[00:00:02]
I'M COUNCIL MEMBER FOR DISTRICT 10, AND I'LL BE CHAIRING THE JOINT COMMITTEE OF A ISD, THE COUNTY AND THE CITY TODAY.
IT IS 1143 ON JANUARY 22ND, AND WE ARE CONVENING HERE IN THE BOARD AND COMMISSIONS ROOM AT CITY HALL.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, VIRTUAL, WE HAVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UM, COMMISSIONER ILIAN AND COMMISSIONER RYAN AL ALTER.
WE'RE ALSO JOINED REMOTELY BY COUNCIL MEMBER NATASHA HARPER MADISON, WELCOME.
UM, HERE IN THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM, WE HAVE MY COLLEAGUE, COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ, WHO'S ON THE COMMITTEE.
UH, WE HAVE A ISD PRESIDENT SINGH, AND WE HAVE A ISD TRUSTEE LUGO, AS WELL AS OUR WONDERFUL CITY, COUNTY AND A ISD STAFF, UM, LEADERS.
UM, THIS MORNING WE ARE GOING TO,
[I. Public Comment]
UM, SEE, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT TODAY? NO.SO WE HAVE NO PUBLIC COMMENT THIS MORNING.
[II. Approval of Minutes]
UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES? SO MOVED.IT IS SECONDED BY, UH, PRESIDENT SINGH.
WE WILL ADOPT APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM AUGUST 25TH.
[III. Childcare working group update]
WE'RE GONNA START TODAY.WE'VE GOT SEVERAL UPDATES AND THEN A COUPLE OF, UM, OTHER, UM, THINGS ON OUR AGENDA.
UM, THE, THE FIRST ONE IS GONNA BE THE CHILDCARE WORKING GROUP UPDATE, WHICH I'M GONNA PROVIDE.
UM, THIS IS GONNA BE A FAIRLY INFORMAL UPDATE.
UM, GOOD MORNING COM, COMMISSIONER SHAY, WHOEVER YOU LIKE.
UM, SO I'M JUST GONNA PROVIDE A BRIEF OVERVIEW AS, UM, ONE OF OUR LAST MEETINGS.
WE SET UP A CHILDCARE WORK WORKING GROUP OR SUBCOMMITTEE OF THIS GROUP, AS WELL AS WE HAVE, UM, SEVERAL COUNCIL MEMBERS OR OTHER COMMISSIONERS IN VARIOUS CONFIGURATIONS WHO ARE REALLY COMMITTED TO TRYING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE ON CHILDCARE.
SO I WANNA PROVIDE A COUPLE OF REPORTS IN THAT REGARD.
SO, FIRST, I'M PLEASED TO REPORT THAT THE CITY ADOPTED A HUNDRED PERCENT TAX EXEMPTION FOR ELIGIBLE CHILDCARE PROVIDERS FOR THE 2024 TAX YEAR AND BEYOND.
SO, AND IN DOING SO, AUSTIN BECAME THE FIRST TEXAS MUNICIPALITY TO ACT ON PROPOSITION TWO, WHICH VOTERS APPROVED, UM, IN NOVEMBER.
THE ACTION STARTED IN NOVEMBER THE SAME WEEK AS THE ELECTION HERE AT COUNCIL.
UM, I, TOGETHER WITH MY COLLEAGUES WHO ARE ON THIS COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES, UM, PUT, UH, FORWARD A RESOLUTION TO ADOPT IT AT A HUNDRED PERCENT AND WITH SOME ADDITIONAL DIRECTION.
LAST WEEK, THE CITY MANAGER RETURNED TO US WITH THE LANGUAGE TO BE ABLE TO ADOPT THIS, UM, AS PART OF OUR CODE.
AND WE ADOPTED THAT UNANIMOUSLY, UM, ELIGIBLE PROVIDERS MUST APPLY FOR THE EXEMPTION WITH TAD PRIOR TO MAY 1ST.
UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS OUR PARTNERS, LIKE UNITED WAY, ET CETERA, ARE WORKING WITH THOSE CHILDCARE PROVIDERS TO MAKE THEM AWARE OF THAT PROCESS.
TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS A HUNDRED PERCENT TAX BASEMENT, THEY NEED TO BE LICENSED CHILDCARE CENTERS THAT PARTICIPATE IN THE TEXAS RISING STAR PROGRAM OF THE TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION, AND MAINTAIN A MINIMUM OF 20% ENROLLMENT OF CHILDREN WHO RECEIVE SUBSIDIZED CHILDCARE SERVICES PROVIDED THROUGH, UM, THE SERVICES ADMINISTERED BY THE TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSIONER.
UM, HOME-BASED PROVIDERS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THIS PARTICULAR, UM, RELIEF.
IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE COUNTY INTENDS TO TAKE A SIMILAR STEP OR TO ACT ON PROPOSITION TWO IN SOME MANNER.
I'LL LET, UM, THE COMMISSIONER'S REPORT MAYBE WHEN I'M DONE, UM, WITH THIS REPORT, WHAT THE COUNTY IS PLANNING TO DO.
MY OFFICE IS WORKING WITH A GROUP CALLED CHILDREN AT RISK, WHO HELPED TO GET THAT ITEM ON THE BALLOT IN NOVEMBER, UM, TO HELP OTHER MUNICIPALITIES WITH A TOOLKIT USING OUR MATERIALS TO HELP THEM TO BE ABLE TO DO SIMILAR THINGS IN THEIR COMMUNITY, UM, FROM UNITED WAY.
UM, WE ESTIMATE THAT APPROXIMATELY A HUNDRED CHILDCARE PROVIDERS THROUGHOUT TRAVIS COUNTY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS EXEMPTION FROM THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, UM, SHOULD THE COUNTY ADVANCE IT AS WELL.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION TO KNOW HOW MUCH OF A FINANCIAL HIT EACH GOVERNMENT ENTITY WOULD BE TAKING BY THAT.
UM, BUT IT'S A WHOLE LOT LESS THAN WE WOULD BE FACING IF THOSE CHILDCARE, UM, PROVIDERS CLOSED THEIR DOORS AND REALLY IMPACTED OUR FAMILIES AND OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AS I MENTIONED, THE HOME-BASED PROVIDERS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THIS EXEMPTION.
UM, SO AT THE CITY IN OUR NOVEMBER RESOLUTION, WE ASKED THE CITY MANAGER TO COME BACK IN MAY WITH A PROPOSAL OF HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME TAX, UM, RELIEF TO THOSE HOME-BASED CHILDCARE CENTERS.
THEY TEND TO BE RUN BY WOMEN AND WOMEN OF COLOR, UM, AND THEY'RE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE PROP TWO RELIEF.
UM, BUT HERE IN AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY, THEY FORM AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT PART OF OUR CHILDCARE BASE.
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WANT TO SEE IF THERE ARE WAYS THAT WE CAN PROVIDE THE TAX RELIEF.WE BELIEVE THERE MAY BE A NUMBER OF OPTIONS WHERE WE CAN DO THAT, INCLUDING, UM, UNDER THE CITY'S NEW THREE 80, UH, PROCESS.
UM, WANNA BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING WITH THE CHILDREN'S FUNDING PROJECT.
SO THE CITY AND THE COUNTY'S WORK WITH THE CHILDREN'S FUNDING PROJECT CONTINUES AS WE EXPLORE WAYS TO CREATE A DEDICATED REVENUE STREAM TO STABILIZE AND EXPAND OUR LOCAL CHILDCARE ECOSYSTEM.
WE'VE FINISHED THE TECHNICAL WORK TO UNDERSTAND THE COST OF QUALITY CARE IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
WE HAVE OUR, OUR MODEL FOR THAT, UM, THAT IS BUILT OFF OF INTERVIEWS AND, UM, SURVEYING WITH CHILDCARE PROVIDERS.
WE HAVE IDENTIFIED KEY STRATEGIES, UM, AND WE HOPE TO HAVE SOME CONCRETE UPDATES ON THAT WORK IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
IF THERE ARE, UM, COMMITTEE MEMBERS WHO WANNA GO INTO A DEEPER DIVE, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT READY TO DO THAT HERE TODAY, BUT WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO TO EXTEND THAT OPPORTUNITY TO YOU.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE, UM, LOOKED AT AS A WORKING GROUP, UM, WAS, UM, HOW CITY AND COUNTY MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP AND SUPPORT A ISD TO UTILIZE SOME OF THEIR FACILITIES, UM, FOR CHILDCARE, EITHER FOR THEIR STAFF OR FOR, UM, UM, RESIDENTS.
UM, THOSE CONVERSATIONS CONTINUE.
UM, WE HAD A GREAT MEETING WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT.
UM, MY OFFICE IN UNITED MAY MET WITH THE SHALA CENTER IN TENNESSEE AND EARLY MATTERS IN SAN ANTONIO TO LEARN ABOUT HOW SCHOOLS ARE PURSUING THESE KINDS OF RELATIONSHIPS IN THOSE AREAS.
UM, AND WE REMAIN COMMITTED TO TRYING TO WORK WITH A ISD TO SEE HOW WE CAN, UM, WORK ON THAT.
AND THROUGH THE STRATEGIES THAT WE HAVE, UM, FOR THE CHILDREN'S FUNDING PROJECT WORK, WE MAY ALSO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THAT EFFORT.
UM, THOSE ARE THE, THE REPORT OUTS THAT I HAVE FROM OUR WORKING GROUP AND THE FOLKS THAT HAVE, WHO ARE PART OF THIS COMMITTEE WHO ARE WORKING ON CHILDCARE.
I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY ELSE HAS ANYTHING THAT THEY WANNA ADD WITH RESPECT TO WHAT THEIR ENTITY HAS BEEN LOOKING AT WITH RESPECT TO CHILDCARE OR IF THE COUNTY HAS ANY SENSE ON THE TIMING OF THEIR NEXT STEPS FOR PROPOSITION TWO MAD CHAIR.
I'M, I'M DELIGHTED TO HEAR WHAT Y'ALL HAVE BEEN DOING, AND I'M, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE LEADERSHIP Y'ALL HAVE SHOWN ON THIS.
UM, I'M GONNA ASK PILAR IN A MINUTE TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE, UM, WHAT THE, WHERE THINGS STAND WITH THE COUNTY.
AND I THINK COMMISSIONER TIAN WAS ON THE WORKING GROUP, SO I DON'T KNOW IF HE WANTS TO, UH, COMMENT AS WELL.
BUT I DID HEAR A STORY TODAY, UH, ABOUT THIS ISSUE.
AND THE INFORMATION MAY HAVE NOT BEEN COMPLETELY ACCURATE, BUT THEY INDICATED THAT IT WOULD POTENTIALLY BE POSSIBLE FOR THE HOME-BASED, UH, CHILDCARE OPERATIONS TO APPLY FOR A PROPERTY TAX, UH, EXEMPTION.
AND I KNOW, I KNOW A LARGE NUMBER OF HOME-BASED CHILDCARE, UH, PROVIDERS FOR WHOM THIS WOULD MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THEIR, THEIR FINANCIAL STABILITY.
IS THAT A POSSIBILITY, OR IS THAT JUST REALLY NOT LEGAL OR NOT GONNA BE POSSIBLE? SO I'M NOT A LAWYER.
MY UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT IT WAS NOT ALLOWED UNDER THE ENABLING LEGISLATION FOR PROPOSITION TWO, BUT THAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO DELIVER THAT THROUGH ALTERNATIVE TOOLS THAT WE HAD AT THE CITY.
I'M NOT AWARE OF EXACTLY THE PARALLEL TOOLS THAT YOU'D HAVE AT THE COUNTY.
YEAH, THEY'D BE DIFFERENT AT THE COUNTY.
UM, BUT YOU DO HAVE THE THREE 80 OPTION OR SOMETHING EQUIVALENT LIKE WHAT YOU'VE DONE WITH TESLA THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING SOMETHING SIMILAR FOR HOME-BASED PROVIDERS.
AND YOUR LAWYERS ARE TELLING YOU THAT MAY BE POSSIBLE TO APPLY TO HOME-BASED CHILDCARE PROVIDERS.
WE REVAMPED OUR THREE 80, UM, POLICY AND, UM, WE HAVE CREATED OUR THREE 80 POLICY IN SUCH A WAY THAT WE CAN HOPEFULLY BE SUPPORTING OUR ECONOMIC GOALS HERE LOCALLY.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE THE REPORT BACK FROM THEM YET, AND WHETHER IT'S THE THREE 80 OR SOMETHING ELSE, UM, THAT WE MAY BE ABLE TO DO, UM, WE HAVE PROVIDED THEM DIRECTION AT THIS POINT TO LOOK INTO THAT.
AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THEY BELIEVE THEY'RE ON TRACK TO GET BACK WITH US WITH CONCRETE IDEAS BY MAY, BUT I DON'T HAVE A REPORT YET ON WHAT THOSE, THOSE CLEAR OPTIONS ARE.
WELL, THAT WOULD BE, UH, REALLY, REALLY GREAT NEWS IF THAT'S A POSSIBILITY.
UM, BUT I'M GONNA ASK PILAR, UH, SANCHEZ, WHO'S OUR, UM, COUNTY EXECUTIVE FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TO GIVE AN UPDATE, UM, ON WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON WITH THE CHILDCARE COMMITTEE.
I'M NOT ON THAT WORKING GROUP, SO I DON'T HAVE THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION.
UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, IS PARTICIPATING WITH A CHILDREN'S FUNDING PROJECT IN THE WORK GROUP THAT YOU'VE CREATED TO TAKE A LOOK AT SOME LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS.
AND I BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE SOME COMMISSIONERS EXPLORING WHAT, UM, BRINGING, UH, THE,
[00:10:02]
THE TAX EXEMPTION TO THE COURT FOR, FOR, UH, CONSIDERATION.AND I'LL JUST, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE LEARNED ABOUT THE TIMING IS THAT FOR TRAVIS COUNTY, TCA HAS SAID THAT THEY NEED TO HAVE THE APPLICATIONS FOR THE EXEMPTIONS IN BY MAY 1ST.
AND SO YOU MAY JUST WANNA KEEP THAT IN MIND AS YOU'RE PLOTTING YOUR, UM, TIMING FOR IT.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ALREADY HAVE MODEL RESOLUTIONS FOR REQUESTING IT AND THE, THE, THE ORDINANCE LANGUAGE TO IMPLEMENT IT THAT, UM, WE'RE HAPPY TO TO SHARE IF IT'S, IF IT'S AT ALL HELPFUL.
UM, AND IF, IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO BE ON THE, THE WEBINAR, UM, THAT'LL BE ON JANUARY 30TH WITH CHILDREN AT RISK.
BUT, UM, OBVIOUSLY THE, THE CITY WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO TO SHARE OUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE COUNTY, IF THAT'S AT ALL HELPFUL.
UM, I THINK IT'S A FAIRLY STRAIGHTFORWARD, UM, ACTION.
IT'S JUST, UM, THERE MAY OR MAY NOT BE DIFFERENT, UM, IMPACTS FINANCIALLY IT DOES HAVE A FINANCIAL HIT.
UM, AND THOSE MAY LOOK DIFFERENTLY DIFFERENT ACROSS THE ENTITIES IN TERMS OF THE MAGNITUDE.
PILAR, DO YOU KNOW THE TIMEFRAME FOR THE COURT MEMBERS? AND, UM, I'M, BECAUSE OF QUORUM ISSUES, WE CAN'T HAVE MORE THAN TWO MEMBERS OF THE COURT TALKING TO EACH OTHER ABOUT ITEMS THEY'RE BRINGING FOR ACTION.
SO, UM, IT WOULD BE USEFUL IF YOU'RE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THIS, UM, UH, IN ANY MORE DETAIL.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEIR TIMEFRAME IS? FOR INSTANCE? I ACTUALLY DO NOT HAVE ANY MORE DETAIL.
I HAVE NOT BEEN A PART OF THAT EXPLORING COMMITTEE.
UM, I JUST KNOW THAT IT IS HAPPENING.
AND DO WE KNOW WHICH COURT MEMBERS ARE WORKING ON IT? JUST FOR MY EDIFICATION,
DO YOU HAVE STAFF MEMBERS WHO WOULD KNOW THIS? PERHAPS I COULD TALK WITH THEM AT SOME POINT.
WE HAVE COREY, DARLENE AND HILDA RIVAS FROM HHS WORKING ON THE WORK GROUP.
AND, UM, SO WE CAN DEFINITELY FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE, THE TAX EXEMPTION REGARDING THE LATEST LEGISLATION, AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT OTHER, UM, SOLUTIONS THAT WE'RE EXPLORING.
HELLO? OH, THERE WAS GOOD MORNING.
FINALLY WORKED THROUGH MY TECHNICAL PROBLEMS. UH, I, I COULD, UH, I COULD NOT, UM, SEE YOU GUYS OUR TALK FOR A FEW MINUTES, SO, UH, IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU.
UM, I, I, UH, I WAS WATCHING, UH, THE DEBATE IN THE CLO OR THE DISCUSSION IN THE CLOSED CAPTIONS.
AND, UH, AND I THINK IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT DISCUSSION THAT, UH, THAT WE NEED TO HAVE.
I'M, I'M VERY INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING THE CONTOURS OF THE PROPOSAL, THOUGH.
UH, IT, IT'S, IT'S, UH, IT'S GONNA BE IMPORTANT.
I, I'VE NOT BEEN ABLE TO, UM, GET ANY DOCUMENTS THAT EXPLAIN TO ME EXACTLY WHAT THE PROPOSAL IS AND, AND, UH, WHAT IT IS WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH AND, AND WHAT THE PRICE TAG ON THAT WOULD BE.
UH, I THINK THAT CHILDCARE IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.
UH, BUT I THINK THAT, UM, CHILDCARE ARE, UH, UM, THAT EXTENDS TO YOUTH DEVELOPMENT IS GONNA BE, UH, EQUALLY MEANINGFUL.
WE HAVE BEEN PUSHING FOR SOME YEARS NOW FOR ADEQUATE AND APPROPRIATE, UH, AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS THAT, THAT, UH, ADDRESS THE NEEDS.
NOT, UM, NOT ONLY OF OF CHILDCARE, BUT OF THE CARE THAT NEEDS TO OCCUR ON, ON OUR TITLE ONE CAMPUSES ON A CONTINUING BASIS, UM, WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THAT WE ARE ADDRESSING, ARE ADDRESSING CORE ISSUES AND ARE BUILDING A FOUNDATION THAT IS GOING TO BE SUSTAINABLE AND MEANINGFUL, UH, OVER, OVER A PERIOD OF TIME AS WELL.
