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School
Readiness Council
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CITY OF NORWALK
SCHOOL READINESS COUNCIL MEETING
JUNE 13, 2007
ATTENDANCE: Betsey Bain, Chairwoman; Linda Wilock, Norwalk Youth
Services; Patricia Balaban. Dept. of Social Services; Victoria
Schilling, Norwalk Healthy Families; Rovitta Paul, Children’s
Playhouse; Mary Peniston, Norwalk Public Schools; Lynn Sadlon
Moritz, Fox Run Beatrice Krawiecki, Norwalk Public Schools;
STAFF: Barbara Smart, School Readiness Council
OTHERS: George Hensinger, Norwalk Kids Start Smart; Joan Parris, NCC;
Dr. Sally Grose, NCF;
CALL TO ORDER
Chairwoman Bain called the meeting to order at 9:45 a.m.
APPROVAL OF THE MAY MINUTES
** MS. PAUL MOVED TO APPROVE THE MAY 9, 2007 MINUTES.
The following corrections were noted:
Page 1, Under ATTENDANCE: Please add the following names to the list of attendees:
“Beatrice Krawiecki, Norwalk Public Schools; Marlene DeBellis, Side by Side”
Page 1, Under OTHER: Please removed the following names from the list: “Beatrice
Krawiecki, Norwalk Public Schools; Marlene DeBellis, Side by Side”
Page 2, under Corrections: Please change: “Page 4, second paragraph, first
line: please
change: “Ms. Dietro” to “Ms. Ditro”. To Page 4, second paragraph, first line:
please change: “Ms. Dietro” to “Ms. Ditrio”.
Page 3, paragraph 4, line 1: please change: “funding for two years under the
Discovery”
to “funding for six years under the Discovery”.
Page 4, paragraph 2, line 1: please change: “The program has grown from the
original
enrollment of 21 students to 81 this year.” To “The program has grown from the
original enrollment of 21 students to 81 last year and an expected enrollment
of
120 this year.”
Page 5, paragraph 1, line 1: please change: “Mr. Hensinger then stated that
the number of
slots for early childhood had been reduced.” To “Mr. Hensinger then stated that
the Governor’s Proposed increased number of slots for early childhood had been
reduced.”
Page 5, paragraph 4, line 4: please change: “Norwalk has asked to participate
as a panel
member with” to “Norwalk has been asked to participate as a panel member with”
Page 4, paragraph 7, line 3: please change: “Ms. Degnan said that a fifteen day window had been scheduled for May 24th to June 13th.” To “Ms. Degnan said that a fifteen day window had been scheduled for May 24th to June 13th for Marvin and the Children’s Playhouse for validation visits.”
Page 6, paragraph 7, line 2: please change: “subcommittee for Stated and Legislation advocacy” to “subcommittee for State and Legislation advocacy”.
Page 7, paragraph 2, line 2: please change: “the staff is composed of Ms. Sharp and herself. “ to the staff is composed of Ms. Smart and herself. “
** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE MAY 9, 2007 MINUTES AS CORRECTED PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
UPDATES
A. GRANTS
School Readiness Grant, Program and Issues
Ms. Wilock reported that the School Readiness Grant was submitted as approved last meeting with the same number of 303 full day, full year and 22 partial day, partial year slots. However the budget for this had not been set as of yet.
Quality Enhancement
Ms. Wilock then reviewed a proposed grant submission, which is very similar to the one for the current fiscal year. She said that while it could be submitted in the present form, there may be need to do a revision after the transition committee for the new Early Childhood Council meets and many of the details are clarified. She stated that the School Readiness Council would have to give its approval in order to submit the grant application.
** MS. PAUL MOVED TO APPROVE THE GRANT APPLICATION TO BE SUBMITTED AS DESCRIBED.
** MS. SADLON MORITZ SECONDED.
** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
There was a brief discussion regarding whether the grants were available online. Ms. Wilock explained that the grant and the RFPs were available online but that the application was not.
United Way and Graustein
Ms. Peniston distributed copies of “Grants Report to School Readiness Council, June 13, 2007” to the Council members for their review.
B. BOARD OF EDUCATION
Chairwoman Bain reported that Ms. Budrawich was at a conference. Ms. Peniston then reported that Brighter Futures had received 285 applications, but the program had been capped at 120 slots. She said that the community was very enthusiastic and supportive of the program.
C. HEALTHY FAMILIES COLLABORATIVE
Ms. Schilling said that there has been a strong focus on Goal Number 2 of the Norwalk Collaborative Plan, which is intended to reduce the episodic medical care for young children because this coincides with work that is being done on the State level.
Ms. Schilling also spoke about the work that the Health Families program was doing by collecting birth data from the Town Clerk’s office on low birth weights and other statistics to identify the areas with the greatest needs. Ms. Schilling said that she was working on a proposal for the Health Department to continue to collect this type of data because the United Way program grant, which includes Ms. Schilling’s position, will end on June 30.
D. REGIONAL/STATE UPDATE
Mr. Hensinger then gave a quick update on the issue of parity. There was a discussion regarding the monitoring of programs. The Council was also informed that the State budget had not yet been approved. A discussion of these issues followed.
Ms. Peniston remarked that it would be important to increase the number of slots available for Goal #1. Ms. Chris Fahey and Ms. Budrawich were able to lobby for additional slots along with the Connecticut Commission on Children’s legal counsel and were able to have language added to the bill to increase funding for school readiness.
SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
Chairwoman Bain stated that the monitoring reports have been completed and that the Executive Committee will review them on the 19th.
A. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Policy on Fees for Over Income Families – Approval.
Ms. Wilock presented a quick overview of the proposal to the Council.
