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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-03-20 City Council (25)City of Palo Alto City Manager’s Report TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: Community Services DATE:MARCH 20, 2000 CMR: 162:00 SUBJECT: COMPLETION OF PHASE IMPLEMENTATION I OF FAMILY RESOURCES This is an informational report and no Council action is required. BACKGROUND The problems and changing needs of families in Palo Alto were addressed in then-Mayor Kniss’s 1994 State of the City Address. The City Council convened a task force to familiarize itself with the concerns of Palo Alto’s families and to develop a plan to address the expressed needs. Focus groups, surveys, and forums were used to solicit input from the community. The major theme that emerged was that, though there is a vast array of services in the community, there is not adequate awareness of these services or easily accessible information about them. Families expressed a sense of isolation and often didn’t know how to avail themselves of needed services. The Task Force presented the information from this needs assessment to the C!ty Council and proposed a plan for a Palo Alto Family Resources Program. The main objectives of the plan were to improve information about and access to services and to facilitate connections within the community. Opportunities for improving community connections were woven into the achievement of all Family Resources goals in order to maximize the possibility of alleviating the sense of isolation expressed by many families. City staff was directed to refine the plan to include use of existing City resources. During 1997, a Family Resources Advisory Group comprised of City staff and a subset of the Task Force ~worked together to refine the plan. A three-phase "high-tech / high-touch" implementation plan, based on the collaboration of nonprofit family service providers, the City of Palo Alto, and the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) was presented and approved by the City Council (CMR 415:97) on October 20, 1997. The budget for this plan was approved by the City Council in February 1998. An implementation team, with members from the Task Force and Advisory Group, has guided the implementation of this plan and the policies of Family Resources. A number CMR: 162:00 Page 1 of 5 of priorities that were set for this plan have now been accomplished and are the subject of this report. DISCUSSION The debut of Family Resources’ public availability took place on January 20, 2000. The launch of the Family Resources website. This event occurred at PAUSD Adult School’s Pre-School Family, the first Family Resources Community Internet Access Site. This location is notable for the program’s long history and popularity with Palo Alto families, and for its manifestation of City-School collaboration efforts. The website is one of five Family Resources programs available to the public. An overall balance of"high-tech and high-touch" characterizes these approaches. Family Resources Website (www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/familyresouces) As of January 2000, the Family Resources website is available to the entire community through personal computers or public Internet access sites. The website, developed through funds contributed by the Yamanouchi USA Foundation, features over 450 resources in a searchable database which incorporates the standards and practices of the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems and Infoline, Los Angeles. This database was developed in collaboration with County Supervisor Joe Simitian’s Online Directory Project, which will offer countywide and eventually Bay Area-wide accessibility. The Family Resources website offers easily retrievable information about human services available to the Palo Alto community. The ability to search this extensive information in a variety of ways (resource category highlights, services needed, agency name, target group, or keywords) makes this website a flexible and relevant tool for both users and providers of services. In order to bring a high-touch component to the technology, Family Resources worked with Mid-Peninsula Access Corporation (MPAC) to create voice messages paired