City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JUNE 5, 2013
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: RASHAD M. YOUNG, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of a Plan For The Use Of Funds Allocated In The FY14 Budget Process To Address The Child Day Care Fee System Waiting List.
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ISSUE: Request for approval of a preliminary plan to begin the process of serving families on the Child Day Care Fee System (Fee System) waiting list.
BACKGROUND: On May 6, 2013, City Council allocated $950,000 in contingent reserves for FY 2014 to be used to clear the Fee System waiting list. During the add/delete process, individual council members suggested that in addition to clearing the Fee System waiting list, staff work with community partners to develop a comprehensive plan for serving at-risk children under the age of five. Staff recommends that the process of serving families from the waiting list begin on July 1 to ensure that as many children as possible have access to child care services in FY14 until a full study of resources can be made.
During the summer of 2013, staff will meet with community partners to coordinate the provision of early childhood education services to families and address: 1) an assessment of city-wide capacity (number of slots) in child care programs; 2) the impact of space issues; 3) a review of the variety of programs available to meet families' needs; 4) an assessment of the adequacy of funding; and 5) a review and cross check of waiting lists to identify potential duplication. Primary partners include private child care centers, Alexandria Head Start and Early Head Start, Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) and Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) preschool classrooms. A report on this assessment will be brought to City Council in the fall.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
- Authorize the appropriation of $351,124 from contingent reserves to cover the cost of child care services for an estimated 82 children on the Fee System waiting list between the ages of birth to four;
- Authorize $82,422 for an additional 1.0 FTE Social Worker I in the Child Day Care Fee System program to provide social work services to identify and serve children with special needs and support and educate 118 additional parents as consumers of child care services; and
- Authorize the appropriation of $115,785 to replace the 5.27% sequestration cut to the Alexandria Head Start program.
DISCUSSION: The first step in addressing the child care needs of children under the age of five on the Fee System waiting list will be to use existing Scholarship for 4s dollars to serve four-year-olds on the list and draw down VPI funds. Applications were mailed on May 29, with a return date of June 14. VPI eligible children must be enrolled in programs by September 15 to qualify for the State draw down.
The second step in the process will be to temporarily reassign existing staff with experience in the Fee System to clear the waiting list until the new social worker is hired in early to mid-fall. The most recent data on the Fee System waiting list is detailed in budget memo #36 (Attachment 1) and was pulled by the state from the automated payment system on April 24. An estimated 36 four-year-olds on the list will be served first through the existing Scholarship for 4s because of the September deadline for eligibility for VPI. This effort would draw down $108,000 in state VPI dollars. That leaves 234 children on the waiting list between the ages of birth to three. Based on the formula described in budget memo #36, we estimate there are 82 children on the waiting list whose parents will apply and be eligible. The Virginia Department of Social Services reports that the cost of care for children in Alexandria under the age of five in the Fee System is $4,282. Using this figure, the cost of serving the 82 eligible children on the waiting list between the ages of birth to four would be approximately $351,124. The per child costs fluctuates with parents' income, family size and the percentage of their income they pay toward the cost of care. The parent co-pay fee scale will change in September, 2013 and will impact the per child cost to the system.
Without additional staff, the Early Childhood Division absorbed the 36 children referred to in the previous paragraph that were served by Scholarship for 4s when the program was first funded in FY 2012 by City Council. In each of the first two years of the program, 36 children were served with the funding available. Combining the 36 children we estimate will be served by the Scholarship for 4s in FY 2014 and the 82 children birth through 3 we estimate will be served in the recommended local Fee System program would result in a caseload of 118, which would require an additional Social Worker I position at a cost of $82,422. This staff position will provide on-going social work services to identify and address the needs of families and children as well as intensive case management services to support and educate parents and link them to child care services.
To ensure that there are sufficient slots for four-year-olds, staff recommends that a portion of the funding be made available to Alexandria Head Start to replace a sequestration cut of $115,785 (5.27%) so that the program will not have to close a classroom which would serve up to 20 children. A commitment of funding to replace the sequestration cut is needed immediately to prevent a significant negative impact on the program.
FISCAL IMPACT: The cost of the preliminary plan for the use of the $950,000 in contingency funds allocated by City Council during the FY 2013 budget process is estimated to be $549,331: 1) $351,124 to serve all children on the Fee System waiting list under the age of 5; 2) $82,422 for a Social Worker I position to manage the increased caseload; and 3) $115,785 to replace the sequestration cuts to Head Start. These expenditures would be on-going and would add to the base budget for early childhood. After further study, recommendations for the remainder of the funds ($400,669) will be submitted to City Council in September.
ATTACHMENTS:
None.
STAFF:
Debra R. Collins, Deputy City Manager
L. Michael Gilmore, PhD, Director, Department of Community and Human Services
Deborah Warren, Director, Center for Children and Families, DCHS
Carol M. Farrell, Chief, Early Childhood Division, DCHS
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