** MS. SCHILLING MOVED TO APPROVE THE POLICY ON FEES FOR OVER INCOME FAMILIES
AS SUBMITTED.
** MS. LEWIS SECONDED.
Ms. Peniston requested that the phase “per week” be inserted into the proposal to change the following from: “That per cent is 1.92. ($7000 X 1.92% = $135).” to read “That per cent is 1.92.( $7000 X 1.92% = $135 per week).”
Ms. Paul expressed some concerns about the providers being affected by the statement “No family, regardless of income, shall be charged more than that subgranter’s established cost of care.” This was followed by a discussion regarding the calculation of rates for families whose income exceeds the criteria’s set limit and the needs of various providers.
Ms. Wilock suggested that a resolution be adopted saying that the maximum amount that can be charged to an over income family in 2007-2008 would be $155 per week, assuming that this would not exceed the actual cost of care. Then the policy could be revisited next year.
** MS. WILOCK MOVED TO APPROVE AN AMENDMENT TO THE POLICY FOR OVER INCOME FAMILIES TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2007-2008 THAT AN UPPER LIMIT OF $155 A WEEK BE ESTABLISHED FOR OVER INCOME FAMILIES WITH THE ASSUMPTION THAT NO FAMILY WILL BE CHARGED MORE THAN THE ACTUAL COST OF CARE.
Ms. Peniston had a question about how this would affect the $7,000 figure cited in the proposal. Chairwoman Bain explained that the $7,000 was an example of how the percentage would be used with the original allocation. The current reimbursement is set at $8,025. Using the current reimbursement and the percentage as stated, the upper limit figure would be $154.00.
** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
** MS. PENISTON MOVED TO AMEND THE ORGINAL PROPOSAL TO READ “THAT PER CENT
IS 1.92.( $7000 X 1.92% = $135 PER WEEK).”
** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
** MS. PENISTON MOVED TO APPROVE THE POLICY FOR OVER INCOME FAMILIES AS AMENDED.
** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
B. Informal Care
Ms. Sadlon Moritz said that the word was getting out about the informal care programs and that the attendance had been increasing.
C. Provider Network
Ms. Paul reported that all the providers are receiving visits from an auditor from McGladrey and Pullen. One of the goals appears to be having continuity with all the providers’ bookkeeping. It was also commented that the monitoring reports are being prepared by those providers who have completed the accreditation process.
D. Review and Selection
Chairwoman Bain stated that the current issue is the second reading of the criteria of priorities that would be established to determine the expansion of the number of slots.
Copies of this document were then distributed to members of the Council.
A discussion about wording of this proposal then followed.
** MS. BALABAN MOVED TO ADOPT THE CRITERIA FOR RANKING REQUESTS FOR AND ALLOCATION
OF SCHOOL READINESS COUNCIL FUNDS AS PRESENTED.
** MS. PAUL SECONDED.
An additional discussion about the requirements for the School Readiness program currently are and how overwhelming these would be for new providers.
** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
E. Program
Ms. Smart gave a brief update to the Council.
F. Transition
There was no report.
G. Nominating
Chairwoman Bain stated that there has been progress made, but that the committee was not quite prepared to present a slate of candidates at this time. She also informed the group that Mayor Moccia had indicated that he would like Ms. Bain to continue on as chair and that he would like Ms. Wilock to continue as his representative. It is believed that Dr. Corda will reappoint Ms. Budrawich and Ms. Krawiecki in their current roles for the Board of Education. Letters have been mailed to the directors and heads of various agencies about the program.
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Chairwoman Bain said that since the group is in a state of transition, she was proposing a transition committee to be formed and operate over the summer to produce a draft of bylaws for the Early Childhood Council to be presented in the fall to the Council for review. Also, a draft committee structure, a calendar, and an agenda format need to be developed during the summer. There will be a Council Orientation meeting in September. This will be the final meeting of the School Readiness Council.
Ms. Schilling asked for clarification about the transition committee and whether it would be a replacement for the current Transition Committee. Chairwoman Bain replied that this would not be a steering committee and then reviewed the details.
Proposed Leadership & Management Plan – First Reading – Approval/Endorsement
Ms. Peniston informed the Council that the Norwalk Healthy Families Collaborative had done a significant portion of work on Health Section.
** MS. PAUL MOVED TO APPROVE THE ENDORSEMENT OF THE SCHOOL READINESS COUNCIL
FOR THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OVERVIEW OF THE MOST RECENT UPDATE OF THE NORWAK
EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL.
** MS. NICOLAS SECONDED.
Ms. Balaban asked about how the State allocated money within the larger group. Chairwoman Bain reviewed that process with her.
** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Approval of New Council Name
Ms. Peniston reviewed the various names submitted. The most popular name was Norwalk Early Childhood Council with a possible byline of “Kids Start Smart”.
** MS. PENISTON THEN MOVED TO APPROVE THE NAME OF THE COUNCIL BE THE NORWALK
EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL AS OF JULY 1, 2007.
** MS. PAUL SECONDED.
** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
OTHER
Ms. Lewis said that the Family & Children’s Agency was going to have therapeutic foster care training on June 14th. It is a nine session course for foster parents, meeting twice a week and on Saturdays. The Agency needs homes in Stamford.
Ms. Peniston said that Ms. Frese had produced a draft of a directory for early childhood providers. This needs to be reviewed by the various providers to insure that the information is accurate.
Chairwoman Bain then thanked the members of the Council for all their hard work and their willingness to serve on the School Readiness Council. She also suggested that anyone interested in working on the bylaws to please contact her.
ADJOURNMENT
Chairwoman Bain moved to adjourn the meeting at 11:00 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sharon L. Soltes
Telesco Secretarial Service
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