SO I'M VERY INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT WHAT'S ON THE TABLE AND, UM, AND ULTIMATELY, UH, HOW WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ADDRESSING THE PRIMARY NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER TRIVI.
UM, MAYBE MY STAFF AND, AND YOUR STAFF CAN GET US A, A TIME TO MEET.
I THINK YOU'RE REFERRING HERE AND YOU ARE OFFLINE, SO, SO FORGIVE ME IF I REPEAT THIS FOR EVERYONE ELSE.
UM, YOU'RE REFERRING TO THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE CHILDREN'S FUNDING PROJECT.
AND, UM, WE ARE JUST AT THE POINT TO BE ABLE TO COME OUT AND TALK TO FOLKS MORE DETAILED ABOUT THE STRATEGIES THAT WE'VE PUT TOGETHER.
AND WE WOULD LOVE TO COME AND HAVE A, AN EXTENDED CONVERSATION WITH YOU AND SHARE WITH YOU ALL THE, ALL THE INPUTS IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, DATA, ET CETERA, THAT HAVE GONE INTO THAT AND TO GET YOUR OPINION AND WHATEVER.
AND, AND MY STAFF AND YOURS CAN TALK ABOUT THAT.
I THINK THE SECOND QUESTION WAS ABOUT THE TAX EXEMPTION THAT CAME OUT OF PROPOSITION TWO THAT THE CITY JUST ADOPTED.
UM, AND I THINK, UM, COMMISSIONER SHEA WAS ASKING, UM, WHO ON THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT WAS TRYING TO BRING FORWARD THAT TAX EXEMPTION.
SO PROPOSITION TWO ALLOWS, UM, CITIES OR COUNTIES TO BRING A
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TAX EXEMPTION OF 50 TO A HUNDRED PERCENT THE CITY HAS ADOPTED A HUNDRED PERCENT.UM, AND THE QUESTION IS, UM, YOU KNOW, IS THERE A WORKING GROUP AT THE COUNTY THAT IS WORKING ON BRINGING FORWARD THAT TAX EXEMPTION FOR THE COUNTY TO BE ABLE TO SERVE ABOUT A HUNDRED CHILDCARE PROVIDERS? THEY ALL HAVE TO HAVE, UH, 20% SUBSIDY, SUBSIDY, UM, CHILDREN IN THEIR, IN THEIR AREAS.
AND I DO HAVE AN UPDATE, UM, UH, JUDGE BROWN'S OFFICE IS WORKING ON, I DON'T KNOW WHO ELSE ON THE COURT IS, BUT THEY'RE, UM, THEY'RE WORKING ON IT WITH THE HHS STAFF.
WELL, HOPEFULLY AT OUR NEXT MEETING WE'LL HAVE A REPORT OF YOU GUYS.
UM, DOES A SD HAVE ANYTHING THEY WANNA REPORT ON CHILDCARE AT THIS POINT? NO, BUT I DO REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP, UM, UM, GETTING THIS THROUGH.
I THINK IT'S GONNA HELP A LOT OF OUR FAMILIES.
COMMISSIONER ILIAN, THANK YOU ALSO FOR MENTIONING AFTERSCHOOL.
I KNOW THAT'S ONE OF YOUR, UM, YOU KNOW, A BIG PASSION AND I KNOW THAT THE DISTRICT HAS DEVELOPED AN IN-HOUSE, UM, INITIATIVE TO PROVIDE AFTERSCHOOL CARE.
UM, AND I'M WONDERING IF THAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU ALL MIGHT WANNA HEAR ABOUT MORE IN A FUTURE MEETING? ABSOLUTELY.
UM, IF I COULD JUST ADD TO THAT, WE, UM, WE HAVE BEEN, UM, WORKING DILIGENTLY FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW AT THE COUNTY ON CREATING, UM, DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND PART OF THE PACKAGE WITH THE DEVELOPERS THAT WE'RE PARTNERING WITH.
'CAUSE WE'RE NOW AT 13,500 PLUS UNITS, THREE QUARTERS OF WHICH ARE AT 60% AND BELOW.
AND I, I WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT BECAUSE WE KEEP BEING CRITICIZED, WE'RE NOT DOING MORE ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND WE'VE DONE AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT.
BUT PART OF THAT, AND COMMISSIONER TVA GETS A LOT OF CREDIT FOR THIS, INCLUDES PROGRAMS WHERE THE DEVELOPERS ARE FUNDING AFTER SCHOOL TUTORING, AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS, UH, AND ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES.
SO, UH, COMMISSIONER TRU, I THINK THAT MIGHT BE A VALUABLE PART OF OUR UPDATE, UM, TO PROVIDE AND, UM, UH, EXECUTIVE, UM, SANCHEZ I THINK YOU COULD GET A, UM, KIND OF A RUNDOWN FROM OUR, UM, HOUSING CORPORATION STAFF ON THAT INFORMATION SO WE HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF HOW MANY OF THESE, UM, APARTMENT COMPLEXES ARE PROVIDING THOSE KINDS OF AFTERSCHOOL SERVICES.
WHEN WE REVISIT OUR AGENDA FOR THE NEXT MEETING, THAT MAY BE A THEME THAT WE WANNA TAKE.
'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY THE CITY ALSO DOES A LOT OF INVESTMENTS IN, IN AFTERSCHOOL CARE, UM, AS WELL.
UM, NEXT UP WE HAVE, IS THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ON THIS? OKAY.
[IV. Update regarding Agreed Order with Texas Education Agency]
UP IS ITEM FOUR.UM, WE HAVE JACOB REACH CHIEF OFFICER, GOVERNMENT RELATIONS AND BOARD SERVICES FOR A ISD PROVIDING AN UPDATE REGARDING THE AGREED ORDER WITH TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY.
AND GOOD AFTERNOON TO OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS, COMMISSIONERS AND TRUSTEES.
UM, SO I AM HERE TODAY TO PROVIDE A UPDATE ON, UH, THE DISTRICT'S, UH, WORK WITH THE TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY UNDER AN AGREED ORDER.
SO IN LATE MARCH, THE TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY, OR TEA ISSUED A REPORT STATING ITS INTENT TO ASSIGN A TEAM OF CONSERVATORS TO OVERSEE SPECIAL EDUCATION IN AUSTIN, ISD.
SO A CONSERVATOR WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE A MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY, COULD DIRECT STAFF, COULD DIRECT DEPARTMENT, COULD EVEN DIRECT RESOURCES.
UH, THE DISTRICT SUBMITTED AND WAS LATER GRANTED A REQUEST FOR AN INFORMAL REVIEW WITH TEA.
WE ASKED TEA TO RECONSIDER THE CONSERVATORSHIP IN LIGHT OF THE NEW INFORMATION REGARDING WHAT WE HAD ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED.
OVER THE MONTHS LEADING UP TO THAT DATE, WE HAD A STRONG PLAN IN PLACE, AND WE WANTED TO ENSURE THE BEST POSSIBLE ALIGNMENT BETWEEN OUR EFFORTS AS A DISTRICT AND THE EFFORTS OF THE STATE.
IN MAY, OUR BOARD PRESIDENT, TRUSTEE SINGH AND OUR SUPERINTENDENT, ALONG WITH A FEW STAFF, MET WITH TEA AS PART OF THE INFORMAL REVIEW PROCESS.
UH, THEN IN AUGUST 30TH, THE TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY PRESENTED TO US AN ALTERNATIVE PLAN FOR AUSTIN, ISD TO CONSIDER IN PLACE OF CONSERVATORSHIP, UH, OVER SPECIAL EDUCATION.
THE BOARD AND THE INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT HELD A HEARING IN SEPTEMBER, UH, WHICH IS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE IF YOU WANTED TO GO WATCH THAT, WHERE WE WERE ABLE TO DISCUSS THAT CURRENT PLAN, UH, LOOK AT OUR CURRENT DATA AND DISCUSS THE BACKLOG, WHICH WAS REALLY WHAT LED TO TEA OPENING THIS INVESTIGATION TO BEGIN WITH OUR BACKLOG OF EVALUATING STUDENTS FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES.
UH, ON SEPTEMBER 25TH, AUSTIN ISD RECEIVED A FINAL NEGOTIATED PROPOSAL, WHICH WE REFER TO AS THE AGREED ORDER.
UM, AND OUR BOARD APPROVED THAT SEPTEMBER 26TH.
AS PART OF THAT AGREED ORDER, INSTEAD OF A CONSERVATOR, THE, UH, TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY PLACED MONITORS OVER OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION
[00:20:01]
DEPARTMENT IN OCTOBER 5TH.UH, THEY APPOINTED TWO MONITORS.
THEIR NAMES ARE SHERRY MARSH AND LISA SHOCKLEY.
AND THEY, UH, PARTNER WITH US ON, UH, HELPING OVERSEE THE WORK FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION.
SO I'LL QUICKLY KIND OF GO OVER WHAT IS IN THIS AGREED ORDER.
UH, SO OVERALL, THERE'S THE ACTUAL AGREEMENT TO IT.
UH, AND THE AGREEMENT OUTLINES WHAT WE HAVE TO ACCOMPLISH TO BASICALLY BE OUT OF THIS AGREED ORDER.
UM, A FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE AGREED ORDER, OR EVEN TO NOT COMPLETE IT, TO WHAT TEA, UH, BELIEVES IS SUFFICIENT, UH, COULD LEAD TO ADDITIONAL, UH, REQUIREMENTS FROM TEA, UH, THAT COULD BE ACTUALLY PUTTING IN PLACE A CONSERVATOR.
IT COULD ACTUALLY GO ALL THE WAY UP TO WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN HOUSTON, ISD, UH, TO WHERE THE STATE ACTUALLY PUTS IN A BOARD OF MANAGERS OVER THE ENTIRE DISTRICT.
SO OUR AGREED ORDER HAS FOUR PARTS.
UH, FIRST, UH, THERE'S OUR PRIORITY ONE, WHICH IS TO SATISFY OPEN CORRECTIVE ACTION PLANS.
SO THE REASON THAT AUSTIN, IASD IS IN THIS AGREED ORDER, IS BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE WERE NOT DOING WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO TO COMPLETE IN A TIMELY FASHION EVALUATIONS FOR STUDENTS AND ENSURING THAT THEY HAD THE SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES THAT THEY NEEDED.
THIS HAD ACTUALLY LED TO MULTIPLE CORRECTIVE ACTION PLANS.
UH, AND THE CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN IS SIMPLY THAT IF A FAMILY HAS A CONCERN THAT THEY RAISED WITH THE STATE, AND THE STATE SAYS, YEP, THAT CONCERN HAS MERIT AND IT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED, THEN THEY OPEN A CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN.
UH, SO WE HAD 14 CORRECTIVE ACTION PLANS AT THE TIME THAT WE ENTERED INTO THIS AGREEMENT THAT NEEDED TO BE CLOSED.
AND TEA STATED THAT STEP ONE IS YOU'LL HAVE TO CLOSE ALL THOSE CORRECTIVE ACTION PLANS.
STEP TWO IS THAT, UH, AS A DISTRICT, WE HAD TO COMPLETELY, UH, GET RID OF OUR BACKLOG OF EVALUATIONS.
SO DEPENDING ON WHEN AN EVALUATION IS REQUESTED, UH, YOU HAVE A TIMELINE SET BY THE STATE AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ON HOW LONG YOU HAVE TO COMPLETE AN EVALUATION TO START PROVIDING SERVICES FOR STUDENTS AND EVALUATE STUDENTS.
AND TA IS SAYING THAT WE HAVE TO NOT ONLY GET RID OF OUR BACKLOG, BUT THEN ENSURE ANY OF OUR WORK GOING FORWARD STAYS WITHIN THOSE TIMELINES.
OUR PRIORITY, TOO, IS TO IDENTIFY AND IMPLEMENT EFFECTIVE PRACTICES.
AND WE THINK OF THIS AS OUR, UH, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PRIORITY.
SO, TEA IS REQUIRING A SERIES OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT REALLY FOCUSED ON TWO THINGS.
THE FIRST IS PROFESSIONAL, UH, EXCUSE ME, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THAT'S FOCUSED AROUND BEST PRACTICES FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION.
UH, WE HAVE ALREADY STARTED THAT.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE'VE ALREADY DONE A SERIES OF TRAINING FOR EVERY TEACHER IN THE DISTRICT JUST IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS.
UH, WE HAVE ALSO DONE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION ON HOW TO IDENTIFY STUDENTS, HOW TO WORK WITH STUDENTS WHO ARE IDENTIFIED AND HOW TO HELP THEM THROUGH THE EVALUATION PROCESS.
UH, THE SECOND PART IS, UH, CREATING A MULTI-TIERED SYSTEM OF SUPPORT PROGRAM AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN.
AND MTSS IS SIMPLY, UH, LOOKING AT THE THREE DIFFERENT TIERS OF SUPPORT THAT STUDENTS RECEIVE.
SO YOUR FIRST TIER IS WHAT EVERY STUDENT RECEIVES, GENERAL EDUCATION.
WE'VE ALL RECEIVED TIER ONE EDUCATION, SOME POINT IN OUR, UH, IN OUR LIFE.
UM, TIER TWO IS TYPICALLY THAT NEXT STEP.
IT'S NOT NECESSARILY A SPECIALIZED PLAN, ALTHOUGH IT MAY BE, BUT IT COULD BE A SMALL GROUP TUTORING FOR A GROUP OF KIDS.
UH, AND THEN THAT STEP THREE IS REALLY THAT SPECIALIZED PLAN.
THOSE WORK TOGETHER ALONG WITH, UH, SOCIAL SUPPORTS FOR STUDENTS, MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS FOR STUDENTS AND OTHER CONNECTIONS, UH, WHICH WE HAVE A LOT WITH OUR CITY, WITH OUR COUNTY.
AND, UH, WITH DR. WILLIAMS, HE'S HERE FOR ANOTHER ITEM.
HE DOES A LOT WITH OUR MTSS PROGRAM AS WELL.
UH, SO WE'LL IMPLEMENT THIS NEW PROGRAM AND WE'LL PROVIDE TRAINING OVER BEST PRACTICES FOR MTSS, FOR ALL OF OUR CAMPUS TEACHERS, ALL OF OUR CAMPUS ADMINISTRATORS, AND ALL OF ALL CENTRAL ADMINISTRATORS WHO WORK DIRECTLY WITH CAMPUSES AND ACADEMICS, SCHOOL LEADERSHIP.
UH, PRIORITY THREE IS TO IMPROVE DATA MANAGEMENT.
SO ONE CONCERN THAT TEA HAD WHEN WE WERE GOING THROUGH THIS PROGRAM IS THEY WOULD ASK THE DISTRICT, HOW MANY, HOW MANY STUDENTS DO YOU HAVE BACKLOGGED? AND OUR TRUSTEES KNOW BECAUSE THEY ASKED SIMILAR QUESTIONS, AND BASED OFF OF THE SYSTEMS THAT WE HAD AT THE TIME, THE ANSWER WAS, WE DON'T KNOW.
WHICH OBVIOUSLY, UH, IS NOT GONNA HELP US GET OUT OF A BACKLOG IF WE CANNOT SAY AT ANY GIVEN POINT HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE ACTUALLY, UH, NOT WITH AN EVALUATION, NOT WITH A SPECIAL EDUCATION PLAN.
SO PRIORITY THREE, UH, REQUIRES THE DISTRICT TO HAVE STRONG DATA PLANS.
THIS IS THE ONE PROGRAM THAT WE REALLY, UH, MADE THE BIGGEST MOVEMENT ON PRIOR TO GOING INTO THIS SPECIAL AGREEMENT WITH TEA.
SO OUR INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT HAD ALREADY, UH, IMPLEMENTED, UH, SOME NEW SYSTEMS THAT ALLOWED US TO BETTER TRACK STUDENTS.
AND WE ARE NOW AT A POINT TO WHERE WE COULD ACTUALLY SAY, I'M NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO DO IT FROM MY
[00:25:01]
PHONE.BUT IF I HAD MY LAPTOP WITH ME, YOU COULD SAY, JACOB, HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE OUT OF COMPLIANCE TODAY? AND I COULD GO PULL THAT UP ON THE DATA SYSTEM.
UM, AND SO TEA WANTS US TO IMPROVE THAT, AND THEY WILL CHECK THAT BY ACTUALLY ASKING US TO PULL DATA FOR THEM ON VARIOUS STUDENTS AND ENSURE THAT WE CAN PRODUCE THOSE REPORTS.
THIS IS ALSO HELPFUL FOR OUR CAMPUSES, NOT JUST FOR A COMPLIANCE REASON FOR TEA.
'CAUSE OUR CAMPUSES NEED EFFECTIVE AND RELEVANT AND TIMELY DATA.
UH, 'CAUSE THEY NEED TO KNOW WHEN THEY NEED TO EVALUATE STUDENTS, WHEN THEY NEED TO REEVALUATE.
STUDENTS AND FAMILIES NEED TO HAVE FAITH THAT THE DISTRICT IS GONNA BE ABLE TO KNOW WHERE WE'RE AT IN THAT PROCESS.
SO, UM, WE'RE STILL HAVE A FEW ITEMS TO WORK ON THIS, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, THE DATA AVAILABILITY IS SET.
AND THEN PRIORITY FOUR IS TO ESTABLISH A PARENT OUTREACH COM, UH, CAMPAIGN.
SO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ALREADY REQUIRES THEIR SPECIAL EDUCATION THAT ANY SCHOOL DISTRICT HAVE A PARENT OUTREACH CAMPAIGN.
UH, TEA HAS ACTUALLY OUTLINED SOME ASPECTS THAT THEY EXPECT TO SEE IN OUR PARENT OUTREACH CAMPAIGN THAT'S INCLUDED UPDATING OUR WEBSITE.
IT'S INCLUDED CREATING A NEW SPECIAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE MADE UP OF A MAJORITY OF PARENTS, PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO THE ADMINISTRATION, AND THEN INDIRECTLY TO OUR MONITORS AND TO OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
SO ALL OF THESE ITEMS TOGETHER ARE WHAT WE MUST ACCOMPLISH TO GET OUT OF THIS AGREED ORDER WITH TEA AND TO, UH, NO LONGER BE UNDER THREAT OF ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS.
UH, SO, UH, WITH SOMETHING AS IMPORTANT AS THIS, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, WE'VE SET UP A LOT OF DIFFERENT SYSTEMS FOR HOW WE MONITOR THIS.
UH, SO AS A DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION, WE HAVE WEEKLY QUALITY ASSURANCE MEETINGS.
