January 23, 2001

REPORT IN BRIEF

The Santa Clara County Welfare-to-Work (WtW) plan is in its second year of funding. The plan, a joint effort of the Santa Clara County Social Services Agency, NOVA Workforce Board, and the San Jose/Silicon Valley Workforce Investment Board (SJ/SVWIB), is part of an overall effort to enhance opportunities for low income families in this county. Each partner commits its allocated resources towards this common plan. Welfare-to-Work funds from the Department of Labor are allocated by the State EDD to each Workforce Area and state match funds are allocated to each County. This year, total funding is $3,292,983. The three partnering agencies meet regularly to decide on services to fund under the Welfare-to-Work plan. This report addresses several circumstances in which contractual agreements are appropriate between NOVA and SJ/SVWIB to have the most effective provision of services. The WtW partners drafted a joint plan and operate under the terms of a memorandum of understanding to improve financial opportunities for welfare families on a county-wide basis. Allocated funds, however, go to the administrative entity of each agency as separate funds. Thus, the pursuit of common goals occasionally requires the funds from one agency to support the county-wide effort of another. Additionally, NOVA/City of Sunnyvale administers the Packard Foundation Grant, which supports this same effort. The City of San Jose has taken over from the City of Gilroy as lead agency for the Neighborhood Self Sufficiency Center in the southern portion of the County (Gilroy and Morgan Hill.) A contract under the Packard Foundation grant should be signed with San Jose.

In this report, we will address the following circumstances and their financial implications:

• financial support of the North County Neighborhood Self Sufficiency Center (NSSCs) (payment from NOVA to San Jose of $245,000);
• development of marketing materials for NSSCs (payment from San Jose to NOVA of up to $40,000);
• sharing of staffing costs for program serving "aging out" foster care youth (payment from NOVA to San Jose to be negotiated, based on actual costs);
• staffing and contractual costs to improve the involvement of the business community in this initiative (payment from San Jose to NOVA to be negotiated, based on actual costs); and
• provision of services to families in Gilroy and Morgan Hill at Adelante Familia, the south County Neighborhood Self Sufficiency Center (payment from NOVA to San Jose for up to $62,500)

On June 13 the Sunnyvale City Council approved the Welfare-to-Work program plan and accepted NOVA's funding allocation from the State. In addition, the council authorized staff to enter into contractual agreements with the County where appropriate to provide services desired under the partnership plan. The City of San Jose has assumed administrative responsibility for the SVWIB. Therefore, on December 6 the Workforce Board authorized staff to begin negotiations with the City of San Jose for welfare-to-work services. Staff recommends that the Sunnyvale City Council concur with the decision of the NOVA Workforce Board to authorize contracting with the City of San Jose for the five designated activities that were outlined in the plan. Further, staff recommends that the City Manager be authorized to negotiate and sign contracts for approved welfare-to-work activities.

BACKGROUND

In January 1998, NOVA, Silicon Valley PIC (SVPIC) and the Social Services Agency (SSA) began to actively work together to jointly develop and submit a single countywide Welfare-to-Work (WtW) plan. This plan reflected a new level of collaboration and a new way of doing business. For service providers, for the individuals for whom services are provided, and for the employers who are the end beneficiary of these services, this collaboration represents the reduction of barriers to accessing services and sharing information. It requires that resources and services will be allocated across the county based on need and opportunity.

Our plan identifies the desired services and programs to be offered and the outcomes to be generated. However, it was not the intention of our plan to be prescriptive or restrictive, but to assist in the development of the most needed services in each community to enhance the success factor of the target population in that community. Funding for the project was allocated over two years, to provide a three year service delivery system, beginning in early 1999. The plan is funded by the combined resources of WtW allocations to the two Workforce Investment Boards (through Department of Labor Welfare-to-Work formula funding) and governor's matching funds directed to the County Social Service Agency. The total amount of these combined resources this year, as last, is about $3,300,000.

Approximately 58%--over $2,000,000 -- has been designated to support community efforts to offer a wide array of services in family-friendly, neighborhood-focused centers, called Neighborhood Self-Sufficiency Centers (NSSCs). In a report to the Council in April, the Council determined to allocate approximately $250,000 of NOVA’s $279,100 grant to partially fund the Santa Clara Unified School District NSSC, which is located within NOVA’s service delivery area. The remainder ($29,100) would be retained for administrative costs). Additionally, NOVA has agreed to take the lead in a number of designated regional efforts. In order to do this, NOVA would require investment from its partners. The discussion portion of this report describes those activities.

EXISTING POLICY

The proposed activities are consistent with the City of Sunnyvale's Socio-Economic Goal 5.1F: Provide job training and employment services within constraints of operative, federal regulations and available federal funding, to address the locally-determined employment and training needs of economically disadvantaged residents and others with special needs.

DISCUSSION

Following is the funding allocation for the Welfare-to-Work Partnership for fiscal year 2000-01:

Regardless of source of funding, it has been the approach of the partnership that the capacity of the organization to provide a service shall be the determining factor in who takes the lead in any effort. Thus, NOVA has been asked to play a lead role in county-wide efforts that cannot be supported by the allocation we received. In such circumstances, contracts between WtW partners have been developed. This year, San Jose has replaced Santa Clara County JTPA as the fiscal agent for the SVWIB. As the three partnering agencies reviewed the WtW plan for the year, several activities were identified that required either cost sharing or the payment of one entity by another in order to provide the best service on a county-wide basis. Descriptions of these circumstances follow.

