TWO CRISES CAUSED INITIAL FORMATION OF THE KERN COUNTY NETWORK FOR CHILDREN
CRISIS IN THE CONDITION OF CHILDREN
In 1992, a report authored by Children Now, a nonpartisan organization advocating for children, identified Kern County children as being at high risk of:
dropping out of high school scoring low on 8th grade achievement tests infant mortality teen pregnancy juvenile incarceration living in poverty
Kern County's Departments and Board of Supervisors had to respond to the overwhelming public concern raised by this report. To address these deficiencies, the County of Kern charged a network of concerned individuals with identifying an effective means of improving children's services and strengthening families.
Based on suggestions of this group and the support of legislation (SB 997-Chapter 1303 of 1989 and SB 786 - Chapter 9945 of 19921), the Kern County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution establishing the Kern County Children's Network (later renamed Kern County Network for Children).
Original Mission, Philosophical Statement, and Goals (1993)
Mission:
Our mission is to attain the combined commitment of all Kern County families, communities, and government entities to help build and sustain healthy families.
Philosophical Statement:
It is the belief of the KCNC that all children are valuable and that is through the family and communities that children learn the skills to become productive and responsible members of society. All families and communities must be able to provide their children with the foundation to meet the challenges of growing up and becoming productive members of society.
In order to strengthen the capacity of families and communities to deal effectively with the pressing problems of poverty, medical mental and educational deficiencies, teen pregnancies, drug and alcohol abuse, child abuse, runaways, gang violence, and delinquency, this KCNC intends to develop available, affordable and accessible services and resources throughout Kern County.
Goals: Strengthening families, thereby enriching the lives of our children Promoting family self-sufficiency Identifying the most critical children's issues county-wide, and developing strategies for addressing these issues Determining gaps and overlaps in services Sharing information about children's services and recommending ways to make them more effective and efficient
Statement of Purpose:
The Executive Committee shall advise the members of the Network regarding matters of policy and procedure, perform such duties as the Network assigns, and act for the Network, between network meetings, as is necessary and appropriate, with the understanding that such action shall be subject to modification by a majority vote of the Network.
CRISIS IN COUNTY FINANCES AND SERVICE DELIVERY
The County of Kern was also facing a looming budget crisis. For the first time, pink slips and "golden handshakes" were becoming a reality. Public agencies were under scrutiny on how poorly our children were doing while at the same time dealing with a reduction in budget and staff.
There was also great frustration between agencies lack of coordination and collaboration to maximize efforts. The current luxury of geographic providers did not exist. Today, service providers know colleagues from other agencies as well as their own. But, in 1992, these strong partnerships did not exist. Programs were then designed with the best interest of the implementing agency in mind, instead of how services best fit in a larger service delivery system. As a result, clients were often caught in-between, there were often long waits for services, and cross-training was a real need.
Key attributes of the original KCNC Executive Board:
They were risk takers. They found ways to work outside 'the box'. They built a strong bond of trust. They wanted to partnerships new and exciting. They were fiscally responsible and found ways to share resources.
The original goal of the Network's Executive Board was to gain the combined commitment of all Kern County families, communities, and government entities to help build and sustain healthy families. To achieve this, strategies were identified, actions were recommended to service providers and policies were implemented by the Board of Supervisors, regarding service delivery systems, budget priorities, and legislation. Each of these steps not only improved the way we serve families but also helped the County weather a serious budget crisis.
KCNC BENCHMARKS
1992
In September 1992, the Kern county Board of Supervisors passed overwhelmingly the resolution for the establishment of the Kern County Network for Children.
1993
In March of 1993, the Kern County Network for Children successfully became a 501(c) (3)
The first Annual Children's Summit was held and the Kern County Board of Supervisor proclaimed the week March 22-26, 1993 as "Children's Awareness Week," culminating in the Summit. The first Summit was a first step in development of KCNC's initial action plan. Attendees during the afternoon session participated in a brainstorming session that help to identify what was of the most importance to them. An example of an issue that was revealed was the need for a comprehensive information system that led to the development of Help-Line. The Summit was also the first venue to bring folks together from a variety of disciplines and receive training. The networking that occurred was amazingly powerful, and for the first time for many, names became faces and soon working partnerships were built.
1994
In March 1994, the Kern County Network for Children with the support of the Kern County Superintendent of School Office published, in concert with the second Annual Children Summit the first "Conditions of Children in Kern County" report. It served as a comprehensive statistical report covering indicators of well-being of children in the field of education, social services, health, mental health, and juvenile justice. Information on key data is still captured in KCNC's Annual Report Card and can be easily accessed through a user-friendly web site devoted to the Conditions of Children in Kern County.
In November 1994, the County of Kern entered into a Joint Powers Agreement with the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office for the purpose of creating a Joint Power Authority to serve as the administrative agent for the Kern County Network for Children.
Also in 1994, the Kern County Interagency Consent and Authorization form was developed and adopted to help agencies share information and better serve families. By developing a single, comprehensive information release form for all agencies and schools, service providers can share the family history. Thus; (1) services from other agencies can be expedited upon intake; (2) families seeking help are not required to tell their story repeatedly; and (3) services providers truly collaborate in helping children and families.
