No preview available
HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 2005.03.10 - 27910Commissioner Thomas Middleton District #4 Chairperson, we move the adoption of the foregoing I,tesolution. CommNsioner Mike Rogers District #14 Miscellaneous Resolution #05045 BY: COMMISSIONERS THOMAS F. MIDDLETON, DISTRICT #4, MIKE ROGERS, DISTRICT #14 RE: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS — ACCEPTANCE OF THE CHILDCARE STUDY GROUP REPORT AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT TO: Oakland County Board of Commissioners Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen: WHEREAS the Childcare Study Group report having been filed and accepted by the Personnel Committee; and WHEREAS the Oakland County Commissioners have set forth requirements that the contract to operate the Oakland County On-Site child Care Facility and that the contract negotiated with the vendor contain no cash subsidy; and WHEREAS the Human Resources Department is to provide the Personnel Committee with quarterly status reports including: enrollment, non-county employee enrollments; and County assessments for utilities, any overhead costs and the amounts reimbursed by the contractor to the County NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners hereby authorizes the continuation of an on-site employee child care program on the County Service Center. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Childcare Study Group's Report including the recommendation that Gretchen House be the preferred provider is accepted and received. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the contract negotiated with the vendor shall contain no cash subsidy. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Human Resources Department is to provide the Personnel Committee with quarterly status reports including: enrollment, non-county employee enrollments; and County assessments for utilities, any overhead costs and the amounts reimbursed by the contractor to the County March 10, 2005 REPORT (MISC. #05045) BY: PERSONNEL COMMITTEE, GREGORY C. JAMIAN, CHAIRPERSON RE: CHILDCARE STUDY GROUP REPORT TO: OAKLAND COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen: The Personnel Committee having reviewed the above referenced Report on March 2, 2005 Reports to the Board with the recommendation the following Report be adopted. On July 14, 2004 the Personnel Committee requested that a "Childcare Study Group" be created to evaluate written proposals, interview potential operator/managers and recommend the operator/manager for the Little Oaks Child Development Center. The committee consisted of the following: (2) Parent representatives for Little Oaks (2) Commissioners (1) Representative from Purchasing (1) Representative from Fiscal Services (1) Representative from Human Resources In addition Human Resources selected a consultant with experience in early childhood development and corporate childcare programs to assist in this process. The consultant aided in the development of an evaluation tool that was utilized to evaluate the written proposals and ultimately aided in the final recommendation rendered by the study group. September 9, 2004, Purchasing issued a letter announcing the RFP and outlining the intent to potential vendors which, included current registered vendors and other organizations associated with childcare made available through the internet searches and the telephone book. Approximately 110 letters were sent out inviting interested parties to obtain a copy of the RFP. In addition, the RFP was also posted on the County website. REP due date: September 27, 2004. Several vendors requested an extension and a new due date of October 8, 2004 was set. Five vendors submitted a response to the REP. October 13, 2004, the Childcare Study Group met and the RFP responses were distributed along with a document to be used in evaluating each response. October 28, 2004, the group met and discussed their evaluation summaries. At the conclusion of this meeting, the group narrowed the initial five responses down to three and a set of questions were developed and sent to the remaining three vendors. Personnel Committee Vote: Motion carried on unanimous roll call vote with Coleman absent December 1, 2004, the group reviewed the responses from the additional questions that were sent. The meeting concluded by establishing a date/time to meet with the remaining vendors for a brief demonstration and question/answer session. An outline was created and provided to each vendor, outlining the study group's expectation of the presentations. December 20, 2004, the three vendors were allotted two hours for their presentation as well as a question and answer period. At the conclusion of the presentations, the group agreed to eliminate one of the vendors. It was then decided that the group would make a site visit to the remaining two vendors (Gretchen's House and Rainbow Child Development). January 5, 2005, site visits were completed and the group met on January 12, 2005 to discuss their thoughts regarding the site visits. The original evaluation tool was update and redistributed to the study group for their final evaluation, which was based on the submitted proposal, clarification questions, demonstration/question session and the site visits. January 25, 2005, the group met and made the following recommendation: It is the recommendation of the "Childcare Study Group" that Gretchen's House remain as the operator/manager of the Oakland County Child Development Center. Throughout this review process, the study group found several key factors that separated Gretchen's House from the other vendors. NAEYC accreditation (National Association for the Education of Young Children) — Through accreditation, childcare operates under higher standards that are beyond those set by the state. Out of the eight centers operated by Gretchen's House, seven are accredited and the eighth center is currently going through the accreditation process. This demonstrates the commitment and dedication Gretchen's House has toward higher standards in early childhood development. Professional advancement — Opportunities for advancement encourage professional development and growth among employees. Providing these opportunities can reduce staff turnover which directly impacts the quality of care provided in a childcare center. Gretchen's House promotes the professional development of all staff. Staff Training — It is beneficial for a childcare center to have well trained staff caring for young children. Staff should be fluent in polices and procedures