I ACTUALLY HAD ONE TODAY AT 10 O'CLOCK, AND THEN I, WHEN THAT ENDED, I DROVE OVER HERE FOR THIS MEETING.
UH, SO THAT'S WHERE WE MEET WITH OTHER STAFF IN OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, UM, AND WITH OUR INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT SO THAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT EVERY ITEM THAT'S COMING UP TO BE DUE, WHERE WE'RE AT, WHAT THE PROGRESS IS, AND WHAT STEPS WE NEED TO ADDRESS.
A BIG ONE THAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW IS CONTINUED TRAINING FOR STAFF AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE GONNA COMPLETE TRAINING FOR ALL OF OUR TEACHERS BY NOT MAKING IT A, AN ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT ON TOP OF THEIR DAY.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN FLEX TIME, HOW WE CAN PROVIDE SUPPORT.
SO SOME OF THOSE TEACHERS WHO STILL NEED TO COMPLETE THE TRAINING HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT BEFORE THE END OF THE MONTH.
UH, WE ALSO DO WEEKLY CHECK-INS WITH STAFF.
AND THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT MEETINGS.
THERE'S ONE BETWEEN, UH, MY TEAM AND OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION LEADERSHIP WHERE WE TALK THROUGH EVERYTHING IN PREPARATION FOR OUR QUALITY ASSURANCE MEETING, UH, TO PREPARE TO MEET WITH OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES, AND JUST TO THINK THROUGH SOME OF THE MINUTE DETAILS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE READY.
UM, SO THAT WE'RE READY WHEN WE NEED TO SHARE INFORMATION TO TEA OR DISTRICT LEADERSHIP.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE CREATED SMARTSHEETS.
SOME OF YOU PROBABLY USE SMARTSHEETS.
UH, WE'VE CREATED A VERY DETAILED GANT CHART USING SMARTSHEETS HELP KEEP TRACK OF ALL THE DIFFERENT ITEMS WE NEED TO CONSIDER, INCLUDING WHO OWNS THAT ITEM, WHAT DO WE NEED TO PREPARE TO GET THAT ITEM READY, AND WHAT ARE SOME OF THOSE DEADLINES THAT WE KNOW IF WE'RE GONNA COMPLETE THIS BY THE END OF THE MONTH, THEN BY THE 15TH OF JANUARY, I NEED TO HAVE THIS PORTION DONE.
AND SO THAT LIST ALL THE DIFFERENT STEPS.
AND THEN WE HAVE A SHARED DRIVE THAT IS SHARED WITH MULTIPLE STAFF MEMBERS SO THAT EVERYTHING WE HAVE, UH, EVERYONE HAS ACCESS TO.
IT'S NOT THAT I OWN ALL THESE DOCUMENTS AND THEY'RE ON MY DESKTOP.
IT'S THAT IT'S SHARED OWNERSHIP OF THESE DOCUMENTS BETWEEN ALL THE DIFFERENT STAFF.
UM, SO THIS IS, UH, WHAT WE NEED TO DO WHEN WE ACTUALLY GET TOGETHER TO TALK ABOUT IT.
SO THESE ARE JUST SOME STATEMENTS THAT I WROTE UP THAT WE CONSIDER VERY IMPORTANT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HOW WE MONITOR THIS.
WE ENSURE THAT WHEN WE'RE MEETING WITH OUR TRUSTEES, MEETING WITH OUR INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT, THAT WE HAVE DATA TO BACK UP WHERE WE'RE AT ON ALL THESE DIFFERENT STEPS.
I NEVER WANT TO SAY, OH, WELL, UH, WE'RE MOSTLY COMPLETE WITH TRAINING.
SO WHEN I'M MEETING WITH OUR SUPERINTENDENT, I TELL OUR SUPERINTENDENT THAT WE HAVE, UH, 6,000 TEACHERS AND 5,830 OF THEM HAVE BEEN TRAINED.
AND FOR THOSE REMAINDER TEACHERS, HERE'S OUR PLAN.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE CREATED A LOT OF REDUNDANCY ON PURPOSE.
SO, UM, MANY OF US ARE GOING THROUGH AND CHECKING THESE NUMBERS.
I HAVE ANOTHER STAFF MEMBER WHO'S DOING IT, AND THEN OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION TEAM IS DOING IT.
AND THEN WE ALL GET TOGETHER AND WE CHECK TO SEE, DID WE ALL COME UP WITH THE SAME NUMBER? UH, 'CAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT FORGETTING SOMETHING.
SO WE REDO A LOT OF THE STUFF OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
BUT THAT'S BECAUSE WE KNOW HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO GET ALL THIS RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.
UH, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IS, UNDERSTANDABLY, THIS IS A COMPLIANCE EXERCISE WITH TEA, BUT WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT QUALITY IS STILL FIRST FOR OUR CAMPUSES.
SO WHAT WE SAY IS THAT PART OF MY JOB IS TO CHECK ON THE COMPLIANCE.
OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION TEAM IS TO ENSURE THAT WHAT WE'RE DOING IS QUALITY PROGRAMS, QUALITY TRAINING FOR OUR TEACHERS AND FOR OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS AND OUR FAMILIES.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, DOCUMENT EVERYTHING.
I MENTIONED THAT WE HAVE ALL THESE
[00:30:01]
DIFFERENT WAYS TO DOCUMENT.UH, WE ACTUALLY DOCUMENT MULTIPLE TIMES.
SO WE HAVE A SHARED SHEET THAT JUST UPDATES THE 99 DIFFERENT ITEMS THAT WE HAVE TO TURN INTO TEA AND TELLS US WHERE WE'RE AT WITH THAT.
THEN WE HAVE OUR SMARTSHEET, AND THEN WE HAVE A FOLDER WHERE WE HAVE EVERY SINGLE ITEM LISTED.
WE CREATE A LETTER TO THE TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY.
EVERY TIME WE COMPLETE ONE, WE KEEP A DRAFT OF THE LETTER, WE KEEP THE FINAL LETTER, AND THEN WE KEEP A PRINTOUT OF THE EMAIL THAT WE SENT TO TEA SENDING IN THAT LETTER.
UH, 'CAUSE WE WANT EVERYTHING DOCUMENTED.
THE GOAL WOULD BE THAT IF, UM, IF I WERE GONE NEXT WEEK OR IF I WENT SOMEWHERE ELSE, SOMEONE COULD JUST IMMEDIATELY STEP RIGHT IN, FOLLOW UP ON THE WORK, NOT HAVE TO CATCH UP TO SPEED WITH THAT.
UM, SO AS I MENTIONED, 99 TASK, UH, WHEN I MET WITH OUR TRUSTEES LAST WEEK, WE HAD COMPLETED 23, BUT I COMPLETED ONE LAST FRIDAY AFTER THE BOARD MEETING.
SO WE'RE NOW AT 24 OF 99 TASKS COMPLETE.
UM, SOME OF THE BIG ITEMS THAT WE'VE ALREADY COMPLETED IS OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES HAVE CHANGED DISTRICT POLICIES, WHICH IS A REQUIREMENT FROM TEA TO ALIGN 12 DIFFERENT POLICIES WITH WHAT TEA CONSIDERED TO BE BEST PRACTICES.
UH, OUR BOARD IS ALSO APPROVED A NEW HANDBOOK, WHICH CAN BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE.
UH, I ALREADY MENTIONED THAT FOR OUR FAMILIES, WE'VE CREATED A NEW WEBSITE.
AND ON THAT SPED WEBSITE, WE HAVE UPDATED OUTREACH MATERIALS ON HOW YOU CAN GET INFORMATION FOR EVALUATIONS, WHERE YOU NEED TO GO TO ASK QUESTIONS, WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE EVALUATION PERIOD.
UH, I ALSO MENTIONED THE NEW PARENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
SO WE JUST FINALIZED THAT MEMBERSHIP ON THE 15TH, AND OUR FIRST MEETING WILL BE FEBRUARY 19TH WITH FAMILIES.
UH, SO THE TWO MAJOR PARTS THAT I KIND OF TALKED ABOUT IS SATISFYING THE CAPS AND OUR TRAINING.
I KIND OF WENT THROUGH ALL OF THESE, BUT I DO WANNA MENTION WITH THE SATISFY OF THE CAP, THAT INCLUDES COMPLETING ALL OUTSTANDING EVALUATIONS THAT OCCURRED PRIOR TO JUNE 30TH, UM, COMPLETE ALL OF THE COMPENSATORY EDUCATION DETERMINATIONS.
SO IF A STUDENT, UM, DID NOT MEET THEIR ORIGINAL TIMELINE, SO I'LL USE MY STUDENT EXAMPLE IF MY DAUGHTER MISSED THE TIMELINE FOR BEING EVALUATED.
WELL, IN THEORY, WE WOULD SAY THAT HAD SHE BEEN EVALUATED ON TIME, SHE WOULD'VE BEEN RECEIVING SERVICES ON TIME.
BUT THERE WAS SOME PERIOD THAT WENT BY WHEN, WHEN SHE DID NOT GET SERVICES.
SO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SAYS WE NEED TO PROVIDE COMPENSATORY EDUCATION FOR THAT STUDENT IF THEY NEEDED SERVICES.
SO WE NEED TO GO BACK FOR ALL OF THESE STUDENTS AND LOOK, DO WE NEED TO PROVIDE THEM COMPENSATORY EDUCATION? BASICALLY MAKE UP SERVICES FOR THAT TIME.
AND THAT COULD LOOK LOTS OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
THAT COULD BE TUTORING, THAT COULD BE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT AT THE CAMPUS, OR IN SOME CASES IT COULD BE AN OUTSIDE RESOURCE THAT THE PARENT GOES AND PURCHASES.
AND THEN WE EITHER PAY THAT, UH, PERSON DIRECTLY OR IN SOME VERY RARE CASES WE PAY BACK THE FAMILY.
DO YOU HAVE A NUMBER OF HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE IN THAT CATEGORY IN, UH, THE CURRENT COMPENSATORY ED? SO WE'VE COMPLETED ALL OF OUR BACKLOG.
THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS THAT WOULD QUALIFY FOR COMPENSATORY EDUCATION IF THEY DID NOT RECEIVE IT BY THE DEADLINE.
I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT NUMBER.
IF I HAD MY COMPUTER, I'D PULL IT UP.
IT WAS A LITTLE OVER 1300 STUDENTS.
AND HAVE YOU GOT ANY KIND OF BUDGET ESTIMATE FOR THE COST THAT YOU WOULD INCUR? AND IS THAT REIMBURSED BY THE STATE OR IS THAT OUT OF POCKET FOR A ISD? YEAH, SO, UM, SO FIRST WE ESTIMATE THAT IT COULD BE UP TO 4 MILLION.
UM, IT'S DIFFICULT TO SAY BECAUSE EVERY STUDENT'S NEED IS GONNA BE DIFFERENT.
AND WHETHER, UH, WE MISSED YOUR EVALUATION BY A WEEK OR WE MISSED IT BY A YEAR, THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE AMOUNT OF SERVICES YOU COULD GET.
UM, SO THE STATE AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DOES PROVIDE SOME SERVICES FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION, SOME DIRECT FUNDING TO DISTRICTS.
HOWEVER, IT ONLY ACCOUNTS FOR ABOUT 44% OF THE COST THAT WE HAVE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION, AUSTIN, ISD ESPECIALLY.
UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SAYS, HERE'S WHAT YOU SHOULD BE, BE SPENDING ON SPECIAL EDUCATION, AND HERE'S MONEY FOR THAT.
AND THEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT WE DO SPEND, UM, WE ARE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN MANY OTHER DISTRICTS.
URBANS, UH, TEND TO HAVE A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS, AND SO THEY TEND TO SLIGHTLY HAVE HIGHER COST.
UM, SO THOSE CORRECTIVE ACTION PLANS I MENTIONED THERE WERE 14.
WE'VE ALREADY CLOSED OUT FOUR, WE'VE ACTUALLY CLOSED OUT ANOTHER FOUR.
UM, SO WE'RE MOVING THROUGH THOSE CORRECTIVE ACTION PLANS.
BUT OUR NEXT STEP IS TO COMPLETE ALL OF THOSE CORRECTIVE ACTION PLANS AND THEN TO CLOSE OUT THE EVALUATIONS.
UH, WE ARE VERY HAPPY TO REPORT THAT TEA ACTUALLY TOLD US LAST FRIDAY THAT WE HAD OFFICIALLY ADDRESSED OUR BACKLOG PRIOR TO THAT 2023 DATE.
SO THAT WAS A MAJOR MILESTONE FOR US TO REALLY SAY THAT ALL THOSE STUDENTS WHO WERE PENDING PRIOR TO THAT DATE ARE NOW COMPLETE.
SO NOW OUR WORK IS, BECAUSE WE ALSO HAD TO CONTINUE WITH NEW EVALUATIONS DURING THIS TIME, IS STILL ADDRESSED.
THOSE WHO ARE IN THE QUEUE NOW.
[00:35:01]
BUT UNDERSTANDABLY, WE HAD SUCH A LARGE QUEUE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR THAT, UH, A SMALL NUMBER OF STUDENTS DID END UP BEING BACKLOGGED AS WELL.IT WAS NOT GROWING LIKE IT WAS PREVIOUSLY.
IF YOU ASKED ME A YEAR AGO, I WOULD'VE TO TELL YOU THAT OUR BACKLOG IS ACTUALLY GETTING BIGGER.
UM, BUT OVER THIS LAST YEAR, IT'S BEEN GETTING SMALLER AND SMALLER AND SMALLER, AND WE'RE DOWN TO BELOW 100.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, OUR TRAINING REQUIREMENTS, UH, TRAINING OUR CAMPUS ADMINISTRATORS, OUR TEACHERS, OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION STAFF.
THE LAST THING I WANNA MENTION ON THAT IS THAT WE'VE TRIED TO MAKE A REALLY BIG EFFORT, AND IT'S SOMETHING WE PUSHED WITH TEA, IS THAT I CAN'T JUST, UH, SEND 6,000 TEACHERS TO TRAINING ON A SATURDAY.
TEACHERS HAVE CONTRACTS WITH AUSTIN, ISD.
IT OUTLINES HOW MANY DAYS THEY WORK.
AND, AND THAT IS THE NUMBER OF DAYS IN A TEACHER'S CONTRACT.
UH, SO WE NEEDED TO WORK WITH TEA TO ENSURE THAT ALL THESE DEADLINES ALIGN WHERE TO WHEN WE COULD OFFER FOR, EXCUSE ME, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR OUR TEACHERS.
SO A LOT OF THE TRAINING WILL BE PROVIDED PRIOR TO THE START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.
BUT SO FAR THROUGH THIS YEAR, WE'VE BEEN USING PD DAYS, UM, TO, UH, ENSURE THAT OUR TEACHERS ARE GETTING THE TRAINING THAT THEY NEED.
SO THAT'S A PRETTY QUICK OVERVIEW OF THIS AGREED ORDER WITH TEA.
UH, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE ON IT.
I THINK THE BIG QUESTION BEFORE ANYONE ASKS IS, YOU KNOW, WHEN DO YOU THINK YOU COULD BE OUTTA THIS? UH, I THINK IT'S REALISTIC THAT WE COULD BE COMPLETELY OUTTA THE ENTIRE ORDER BY DECEMBER OF, I'M SORRY.
MAKE SURE I GET THIS DATE RIGHT.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER J UH, FIRST OF ALL, I REALLY WANNA CONGRATULATE YOU.
THIS WAS AN INCREDIBLY, UM, DIFFICULT ORDER AND THE PENALTIES ASSOCIATED WITH WITH IT WERE HORRIFYING, FRANKLY.
I MEAN, POTENTIALLY A TAKEOVER BY THE STATE.
SO, UM, I THINK Y'ALL HAVE HAVE DONE A REMARKABLE JOB, AND I REALLY DO WANT TO CONGRATULATE THE TRUSTEES AND THE STAFF ON IT.
UM, DO WE HAVE A SENSE FOR HOW A ISD COMPARES WITH OTHER URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS? I CAN TELL YOU, I HAVE HEARD DIRECTLY FROM PARENTS THAT THEY CAME TO A ISD BECAUSE OF THE, UM, AVAILABILITY OF SPECIAL EDUCATION OPTIONS.
THEY'RE JUST AS, THERE'S NOT AS MUCH AVAILABLE IN RURAL AREAS.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE CASE IS, FOR INSTANCE, WITH SUBURBAN SCHOOLS, BUT URBAN SCHOOLS, UH, I HAVE HEARD FROM PARENTS HAVE MORE RESOURCES AVAILABLE.
SO DO WE HAVE A SENSE FOR HOW AUSTIN COMPARES WITH OTHER URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS? AND PARTICULARLY IS TEA SCRUTINIZING THEM AS HEAVILY? UH, SO WE DO KNOW THAT TEA IS SCRUTINIZING HOUSTON, ISD IS PART OF THE ORDER THAT THEY'RE UNDER NOW.
THEY ALSO HAVE A STRONG FOCUS ON SPECIAL EDUCATION.
THEY ALSO HAD A BACKLOG OF EVALUATIONS.
AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT BEING BACKLOGGED DURING THAT COVID TIME WAS COMMON.
BUT IN TRUE TRANSPARENCY, WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT AUSTIN ISDS BACKLOG AS A PERCENT OF THE NUMBER OF SPED STUDENTS WAS GREATER THAN OTHER DISTRICTS.
UM, SO WE DID HAVE A, A LARGER BACKLOG AS FAR AS A PERCENT OF STUDENTS, BUT IT WAS COMMON FOR MOST DISTRICTS TO HAVE SOME BACKLOG IN EVALUATIONS.
ONE OF THEM IS WE RECOGNIZE, UH, THE STAFFING ISSUE.
AUSTIN ISD UH, MADE SOME CHANGES WITH SPED STAFFING, AND IT DID NOT, UH, WORK WITH STAFF WHEN MAKING THOSE CHANGES.
AND A LOT OF SPED STAFF MEMBERS LEFT.
AND, UH, AND THEN IN ADDITION, WHEN COVID STARTED AND WE MOVED TO VIRTUAL, UH, SOME DISTRICTS STARTED DOING EVALUATIONS ONLINE.
WE JUST DID NOT DO EVALUATIONS FOR A PERIOD OF TIME, WHICH IS WHAT REALLY GREW THAT BACKLOG TO BEGIN WITH.
UH, WE ARE ACTUALLY HAVING A, UM, AN AUDITOR RIGHT NOW LOOKING THROUGH THIS.
