I’m heading off for adventures in the land of Southwestern petroglyphs for three weeks, and so will miss Board meetings on May 21 and June 4 (the May 28 meeting is canceled). Sorry! – Catherine Camp
The Board meeting on this day was brief and had comparatively little drama. However, some routine appointments to various community boards (Fall River Resource Conservation District; Economic Development Corporation; Fall River Mills Cemetery District) raised some questions from perennial public commenter Dolores Lucero. This provided an opportunity for some information about such community boards. For the most part the boards require voluntary service, and this work provides community benefits.
Although the Board of Supervisors ratifies the appointments, each individual community board advertises vacancies, reviews eligibility, and recommends an appointment to the Board of Supervisors. Public input on appointments would be most appropriately directed to each community board.
Glenda Tracy, Chief Deputy Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, also reviewed the California Fair Political Practices Commission Form 700, Statement of Economic Interests, required of many community board members.
This reporting system requires community board members and county staff with some decision-making authority to report economic interests that might result in a conflict of interest. These forms are available to the public. If you are interested in this issue, go to the Shasta County web site, under County departments find the Clerk of the Board and look for conflict of interest information.
Concerns about the transparency of community board appointments and about the potential for conflicts of interest on such boards aside, Supervisor Les Baugh may have had the most important comment of the day: Shasta County and its citizens owe thanks to the thousands of volunteers to the boards discussed today and to all the other boards that provide opportunities for public input to government business, that set priorities and review accomplishments, and that generally keep our community activities moving.
And speaking of priorities, the Shasta County Local Child Care Planning Council submitted for review and approval an annual report to the California Department of Education that identifies local priorities for state funded child care and preschool programs. The report ranks the potential demand for services and the extent of that demand met, by zip code.
This exercise is completed in the event that expansion funds become available. Such funds have not been available for several years. Not surprisingly, the need for full-day child care for income-eligible working parents is at the highest level in most of the county zip codes.
The Board approved another contract with the California Department of Health Care Services. In this case, the contract provides for federal revenues to partially reimburse the costs of administration, outreach and education and program planning for some Medi-Cal programs. The contract will result in up to $1.3 million for the period July 2013 through June 30, 2016. The federal share is specific to the programs served, and ranges from 50% to 75%.
Supervisor Pam Giacomini expressed some concern that county responsibility for Medi-Cal administration and eligibility activities appears to be increasing significantly as the state implements the federal Affordable Care Act. She asked the Department to assure the Board that the County will not be left holding the bag. Leanne Link, Director of Business and Support Services for the Health and Human Services Agency assured the Board that they are aware of no proposed cuts for the costs of administration and eligibility determination.
Catherine Camp is currently retired. She served as a Consultant to the California Senate Budget Committee in 2001-02, reviewing Social Services, Employment Development, Aging, Community Services, Alcohol and Drug Programs, Rehabilitation and Child Support budgets. From 1989-2000, Catherine was Executive Director for the California Mental Health Directors Association. During that period, Catherine staffed the county mental health system’s restructuring of public mental health through Realignment of community and long term care programs from the state to the county, transfer of the management of specialty mental health Medi-Cal services to those counties that agreed to provide them, development of risk mechanisms for consortia of small counties, and advocacy and policy analysis for the operation of public mental health programs throughout the state. Her prior experience includes Executive Director to the California-Nevada Community Action Association, Principal Consultant to the Assembly Human Services Policy Committee, and Director of Community Action and Head Start programs in Shasta County.