with photos of service providers and community members. These messages reflect the importance of families and welcome them to utilize the many resources available to meet their needs and interests. The website also contains resource lists specific to the Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese communities in their language. The Family Resources website will also encourage online community dialogue through an emerging collaboration with NeighborSpace, an opportunity created by the Palo Alto Weekly and Mid-Peninsula Access Corporation. Internet Access Sites It is a long-standing goal of Family Resources to ensure that everyone is provided with the opportunity to access its valuable new Internet resource regardless of whether or not they have Internet access at their home. To achieve this, Family Resources will provide new Internet access terminals in strategic locations of particular community focus and family activity. The first of these, developed in collaboration with the PAUSD, will be CMR: 162:00 Page 2 of 5 located at Pre-School Family, a PAUSD Adult School parent education / preschool program that has over 300 families with young children enrolled each year. In addition, ten sites throughout town offering public Internet access are collaborating with Family Resources to help families find needed resources. These sites are featured in Family Resources publicity materials, with a map to their locations, and include the six City libraries and four community resource centers (Community Health Resource Center at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, The Health Library at Stanford Shopping Center, The Provider Connection at Palo Alto CommUnity Child Care, and The Resource Center at The Children’s Health Council). Desktop Kiosks of Information Desktop kiosks were developed to complement, in a more traditional format, the information contained in the Family Resources website. The desktop kiosks contain a condensed collection of local resource information, maps, and service provider materials. The desktop kiosks are placed in a variety of locations in the community, such as public libraries, resource centers, child care facilities, service organizations, and community centers. The Kiwanis Club of Palo Alto and the Greater Bay Bancorp Foundation contributed funds toward the development of the kiosks. These colorful and user-friendly displays sort resources by categories paralleling the website organization, and refer users to nearby personal assistance and support if needed. A Family Resources Ambassador supports each kiosk. Ambassador Development A vital component of Family Resources is the Ambassador Development Program, which establishes an ongoing person-to-person extension of Family Resources throughout the community. The Ambassador Development Program offers an in-depth understanding of the community’s resources and their relationship to family wellbeing, as well as the skills and personal connections necessary to facilitate links between community resources and family needs. The Ambassador Development Program is working with the American Institutes for Research ’(AIR), a not-for-profit corporation with expertise in program planning, implementation, program evaluation, and a particular interest in community building. With the support of AIR, the Ambassador Development program teaches and practices the importance of creating, nurturing, and sustaining connections upon which healthy families and communities depend. Ambassadors represent a cross-section of the community and are comprised of service providers (both directors and staff), local purveyors of information, members of grass roots organizations, and community members at-large. Ambassador trainees participate in a series of monthly meetings offering opportunities to develop community connections and hear. presentations by local providers and by authorities in various fields of service. Trainees and presenters learn from one another. Graduates of the program provide a person-to-person infusion of information and connections within their own respective communities (neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, places of worship, etc.) improving the CMR: 162:00 Page 3 of 5 chances of reaching and informing those who are