AND ONE OF THE QUESTIONS FOR THE AUDITOR IS TO TRY AND GET A BETTER IDEA ON WHAT WERE SOME OF THE CATALYSTS THAT BROUGHT US TO WHERE WE WERE MOSTLY SO THAT WE CAN ENSURE THAT WE HAVE GREAT SYSTEMS IN PLACE TO NOT GET BACK THERE SOME.
BUT I WOULD SAY THAT IT IS COMMON, UH, FOR FOR MANY DISTRICTS TO HAVE SOME BACKLOG.
I ALSO WOULD AGREE WITH YOU, ALTHOUGH TEA DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AUSTIN ISD HAS A WIDE RANGE OF SPED SERVICES, UM, I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE PROBABLY NEEDED TO BRAG ON MORE.
UM, NOT JUST OUR SCHOOLS LIKE ROSEDALE, IF ANYONE'S BEEN OUT TO ROSEDALE, NOT, I HAVEN'T.
IF PEOPLE HAVEN'T SEEN IT, IT IS, IT IS, IT'S A FABULOUS SCHOOL FOR SPECIAL ED STUDENTS.
AND WE'VE CREATED A LOT OF SPECIAL PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE A NEW PROGRAM NOW, UM, WITH, UH, GREENLEAF NEURODIVERSITY, WHICH IS DOING A, UH, A CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS WITH AUTISM.
BETWEEN THAT 18 AND 24 H UH, NOT EVERYONE KNOWS THIS, BUT STUDENTS ARE ACTUALLY ELIGIBLE FOR SERVICES UNTIL
[00:40:01]
THEY TURN 24, IF THEY STILL HAVE REQUIRED SERVICES NEEDED BASED OFF THEIR SPECIAL EDUCATION PLAN.SO ROSEDALE ACTUALLY KEEPS MANY STUDENTS TO THE AGE OF 24.
AND NOW WE HAVE THIS NEW PROGRAM WITH GREENLEAF FOR STUDENTS WITH AUTISM.
WE ALSO HAVE CLIFTON, WHICH IS A PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES CAREER LEADERSHIP AND CAREER LEARNING FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.
UM, ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORIES THAT I ALWAYS LIKE TO SHARE IS, WE HAD A STUDENT A COUPLE YEARS AGO WHO, WHEN THEY GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL, BECAUSE OF THE WORK THAT THEY DID AT CLIFTON, UH, THEY ACTUALLY HAD A JOB, A FULL-TIME JOB AT, UH, DELL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL BEFORE THEY EVEN GRADUATED.
AND THIS WAS A, YOU KNOW, THIS WASN'T A SPECIAL JOB THAT WAS CREATED FOR THIS STUDENT.
SO THE STUDENT ACTUALLY COULDN'T BE AT GRADUATION 'CAUSE THEY NEEDED TO START WORK.
AND, UH, BUT WE ALL UNDERSTOOD AND WERE VERY EXCITED FOR THAT STUDENT.
SO WE HAVE A LOT OF GREAT PROGRAMMING GOING ON.
I JUST HAVE ONE FINAL QUESTION.
I HAD UNDERSTOOD THAT, UM, THE STATE PREVIOUSLY, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG AGO IT WAS, HAD ACTUALLY PLACED LIMITS ON THE NUMBERS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION ASSESSMENTS THAT COULD BE DONE.
AND I THINK THERE WAS A LAWSUIT AND IT WAS DEEMED ILLEGAL.
AM I REMEMBERING THIS CORRECTLY? THAT'S CORRECT.
BECAUSE MY, MY SENSE WAS THE STATE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS PROBLEM BY LIMITING THE NUMBER OF SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS THAT COULD EVEN BE DONE IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
SO THE STATE DID PLACE A CAP ON EVALUATIONS.
THEY, UH, SUGGESTED THAT IT SHOULD BE AT 8% AND THEY DIDN'T PREVENT DISTRICTS FROM GOING ABOVE 8%, BUT THEY HAVE MECHANISMS THAT WOULD DISCOURAGE A DISTRICT FROM DOING THAT.
AND THAT WAS THE GUIDANCE BROUGHT FROM THE STATE THAT YOU SHOULD BE AT 8%.
WELL, AUSTIN ISD IS AT ABOUT 14%.
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA ON HOW DIFFERENT THAT WAS, EVEN AT THAT TIME, WE WERE AT ABOUT 12, UM, EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS THE CAP AT EIGHT.
UM, SO IT DID HAVE SOME CHANGE TO AUSTIN HONESTY, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, WE WERE ALREADY MOVING FORWARD WITH EVALUATIONS.
HOUSTON WAS IN A SIMILAR SITUATION TO WHERE, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE ALSO ABOVE 8%.
BUT THE STATE GUIDANCE FROM AT THAT TIME WAS, NO, YOU NEED TO BE AT EIGHT.
UH, IT WAS FOUND FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THAT THAT WAS NOT IN COMPLIANCE AND THE STATE WAS UNDER THEIR OWN CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
UH, THEY GOT OUT OF THAT RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SUMMER.
UM, I DID WANNA JUST SHARE, UM, FOR, UH, ANY FOLKS TRACKING ALONG AT HOME.
SO A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS, RIGHT.
UM, FROM PRIOR MEETINGS, WE KNOW THAT, UM, THE BOARD, UH, HAS A BOARD MONITOR AND WE'RE RECEIVING LONE STAR, LONE STAR GOVERNANCE TRAINING.
IF ANYONE'S INTERESTED IN MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT, YOU CAN, UH, TYPE INTO YOUR FAVORITE, UH, SEARCH ENGINE, TEA LONE STAR GOVERNANCE, AND YOU'LL GET INFORMATION THERE.
UM, JUST KIND OF A QUICK SNIPPET, UH, WHAT THE BOARD, UM, WHAT WE'RE LEARNING IS, UH, BOARD GOVERNANCE RIGHT? REALLY NEEDS TO BE HIGHLY DISCIPLINED SO THAT WE CAN ALIGN OUR GOVERNANCE PRACTICES, UH, TO THOSE, UM, TAUGHT THROUGH LONE STAR, LONE STAR GOVERNANCE.
UM, AND ALSO, UH, REMAIN HYPER-FOCUSED ON, UH, DURING PUBLIC MEETINGS, REMAIN HYPER-FOCUSED ON, UH, MEASURABLE STUDENT OUTCOMES AND QUESTIONS THAT DO NOT VEER INTO ANY KIND OF COLLABORATIVE TECHNICAL, UM, IDEAS OR TACTICAL SOLUTIONS.
UM, SO WE, WE, UH, CONTINUE WITH THAT.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS, JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, UM, FOR THE PUBLIC.
SO THE PARENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE, DR.
REACH, THAT'S NOT A BOARD COMMITTEE WHERE WE WOULD, UH, RECEIVE APPLICATIONS AND, AND UH, APPOINT PEOPLE.
UM, AND THEN THE LAST THING WAS, I DON'T REMEMBER IF YOU MENTIONED THE PARENT SURVEY THAT'S GOING OUT.
AND THAT ACTUALLY, UH, GOES OUT TODAY.
SO WE ARE SENDING A PARENT SURVEY OUT TO ALL OF OUR FAMILIES, UH, WITH A STUDENT RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES TO ALSO BE ANOTHER MECHANISM TO GATHER FEEDBACK.
UM, AND SO, UH, THAT WILL GO OUT, I BELIEVE WE HAVE IT OPEN, I WANNA SAY, FOR THREE WEEKS.
UH, SO WE CERTAINLY ENCOURAGE ALL OF OUR FAMILIES TO GO LOOK FOR THAT EMAIL, PLEASE COMPLETE IT, 'CAUSE THAT INFORMATION WILL BE VALUABLE FOR US AS WE LOOK AT, UH, WHAT, WHAT ARE OTHER THINGS WE NEED TO ADDRESS MOVING FORWARD.
UM, UM, REAL QUICKLY, 'CAUSE WE, YEAH.
COMMISSIONER, ARE THEY TRYING TO LIMIT WHAT YOU CAN TALK ABOUT IN THE BOARD MEETINGS? THAT'S WHAT THAT DESCRIPTION SOUNDED LIKE.
I'LL ANSWER FOR HER SO SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO ANSWER.
THEY'RE DOING, THAT'S, THEY'RE, THEY'RE HYPER-FOCUSED AND THEY'RE, I'LL JUST SAY FOR THE RECORD, THEY'RE CONSTRAINING THEM A LOT.
UH, PRESIDENT SING WANTED TO BRIEFLY COMMENT.
SO YEAH, I JUST WANTED, UM, TO THANK DR.
AS I KIND OF TEASE HIM SOMETIMES HE KNOW HE SPEAKS TEA FLUENTLY AND IT HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL FOR US,
[00:45:01]
UH, AND BECAUSE YOU SEE WHAT, WHAT I'VE SEEN, UM, JUST FROM THE, THE BOARD PERSPECTIVE IS A COUPLE OF THINGS I WANNA HIGHLIGHT.
ONE IS THE WHOLE SYSTEM HAS, HAS REALLY MOBILIZED TO GET THROUGH THIS BACKLOG.
AND IT TAKES EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE ORGANIZATION TO HELP WITH THAT.
BUT THAT IS JUST THE STARTING POINT BECAUSE NOW THAT WE HAVE THIS INCREASE IN STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, UM, AS NEEDING, UH, SPECIAL SERVICE, SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES, NOW WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WILL SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS, UM, TO RECEIVE THOSE SERVICES.
SO WE ARE VERY MUCH, WE'RE NOT SITTING BACK ON OUR LAURELS.
WE'RE VERY MUCH LIKE, OKAY, ARE THE IEPS HIGH QUALITY? UM, YOU KNOW, ARE THE ART COMMITTEES MEETING AS THEY SHOULD BE? UM, ARE THE KIDS GETTING WHAT THEY CAN? AND SO THAT'S GONNA HAVE BUDGET IMPLICATIONS AS WELL, UM, FOR US AS WE MOVE INTO BUDGET SEASON.
BUT I'M JUST REALLY THRILLED AT THE, UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, HAVING SERVED ON THIS BOARD FOR FIVE YEARS NOW, THE LEVEL OF TRANSPARENCY THAT I'M SEEING IN THIS, UM, IS REALLY REFRESHING TO SEE.
SO JUST THANK YOU AND THANK YOU TO OUR COUNTERPARTS AROUND THE CITY FOR SUPPORTING THE DISTRICT IN THIS.
AND THE REASON THAT WE ARE BRINGING THIS TO THE JSC IS BECAUSE THIS WAS AND HAS BEEN AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT, WHICH I KNOW IS VALUED BY ALL OF US HERE.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND THANK YOU PRESIDENT SINGH AND OUR, AND OUR TRUSTEES AND, AND DR.
REACH AND ALL OF THE STAFF AT A ISD WHO HAVE TAKEN THIS CHALLENGE AND, AND REALLY DEMONSTRATED HOW WE CAN ACHIEVE RESULTS FOR OUR, FOR OUR CHILDREN.
UM, SO WE HAVE THREE MORE PRESENTATIONS.
UM, BEFORE WE GET TO ANY FURTHER DISCUSSIONS, I'M GONNA ASK FOLKS TO TRY TO KEEP THE PRESENTATIONS TO 15 MINUTES OR LESS IF POSSIBLE, SO THAT WE CAN STAY ON TIME, UM, TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE.
I DON'T KNOW IF ALL OF THESE ARE THE SAME LENGTH.
[V. Mental Health]
NEXT STEP IS MENTAL HEALTH, UM, WITH DON HADLEY FROM INTEGRAL CARE.SO YOU, WHEN YOU'RE SPEAKING, YOU NEED TO PUSH THE BUTTON SO IT'S GREEN UP THERE AND IT LOOKS LIKE I'VE GOT ALL THE DIFFERENT NAMES THAN WHAT'S ON MY SHEET.
SO JUST PLEASE GO AHEAD AND INTRODUCE YOURSELVES AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME.
I'M THE CHIEF STRATEGY AND INNOVATION OFFICER WITH INTEGRAL CARE.
I'M REPRESENTING DAWN HANLEY, WHO WAS UNABLE TO MAKE IT.
AND I'M JOINED BY MY COLLEAGUES, MARISSA MALLICK, OUR DIRECTOR OF CRISIS SERVICES, AND MARLENE BUCHANAN, OUR DIRECTOR OF SYSTEMS OF CARE.
SO AS MOST OF YOU ARE AWARE, WE ARE THE LOCAL MENTAL HEALTH AUTHORITY.
WE'VE BEEN AROUND SINCE 1967, SERVING CHILDREN, YOUTH, ADULTS AND FAMILIES WHO EXPERIENCE MENTAL ILLNESS, SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS, AND INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES.
WE WERE THE FIRST TO, UM, PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
UM, IN A BRIEF OVERVIEW, UM, BY STATE STATUTE, WE ARE SPONSORED BY, UH, THREE LOCAL AGENCIES, UH, CENTRAL HEALTH, THE CITY AND THE COUNTY.
COLLECTIVELY, THEY REPRESENT ABOUT 30% OF INTEGRAL GARD'S BUDGET.
UM, IN FY 24, UH, THE CENTRAL HEALTH IS CONTRIBUTING, UH, 15,622,000.
UH, THEY'RE FOCUSED ON MEDICATION ASSISTED TREATMENT, UM, INPATIENT BED DAYS, PERIODS OF STAYS, SENDERO HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFITS FOR THOSE THAT WE SERVE, AS WELL AS BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES GENERALLY, UH, THEY PROVIDE THAT THROUGH THREE SEPARATE CONTRACTS.
CURRENTLY, THE CITY PROVIDES, UH, JUST A LITTLE OVER $14 MILLION, UH, THROUGH 22 DIFFERENT CONTRACTS.
UH, THE CITY SPONSORS INTEGRAL CARE IN TERMS OF HOMELESS OUTREACH AND SERVICES, CRISIS RESPONSE, ADULT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, SUBSTANCE USE, MANAGED CARE, UM, TWO CAPITAL PROJECTS I THINK ALL OF YOU'RE AWARE OF IN PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING AS WELL AS THE DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY COURT.
AND THEN FINALLY, THE COUNTY CONTRIBUTES, UH, JUST OVER $13 MILLION THROUGH 13 CONTRACTS.
AND THEIR AREAS OF FOCUS ARE ALSO ADULT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, UH, ID, INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES, CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, SUBSTANCE USE AS WELL, CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM, AND JUVENILE JUSTICE.
OUR PRIMARY FACILITIES WERE THROUGHOUT THE, THE COUNTY AND OUR PRIMARY FACILITIES ARE ARRAYED ACROSS THE COUNTY.
UM, REALLY, UH, LOCATED STRATEGICALLY WHERE THERE'S THE GREATEST NEED.
SO WE HAVE PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCY SERVICES ON THE EAST SIDE IN OUR HOPKINS CLINIC.
[00:50:01]
ADULT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CLINICS, UH, LOCATED NORTH, SOUTH CENTRAL, AND ON THE EAST SIDE, UH, AS WELL AS CHILD AND FAMILY CLINICS.AND MY COLLEAGUES WILL GO MORE INTO DEPTH ON OUR CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES.
JOHN'S CLINIC NEWLY OPENED UP NORTH, UM, SERVES CHILDREN AND FAMILIES AS WELL AS OUR DOVE SPRINGS CLINIC DOWN SOUTH.
WE SERVE JUST OVER 29,000 INDIVIDUALS IN, WE, IN FISCAL YEAR 23, UM, REPRESENTING CLOSE TO 178,000 HOURS.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF THOSE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED FACE-TO-FACE.
ALTHOUGH, LIKE MANY OF US, WE PIVOTED TO A LOT OF TELEMEDICINE DURING COVID, WE REALLY FIND THAT FOLKS, UH, CHILDREN AND FAMILIES AND ADULTS WITH SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS REALLY BENEFIT FROM THE FACE-TO-FACE.
SO 82% OF OUR SERVICES ARE CONDUCTED IN FACE-TO-FACE RIGHT NOW, ABOUT 6% TELEMEDICINE, 11% TELEPHONICALLY, AND THEN, UH, ONE LESS THAN 1% IN OTHER MODALITIES.
UH, THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF WHO WE SERVE, UM, ABOUT 38,000 WHITE NON-HISPANIC, 36% HISPANIC AND LATINO, 22% AFRICAN AMERICAN, AROUND 2% ASIAN AND 2% IDENTIFYING AS OTHER.
ABOUT 4% OF THE INDIVIDUALS THAT WE SERVE SPEAK A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH.
UM, AND WE HAVE OVER 1200 PSYCHIATRIC INPATIENT FOLLOW-UP VISITS, UM, AS, UH, THIS COMMITTEE AND OTHERS HAVE ALSO COME TO LEARN, UM, ABOUT ONE IN FIVE INDIVIDUALS THAT INTEGRAL CARE SERVES AS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AT ANY GIVEN TIME.
AND I WILL LET, OH, FINALLY, UM, THAT GEOMAPPING THAT I MENTIONED BEFORE REVEALS THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE 29,000 CLIENTS, 24 OF WHOM RESIDE IN TRAVIS COUNTY, REALLY ARE CLUSTERED ALONG THE I 35 CORRIDOR, UM, WITH PARTICULAR DENSITY AROUND NORTH AUSTIN AND THE SOUTHEAST AUSTIN AREAS.
UM, AND WE'LL, WE'LL SHOW YOU THERE ARE CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES THAT ARE, UM, AGAIN, STRATEGICALLY PLACED IN THOSE HIGH DENSITY AREAS.
MARLENE BUCHANAN, I'M THE DIRECTOR OF OUR SYSTEM OF CARE, AND I'M GONNA TALK TO Y'ALL A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT CHILDREN'S SERVICES IN PARTICULAR.
UM, SO AS YOU CAN SEE WITH THE GEO MAPPING, WE ALSO SERVE CHILDREN ALONG THE 35 CORRIDOR.
WE HAVE A HIGH CONCENTRATION IN PFLUGERVILLE, UM, IN DELL VALLEY MAINOR BECAUSE WE HAVE SERVICES IN SCHOOLS IN THOSE THREE DISTRICTS.
UM, ALSO NORTH AUSTIN, WHERE OUR ST.
AND THEN SOUTHEAST AUSTIN, UM, WHERE OUR DEAF SPRINGS CLINIC IS LOCATED.
SO IN FY 23, WE SERVED 40 A LITTLE OVER 4,500 CHILDREN.
THEY ALL RECEIVED 61,000 SERVICES.
SO NOT A LOT OF CHILDREN COMPARATIVELY TO WHAT WE SEE AS AN AGENCY.
ABOUT A SIXTH OF OUR POPULATION IS CHILDREN, BUT A TON OF SERVICES.