Additionally, the Kern County Network for Children provided encouragement and technical assistance in development and application of our County's first Healthy Start sites during 1994. Schools started to think about the needs of their students outside the classroom and how meeting those needs would improve classroom performance. The KCNC introduced the schools to the MOU process and in order for County support each school participating was required to have a student assistance team. Healthy Start was the first opportunity for many schools to make the paradigm shift from classroom to community.
An innovative public/private partnership was also created that year when the Network helped the County Health Department make lice medication available to parents through schools for less than $2.00 per treatment. This was far less than the $11.00 retail price at the time, and many parents typically could not afford the medication. As children must miss school until lice treatment is completed, this partnership made treatment affordable and led to a significant increase in attendance rates.
Neighborhood Partnership Projects also began in 1994. The Partnerships represented a significant attempt to initiate doing business in a different way, without new money. Instead communities were challenged to reallocate, realign, or redirect existing funds. The Partnership Projects were a call to action aimed at neighborhood communities; an invitation to take ownership of a local planning and empowerment process. The process required communities to assess their needs, develop a plan for addressing problems by including neighborhood residents, and make a commitment to participate in collecting, recording and analyzing data.
The Projects did not receive money, but instead a commitment by government agencies to provide human resources and other materials to the process of planning and implementing local strategies for building safe, healthy communities. They served as the laboratories for learning to re-think traditional roles and to re-deploy resources of public agencies in ways which are more accessible, useful and effective to our target populations. Four communities were selected to participate, and their efforts continue today. These partnerships also became models for today's community collaboratives.
1995
In 1995, the Kern County Network for Children began serving as the planning body for both the Child Abuse Prevention Intervention and Treatment Program (CAPIT) and Family Preservation and Support Program (FPSP). KCNC's charge was to ensure that Requests For Proposals and any services provided with these funds were integrated and used collaborative approachs. The Network took the lead in encouraging agencies to design programs around community needs, as opposed to what their agency may need money for.
That year, KCNC also began assisting and encouraging the use of Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDT) for Neighborhood Partnerships sites, Healthy Starts and FPSP funded programs. The goals of the MDT are to share information so families get the help they need and avoid fragmented or duplicative services. Now, throughout Kern County, MDT's exist with full participation from agencies, schools, community based organizations and law enforcement.
1997
The 1997 publication of Recipes for Community Success captured the many lessons learned by successful community-based collaboratives and continues to serve for as a tool local community-based collaboratives.
Also in 1997, the Network created its Leadership Development Program. This program continues to target a diverse cross-section of our community, teaching class members to be involved, empowered, and change-makers in their own communities. Graduates become advocates for children and families in Kern County and champions of their own community. The Leadership Development program continues today with the 11th Leadership Class graduating in July 2008.
2000
In Spring of 2000, KCNC brought together all community-based collaboratives in the County to jointly apply for Proposition 10 funding to better serve children 0-5 and build their capacity to serve children, families, and neighborhoods. The Network assisted 21 local collaboratives, 21 fiscal agents and 21 different identified needs and goals under one umbrella. This joint process was unique to Kern County. Currently, 19 of the original 21 collaborative sites continue to receive Propostion 10 funding through First Five Kern, to support Family Resource Center services and school readiness programs.
2004
During 2004, KCNC's Governing Board chose to design and implement an Accreditation process by which local community collaboratives could be formally recognized. Accreditation (willingly submitting to self-study and evaluation) builds commitment and fosters a deeper understanding of collaborative efforts among group members, area residents, service partners, funders, and policy makers. The process also promotes a uniform child well-being agenda throughout the county and encourages the use of best practices in serving children and families. The ultimate goal of the Accreditation process is ongoing measurable improvment in outcomes for children and their families in Kern County.
The first Accredited Community Collaboratives were awarded this designation in March of 2005. The Network invites all community collaboratives in Kern County to apply for Accreditation during each annual cycle.
2005
Currently in 2005, Kern County Network for Children is developing and implementing county-wide Wraparound Services for children who are at risk of out-of-home and out-of-county placement. Children with very high needs are often placed out of county in specialized facilities. These high-level group homes are not only very expensive but the distance and red-tape created by out-of-county placement prevent families and natural support systems from playing their important roles in the lives of children. Wraparound Services help bring these children back to their own homes and communities by providing significant supportive services that "wrap around" the whole family.
Additionally, KCNC brings together fiscal staff from county departments as a countywide Funding Team. By helping agency staff examine blended funding opportunities and potential new dollars, the Network continues to nurture supportive services for children and families.
Kern County Network for Children also facilitates the county's Citizens Review Panel that works to improve service delivery in Kern County's Department of Human Services. This Panel helps define priorities for both funding and policy issues within the department.
The Network continues to serve as the County's planning and facilitating body for Child Abuse Prevention Intervention and Treament (CAPIT), Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF), and other programs throughout the county. In June 2005, six groups were awarded CAPIT, PSSF, and other funding designed to reduce child abuse and neglect over the next three years.
dropping out of high school
1997