outside the mainstream of information exchange. Hub Development The lobby of the Cubberley Community Center serves as the central office for Family Resources. This office houses hard-copy information for the community, trained resource specialists who are familiar with all aspects of the Family Resources program, and a small comfortable area for reading and conversation. A Community Information Exchange bulletin board is available for visitors to exchange messages on such topics as teen availability for jobs such a babysitting and yard work, interest in sharing child care and/or creating playgroups, and the availability of used clothing and equipment for small children. Evaluation The American Institutes for Research’s (AIR) work with Family Resources includes its evaluation of Family Resources’ impact on the improvement of resource and community awareness. AIR is nationally respected for its work in the development of community and its skills in evaluation. AIR will develop the instruments and analyze the data to measure these anticipated changes as a result of Family Resources programs. In addition, Family Resources has developed several instruments to evaluate both output and outcome related to specific components of the Family Resources project: the website, the desktop information kiosks, the hub, and the community internet access site(s). These evaluation forms will be distributed the last two weeks of each quarter. Some are for completion by community users; some for completion as logs by staff. RESOURCE IMPACT Family Resources has received outside funds totaling $124,527 since its inception in May 1994. Of that total, $35,000 has been received in the past year. Grant applications totaling $277,983 are pending at this time. The Family Resources Fund Developer continually makes foundation investigations and, additional grant applications as appropriate. TIMELINE Phase II is characterized by the public availability of Family Resources. During Phase II, all plans and programs implemented in Phase I will be available to the public and tested by use. The implementation team will continue to guide policy, evaluate progress and review necessary adjustments. During Phase II, the updating cycle for Family Resources information will begin, Ambassador Development will complete two or more cohort trainings, and collaborations will continue to develop. Partnerships between service providers will be initiated and have opportunities to grow through Family Resources programs. A major new effort during this period will be the promotion of Family Resources, through person-to-person information sharing, public service announcements, media exposure, presentations to appropriate groups, and the experience of Family CMR: 162:00 Page 4 of 5 Resource benefits spread by word of mouth. Fund development will continue to reduce the extent of City support for Family Resources. Phase II is expected to cover a 12-18 month period. The incorporation of former Mayor Lanie Wheeler’s program, "Palo Alto Together", into Family Resources has been discussed in Phase I. The community-building and community-involving goals of "Palo Alto Together" match similar goals of Family Resources. "Palo Alto Together" would provide unique and valuable enhancements to the person-to-person community building goals of the Family Resources Ambassador Development Program. The implementation of this collaboration will begin in Phase II. Phase III will be characterized by the continuation of refined Family Resources programs and the beginning of advocacy efforts to strengthen existing programs that represent an identified need in the community. Phase III will begin the process of allowing Family Resources to evolve into an independent community organization. ATTACHMENTS Attachment A: Attachment B: Attachment C: Attachment D: Attachment E: Attachment F: Attachment G: Attachment H: Family Resources Brochure Collaborating Internet Sites and Map Implementation Team: Purpose & Responsibilities Implementation Team: Roster Advisory Group: Purpose, Responsibilities Advisory Group: Roster Ambassador Roster Funders to date PREPARED BY: Sharon Murphy, Coordinator, Family Resources DEPARTMENT HEAD: PAUL THILTGEN Director, Community Services CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: