DATE: February 9, 2010
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT: Release of 2009 San Diego County Report Card on Children and Families
SUMMARY:
On January 10, 2006, our Board of Supervisors authorized staff to transition the production of the County Report Card to The Children’s Initiative, a local non-profit agency that works to improve the well-being of children and youth in San Diego County through a strategic alliance of government with non-profit, private agencies in the community. The Board approved the transfer with the expectation that The Children’s Initiative would follow the recommendations of a study performed by the SDSU School of Business and be the convener of a process with broad community involvement and procure a blend of public-private funding to support and sustain the Report Card. The County agreed to continue to be a government partner and contribute $25,000 annually for support. The Children’s Initiative committed to finding other funding partners and to engage various community boards, commissions, and County departments in guidance and data provision. To date, the Initiative has raised over $400,000 to support the Report Card, representing a cost savings to the Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) of over $300,000.
The 2009 edition of the Report Card has been completed and provides continued comparative data illustrating the health and well-being of our children and families in health, education, welfare, and economic support. This is the ninth production of the Report Card in San Diego County providing data on 26 indicators. This edition of the Report Card includes two new indicators, the use of food stamps and poverty.
Today’s item initiates the public release of the 2009 Report Card.
RECOMMENDATION:
Supervisor Greg Cox and Supervisor Dianne Jacob:
Receive a presentation and authorize the public release of the 2009 San Diego County Report Card on Children and Families.
Fiscal Impact:
There is no fiscal impact as a result of this action.
BACKGROUND
On August 6, 1997, at our recommendation, the Board of Supervisors approved the development of a Report Card as a tool for monitoring the impact of policy and services on the health and well-being of children and families in San Diego County. In January 2006, the Board of Supervisors considered a proposal to transition the production of the Report Card to The Children's Initiative with the goal of strengthening the usefulness of the Report Card. Based on research showing that a blend of public and private funding and the engagement of a wide variety of stakeholders in the development process are instrumental in the success and sustainability of a Report Card, the proposal was approved and responsibility shifted that month.
The Children's Initiative convened a Leadership Advisory Oversight Committee comprised of leaders in public health, education, juvenile justice, child welfare, criminal justice, and violence and injury prevention to guide the redevelopment of the Report Card. A Scientific Advisory Review Committee was also convened to guide the data selection and insure that data and data sources were valid and reliable.
The Children's Initiative created a public-private blend of funding with support from The California Endowment, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the McCarthy Family Foundation, and the Parker Foundation. Current funding partners are The California Endowment, the McCarthy Family Foundation, United Way of San Diego County, the San Diego Foundation and the County’s Health And Human Services Agency (HHSA).
The Children's Initiative adopted a Results Based Accountability framework. As a result, they were able to increase the amount of trend and comparative data, reorganize the presentation of indicators for better accessibility, and facilitate the use of the Report Card data as agents for change by adding national best practices in prevention and intervention for each indicator, as well as County-specific recommendations for change.
The 2007 edition of the Report Card was released on February 4, 2008. Following an extensive outreach and dissemination campaign, 2,800 copies of the Report Card were presented to leaders, stakeholders, governing agencies, advisory boards, commissions, and service providers in the community.
In an effort to continually improve, the 2009 Report Card contains two new indicators, food stamps and poverty, which were added to better reflect the economic welfare of our county.
This Report Card assessed progress on previous recommendations for action and highlighted successes, many of which are attributable to actions taken by the County of San Diego. In addition, the maps show data in more specific local detail. These changes were made in response to feedback from community stakeholders.
Board authorization is requested for release of the 2009 Report Card to the public, enabling policymakers, service providers, advocacy organizations and community members to use it as a tool in decision-making.
Respectfully submitted,
GREG COX
Supervisor, First District
DIANNE JACOB
Chairwoman