as it relates to the care of young children. This need was reinforced through the review of licensing violations filed with the State of Michigan, which indicated inadequate training as a frequent reason for a violation occurring. It should be noted that Gretchen's House demonstrated the strongest training and professional development program for staff. Salary and benefits — The childcare profession is typically not a highly paid profession. As in any industry, employers that offer an attractive salary and benefit package attract and retrain employees. Gretchen's House pays her staff based on their educational level. Employees of Gretchen's House either posses or are in the process of obtaining a bachelors or associates degree (in early childhood development or closely related field) or Child Development Associate (CDA). A unique feature Gretchen's House offers her employees is that they are "salaried" verse hourly (which is typical in this industry). In addition, Gretchen's House pays for the employee's medical benefits. Gretchen's House allocates a large percentage of the budget to salaries, benefits, staff training and professional development. It is due to this that Gretchen's House maintains a very low staff turnover rate, which ultimately impacts quality childcare. In the 2005 budget presented by Gretchen's House, the subsidy has been eliminated. This is a direct result of the 95% enrollment capacity at Little Oaks (current enrollment). Enrollment at this level enables the center to operate at an acceptable profit margin. Gretchen's House has agreed to base management fees upon a percentage of tuition revenue collected. Remaining "net" after all expenses, including management fees, shall be reviewed and re-distributed to aide in reducing tuition costs. It should be noted that even if there is a reduction in enrollment, Gretchen's House is not requesting a subsidy. In conclusion, the "Childcare Study Group" reached consensus and submits the following reasons for recommending Gretchen's House as the preferred provider: Demonstrated commitment to high quality childcare, Well trained and educated staff, Lower staff turnover rates. It is the expectation of the Personnel Committee that the contract negotiated with the vendor contain no cash subsidy. Chairperson on behalf of the Personnel Committee, I move the acceptance of the foregoing report. PERSONNEL COMMITTEE Resolution #05045 March 10, 2005 Moved by Middleton supported by Rogers the resolution be adopted. Moved by Middleton supported by KowaII the rules be suspended to bring Miscellaneous Resolution #05045 — Board of Commissioners — Acceptance of the Childcare Study Group Report and Reporting Requirements for the Human Resources Department to the floor for immediate action. Vote on suspension of rules: AYES: Douglas, Gershenson, Gregory, Hatchett, Kowall, Long, Melton, Middleton, Molnar, Moss, Nash, Palmer, Patterson, Potter, Rogers, Scott, Suarez, Wilson, Woodward, Zack, Bullard, Coleman, Coulter, Crawford. (24) NAYS: None. (0) A sufficient majority having voted therefore, the rules were suspended. Moved by Douglas supported by Palmer the resolution be amended in the second BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED paragraph. Discussion followed. Commissioner Douglas withdrew the motion to amend and Commissioner Palmer withdrew the support. Moved by Melton supported by Coulter to add a fourth BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED paragraph to read as follows: BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the contract negotiated with the vendor will include a stipulation that increase in tuition rates can not exceed C.P.I. over the life of the contract. Discussion followed. Vote on Commissioner Melton's amendment: AYES: Gershenson, Gregory, Melton, Nash, Suarez, Woodward, Zack, Coleman, Coulter. (9) NAYS: Hatchett, Kowall, Long, Middleton, Molnar, Moss, Palmer, Patterson, Potter, Rogers, Scott, Wilson, Bullard, Crawford, Douglas. (15) A sufficient majority not having voted therefore, the amendment failed. Moved by Gershenson supported by Woodward the resolution be amended to add a third BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED paragraph to read as follows: BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the contract negotiated with the vendor shall contain a tuition sliding scale based on county employee salaries to improve the affordability of child care for all county employee families. Discussion followed. MIEN AMON BUNION MOM 4411 Pontiac, Michigan this 10th day of March, 2005. Commissioner Douglas as a "point of order" requested the Chairperson rule Commissioner Gershenson's proposed amendment out of order and that the proposed amendment be addressed in a separate resolution. Chairperson Bill Bullard ruled the amendment is in order. Discussion followed. Vote on Commissioner Gershenson's amendment: AYES: Gregory, Hatchett, Melton, Nash, Suarez, Woodward, Zack, Coleman, Coulter, Gershenson. (10) NAYS: KowaII, Long, Middleton, Molnar, Moss, Palmer, Patterson, Potter, Rogers, Scott, Wilson, Bullard, Crawford, Douglas. (14) A sufficient majority not having voted therefore, the amendment failed. Discussion followed. Moved by Woodward supported by Melton the resolution be amended in the third BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED paragraph to read as follows: BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Human Resources Department is to provide the Personnel Committee with quarterly status reports including: enrollment, non-county employee enrollments; salaries of participating county employees and County assessments for utilities, any overhead costs and the amounts reimbursed by the contractor to the County. Discussion followed. Commissioner Woodward withdrew the motion to amend and Commissioner Melton withdrew the support. Vote on resolution: AYES: Hatchett, KowaII, Long, Melton, Middleton, Molnar, Moss, Nash, Palmer, Patterson, Potter, Rogers, Scott, Suarez, Wilson, Woodward, Bullard, Coleman, Coulter, Crawford, Douglas, Gershenson, Gregory. (23) NAYS: None. (0) A sufficient majority having voted therefore, the resolution was adopted. 0111/0 STATE OF MICHIGAN) COUNTY OF OAKLAND) r / I, Ruth Johnson, Clerk of the County of Oakland, do hereby certify that the foregoing resolution is a true and accurate copy of a resolution adopted by the Oakland County Board of Commissioners on March 10, 2005 with the original record thereof now remaining in my office. In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the County of Oakland at Ruth Johnson, County Clerk