Manager CMR: 162:00 Page 5 of 5 Attachment B Collaborating Internet Sites and Map 1276 Harriet Street TP: .Terman Park Library 661 Aras-tradero Road CHRC: Community Health Resource Center (at Palo Alto Medical Foundation) 795 E1 Camino Real THL: The Health Library at Stanford 2-B Stanford Shopping Center, PC: The Provider Connection (at Palo Alto Community Child Care) 3990 Vent’ura Court. . RC: The Resource Center (at The Children’s Health Council) 700 Sand Hill Road M: Ma~n Library ~ 1213 Newell Road CTL: College Terrace Lib’~dry 2300 Wellesley DO: Downtown Libxary- 270 Forest Avenue MP: M[tdhell Park Library 3700 Middle field Road PSF: Pre-School Family (PAUSD) 4120 Middlefield Rd. Family Resources 1st Community Internet Site " -:RC ,Sand Hill Rd. University NOT TO SCALE 11/3/99 Attachment C Family Resources Implementation Team Purpose and Responsibilities Adopted by the Family Resources Implementation Team on May, 1998 Purpose of the Family Resources Implementation Team To develop policies that will govern a strong and robust Family Resources General Responsibilities of Implementation Team Members Team members are responsible for enabling resources to be deployed and prioritized to achieve the mission of Family Resources. Team members are expected to support the mission, goals and strat.egies of Family Resources. Team members are expected to establish priorities to accomplish Family Resources mission, to develop the policies, programs and services of the Family Resources, to advocate for Family Resources in the community, and to demonstrate initiative, integrity, and leadership. Meetings Prepare for, attend, and participate in committee meetings as scheduled Suggest agenda items, when appropriate, in advance of meetings to ensure that significant matters are addressed Committees Serve on subcommittees established by the Implementation Team and fulfill the responsibilities of the subcommittees Serve in leadership positions on the Implementation Team and its subcommittees Strategic Planning Assist in the development of annual and long-range plans and work towards achieving the goals stated in plans Ensure that evaluation techniques are implemented and studied to insure that the Family Resources meets the community’s needs Participate in Implementation Team retreats and planning sessions Fiduciary_ Ensure that the organization operates in a financially responsible manner Plan, control and monitor the fundraising function 5/12/98 Family Resources Implementation Team Membership Roster February 2000 Attachment D Sue Barkhurst Adolescent Counseling Services 4000 Middlefield Road, FH Palo Alto, CA 94303 650-424-0852 phone 650-424-9853 fax Margo Dutton Palo Alto Community Child Care 3990 Ventura Court Palo Alto, CA 94306 mdutton@paccc.com 650-493-2361 ext.11 phone 650-493-0936 fax Kathy Espinoza-Howard Office of Human Services 4000 Middlefield Road, T2 Palo Alto, CA 94303 kathy_espinoza-howard @city.palo-alto.ca.us 650-329-2639 phone 650-856-8756 fax Jeanne Labozetta Family Service Mid-Peninsula 375 Cambridge Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94306 jeanne@fsmp.org 650-326-6576 phone 650-326-1340 fax Janet Lederer Palo Alto Medical Foundation 300 Homer Palo Alto, CA 94301 jlederer@pamf.org 650-853-2077 phone 650-853-4707 fax Mary Jo Levy Libraries Division 270 Forest Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 maryj o_levy@city.palo- alto.ca.us 650-329-2403 phone 650-327-7568 fax Mary Sause Parent Advocate 20 Kent Place Palo Alto, CA 94301 msause@aol.com 650-326-1271 home phone Jaime Wolf The Children’s Health Council 700 Sand Hill Road Palo Alto, CA 94304 jwolf@chconline.org 650-617-3845 phone 650-617-3893 fax Polle Zellweger Xerox PARC 3333 Coyote Hill Road Palo Alto, CA 94304 zellweger@parc.xerox.com 650-812-4426 phone Ilene Hertz Office of Human Services 4000 Middlefield Road, T2 Palo Alto, CA 94303 ilene_hertz@city.palo-alto.ca.us 650-329-2280 phone 650-856-8756 fax Sharon Keplinger PAUSD- Preschool Family 4120 Middlefield Road Palo Alto, CA 94303 skeplinger@pausd.palo- alto.ca.us 650-856-0833 phone Liz Kniss MS MPK15-215 901 San Antonio Road Palo Alto, CA 94306 liz.kniss@sun.com 650-336-2595 phone Lorraine Phillips YWCA of the Mid-Peninsula 4160 Alma Street Palo