UM, SO CHILDREN RECEIVE OFTENTIMES WEEKLY SERVICES, SOMETIMES MULTIPLE TIMES A WEEK.
SERVICES, WE LOOKED AT OUR BIGGER BUDGET AS A WHOLE EARLIER, BUT THIS IS JUST A FOCUS ON OUR CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES BUDGET.
SO OUR BUDGET IS ALMOST $12 MILLION FOR CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES.
MOST OF THAT IS COMING FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS, ABOUT 50%, 53%.
UM, AND THEN THE COUNTY CENTRAL, UH, CENTRAL HEALTH, THE CITY.
AND THEN, UM, THE OTHER LOCAL IS FUNDS FROM SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
WE RECEIVE FUNDS FROM DELL VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND PFLUGERVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND THEN OTHER SMALLER CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS.
SO THIS IS AN OVERVIEW OF ALL OF OUR CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES.
UM, AS KATHLEEN MENTIONED, WE HAVE OUTPATIENT SERVICES.
WE ALSO HAVE MORE INTENSIVE SPECIALTY SERVICES.
WE HAVE JUSTICE SPECIFIC SERVICES.
WE HAVE SOMETHING CALLED, UH, THE YES WAIVER, WHICH IS A MEDICAID WAIVER PROGRAM, AND IT PROVIDES INTENSIVE WRAPAROUND SERVICES TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN THEIR HOME.
UM, WE HAVE SCHOOL-BASED SERVICES IN DELL VALLEY, MANNAR, PFLUGERVILLE, AND THEN TWO, UM, CHARTER SCHOOLS IN A ISD.
WE PROVIDE PROVIDER AUTHORITY FUNCTION FOR THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN WE HAVE COMMUNITY COLLABORATIONS.
UM, AND SOME OF OUR COMMUNITY COLLABORATIONS INCLUDE A COLLABORATION WITH DELL MEDICAL SCHOOL.
UM, THEY PROVIDE CHILD PSYCH PSYCHIATRIC WORKFORCE EXPANSION.
SO, UM, ESSENTIALLY THEY'RE HIRING CHILDREN, PSYCHIATRISTS AND TRAINING THEM AND THEN LETTING US USE THE TIME TO ENHANCE OUR, UM, INCENTIVIZE PSYCHIATRISTS TO COME INTO CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES, ESPECIALLY COMMUNITY-BASED CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES.
WE ALSO ARE THE CO-CHAIR OF AN ORGANIZATION CALLED KIDS LIVING WELL, WHICH IS A COMMUNITY COLLABORATION OF NETWORK PROVIDERS.
SO THIS SLIDE TALKS ABOUT OUR SCHOOL-BASED SERVICES IN PARTICULAR.
IN 2014, WE STARTED SCHOOL-BASED SERVICES.
[00:55:01]
IN THREE DISTRICTS AND WE HAD 12 THERAPISTS.UM, TODAY WE HAVE 33 STAFF IN 35 SCHOOLS.
UM, AND I ALREADY SAID WE HAVE SERVICES IN MAINOR, PFLUGERVILLE, AND DELL VALLEY.
AND THEN WE HAVE TWO CHARTER SCHOOLS IN A ISD.
UM, THE SCHOOL-BASED SERVICES ARE FUNDED THROUGH A COMBINATION OF CONTRACTS WITHIN THE DISTRICTS, AND THEN WE RECEIVE SOME STATE FUNDING THAT WE CONTRIBUTE TO SCHOOL-BASED SERVICES.
THE SERVICES IN THE SCHOOL REALLY FOCUS ON THOSE TIER THREE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.
SO CASE MANAGEMENT, CRISIS RESPONSE, UM, COUNSELING, PSYCHIATRIC SERVICES, WRAPAROUND SERVICES.
AFTER AN INSTANT, WE PROVIDE POSTVENTION SERVICES, UM, PEER SUPPORT, AND WE PROVIDE A LOT OF PREVENTION SERVICES TO TEACHERS, A LOT OF TRAINING AND EDUCATION.
AND THEN ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS THAT WE'VE STARTED IS SUMMER PROGRAMMING, UM, WHERE WE DO FUND KIND OF CASE MANAGEMENT SKILLS, BUILDING ACTIVITIES ALL SUMMER WITH OUR KIDDOS.
CAN I JUST CLARIFY, ARE THESE SCHOOL NUMBERS ALL CAPTURED IN THE POPULATION NUMBERS FOR CLIENT SERVED? YES, MA'AM.
THE OTHER SERVICES WE PROVIDE ARE OUTPATIENT SERVICES.
LIKE WE SAID, WE HAVE THE TWO OUTPATIENT CLINICS AND THEN SPECIALTY SERVICES, WHICH INCLUDES COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES.
UM, THE YES WAIVER IS ONE EXAMPLE OF THAT.
WE ALSO HAVE A FOSTER CARE PROGRAM CALLED SAFE LANDING THAT'S PAID FOR OUTTA COUNTY FUNDS.
UM, WE ALSO COLLABORATE WITH THE JUVENILE DEPARTMENT.
WE HAVE A PSYCHIATRIST THAT ACTUALLY GOES INTO GARNER BETTS TO PROVIDE PSYCHIATRIC SERVICES IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE CENTER.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE JUVENILE TO COMEY, WHICH IS A STATE FUNDED PROGRAM TO PROVIDE SERVICES FOR YOUTH ON PROBATION.
UM, MARISSA MALLICK, I'M HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE CRISIS SERVICES THAT ENTER GOAL CARE PROVIDES FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.
UM, WE OFFER CRISIS SUPPORT 24 HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
UM, AND THAT IS ANYWHERE WHERE THAT CRISIS IS HAPPENING.
SO THAT CAN BE ON THE PHONE THROUGH OUR TWENTY FOUR SEVEN COMMUNITY HELPLINE, UM, FOR INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE CALLING IN THROUGH 9 8 8, UM, OR SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE EITHER IN A, IN THE CLINIC OR IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO INTEGRAL CARE HAS, UH, THREE MOBILE CRISIS OUTREACH TEAMS THAT PROVIDE COMMUNITY-BASED SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES EXPERIENCING A CRISIS.
THE GOAL OF THE OTT TEAMS IS REALLY TO PROVIDE, UM, SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS.
SO THEY'RE EITHER UNWILLING OR UNABLE TO SEEK SERVICES THEMSELVES.
SO THAT COULD BE FAMILY, CHILDREN, AND FAMILIES THAT, UM, EITHER DON'T HAVE THE FINANCES, UM, THE SUPPORT OR TRANSPORTATION TO GET INTO A CLINIC, UH, TO RECEIVE A CRISIS ASSESSMENT AND CONNECTION TO SERVICES.
UM, OUR ORIGINAL M CT TEAM STARTED IN 2006.
THEY RECEIVE, UM, REFERRALS THROUGH OUR 24 7 CRISIS HELPLINE.
UH, WE EXPANDED A, OUR TEAM TO INCLUDE WHAT WE CALL AN EXPANDED OTT TEAM THAT RECEIVES REFERRALS FROM FIRST RESPONDERS AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS. UM, AND THEN MORE RECENTLY WE HAVE A, UM, INTENSIVE OCT TEAM WHO SERVES, UH, CHILDREN AND FAMILIES SPECIFICALLY, UM, WITH INTENSIVE WRAPAROUND SERVICES.
SO SERVICES CAN BE PROVIDED FOR UP TO N 90 DAYS COMMUNITY BASED, UM, AND WILL INCLUDE CRISIS SCREENING AND ASSESSMENT, MEDICATION EVALUATION, CASE MANAGEMENT, FAMILY-BASED WRAPAROUND SERVICES, AS WELL AS, UH, PEER SUPPORT SERVICES.
OUR AGENCY ALSO DOES HAVE A URGENT WALK-IN CLINIC FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, ADOLESCENTS WHO ARE EXPERIENCING A BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CRISIS.
UM, AGAIN, THOSE SERVICES REALLY MIRROR WHAT OUR OCT TEAMS ARE DOING IN THE COMMUNITY.
THIS IS JUST, UH, AN ADDITIONAL OPTION THAT, UM, CHILDREN AND FAMILIES HAVE, UH, IF THEY PREFER TO WALK-IN TO RECEIVE A CRISIS ASSESSMENT.
WHERE IS THE WALK-IN FACILITY? IT'S LOCATED ON 1165 AIRPORT BOULEVARD.
AND THEN I ALSO WANTED TO JUST, UH, HIGHLIGHT ANOTHER, UM, PROGRAM WITHIN OUR DIVISION.
IT'S OUR RAISES PROGRAM THAT STANDS FOR RECOVERY AFTER FIRST, UH, SCHIZOPHRENIC EPISODE.
HOWEVER, HERE IN TEXAS, WE ARE ALSO, UM, INCLUSIVE OF MOOD DISORDERS, SO INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE DEPRESSIVE DISORDER AND BIPOLAR DISORDER.
THIS PROGRAM HELPS, UH, PEOPLE WITH THAT ARE AGE 15 TO 30 WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THEIR FIRST EPISODE OF PSYCHOSIS WITHIN THE PAST TWO YEARS.
UM, A LOT OF ENGAGEMENT GOES, UM, INTO THESE SERVICES AND, UM, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT EARLY INTERVENTION, UM, SO THAT WE CAN REALLY ELIMINATE, UM, WHAT WE SEE IN THIS, UH, PARTICULAR POPULATION OF HIGHER
[01:00:01]
RATES OF SCHOOL, DROPOUT SUBSTANCE USE, SUICIDE, INCARCERATION, UM, AND THEN ISOLATION FROM THEIR FRIENDS.SO IT'S, UM, INTENSIVE, UH, MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM WHO CAN PROVIDE, UM, ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE, RECOVERY SKILLS, FAMILY EDUCATION, SUICIDE PREVENTION, MEDICINE, AND MENTAL HEALTH, AS WELL AS, UH, CONNECTIONS TO PRIMARY HEALTHCARE.
SO WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE, YEAH.
ARE, ARE THESE SERVICES PROVIDED IN AN INPATIENT BASIS SOMEWHERE? SO THE RAISES, UH, PROGRAM SPECIFICALLY, THEY'RE COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES, BUT WE ALSO DO HAVE A CLINIC WHERE THEY CAN COME INTO.
SO THAT'S ALSO CO-LOCATED WITH PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCY SERVICES.
UM, PRIMARILY THE WORK IS DONE IN THE COMMUNITY AND, UM, THE CLINIC-BASED SERVICES WOULD BE AT THE FAMILY, UM, FAMILY'S, UH, PREFERENCE OR IF IT'S A MEDICAL PROVIDER APPOINTMENT.
AND THESE ARE AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS ALL ACROSS, UM, THE COUNTY? YES.
SO WOULD WOULD POTENTIALLY BE MORE IN A ISD 'CAUSE I JUST NOTICED THERE'S ONLY TWO, UH, CHARTER SCHOOLS THAT HAVE SERVICES IN SCHOOL IN A ISD.
IT'D BE INTERESTING TO KNOW THE SCATTER MAP OF STUDENTS SERVED IN THESE KINDS OF SERVICES.
'CAUSE THEY SOUND REALLY, REALLY VALUABLE AND VERY IMPORTANT.
SO FOR CRISIS SERVICES, UM, THAT THOSE SERVICES ARE OPEN TO ALL OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITHIN TRAVIS COUNTY.
UM, AND SO WITH CRISIS SERVICES SPECIFICALLY, AS LONG AS THE CRISIS IS HAPPENING IN TRAVIS COUNTY, WE, WE ARE RESPONSIVE TO THAT.
UM, AND SO SOMETIMES WE HAVE REFERRALS, UH, WHERE, UM, RESIDENTS ARE NOT TRAVIS COUNTY RESIDENTS, BUT WE STILL GO IF THEY'RE EXPERIENCING A CRISIS.
SO THE MOBILE CRISIS OUTREACH TEAM, THE PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCY SERVICES AND THE RAISE PROGRAMS DO SERVE ALL OF THE ISDS WITHIN TRAVIS COUNTY.
AND JUST TO ADD, ABOUT 50% OF OUR YOUTH THAT RECEIVE SERVICES ARE GO TO SCHOOL WITHIN A ISD.
THEY JUST COME TO SERVICES AT OUR CLINIC, OR THEY'RE SERVED IN THE COMMUNITY BY OUR STAFF.
WE ONLY HAVE STAFF IN TWO OF THE CHARTER SCHOOLS WHERE THEY ACTUALLY, THEIR OFFICE IS AT THE SCHOOL.
THEY'RE GOING TO THE SCHOOL EVERY DAY TO PROVIDE SERVICES.
UM, BUT THE MAJORITY OF OUR KIDS ARE, ABOUT 50% OF OUR KIDS LIVE IN AN A ISD HOME.
DOESN'T IT SAY THAT THE SCHOOL-BASED SERVICES ARE NOT AN A ISD? ACCORDING TO THIS CHART, THERE'S TWO CHARTER SCHOOLS THAT ARE IN A ISD.
BUT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT ITSELF IS NOT HAVING CURRENT, NOT WITHIN INTERVAL CARE, NOT WITHIN CARE.
AND THEN FINALLY, FOR, UH, WE, WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, DIRECT CARE SERVICES THAT WE'RE PROVIDING TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, UH, WITHIN TRAVIS COUNTY, BUT WE, WHAT WE ALSO WANTED TO MAKE SURE TO ILLUSTRATE IS THAT IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO PROVIDE, UM, EDUCATION AND TRAINING TO, UM, OUR SERVICE PROVIDERS AND STAKEHOLDERS WHO INTERSECT WITH CHILDREN, UM, AND FAMILIES SO THAT THEY CAN, UM, HAVE THAT EDUCATION AND SUPPORT TO IDENTIFY MENTAL HEALTH SYMPTOMS. UM, AND INDI INDICATIONS OF CRISIS AS WELL.
SO WE HAVE PROVIDED 129 MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAININGS FOR YOUTH AND ADULTS, UH, 13 TOBACCO CESSATION TRAININGS.
WE'VE TRAINED, UH, 231 FIRST RESPONDERS IN MENTAL HEALTH.
UH, WE ALSO PROVIDE, UM, POSTVENTION SERVICES AND DISASTER RESPO DISASTER SUPPORT AS NEEDED, UM, FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, AS WELL AS, UH, 1500 SUICIDE PREVENTION TRAININGS COMPLETED.
YOU GUYS ARE OBVIOUSLY CONTRIBUTING SO MUCH TO THE HEALTH OF OUR COMMUNITY.
SO WE HAVE SWITCHED OUR 9 1 1 RESPONSE TO BE POLICE FIRE EMS AND MENTAL HEALTH.
WHO'S DOING THAT? HOW IS THAT? I DIDN'T SEE THAT CAPTURED HERE.
WHERE WOULD I, WHAT, CAN YOU, CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW THAT'S GOING? YEAH.
SO THAT IS, UM, WITHIN OUR CRISIS SERVICES DIVISION, THAT IS A PART OF OUR EXPANDED MOBILE CRISIS OUTREACH TEAM.
SO THAT TEAM ORIGINALLY STARTED IN 2013 THROUGH 1115 TRANSFORMATION MEDICAID WAIVER.
IN 2019, THE WAIVER SHIFTED, AND SO THE CITY AND COUNTY ASSUMED FUNDING OF THAT SPECIFIC PROGRAM.
UM, AND THEN IN 2019, THAT'S WHEN WE INTEGRATED CLINICIANS INTO THE NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER.
UM, SO THAT PROGRAM, UM, IS SUCCESSFUL IN DIVERTING, UH, POLICE RESPONSE WHEN THERE'S NOT A PUBLIC SAFETY SAFETY ISSUE AND SOMEONE'S CALLING 9 1 1.
UM, AND SO I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBERS THAT SUPPORT CHILDREN, UM, AND FAMILIES THAT ARE TRANSFERRED OVER TO THOSE CLINICIANS INTEGRATED.
UM, BUT WE DO HAVE THE ABILITY TO HAVE,
[01:05:01]
UM, RESPONSE AND DIVERSION FOR, UH, OTT TEAM THROUGH THAT TEAM, UM, TO GO OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY AND SERVE FAMILIES AS OPPOSED TO GETTING A POLICE OFFICER RESPONSE.I THINK THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT PROGRAM.
SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE.
AND WE ARE CONDUCTING A, A FAIRLY RIGOROUS, UH, ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF THE NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER.
IT'S SORT OF A NATURAL EXPERIMENT.
NOW THAT WE'VE GONE 24 7, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE OUTCOMES OF THOSE CALLS WHERE OUR MENTAL HEALTH CLINICIANS ARE ABLE TO RESPOND TO AND THOSE THAT THEY'RE, THAT ARE NOT, AND SORT OF MONETIZING THOSE OUTCOMES FOR A PD TIME ON SCENE, UM, DIVERSION FROM EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS OR JAIL.
I'D LOVE TO SEE THOSE WHEN YOU HAVE THOSE READY COLLEAGUES, IF THERE ARE SOME QUICK QUESTIONS.
WE, UH, WE'LL BE GETTING A BRIEFING TOMORROW, I THINK, IN COMMISSIONER'S COURT ON A PROGRAM WHERE THE COUNTY IS USED 6 MILLION IN, UM, UH, COVID RELIEF AND ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE FUNDS FROM THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO HELP FUND LONGER TERM, UM, PSYCHIATRIC CARE, UM, SERVICES, INPATIENT SERVICES AT THE 15TH STREET FACILITY.
WE'RE GONNA BE UPDATED ON THAT TOMORROW, CORRECT? YES, THAT'S CORRECT.
I THINK THAT'LL BE, UM, INFORMATIVE FOR ADDITIONAL SERVICES MADE AVAILABLE IN THE COMMUNITY.
I DUNNO IF IT'S A QUICK QUESTION, BUT WE, WE HAVE A FEW MORE MINUTES.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO PREPARE PRESENTATIONS ON MAKE SURE EVERYONE GETS THEIR THEIR TIME.
THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE, UM, THE WONDERFUL WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
UM, I'VE, I'VE SEEN, YOU KNOW, MENTAL HEALTH CRISES IN MY OWN FAMILY, AND IT IS A VERY SCARY TIME WHEN THINGS HAPPEN.
SO I'M REALLY GLAD THAT OUR COMMUNITY HAS, UM, SOMEONE TO TURN TO IN THOSE TIMES.