1) Central to the Santa Clara County Welfare-to-Work plan is the belief that long term self-sufficiency can best be achieved when we meet the needs of the entire family in the context of the communities in which they live. This is the backbone to achieving successful and durable self-sufficiency. Therefore, the WtW Program pursues strategic program designs that address the need for neighborhood and community-based family centered services. Of the total allocation, $2,001,110 will support a pivotal service delivery system defined as Neighborhood Self Sufficiency Centers (NSSCs). Six centers and ten satellites were established in low-income neighborhoods throughout the county. They are designed to offer ongoing training, family services and community resources to families transitioning from welfare to full self-sufficiency. The City of San Jose has taken the lead role in contracting with each of these centers. This year, the North County Self Sufficiency Center received a contract for $350,000. NOVA has agreed to fund the majority of that amount ($250,000.) A contract between NOVA and the City of San Jose would allow us to reimburse San Jose for costs billed to them by the NSSC.

2) In September, the Council authorized NOVA to contract with Santa Clara County Social Services Agency to provide computer training and career exploration for youth who are aging out of foster care (ages 18-24). This activity is being funding by the Welfare-to-Work match money allocated to the County. This contract is for approximately $400,000 to serve 50 foster youth. Because these youth reside throughout the county, and because we anticipate that many of these youth will also benefit from additional services available to them through WIA, we plan to work with the City of San Jose to support their staff involvement in serving youth within their area. The exact amount of that staffing cost has not been determined, but was anticipated to be up to $30,000. Thus, staff is requesting authorization to negotiate with San Jose and develop a contract with them to fund their involvement in this project.

3) During the first year of the WtW partnership, NOVA was designated as the lead agency to work with the Neighborhood Self Sufficiency Centers to develop marketing brochures to describe their services for the community. We met with each center and developed a draft brochure, describing the concept of the Centers, with a separate insert for each center. As the effort evolved, it made sense to postpone costly printing until clearer definition of services and partners evolved. We are now ready to complete this effort. Costs of this countywide effort will be supported by funds allocated to the City of San Jose, with NOVA continuing to provide staffing. Staff requests authorization to contract with the City of San Jose to complete the marketing brochures, including costs of printing, for an amount not to exceed $40,000.

4) Helping the Neighborhood Self Sufficiency Centers work more effectively with the business community, and helping businesses find success for themselves and for CalWORKs clients within the work world is another goal of the Welfare-to-Work plan. Several strategies for achieving this have been explored. One of these is working with trainers, such as Milt Wright Associates, to enhance the ability of employers to capitalize on the talents of new workers, and to enhance their appropriate workplace behaviors. NOVA has taken the lead in this effort in the past year, and the partnership has determined that it would be appropriate for NOVA staff to continue to pursue this effort. A total of $250,000 has been included in the Welfare-to-Work plan for this activity. NOVA staff requests authorization from Council to negotiate a contract with San Jose to continue this effort.

5) Welfare-to-Work has created a unique partnership between private foundation investors (the David and Lucile Packard Foundation) and the public sector (the City of Sunnyvale.) Rather than conduct their own procurement process to invest in the welfare reform effort, the Foundation chose to become an investor in the county-wide welfare-to-work plan. They committed $750,000 to support the provision of services within the Neighborhood Self Sufficiency Centers (NSSCs) and designated the City of Sunnyvale as the recipient/administrative entity. One of the six NSSCs is now being operated by the City of San Jose, due to the resignation of the City of Gilroy as lead agency. Thus, Sunnyvale needs a contract with San Jose for their portion of the Packard Foundation funds ($62,500). NOVA staff requests authorization to cancel the contract with the City of Gilroy and issue this contract to San Jose.

FISCAL IMPACT

There is no fiscal impact to the City because all expenditures under these proposed grants would be fully reimbursed by grant revenues.

PUBLIC CONTACT

1. Publication and posting of City Council agenda.
2. Public meeting of the NOVA Workforce Board on December 6, 2000.
3. Copies of this report are available to the public in the Library and City Clerk's Office and on the City of Sunnyvale Internet home page.

ALTERNATIVES

1. Council concurs with the staff recommendation and the decision of the NOVA Workforce Board and authorize contracting with the City of San Jose for the four designated activities that were outlined in the plan.
2. Council does not approve any one or all of these contracts, and any or all of the pending activities are not completed.

RECOMMENDATION

On June 13 the Sunnyvale City Council approved the Welfare-to-Work program plan and accepted NOVA’s funding allocation from the State. In addition, the council authorized staff to enter into contractual agreements with the County where appropriate to provide services desired under the partnership plan. The City of San Jose has assumed administrative responsibility for the SVWIB. Therefore, on December 6 the Workforce Board authorized staff to begin negotiations with the City of San Jose for welfare-to-work services. Staff recommends that the Sunnyvale City Council concur with the decision of the NOVA Workforce Board to authorize contracting with the City of San Jose for the five designated activities that were outlined in the plan. Further, staff recommends that the City Manager be authorized to negotiate and sign contracts for approved welfare-to-work activities.

Prepared by:
Judith Gentry,
Program Quality & Operations Manager
Department of Employment Development

Reviewed by:
Michael J. Curran, 
Director
Department of Employment Development

Approved by:
Robert S. LaSala
City Manager