Alto, CA 94306 650-494-0972 phone 650-494-8307 fax lorraine@ywcamid.org Sharon Murphy Palo Alto Family Resources Coordinator 4000 Middlefield Road, T2 Palo Alto, CA 94303 sharon__murphy@city.palo- alto.ca.us 650-329-2619 phone 650-856-8756 fax Adam Politzer Recreation Division 3700 Middlefield Road Palo Alto, CA 94303 adam_politzer@city.palo- alto.ca.us (650) 329-2390 phone (650) 856-1375 fax 02/16/00 Roster.doc Attachment E Family Resources Advisory Group Purpose and Responsibilities The purpose of the Family Resources Advisory Group is to make recommendations to the Implementation Team that will guide the progress of Family Resources in the direction of successful avenues of implementation and of greatest service to families in our community. The Advisory Group will serve as public relations representatives of Family Resources assisting the Implementation Team in becoming visible and obtaining cooperation in their particular communities. Advisory Members will support the policies established by the Implementation Team. They will participate because of their interest in Family Resources and their position of knowledge and influence in the community to facilitate the progress of Family Resources. Advisory Members are expected to maintain an up-to-date working knowledge of Family Resources progress by reading all Family Resources materials and responding to requests for information from the Family Resources Coordinator or Implementation Team members. take the initiative to inform the Coordinator and the Implementation Team of the relation of Family Resources progress to the Advisory Member’s area(s) of expertise. This might include recommendations and advice about the best approach for particular or general goals. use their leverage in obtaining assistance and cooperation from individuals or groups necessary to the progress of Family Resources, including fundraising contacts. attend one or more Implementation Team Meetings each year in order to know and become known by the Implementation Team Members through direct and active participation. 1/25/99 Family Resources Implementation Team Advisory Roster 1999-2000 Attachment F Cole Bridges Marketing Director 12 Town and Country Village Palo Alto, CA 94301 650-325-3266 phone 650-329-9057 fax Megan Swezey-Fogarty YWCA/Community 2421 Bryant Street Palo Alto, CA 94301 msfog@aol.com 650-473-0428 home phone Kara Hartnett OpenVoice 1935 University Ave East Palo Alto, CA 94303 Khartnett@openvoice.org 650-451-0734 phone 650-322-6147 fax Alette Lundeberg Social Services Agency 1725 Technology Drive San Jose, CA 95110-1360 Lundebea@ssa.co.santa-clara.ca.us 408-441-5826 phone 408-437-9204 fax Stew Plock Retired, Sun Microsystems Sales and Marketing 917 E1 Cajon Way Palo Alto, CA 94303 650-856-0625 phone Marge Quackenbush Disabilities Advocate 1700 Hamilton Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94303 margeq@pacbell.net 650-328-6812 phone Barbara Ralston Director, The Health Library 2-B Stanford Shopping Center Palo Alto, CA 94306 650-498-5033 phone & vm 650-725-9934 fax Lola Mont-Renaud Parent Educator Coordinator c/o YWCA. of the Mid-Peninsula 4161 Alma Palo Alto, CA 94306 650-494-0972 x36 phone 650-494-8307 fax Diane Rezendes Marketing Consultant 2348 Craig Court Mountain View, CA 94043 booradleyl @earthlink.net 650-969-1861 phone Susie Richardson PAUSD School Board 1322 Martin Ave Palo Alto, CA 94301 srichardson@pausd.palo-alto.ca.us 650-327-6029 phone 650-327-0650 fax Rachel Samoff (The) Children’s Preschool Center 4000 Middlefield Road, T1 cpscrachel@aol.com 650-493-5770 phone 650-493-0736 fax Dan Williams Recreation Division 1305 Middlefield Road Palo Alto, CA 94301 dan_williams@city.palo-alto.ca.us 650-329-2180 phone 650-321-5612 fax 02/24/00 FR Advisory.doc Family Resources Ambassador Roster January- June 2000 Attachment G Pat Briggs CPA, Children’s Theater 1305 Middlefield Road Palo Alto, CA 94301 329-2231 pat_briggs@city.palo-alto.ca.us Shefali Desai Clara Mateo Shelter 750 Willow Road -Menlo Park, CA 94025 614-9887 shefalides@yahoo.com Katy Obringer CPA, Children’s Library 1276 Harriet St. Palo Alto, CA 94301 329-2205 katy_obringer@city.palo-alto.ca.us Jennifer Burns CPA, Office of Human Services 4000 Middlefield Road, T2 Palo Alto, CA 94303 329-2375 