UM, I DID WANNA ASK YOU JUST FROM YOUR UNIQUE VANTAGE POINT AND BEING IN SO MANY DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE COMMUNITY, WHAT ARE LIKE THE, THE ONE OR TWO BIG AREAS OF INVESTMENT THAT YOU WOULD, THAT YOU WOULD RECOMMEND, UM, THE CITY CONSIDER THE JUST SCHOOL DISTRICT, YOU KNOW, THIS ENTITY RIGHT HERE.
UM, WHERE ARE THE AREAS OF INVESTMENT THAT WOULD REALLY MOVE THE NEEDLE THE MOST FOR MENTAL HEALTH IN OUR COMMUNITY? I WOULD JUMP IN AND SAY, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T DO IT ALONE.
AND IT REALLY EARLY INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION IS KEY.
WE'VE SEEN FANTASTIC SUCCESS WITH MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID, AND JUST IMPARTING THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE EARLY WARNING SIGNS AND THE, THE SKILLS TO INTERVENE HAS BEEN REALLY KEY AND LINKED.
SO MANY IN NEED EARLIER ON THAN THEY WOULD'VE TO MUCH NEEDED SERVICES.
WE ALSO HIGHLIGHTED THE FIRST EPISODE, PSYCHOSIS FANTASTIC PROGRAM.
YOU KNOW, REALLY EPITOMIZES EARLY INTERVENTION FOR ONE OF THE MOST SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESSES.
UM, REALLY THE SPECTRUM OF MOOD DISORDERS.
AND THEN I THINK MARLENE PROBABLY HAS A FEW IDEAS TOO.
UM, THE THING I WAS GOING TO ADD IS EARLY INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION.
WE'RE ACTUALLY WORKING ON A GRANT RIGHT NOW TO PUT CLINICIANS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
UM, AND SO REALLY STARTING YOUNG WITH PREVENTIVE AND INTERVENTION SERVICES.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER ONE THAT WE JUST RECEIVED A GRANT FOR AND ARE STARTING IN 2024, IS CHILDREN'S CRISIS RESPITE.
UM, AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS BECAUSE IT'S THE FIRST TIME WE'VE EVER HAD CHILDREN'S CRISIS RESPITE IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
UM, AND SO ONGOING SERVICES FOR THAT, WE HAVE RECEIVED A TWO YEAR GRANT FROM HHSC, FROM THE STATE FOR CHILDREN'S CRISIS RESPITE, BUT WE'RE NOT GONNA STOP AFTER TWO YEARS.
SO, UM, ONGOING IN NOT ONLY PREVENTION SERVICES, BUT THEN LONG-TERM CRISIS SERVICES BECAUSE, SO DELL AND THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITALS AREN'T GETTING BACKLOGGED WITH MENTAL HEALTH CRISES.
COMMISSIONER, IF I, IF I COULD REALLY QUICKLY, UM, UH, EXCELLENT PRESENTATION, AND I'M LOOKING AT YOUR TRAINING AND SUPPORT SLIDE.
I'M VERY INTERESTED IN GETTING AN ASSET MAP FOR WHERE THESE, UH, SERVICES ARE BEING PROVIDED.
UH, YOU KNOW, UH, KIND OF A HEAT MAP OF, YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE, UH, THESE, UH, 129, UH, MENTAL HEALTH, UH, AND FIRST, UH, MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAININGS HAPPENING.
UM, HOW CAN WE ACCESS AND WHERE, WHERE ARE WE, UH, LOOKING AT THE 231, UH, RESPONDERS? WHERE ARE THEY LOCATED? UH, WHERE ARE THEY ENGAGING? JUST INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING WHAT'S ON THE GROUND ALREADY.
AND AS WE GO FORWARD INTO THE DISCUSSION ABOUT SUMMER EMPLOYMENT, IF THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEER COUNSELING, UH, FOR TRYING TO HELP STUDENTS, HELP THEIR PEERS IN THEIR SCHOOLS, UH, SHOULD WE BE LOOKING AT, UH, OVER THE SUMMER AS WE ARE PROVIDING SUMMER JOBS FOR YOUTH? CAN SOME OF THOSE JOBS ALLOW US TO TRAIN YOUTH IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT THEY OPERATE IN, IN THE SCHOOL SPACES THAT THEY OPERATE IN, UH, SO THAT WE CAN EXPAND, UH, THE, THE GROUP OF STUDENTS THAT ARE PREPARED TO, UH, COUNSEL SOME OF THEIR PEERS IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.
[01:10:01]
UM, HOPEFULLY THEY WILL GET BACK TO YOU WITH THAT.
UM, ANY LAST COMMENTS? I'LL JUST RESPOND TO COMMISSIONER TIAN.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE A PALS PROGRAM IN AUSTIN, ISD.
IT'S PEER ASSISTANCE AND LEADERSHIP.
UM, AND PART OF WHAT THOSE STUDENTS DO, THESE ARE TYPICALLY, IT'S HIGH SCHOOL, BUT IT RUNS THE WHOLE SPECTRUM.
BUT THE, THE OLDER STUDENTS TEND TO BE TRAINED IN CONFLICT RES RESOLUTION, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THAT THAT DO DIRECTLY IMPACT STUDENTS' MENTAL HEALTH.
UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE THEM A SHOUT OUT AS WELL.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I WAS VERY, UM, INFORMATIVE AND WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME HERE TODAY AND ALL THE WORK THAT YOU AND YOUR COLLEAGUES ARE DOING TO KEEP OUR COMMUNITY HEALTHY.
[VI. Written report on the Summer Youth Employment Program ]
IS A REPORT ON THE SUMMER YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM FROM THE CITY AND THE COUNTY.UM, WE HAVE A BRIEF, UM, POWERPOINT SLIDE THAT WE'LL GO THROUGH.
WE HAVE A, AN AGENDA, WHICH WE'LL TALK ABOUT SOME ISSUES.
FOR OVER 20 YEARS, UH, THE CITY AND THE COUNTY HAVE COLLABORATED IN PUTTING ON THE SUMMER YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM.
UM, IT'S AN EFFORT THAT SERVES KIDS.
OUR MISSION IS TO SERVE KIDS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS HERE IN TRAVIS COUNTY TO PROVIDE THEM A GOOD, UH, SPRINGBOARD FOR FIRST TIME EMPLOYMENT EXPLORATION, UH, WHERE KIDS CAN BE TRAINED.
AND WE OFFER SAFE OPPORTUNITIES FOR KIDS TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
SOME OF OUR ADVANTAGES WHERE WE LOOK FOR KIDS TO TRAIN THEM UP SO THEY CAN BE SUCCESSFUL, OF COURSE, WE LOOK FOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT.
UH, WE LOOK FOR KIDS TO BE EXPOSED TO FINANCIAL IN INDEPENDENCE, UH, OPPORTUNITIES TO NETWORK WITH THEIR PEERS AND OTHER COWORKERS, UH, TO REMAIN ENGAGED IN THEIR COMMUNITIES WHERE A LOT OF THESE JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES ARE TAKEN PART.
UM, WE ALSO LOOK TO, UH, REDUCE A CRIME WEIGHT BY FINDING, UH, KIDS SOMETHING ELSE TO DO.
UH, WE FIGHT, UH, SUMMER REGRESSION RATES, UM, AND ALSO OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UH, NEW CAREER PATHS WHERE KIDS CAN BE SUCCESSFUL.
AND LASTLY, UH, KIDS CAN HAVE, UH, SOCIAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT, WHETHER THOSE ARE SOFT SKILLS OR CONFLICT RESOLUTION.
UH, OUR PROGRAMMATIC SUCCESSES OVER THE LAST YEAR, WE HAVE COLLABORATED WITH, UH, OR TRAINED, WE HAD 1500 YOUTH THAT WE RECRUITED 1,085 YOUTH THAT WERE TRAINED.
UH, WE FILLED 731 INTERNSHIPS, AND WE COLLABORATED WITH 114 EMPLOYERS.
AND OF COURSE, UH, THE INVESTMENT FROM THE CITY AND THE COUNTY RAISING THE PAY RATE FROM 7 25 TO $13 AN HOUR.
SOME OF OUR SUCCESSES, UH, ONE OF OUR BIG SUCCESSES IS WE DID HAVE, UH, A HEALTHCARE COMPONENT, A HEALTHCARE AND TECHNOLOGY COMPONENT, UH, WHERE, UH, KIDS WERE, UH, TRAINED TO WORK OVER AT SETON AND SOME OVER AT, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY.
UH, ITS, UH, ONE OF OUR OUTSTANDING INTERNS, UH, WAS ABLE TO SECURE EMPLOYMENT AT ONE OF THE JOB SITES AFTER GRADUATION.
AND I HAVE A, A VIDEO FOR MEDIA IF WE'RE ABLE TO SHOW THIS VIDEO.
UH, THOSE ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE PROGRAM.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, MR. STEVENS.
THESE ARE REALLY IMPORTANT PROGRAMS. CAN YOU GIVE US A SENSE OF THE TOTAL BUDGET OR THE BUDGET ACROSS CITY AND COUNTY FOR THIS? UM, I DON'T HAVE THE SPECIFIC NUMBERS.
UM, RIGHT OFF THE TOP, OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBERS FOR WHAT THE CITY AND THE COUNTY CONTRIBUTE THE EXACT NUMBERS.
UM, DIRECTOR STIRRUP, OR MS. KENNEDY, DO YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE THOSE NUMBERS? RED CITY OR ANYTHING THAT YOU WANNA ADD TO MR. STEVENS REPORT? GOOD AFTERNOON, ADRIAN STIR OF AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, UH, THE ROUND FIGURE FOR THE TOTAL
[01:15:01]
PROGRAM IS ABOUT $600,000 PER SUMMER.APPRECIATE THAT PRESIDENT SING.
UM, I'M CHANNELING TRUSTEE
UM, BUT SHE, UM, SHE DID NOTE THAT FOR MANY YEARS THIS PROGRAM HAS SERVED 750 JOB SLOTS.
AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS YEAR THERE'S GOING TO BE 500, SO IT'S GONNA BE A CUT OF 250 STUDENTS.
IS THAT CORRECT? DO Y'ALL KNOW? THAT IS CORRECT.
UM, WE ARE TAKING IN SOME FEEDBACK, UM, FOR THE PROGRAM.
WE TYPICALLY DO A SURVEY AFTER THE PROGRAM AND FEEDBACK THAT WE HAVE GOTTEN FROM, UH, PARENTS, UH, HAS, UM, MOVED US TO THIS DECISION.
UM, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT KIDS ARE, UH, SET UP IN SMALLER TRAINING COHORTS SO THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO DO MORE ACTIVE AND, UM, ENGAGING TRAINING.
SO DOING THAT AT SEVEN 50 IS DIFFICULT, BUT, UH, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA WORK REALLY HARD TO MAKE SURE THAT IT GETS DONE THIS YEAR.
AND DO YOU FEEL LIKE ONCE, DO YOU FEEL LIKE THIS 500 CAP IS PERMANENT, OR DO YOU FEEL LIKE ONCE WE'VE KIND OF GONE THROUGH THIS TRANSITION WITH THE MORE IN DEPTH TRAINING IT MIGHT GROW BACK UP IN FUTURE YEARS? WHAT'S THE THINKING? IT'S, IT'S ABSOLUTELY A TEMPORARY NUMBER.
REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR WORK, I'M SURE.
UM, YEAH, I THINK THIS IS AN EXCELLENT PROGRAM AS WELL.
BUT I DID, UH, GET AN EMAIL, UM, WITH A COMMENT FROM, UM, TRUSTEE CANDACE HUNTER, UH, WHERE SHE INDICATED THAT, UH, POSSIBLY THE JOBS BEING REDUCED FROM SEVEN 50 TO 500, MAYBE DO IN PART, TO PARTNER EMPLOYERS OR THE CHANGE FROM TWO FOUR WEEK SESSIONS TO HAVING JUST ONE SEVEN WEEK SESSION.
SHE SAYS, GOING ALL DIGITAL AND REQUIRING A RESUME OR COVER LETTER MAY HAVE HAD THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE OF PUTTING SOME STUDENTS AT A DISADVANTAGE.
ARE YOU ABLE TO COMMENT ON THAT? THAT SOUNDS DIFFERENT THAN COMMENTS FROM PARENTS.
WHICH IS WHAT I'D UNDERSTOOD YOU TO SAY PREVIOUSLY.
OUR, UH, DIGITAL APPLICATION PROCESS IS ALSO, UH, FEEDBACK FROM PARENTS, UH, WISHING THAT THE PROGRAM, I MEAN, THE, THE APPLICATION PROCESS WAS EASIER SO PEOPLE COULD, UH, APPLY FROM HOME AS OPPOSED TO COMING IN AND PICKING UP A PAPER APPLICATION AND THEN TURNING AROUND AND SUBMITTING IT.
SO, UH, AND WHAT WAS THE OTHER REASON THAT YOU GAVE THAT? UM, GOING FROM TWO, FOUR WEEK SESSIONS TO ONE SEVEN WEEK SESSION, YES.
MAY HAVE ALSO REDUCED THE NUMBER OF, UH, SLOTS, JOB SLOTS.
UH, THE, UM, THE REASON FOR THE CHANGE IS THAT TYPICALLY, UH, WHEN YOU'RE WORKING ACROSS MULTIPLE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, UH, KIDS GET OUT AT DIFFERENT TIMES AND GO HAVE TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL AT DIFFERENT TIMES.
SO IT'S VERY DIFFICULT FOR US TO KIND OF PUT A TRAINING SCHEDULE TOGETHER, UH, SO THAT EVERYBODY CAN PARTICIPATE AT THE SAME TIME.
BUT I THOUGHT YOU WERE REDUCING IT FROM TWO, FOUR WEEK SESSIONS TO ONE SEVEN WEEK SESSION.
AND YOU'VE DETERMINED THAT THAT'S THE BEST WAY TO SERVE THE LARGEST NUMBER OF STUDENTS AT ONE TIME? YES.
IT'S, UM, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE MISSING, WE'RE MISSING KIDS BECAUSE KIDS GET OUT EITHER EARLIER AND MISS A LOT OF OUR TRAINING DAYS TO BE ABLE TO START ON TIME, OR THEY HAVE TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL EARLIER SO THEY CAN'T FINISH THEIR WORK WEBSITE.
SO YOU'VE REDUCED IT FOR THAT, FOR THAT REASON.
UM, IS THERE ANY ASSISTANCE OFFERED FOR RESUMES OR COVER LETTERS, ASSISTANCE? IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ADDRESS DURING THE TRAINING COMPONENT, BUT THEY HAVE TO DO THE RESUME AND COVER LETTER IN ORDER TO GET INTO THE PROGRAM.
AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT MAY BE A BARRIER.
IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY SO THAT WE KNOW WHERE KIDS NEED TO START AT WHEN THEY SHOW UP TO THE TRAINING.
SO ONCE THEY SUBMIT WHAT THEY HAVE, IT PROVIDES US, WE, WE SEE WHERE KIDS ARE, WE MEET THEM WHERE, WHERE THEY'RE AT, SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE, PROVIDE THEM THE APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF TRAINING.
SO YOU DON'T DISALLOW STUDENTS BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE A PROPER RESUME OR COVER LETTER? NOT AT ALL.
IS THAT COMMUNICATED TO THE STUDENTS WHO ARE APPLYING WHEN THEY APPLY? ABSOLUTELY.
OTHER THOUGHTS OR, OR QUESTIONS? I KNOW THAT AFFILIATE WOULD, WOULD ASK THIS IF SHE WERE HERE,
[01:20:01]
YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM LIVES IN MY DEPARTMENT.WE HAVE ALREADY PLANNED FOR THE SUMMER AND HAVE ALREADY STARTED WITH THE APPLICATION PROCESS AND THE, AND THE TRAINING, THE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES.
IT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT FOR US TO INCREASE IT.
NOW WE FEEL, UH, STRONGLY THAT THE NUMBER OF KIDS COMING IN AT, AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF, UH, PARTICIPATION WITH THE NUMBER OF KIDS BEING SMALLER WITH MORE TRAININGS, UM, IS PROBABLY A BETTER, IS A BETTER WAY OF HELPING THEM.
AND SO, UM, WE'RE PRETTY COMMITTED FOR THIS YEAR.
WE, UM, WE DID MEET WITH, UM, TRUSTEE
WE'VE ALSO HAVE BEEN TROUBLESHOOTING TO TRY AND HELP HER GET ON TO, TO THE MEETING SO THAT SHE CAN PROVIDE HER COMMENTS.
UM, AND THEY'RE STILL TRYING TO HELP HER, BUT, UM, WE HAVE BEEN COMMUNICATING DIRECTLY WITH HER.
AND, UM, WE, WE REALLY NEED, THIS YEAR IS A PLANNING YEAR TO TRY AND SEE HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO IMPROVE THE PROGRAM.
A LOT OF CHANGES ARE HAPPENING THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, AND SO WE'RE MOVING FROM, WE WENT FROM JUST VIRTUAL TO THEN HYBRID, NOW WE'RE MOVING TO FULLY IN PERSON.
SO THERE'S JUST, THERE'S NEW TRANSPORTATION THAT WE'RE INTRODUCING INTO THE PROGRAM, AND SO HAVING TO TALK TO OUR, UM, RISK, UH, RISK ADVISORS AND, AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO WE'RE JUST, UM, REALLY TRYING OUR BEST TO GIVE THE KIDS A FULL YEAR, EVEN THOUGH IT'S GONNA BE A PLANNING YEAR.
I APPRECIATE THE ADDITIONAL EXPLANATION.
AND, UM, TRUSTEE ZAPATA, IF YOU'RE WATCHING, WE'RE SORRY THAT YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO GET ON HERE.
UM, HOPE IF THEY RECTIFY THAT TOWARDS THE END, WE CAN HAVE YOU COME, COME BACK ON COMMISSIONER J.
UM, TRUSTEE ZAPATA SENT A VERY THOROUGH EMAIL NOVEMBER 14TH.
UH, AND I, I KNOW, UM, UH, COUNTY EXECUTIVE SANCHEZ WAS ON AS WERE, UH, OTHERS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT, A ISD, UM, UH, UH, DIRECTOR, HAYDEN HOWARD, OTHERS.
AND SHE LAID OUT A NUMBER OF VERY IMPORTANT ISSUES, WHICH I DON'T SEE ADDRESSED HERE, UM, THAT ARE SEPARATE FROM JUST THE NUMBER OF JOBS REDUCED.
THE, THE NUMBER OF JOB, THE HOURS OF JOB READINESS TRAINING WAS, UH, REDUCED DRAMATICALLY, UH, TRANSPORTATION.
ANYWAY, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THEM.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED TO GO INTO THEM ALL HERE, BUT IT WOULD BE GOOD TO GET A WRITTEN RESPONSE TO THAT EMAIL.
