decreasing the ending fund balance by $75,000; b. The General Fund by: i. Increasing the transfer from the Child Care Trust Fund by $75,000; and ii. Increasing the Community Services Department expenditure appropriation by $75,000 in order to hire a Consultant to conduct an assessment of the assets, resources, and challenges of families and their young children in Palo Alto. Executive Summary Palo Alto prides itself on being a community rich in assets, services and opportunities for families with young children. This stems from a long history of considering and prioritizing the needs of families and young children in the community and is demonstrated through our programs, services, amenities and events. Also key among what makes a community a great place for families is affordable, available and quality child care. From the first task force and report on child care needs in 1973 (Attachment A) and again in 1989 (Attachment B), to playing a key role in establishing Palo Alto Community Child Care (PACCC), to ongoing support for child care subsidies for low income families and oversite and support of onsite afterschool child care on all Palo Alto City of Palo Alto Page 2 Unified School District (PAUSD) elementary school campuses, the City has demonstrated a longtime commitment to the child care needs of families. However, the needs of families have changed over the ensuing years including more women in the workforce, an exponential increase in non-traditional work schedules and modes, technological advances, coupled with the high cost of living. As a community we need to ask ourselves the following: How are families and their young children doing? What programs, supports and services is our community offering them and does it meet their needs? What are the child care needs of families? What challenges do our child care providers face? Human Services staff, along with the Palo Alto Advisory Commission on Early Care & Education (PAACECE), proposes an assessment of the assets, resources and challenges of families and their young children in Palo Alto to better understand and improve our support for families with young children. Staff is recommending an allocation from the Child Care Trust Fund to conduct the proposed assessment. Background The Palo Alto Advisory Commission on Early Care & Education (PAACECE) is an advisory committee to the City Manager on issues related to child care (ages 0 -12) and early learning. Their mission is to advocate for high quality, accessible early childhood educational environments on behalf of families and children in Palo Alto. Committee members include representatives from Palo Alto Community Child Care, Palo Alto Unified School District Young Fives/PreSchool Family, Stanford WorkLife Office, Children’s Health Council, local child care providers, parenting/education specialists, and other child care/children’s organizations. Minka van der Zwaag, the City’s Human Services Manager, is the liaison to the committee. PAACECE is the “successor” to a series of task forces/advisory bodies on child care related issues that the City has instituted since 1973. Each of these committees has worked with the City to identify and implement, through a series of reports and master plans, child care priorities for the community. In 1987, a Child Care Trust Fund (CCTF) was created to house money raised by the Child Care Task Force for the purpose of implementing the goals of the (then) upcoming Child Care Master Plan to be released in 1989. A $150,000 contribution was made to the trust fund in 1991 by a local developer as part of a density bonus agreement for a proposed downtown development project. Expenses to the CCTF were incurred to implement some of the goals of the 1989 master plan but the funds were not expended. The fund has increased over the years via interest income and the current total is $353,196. Staff would like to utilize funding from the CCTF to pay for the currently proposed assessment and has consulted with the Attorney’s office in regards to the possibility of doing so given the original stipulations of the contribution. The City Attorney’s office reviewed the history of the fund and the developer’s City of Palo Alto Page 3 contribution and has advised us that since the goals of the original master plan have largely been achieved or rendered inapt due to the significant passage of time, the funds do not have to be used for any specific item anymore, although the current request for funding is in keeping with the original purpose of the contribution. Discussion The last thorough analysis of early childhood and child care needs in Palo Alto was in 1989. Much change and growth has come since that time. Many families are composed of parents who are working and with the changing work environments, more energy and talent is spent in the workplace and away from home, making an adequate supply of high quality child care services essential to support the changing family. There are also new economic challenges such as the cost of housing, the increased difficulties of work-life integration, the fast paced technological advances and the evolving flexible work environments have all brought about much change in the way we live in this community. All these factors affect how we live, work and raise children. The ability to establish an increased supply of child care that is accessible and affordable for parents and is attractive to talented early childhood educators, has become even more challenging as the cost of land for establishing new child care sites, local housing, and the cost of living have risen greatly. Staff and PAACECE recommend a thoughtful and reflective inquiry into how these changes, including current growth and changing demographics, impact family life and the quality of our children’s lives is vital to the long term sustainability and vitality of our community. We have an opportunity to gather information and apply creative and progressive thinking to meeting these challenges. Staff and PAACECE are excited to lead in this community planning effort and take a fresh look at how families and their young children are doing, what supports and services our community is offering them, and how we can come together to update and improve our support for families with young children. To that end, we propose carrying out an assessment of the assets, resources and challenges for families and their young children in our community. This assessment compliments the city’s commitment to children in their early years contained in the Comprehensive Plan and will strengthen Palo Alto’s Healthy Cities/Healthy Communities Initiative focus for FY18 on supporting a healthy culture, which addresses elements of health that support the social, emotional, and mental wellbeing of the community. Major draft elements of the assessment may include: City of Palo Alto Page 4  Demographic analysis of Palo Alto and how our current growth and changing demographics impact the quality of current and future children’s experiences in Palo Alto  Accessibility, Availability and Quality of local Child Care  Child Care and children’s services as part of a new multi-generational plan for Cubberley Community Center  Strengths, needs and challenges of our parents and extended family members caring for children  Strengths, needs and challenges of Early Education professionals and Child Care facilities  Future trends There are many individuals and agencies and other stakeholders who would bring enthusiasm, knowledge, and skill to the effort of assessing how well Palo Alto is supporting the quality of life for families and their young children, and will take part in addressing the findings of this assessment as it is beyond the reach, scope and responsibility of the City alone. The Children’s Health Council, Parents Place, Palo Alto Community Child Care, and the Stanford WorkLife Office have all expressed an interest in cooperating in this project and helping to implement its findings, and staff and PAACECE will reach out to many more community agencies while completing the assessment. To complete this assessment staff is requesting an allocation of $75,000 from the Child Care Trust Fund to hire a consultant. The consultant will work staff and PAACECE, in collaboration with community, to conduct research, hold focus groups, develop surveys and provide analysis for a final report that will provide the City with a comprehensive assessment of the assets, resources, and challenges of families and their young children in Palo Alto. This assessment will serve as a guide to help mobilize the community to maintain and strengthen Palo Alto as a great place for families and for children and to guide potential investment choices to help meet identified gaps and challenges. Timeline If approved, staff plans to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) in early fall of 2017 for a consultant to conduct the assessment in calendar year 2018. Resource Impact Requested funding of $75,000 is in the Child Care Trust Fund (CCTF). The overall CCTF’s fund balance of $353,196 will be reduced to $278,196 with this action, and CSD’s budget will be increased by $75,000 to conduct an assessment of the assets, resources, and challenges of families and their young children in Palo Alto. Policy Implications City of Palo Alto Page 5 The following Goals and Policies from the Comprehensive Plan are directly related to this discussion: GOAL C-1: Effective and Efficient Delivery of Community Services. POLICY C-7: Actively work with private, nonprofit, and public community service organizations to avoid duplication and to coordinate POLICY C-11 Support and promote the provision of comprehensive child care services in Palo Alto by public and private providers, including employers. Attachments:  ATTACHMENT A - A Plan for Child Care in Palo Alto_Apr1973  ATTACHMENT B - ChildCareMasterPlan1989