jennifer_burns@city.palo-alto.ca.us Sally Camozzi CPA, Junior Museum 1451 Middlefield Rd Palo Alto, CA 94301 329-2402 sally_camozzi@city.palo-alto.ca.us Carol Chatfield Community Member, Ohlone Elementary School, PACCC, Friends Nursery School 86 Roosevelt Circle Palo Alto, CA 94306 493-9032 carol@information-mining.corn Linda Craighead CPA, Palo Alto Art Center 1313 Newell Road Palo Alto, CA 94303 329-2519 linda_craighead@city.palo-alto.c~.us Susie Crane Pre-School Family, PAUSD 4120 Middlefield Road Palo Alto, CA 94303 856-0833 scrane@pausd.palo-alto.ca.us Lori Day Palo Alto Community Child Care 3990 Ventura Court Palo Alto, CA 94306 493-2361 Iday@paccc.com Ambuja Friedman Community Member 869 Embarcadero Road Palo Alto, CA 94303 329-1244 friedman@jfku.edu Michelle Grant Redwood Enrichment Center 445 E. Charleston Road Palo Alto, CA 94306 320-9001 kidsculture@hotmail.com Ilene Hertz CPA, Office of Human Services 4000 Middlefield Road, T2 Palo Alto, CA 94303 329-2280 i lene_hertz@city.palo-alto.ca.us Kate Hill Community Member, PTA 884 Los Robles Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94306 857-1742 kate@opus.hpl.hp.com Sharon Murphy CPA, Family Resources Coordinator 4000 Middlefield Road, T2 Palo Alto, CA 94303 329-2619 sharon_murphy@city.palo-alto.ca.us Joani Mitchell Community Member 3888 Grove PaSo Alto, CA 94303 493-4908 msjoanim@aol.com Bonnie Packer Community Member 768 Stone Lane Palo Alto, CA 493-5077 bbpacker@macol.net Cyd Percin YWCA of the Mid-Peninsula 4161 Alma Street Palo Alto, CA 94306 494-0972 x312 Stew PIock Computer technology marketing- Community Member 917 El Cajon Palo Alto, CA 94303 856-0625 Pattisue Plummer Parent Resource Center, ALSJCC 655 Arastradero Road Palo Alto, CA 94306 493-0563 x258 psplummer@aol.com Adam Politzer CPA, Recreation Division 3700 Middlefield Road Palo Alto, CA 94303 329-2390 adam_politzer@city.palo-atto.ca.us Barbara Ralston The Health Library 2-B Stanford Shopping Center Palo Alto, CA 94305 725-8400 health_lib@hosp.stanford.edu Basil Robledo Community Member 28010 Elena Road Los Altos, CA 94022 917-1609 basilrobledo@yahoo.com Cara Whaley Palo Alto Community Child Care 3990 Ventura Court Palo Alto, CA 94306 493-2361 cwaley@paccc.com Attachment G Raul Rojas MayView Community Clinic 270 Grant Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94306 327-8717 Jenny Santos Palo Alto Community Child Care 3990 Ventura Court Palo Alto, CA 94306 493-2361 jsantos@paccc.com Erin Solheim CPA, Office of Human Services 4000 Middlefield Road, T2 Palo Alto, CA 94303 329-2221 erin_solheim@city.palo-alto.ca.us Karen Stein Pre-School Family, PAUSD 4120 Middlefield Road Palo Alto, CA 94303 856-0833 adstein@ix.netcom.com Jane Volpe Community Member 573 Ashton Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94306 424-0416 cvolpe@ix.netcom.com Barry Weiss CPA, Recreation, Open Space & Science 1305 Middlefield Rd Palo Alto, CA 94303 329-2429 barry_weiss@city.palo-alto.ca.us Melinda Wing CPA, Mitchell Park Library 3700 Middlefield Road Palo Alto, CA 94303 329-2322 melinda_wing@city.palo-alto.ca.us Michelle Woldridge Adolescent Counseling Center 4000 Middlefield Road, FH Palo Alto, CA 94303 424-0852 Acs-admin@acs-teens.org Jaime Wolf Children’s Health Council, The Resource Center 700 Sand Hill Road Palo Alto, CA 94304 617-3845 jwolf@chconlifie.org Minka Van der Zwaag CPA, Recreation 1305 Middlefield Rd Palo Alto, CA 94303 329-2156 minka_vanderzwaag@city.palo-alto.ca.us Polle Zellweger. Xerox PARC 3333 Coyote Hill Road Palo Alto, CA 94304 812-4426 zellweger@parc.xerox.com Attachment H Donors Family Resources programs and activities are made possible through the support of the City of Palo Alto and the generous contributions and in-kind donations from the following sources: A.J. Nichols, Ph.D. Arrillaga Foundation Carol Adler Memorial Fund Century Theaters Children’s Pre-School Center David & Lucile Packard Foundation Greater Bay Bancorp Foundation Hewlett-Packard Kiwanis Club of Palo Alto Landmark Theater Corporation Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund Peninsula Community Foundation Smythe European Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical William & Flora Hewlett Foundation Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Professional Corporation