UH, I CAN FORWARD IT TO YOU IF IT'S HELPFUL.
WE, WE MET WITH HER UHHUH, UH, TO GO OVER ALL HER CONCERNS, UM, SO THAT WE, THERE WAS A BETTER UNDERSTANDING FOR US TO TALK THROUGH THEM VERSUS SOMETHING IN WRITING THAT COULD BE MISINTERPRETED.
SO WE, WE MET WITH HER REGARDING THOSE, UM, STEPHANIE HAYDEN, HOWARD, ADRIAN STIR, UM, JOINED US, UH, ALONG WITH ROSS AND HIS TEAM TO BE AVAILABLE TO HER TO GO THROUGH THOSE CONCERNS.
SO THOSE HAVE THE JOB READINESS TRAINING HOURS INCREASED.
SO THAT SEEMED LIKE A PRETTY BASIC, UH, ONE, IF, IF WE'RE NOT PROVIDING ENOUGH JOB READINESS TRAINING FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, THEN THE POINT OF THIS INTERNSHIP SEEMS SO, UM, TRUSTEE ZAPATA WOULD PREFER THAT WE PROVIDE 15 HOURS OF TRAINING.
WE'VE ACTUALLY HEARD, UH, DIFFERENTLY FROM THE PARENTS AND THE STUDENTS THAT SITTING THROUGH THE LONG, UH, FIVE HOUR TRAINING THAT WE PROVIDE NOW, DIFFICULT FOR THEM.
AND THAT'S WHY WE REDUCED THE NUMBER OF KIDS IN EACH TRAINING SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE INDIVIDUALIZED ATTENTION.
AND WE CHANGED THEIR TRAINING TOPICS.
UM, BUT WE, WE DID, UM, LET TRUSTEE SAPA KNOW THAT HER, HER COMMUNITY PARTNERS WHO WANT TO PROVIDE THE TRAINING ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO, TO REACH OUT TO THE KIDS AND CONTINUE TO HAVE THAT TRAINING SEPARATE AND APART FROM THIS PROGRAM, UM, THAT IS ONE OF HER REQUESTS, IS THAT HER COMMUNITY PARTNERS BE PART OF DELIVERING THE TRAINING.
BUT WE HAVE FOUND THAT TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT TO BRING IN, UH, COMMUNITY PARTNERS, UH, FOR THE TRAINING.
WE ARE ASKING THE COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO BE A PART OF THE INTERVIEWING PROCESS.
IT'S A NEW, NEW THING THAT WE'RE INTRODUCING WHERE THE KIDS WILL ACTUALLY GO THROUGH AN INTERVIEW PROCESS THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO BEFORE.
THEY WOULD, THEY WOULD SPECIFY THEIR PREFERENCES IN WRITING, AND WE WOULD HAVE TO MATCH THEM, AND IT WASN'T ALWAYS THE PERFECT MATCH FOR THEM.
SO WE'RE HOPING THAT THROUGH THE INTERVIEW PROCESS, ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE KIDS, WE CAN DO A BETTER MATCH OF THE JOB.
AND SO, UM, WE ARE ASKING THOSE COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO BE INTERVIEWERS.
SO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'VE ADDRESSED MOST OF THE ISSUES SHE RAISED IN THE YES.
[01:25:01]
ISN'T AN UPDATE IN HERE.YES, COMMISSIONER, I CAN, I CAN APPRECIATE, UH, THAT THERE HAVE BEEN, UH, SIGNIFICANT PARADIGM SHIFTS OVER THE LAST TWO OR THREE YEARS.
GOING FROM IN-PERSON TO VIRTUAL TO HYBRID, AND NOW BACK TO IN PERSON, UH, IN-PERSON COULD CREATE SOME REAL CHALLENGES.
AND I THINK ALSO, UH, WE ARE EXPERIENCING A, A LOT OF FOLKS, PARTICULARLY AROUND THE POVERTY LINE BEING MOVED FURTHER INTO THE OUTSKIRTS, THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE CITY, AND OFTENTIMES, UH, FURTHER INTO THE COUNTY AS WELL.
UM, I, I DO NOT OPPOSE, UH, HAVING A PLANNING PERIOD, BUT I HOPE AS WE HAVE THIS PLANNING PERIOD, UH, WE WILL, WE WILL PUT AN ASSET MAP TOGETHER THAT ALLOWS US TO IDENTIFY, UH, WHAT RESOURCES WE HAVE.
FOR EXAMPLE, IT SEEMS THAT THEY ARE PROVIDING SOME PEER COUNSELING, AND IT SEEMS LIKE THAT WOULD BE A, UH, THOSE PEER COUNSELING OPPORTUNITIES WOULD PROVIDE PERFECT OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUMMER LEARNING THAT CAN BE APPLIED IN A VALUABLE WAY DURING THE COURSE OF THE YEAR.
UH, MAYBE WE SHOULD BE PARTNERING MORE DIRECTLY WITH OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS, BECAUSE OFTENTIMES, PARTICULARLY IN OUR TITLE ONE ENVIRONMENTS, UH, THE LARGEST PUBLIC ENTITY IN THE, IN THE, UH, AREA IS THE PUBLIC SCHOOL.
MAYBE WE SHOULD BE TALKING TO THEM ABOUT HOW WE IMPLEMENT THIS.
AND MAYBE WE SHOULD ALSO CALIBRATE WITH WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS TO, UH, IDENTIFY SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY ARE ALREADY DOING IN SCHOOLS, UH, TO CONNECT LEARNERS, UH, TO THE POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS, UH, WHO ARE SEEKING THEIR SKILLS.
IT SEEMS TO ME, UH, THAT THERE IS A LOT THAT COULD BE WOVEN TOGETHER THAT WE ARE ALREADY FUNDING, THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO USE MORE EFFICIENTLY, UH, IF, IF WE, UH, IF WE HAVE AN EXTENSIVE PLANNING, UM, OPERATION.
SO, UM, I AM, I'M VERY INTERESTED IN, IN, UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE, UH, PARTNERING WITH OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS, PARTNERING WITH INTEGRAL CARE, IDENTIFYING THOSE SPACES WHERE, UM, OUR YOUNG STUDENTS, WHERE STUDENTS CAN LEARN HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN, IN THE, UH, SIGNIFICANT, UH, PUBLIC OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE.
UM, POLAR, I THINK YOU CAN WORK WITH YOUR RESPECTIVE COMMISSIONERS AND, UM, TRUSTEE ZAPATA IN AN APPROPRIATE MANNER MOVING FORWARD.
UM, THESE ARE IMPORTANT INVESTMENTS AND THE FUTURE OF THESE KIDS, AND APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT WENT INTO IT AND THE PLANNING, UM, THAT YOU GUYS HAVE INVESTED IN TRYING TO COME UP WITH THE BEST, THE BEST PROGRAM.
AND, AND FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN FURTHER CONVERSATIONS, I, I WOULD REFER YOU, UM, TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH STAFF.
UM, APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
UM, THANK YOU MR. STEVENS AND DIRECTOR.
[VII. Resilience Hub]
THE LAST PRESENTATION IS RESILIENCE HUBS.UM, WE DO KIND OF HAVE A HARD STOP AT ONE 30, SO I'M GONNA INVITE YOU GUYS UP TO, TO PRESENT.
AND WHOEVER'S SUPPOSED TO BE HERE UPFRONT CAN JOIN US.
YOU GUYS HAVE ALL BEEN WORKING ON THIS.
MIGHT AS WELL SEE YOU IN PERSON THIS TIME, THE WHOLE CREW.
I'M WITH THE OFFICE OF RESILIENCE.
I'M ZACH BAUMER, UH, INTERIM CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER, CITY OF AUSTIN.
I'M KEN SNI, DIRECTOR OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
AND TODAY WE'LL GIVE YOU A QUICK UPDATE ON THE RESILIENCE HUB NETWORK.
UM, WE'LL QUICKLY GO OVER WHAT OUR RESILIENCE HUBS TALK ABOUT, OUR FACILITY UPDATES, TALK ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY FACILITIES AND HOW THEY WORK WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS, BUT ALSO COMMUNITY CAPACITY.
AND THEN LASTLY, TALK ABOUT OPERATIONAL UPDATES AND THEN NEXT STEPS QUICKLY.
WHAT ARE RESILIENCE HUBS? RESILIENCE HUBS ARE COMMUNITY FOCUSED, UH, LOCATIONS WHERE THE COMMUNITY WOULD GO TO, WOULD IT FEEL TRUSTED? IT'S A PLACE THAT THEY CAN GO AND LEARN ABOUT HOW TO BE MORE PREPARED, BUT MOST LIKELY THEY'RE GONNA BE EXISTING FACILITIES, NOT NEW FACILITIES.
THEY ARE NOT GONNA BE A REPLACEMENT FOR OUR HOMELAND SECURITY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, OUR TRADITIONAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANNING, AS WELL AS OUR SHELTER PLANS.
THEY WORK IN COLLABORATION WITH THOSE TWO, BUT ARE NOW REPLACEMENT OF, THINK OF THESE NOT AS RE MERCY HUBS, BUT AS RESILIENCE HUBS, PLACES FOR THE COMMUNITY TO COME TOGETHER AND LEARN ABOUT HOW TO BE PREPARED, HOW TO TALK TO YOUR NEIGHBORS, ET CETERA.
WHY DO WE NEED RESILIENCE HUBS? WELL, WE'VE SEEN IN THE LAST 10 YEARS NOW, A LOT OF EVENTS THAT ARE HAPPENING MORE OFTEN AND IN MORE SEVERITY.
BUT THINKING BACK TO THE 2011 HEAT WAVE, THEN THE 2013 FLOODS, 2015 HALLOWEEN FLOODS.
[01:30:01]
BUT NOW WITH THE PANDEMIC WE HAVE THEN THE WINTER STORM URI, THE ICE STORM, MARA, THE COLD WEATHER WE JUST HAD IN THE LAST COUPLE DAYS.THESE EVENTS ARE HAPPENING MORE OFTEN, BUT THEY'RE ESPECIALLY HITTING THE PEOPLE WITH A LEAST AMOUNT OF RESOURCES WORSE.
SO WHILE WE SEE THESE EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS, WE'RE SEEING IMPACTS TO OUR ENERGY SERVICES, OUR WATER SERVICES, AND OUR HEALTH SERVICES AS WELL.
THIS HAS HIGHLIGHTED THIS NEED TO HAVE THESE PHYSICAL SPACES IN THE COMMUNITY WHERE PEOPLE CAN GO TO, WHERE WE CAN DISTRIBUTE, UH, WATER, FOOD, AND MEDICINE, BUT ALSO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SERVICES AND POTENTIALLY BACKUP POWER.
HOW WE STARTED THIS WORK IS WE, FIRST THING WE DID IS WE ACTUALLY SAT DOWN WITH A ISD TRAVIS COUNTY, CITY DEPARTMENTS TO SORT OF SAY, HOW DO WE DEFINE RESILIENCE HUBS? WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? HOW SHOULD WE ACTUALLY DO THIS GOING FORWARD? THE SECOND THING WE DID IS WE CREATED A COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
IT STARTED WITH 20 ORGANIZATIONS NOW UP TO 40 ORGANIZATIONS.
THESE ARE COMMUNITY ADVISORS, THESE ARE COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS, COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS, BUT ALSO THE RED CROSS HOSPITALS, FOOD DISTRIBUTION FOLKS, A LOT OF DIFFERENT VARIETY OF ORGANIZATIONS WHO HELP US THINK ABOUT THESE EVENTS AND HOW TO WE ACTUALLY MANAGE THIS GOING FORWARD.
WE WORKED WITH THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO IDENTIFY SIX AREAS IN AUSTIN.
WE WANNA START WITH FIRST BASED ON NEED.
SO THIS IS RACE, INCOME, UH, EDUCATION, HOUSING TYPES, ET CETERA.
AND THAT HAS LED US TO THESE SIX AREAS, WHICH INCLUDE TWO AREAS IN BERG, SPLIT BY I 35, BUT ALSO ST.
JOHN'S COLONY PARK, MONTAO, AND DOVE SPRINGS.
WITH THIS, WE WENT INTO THE COMMUNITY IN 2 20, 22 AND ASKED THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS, WHAT ARE SAFE SPACES? WHERE WOULD YOU GO TO? AND TO HELP THEM HAVE THEM DECIDE WHERE THESE LOCATIONS ARE AT FIRST.
AND NOW WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND OUR, UH, PARTNERS TO IDENTIFY WHAT KIND OF ITEMS WE WANT THERE AND HOW TO WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THESE LOCATIONS HELP THE COMMUNITY.
WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THESE LOCATIONS, WE'RE STARTING WITH MUNICIPALLY OWNED LOCATIONS FIRST, AND THESE ARE AGENCY OWNED, LIKE HEALTH CENTERS, REC CENTERS, LIBRARIES, BUT ALSO FUTURES, UH, HEALTH CENTERS.
AND THEY'RE OPERATED BY US TO HELP THE COMMUNITY ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE.
WE ARE WORKING NOW TO IDENTIFY COMMUNITY SPACES SUCH AS CHURCHES OR NONPROFITS WHO CAN HELP US WITH THIS WORK AND HELP US BETTER CONNECT TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN THE FUTURE.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WAYS THAT WE CAN INCLUDE COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO HELP US PROGRAM THESE LOCATIONS SO THAT WE PROVIDE THE COMMUNITY WITH SPACES TO HELP OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS THROUGH EITHER, UM, EDUCATION OR COLLABORATION.
AS I MENTIONED, WHEN WE WENT TO THE COMMUNITY IN 2022, THE FIRST QUESTION WE ASKED IS, WHAT ARE SAFE SPACES IN YOUR COMMUNITY? AND THINGS THAT CAME UP WERE, YOU KNOW, MY FRIEND'S HOUSE, MY PARENTS' HOUSE, BUT ALSO CHURCHES, SCHOOLS CAME UP AS SAFE SPACES, REC CENTERS AND LIBRARIES.
BUT WHEN WE SWITCHED THE QUESTION OF WHERE WOULD YOU GO TO IN CASE YOU HAD TO LEAVE YOUR HOME DURING AN EVENT, THIS IS RIGHT AFTER VALDI.
SO SCHOOLS WERE NO LONGER THE SAFE SPACES BECAUSE THEY, YOU CAN'T JUST WALK INTO A SCHOOL.
THEN IT BECAME MY PARENTS' HOUSE, MY FRIEND'S HOUSE.
BUT THEN REC CENTERS BASED WITH THIS INFORMATION, WE WENT BACK TO THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND SAY, CAN WE START WITH REC CENTERS AND, AND HEALTH CENTERS FIRST? AND WITH THAT, WE IDENTIFIED SIX LOCATIONS TO BE THOSE INITIAL FIRST SIX PILOTS, AND THEY ARE THE YMCA NORTH AUSTIN, GUS GARCIA, ST.
JOHN'S, TURNER ROBERTS MONTAO REC CENTER, AND THEN GEORGE STUFF SPRINGS REC CENTER.
THIS WAS BEFORE THE WINTER STORM, THE ICE STORM MARROW, BECAUSE WHEN ICE STORM MARROW, WE ACTIVATED FOUR MORE LOCATIONS WITH, AS REC CENTERS, AS COMMUNITY, AS COLD WEATHER SHELTERS.
WE WORKED WITH PARTS TO IDENTIFY FOUR MORE LOCATIONS TO ADD TO THE LIST.
THAT MEANT GIVENS PARK, ZARAGOZA, DENMAR, AND NORTHWEST REC CENTER.
BUT INTERESTING ENOUGH, WHEN WE TALKED TO THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS ABOUT WHAT THEY SEE THERE, THEY, IT WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS AROUND, THEY WANT FORMULA, THEY WANT SNACKS, THEY WANT WATER, THEY WANT ADDITIONAL SERVICES.
IT WAS A CHALLENGE FOR US, IDENTIFY LOCATIONS TO STORE THOSE THINGS IN REC CENTERS.
BUT MEANWHILE, LIKE A BLOCK OVER, YOU'D HAVE A HEALTH CENTER THAT HAVE A LOT OF THESE ITEMS. SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH PUBLIC HEALTH TO, UH, TO PURCHASE A LOT OF THESE ITEMS YOU CAN SEE HERE, SUCH AS WATER, DIAPERS, HYGIENE KITS, BACKPACKS, PONCHOS, ET CETERA.
AND WE ALSO WANT TO GIVE, UH, SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO PUBLIC HEALTH BECAUSE THEY HAVE THESE COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS.
THESE ARE FOLKS WHO GO INTO THE COMMUNITY, GO TO DOOR TO DOOR, TALK TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS, AND WE'VE OUTFITTED THEM WITH ADDITIONAL ITEMS SUCH AS HEADLAMPS, SOCKS, SNACKS, ET CETERA.
AND WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH PUBLIC HEALTH TO SEE HOW WE CAN ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AROUND THESE, UH, LOCATIONS.
SO A QUICK MAP OF WHERE THE LOCATIONS ARE CURRENTLY, WE'RE STILL USING THOSE REC CENTERS AS THE HUBS, BUT SOME OF THE STORAGE IS TAKING PLACE FOR SOME OF THEM AT HEALTH CENTERS THAT ARE NEARBY.
[01:35:01]
ADDED THOSE ADDITIONAL FOUR LOCATIONS IS BECAUSE WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY'RE PART OF THAT, UH, NETWORK.SO HERE'S A QUICK MAP OF WHERE THEY ARE CURRENTLY.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE SEEING A, A LARGER AMOUNT ON THE EAST SIDE, BUT WE ARE SORT OF GROWING THIS NETWORK THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE CITY.
UM, AND THEN PART OF THIS DISCUSSION TOO, IS HOW CAN SOME OF THESE LOCATIONS HAVE BACKUP POWER? UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH PARKS AND RECREATION, TELL YOU RIGHT NOW THAT FIVE OF THE SIX LOCATIONS WE HAVE IDENTIFIED HAVE BACKUP POWER.
WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME MAKING SURE THAT TO UPGRADE THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM TO BE ABLE TO RECEIVE BACKUP POWER.
AND THAT HAS TAKEN SOME TIME, BUT THAT HAS BEEN COMPLETED.
AND THEN I THINK IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS, MOLO WILL BE UPDATED AND HAVE ALSO HAVE BACKUP POWER.
MADAM CHAIR CAN ASK A QUICK QUESTION.
ARE THESE ALL DIESEL GENERATORS? UH, CURRENTLY, YES.
THEY'RE MOBILE DIESEL GENERATORS.
WE'LL BE BRINGING AN ITEM TO COURT, UM, SHORTLY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF NEW MONEY THAT THE STATE, UH, HAS AUTHORIZED.
ARE Y'ALL FAMILIAR WITH THIS? IN THE, IN THE $8 BILLION CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT LAST NOVEMBER, THERE WAS A PROVISION THAT WAS ADDED TO FUND ALMOST TWO ADDITIONAL BILLION FOR SOLAR CONNECTED TO BATTERIES.
UH, AND WE HAVE A BIG CONCERN ABOUT DIESEL BECAUSE YOU'RE REQUIRED TO RUN THEM AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH, IF NOT MORE, JUST TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE READY.
SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROBLEM
SO I'M HAPPY TO SHARE THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SOLAR WHEN WE, WHEN WE GET MORE DETAILS, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA BE BRINGING AN ITEM TO COURT TO SHIFT OUR FOCUS AWAY FROM DIESEL GENERATORS AND FOCUS MORE ON THE SOLAR TO BATTERY TO NATURAL GAS BACKUPS.
COMMISSIONER, IF I COULD, I, I THINK WITH RESPECT TO THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT, WHAT WE WERE REALLY DRIVING TOWARDS, AND WE DID CONSIDER THE BATTERY ALTERNATIVES, WE DID LOOK AT A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF, UM, SOLAR SUPPORTED UNITS AS WELL AS, UH, A COUPLE OF OTHER TYPES.
ONE OF THE DRIVERS HERE WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD THE RESILIENCE HUBS AVAILABLE TO THE COMMUNITY BEFORE THIS WINTER.
AND SO THAT WAS A DRIVING FORCE, AND WE DID NOT HAVE THE TIME TO SCOPE SCALE AND BUILD OUT THOSE ASSETS FOR ALL SIX FACILITIES.
SO THAT WAS THE, THAT WAS THE PRIMARY DRIVER.
UM, AND THE NOVEMBER, UH, BALLOT ITEM MADE THAT MONEY NEWLY AVAILABLE.
SO IT WASN'T AVAILABLE PRIOR TO THE NOVEMBER, UH, CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS.
AND I THINK THE LONG TERM GOAL IS TO HAVE BACKUP POWER THAT ISN'T DIESEL.
IN FACT, TWO OF THOSE LOCATIONS, GEORGE MORALES AND GUS GARCIA, WE'RE TALKING TO AUSTIN ENERGY TO DO AN ADDITIONAL SOLAR BATTERY BACKUP AS REDUNDANCY IN THE SYSTEM.
SO WE WON'T BE AS DEPENDENT ONTO THE DIESEL IN SHORT TERM.
AND THEN LONG TERM NATURAL GAS.
AND WE ARE LOOKING AT FEDERAL FUNDING TO ESSENTIALLY DO SOLAR BATTERY BACKUP AT MORE LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT AUSTIN.
UM, SO ONE THING I WANNA DRIVE HOME IS THAT, AS I MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, NO ONE LOCATION CAN DO EVERYTHING.
WHEN WE IDENTIFY THOSE REC CENTERS, THEY HAVE, A LOT OF 'EM HAVE BEEN USED AS OVERNIGHT SHELTERS, BUT THEIR PARKING LOTS ARE NOT REALLY DESIGNED WELL FOR FOOD AND WATER DISTRIBUTION.
THEY JUST CAN'T GET A BIG TRUCK IN THERE.
MEANWHILE, MAYBE TWO BLOCKS OVER, THERE'S A SCHOOL OR UM, MAYBE A WALMART THAT HAS A LARGE PARKING LOT THAT CAN PROVIDE THAT SERVICE.
SO THE MORE WE CAN LEVERAGE LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THESE NEIGHBORHOODS AND LINK THEM, THE BETTER WE'LL BE.
AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE NOT ONE LOCATION CAN DO EVERYTHING, BUT WE NEED THE HELP OF EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM AND IN THE COMMUNITY TO HELP US TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
SO TALK QUICKLY ABOUT COMMUNITY FACILITIES.
AS I MENTIONED, WE DO WANNA WORK WITH CHURCHES AND NONPROFITS TO BE PART OF THIS.
UM, COUNCIL PASSED RESOLUTION, PART OF A LITTLE BIT OF FUNDING TO CREATE A TOOLKIT.
THAT TOOLKIT IS NOW ALIVE, AND IT'S DESIGNED TO HAVE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS HELP SORT OF BE PART OF THE PROCESS.
IT'S A GUIDE TO WALK YOU THROUGH THAT PROCESS, AND IT HELPS YOU IDENTIFY IF YOU WANNA BE AN INFORMATION HUB, A WARMING COOLING CENTER, A FOOD, WATER DISTRIBUTION OR SHELTER.
AND THEN ONCE YOU'VE IDENTIFIED AS ONE OF THOSE, YOU'D WORK CLOSELY WITH HOMELAND SECURITY, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS TO BE ABLE TO BE ACTIVATED DURING AN EVENT OR BEFORE AN EVENT.
ALSO, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO CONNECT MORE AND MORE WITH THE COMMUNITY.
WE'VE PUT OUT, UH, 26 MINI GRANTS WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO HELP US UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE THE NEEDS IN THE COMMUNITY, HOW TO BUILD CAPACITY AROUND PREPAREDNESS, TRAINING, SUPPLIES, WORKFORCE.
AND OVER THE NEXT YEAR, WE'LL BE WORKING CLOSELY WITH THEM.
THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE REPORT BACK TO US WITH ACCOMPLISHMENTS NEXT, UH, LATER THIS YEAR.
AND WE CAN DEFINITELY PROVIDE YOU THAT REPORT WHEN IT'S DONE.
AND THEN WHEN WE TALK TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS ABOUT WHAT DO THEY SEE AT RESILIENCE HUBS, THEY OFTEN SAY THEY SEE A FLURRY OF ACTIVITIES, THEY SEE TRAININGS, THEY SEE A LOT OF SORT OF ENGAGEMENT.
SO WE WORKED CLOSELY WITH HOMELAND SECURITY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, BUT ALSO WATERSHED PROTECTION, COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS AND UM, AND WILDFIRE DEPARTMENT TO PUT TOGETHER THIS TRAINING.
IT'S BILINGUAL, IT'S INTERACTIVE.
WE HELD THE FIRST ONE AT MONTOPOLIS LAST SEPTEMBER.
[01:40:01]
VERY SUCCESSFUL, 60 PEOPLE REGISTERED, AND IT'S BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL THAT NOW HE'S HOMELAND SECURITY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IS PLANNING TO HAVE ONE EVERY QUARTER NEXT THIS YEAR, UH, STARTING IN FEBRUARY.AND THEN LASTLY, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT TALKING TO PEOPLE, UNDERSTANDING WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO WE'VE BEEN GOING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY, SHOUT OUT TO, UM, ORIENTAL LOPEZ, WHO'S BEHIND ME, WHO'S DONE A LOT OF THIS WORK.
WE ARE ALSO WORKING CLOSELY WITH, UH, A LOT OF DIFFERENT GROUPS, UH, PUBLIC HEALTH TO DO SURVEYS, UH, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, TO DO MORE SURVEYS, TO DO WATER DISTRIBUTION, BASICALLY ANYTHING IN, ANYWHERE WE CAN COLLABORATE, WE DEFINITELY WANNA WORK WITH FOLKS.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN COUNCIL PASSED THE RESOLUTION AND RUN RESILIENCE HUBS, THERE WAS ALSO A BUDGET ASK TO HAVE STAFF LOCATED WITHIN HOMELAND SECURITY, MERCY MANAGEMENT TO HELP WITH RESILIENCE HUBS.
AND THAT MEANS THE HIRING OF A MASS CARE MANAGER AND A RESILIENCE HUB MANAGER AS WELL.
AND NOW WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH KEN AND HIS STAFF TO SEE TRANSITIONING THE PROGRAM OVER TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN THE FOLLOWING MONTHS TO YEARS.
THIS WAS PUT TOGETHER BEFORE THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS OF COLD WEATHER.
UH, BUT I THINK IT STILL STANDS THAT WE ARE WORKING TO DO WINTER WEATHER WITH READINESS, BUT WE'RE ALSO, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT WHAT IS THE NEXT BIG EVENT? HOW DO WE START TO GET READY FOR THE NEXT HEAT EVENT OR WHATEVER THAT MIGHT BE.
UM, AND THINKING ABOUT MORE JOB TRAININGS, MORE, MORE, SORRY, MORE TRAINING, MORE IMPROVEMENTS TO LOCATIONS, WHAT IS IT WE NEED? AND THEN HOW TO REALLY LEVERAGE THINGS LIKE READY CENTRAL TEXAS AND ALERT PAGES THROUGH THE COMMUNITY AND THROUGH ORGANIZATIONS TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE ARE THINKING ABOUT EVENTS BEFORE AND AFTER.
SO NEXT STEPS IS TO CONSTANTLY EVOLVE THIS, MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S SITE SPECIFIC COMMUNITY SPECIFIC, MORE AND MORE INTO AREAS THAT ARE IN GREATER NEED.
WE'RE CLOAK WORKING CLOSELY WITH TRAVIS COUNTY TO LOOK AT AREAS IN EASTERN TRAVIS COUNTY OUTSIDE THE CITY AND HOW WE CAN COLLABORATE WITH ORGANIZATIONS OUT THERE.
AND ALSO HOW DO WE WORK MORE WITH, SAY, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AND HOUSTON TILSON ON WHAT ARE THE RESEARCH NEEDS, WHAT ARE THE COMMUNITY NEEDS, AND HOW TO LEVERAGE STUDENT WORK THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.
UM, I WOULD ASK IF YOU COULD JUST CLARIFY, YOU KNOW, HOW THE HUBS WERE ACTIVATED, SAY IN THE, IN THE RECENT FREEZE THERE, THERE SEEMS TO BE A LITTLE BIT OF CONFUSION OVER HOW ACTIVATED THE PILOTS ARE.
UM, SO I DUNNO IF YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THE COLD WEATHER SHELTERING.
FROM A, FROM A COLD WEATHER SHELTERING PERSPECTIVE, UM, WE MADE THE LOCATIONS, UM, KNOWN AND AVAILABLE AND, UH, ONCE WE GOT THE MESSAGING OUT, PEOPLE DID RESPOND.
I THINK THE LONG-TERM PLAN FOR THE RESILIENCE HUBS IS TO HAVE THEM, UH, AS LOCATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT PEOPLE CAN GO TO PRIOR TO OUTSIDE OF AN EVENT TO GET INFORMATION.
THEY'LL ALSO HAVE THE ABILITY TO GO TO THESE LOCATIONS DURING AN EVENT AND THEN ALSO AFTER AN EVENT TO MAYBE UNDERSTAND TO, TO GET ASSISTANCE WITH RECOVERY AND THEN UNDERSTAND HOW TO, UM, PREPARE THEMSELVES GOING FORWARD.
SO HOW WAS METROPOLIS USED DURING THE FREEZE? OR IT DOES NOT? I MEAN, DURING THE COLD WEATHER SHELTERING? YEAH.
SO, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS ON THE SLIDE THAT I DIDN'T MENTION IS THAT A LOT OF THESE LOCATIONS HAVE MISSION READY PACKAGES.
SO THESE ARE CONTAINERS WITH THINGS LIKE COTS AND BLANKETS AND HOMELAND SECURITY.
MERCY MANAGEMENT MANAGES THOSE IN A, IN PREPARATION FOR THE NEXT BIG EVENT.
SO THEY ALREADY HAD COTS, THEY HAD BLANKETS, STAFF WERE ALREADY ON BOARD.
WE HAD GENERATORS ACTUALLY AT MON TOPEX IN CASE IT LOSES POWER.
WE HAVE THESE THINGS MORE SORT OF BUILT INTO THE SYSTEM SO THAT WHEN WE DID ACTIVATE MOLO THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS, IT WAS MORE PREPARED FOR THESE EVENTS.
SO WERE THEY LARGELY INVOLVED IN OUR, OUR COLD WEATHER SHELTERING FOR THE HOMELESS POPULATION, OR WERE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, JUST IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD COMING IN TO GET WARMED UP? THE PROCESS TO GET PEOPLE INTO THE COLD WEATHER SHELTER IS TO HAVE THEM GO TO ONE TEXAS CENTER, IDENTIFY WHAT NEEDS THEY MIGHT HAVE, AND THEN THEY CAN GO HAVE 'EM GO TO SHELTERS.
THAT, I GUESS I'M ASKING WHAT IS THE OVERLAP BETWEEN OUR COLD WEATHER SHELTERS AND THE HUBS? THEY, THEY CAN BE ONE IN THE SAME.
SO THE, SOME OF THEIR LOCATIONS WILL, WILL WORK AS BOTH.
UH, IT COULD, UH, WORK AS A CO WEATHER SHELTER.
UH, THAT SAME LOCATION IS ALSO A HUB.
UM, SO, UM, THERE, IN THAT CASE THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE.
AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS WE WANTED THESE LOCATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY TO BE FACILITIES THAT ARE KNOWN TO PEOPLE, UM, THAT THEY ARE FAMILIAR WITH, AND THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THEY CAN GO TO THESE LOCATIONS, UH, AT PRETTY MUCH ANY TIME TO GET THE RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED TO HELP THEM, UH, EITHER AS I SAID BEFORE, PREPARE FOR AN EVENT, UH, TO GET ASSISTANCE DURING OR TO, UH, UNDERSTAND HOW TO RECOVER AFTERWARDS.
[01:45:01]
LET ME JUST SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE CREATED THE, THE HUBS, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE ALSO HELPING TO BUILD RESILIENCE, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE OF THE EMERGENCY TIME.UM, AND, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE MOVING THEM INTO HE SO FOR, FOR GENERAL MANAGEMENT, BUT I JUST WANNA BE REALLY CLEAR THAT THE INTENTION OF COUNSEL WAS NOT JUST TO HAVE THESE BE ACTIVE, YOU KNOW, DURING THE EMERGENCIES, BUT TO BUILD THAT RESILIENCE SO THAT PEOPLE ARE MORE RESILIENT TO THE STRESSORS AND WE'RE NOT JUST DEPLOYING THEM AND WE HAVE THE SHOCKS.
SO, UM, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT AS WE, WE ARE EVOLVING THEM, THAT THAT IS VERY MUCH PART OF, OF HOW WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THEM.
AND, AND I DON'T KNOW THAT YOU SAID ANYTHING DIFFERENT THAN THAT.
I JUST, UM, WE, WE END UP TALKING ABOUT THEM A LOT DURING THE EMERGENCY SITUATION, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE PURPOSELY CHOSEN THESE AREAS AND THE GOAL IS TO BE BUILDING THEM OUT AS CENTERS FOR THIS RESILIENCE, YOU KNOW, IN A BIGGER, IN A BIGGER WAY.
UM, IF THERE'S ONE LAST QUESTION, WE CAN TAKE IT.
OTHERWISE WE'RE GONNA, UM, DID THE, UH, I HAD UNDERSTOOD THAT THE RESILIENCE HUB WAS UNDER THE RESILIENCE OFFICER.
IS THERE, WILL THERE BE A REPLACEMENT RESILIENCE OFFICER OR HAS THIS FUNCTION BEEN MOVED INTO HOMELAND SECURITY? IT'S KIND OF A FOLLOW UP ON COMMISSIONER ALTER'S QUESTION, BUT I'M NOT CLEAR WHERE THIS WILL LIVE.
YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THE OFFICER, PLEASE? AND, AND THEN I HAVE A QUICK COMMENT AFTER THAT.
HOW'S THAT? UH, I WOULD SAY ON THE OFFICER, I, I DON'T THINK THAT WE KNOW YET, UM, WHETHER THE POSITION'S GONNA BE REPLACED.
UM, SO RIGHT NOW I AM OVERSEEING THE OFFICE OF RESILIENCE AND THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.
AND IN TERMS OF RESILIENCE SUBS, I WOULD SAY THAT IT'S NOW KIND OF JOINT MANAGEMENT RIGHT NOW BETWEEN HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND RESILIENCE.
I THINK THAT THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY WORK WITHIN BOTH RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY.
I KNOW HOMELAND SECURITY HAS A DIFFERENT MO AND I THINK THAT THAT, UH, COMMUNITY OUTREACH COMPONENT IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
PARTICULARLY RELATED RESILIENCE ARE RESILIENCE HUBS WERE INTENDED TO HELP GET THE COMMUNITY MORE PREPARED AND KNOWING WHAT TO DO.
I'VE ALWAYS SAID THE FIRST RESPONDERS ARE EXPERTS AT IT, Y'ALL KNOW WHAT TO DO.
IT'S JUST THE 99% OF THE REST OF THE POPULATION THAT DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO AND NEEDS TO KNOW IN ORDER TO BECOME MORE RESILIENT.
AND I'LL JUST COMMENT QUICKLY, I LOVE THE TOOLKIT, YOU KNOW, HOW TO HAVE YOUR COMMUNITY, WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, QUILTING BE OR WHATEVER, BECOME A, A RESILIENCE, UH, HUB.
BUT I COULDN'T ACCESS THE TOOLKIT.
SO IF SOMEONE COULD SEND ME THE LINK, I WAS TRYING TO DOWNLOAD IT AND FIND IT ONLINE.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO GET THOSE, BUT IF YOU COULD SEND ME THE LINK TO THAT AS WELL.
AND, AND I WOULD JUST ADD, I'M EITHER, IF, IF YOU COULD, I HAVE WOULD EXAMINE THAT LINK AS WELL.
AND I WOULD JUST ADD AS A POINT OF CLARIFICATION, I THINK THE GOAL GOING FORWARD AS WE START TO TRANSITION INTO THE, OR WORK THROUGH THE VOID LEFT BY THE DEPARTURE OF OUR RESILIENCE OFFICER, IS THAT, UM, MORE OF THE OPERATIONALIZED PIECES WOULD FALL UPON THE HOMELESS SECURITY OF THE EMERGENCY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FUNCTION AND THE STRATEGIC AND PLANNING AND THE, SOME OF THE, THE OTHER FUNCTIONS WOULD CONTINUE TO RESIDE WITH, UM, THE, THE RESILIENCE OFFICE OR THE RESILIENCE STRUCTURE AND FRAMEWORK AND SUSTAINABILITY.
SO WHERE DOES THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND THE COMMUNITY WORK LIVE WITH HIM, WITH YOU? I THINK THINK IT'S HAPPENING, HAPPENING.
IT'S HAPPENING IN BOTH PLACES.
SO IT'S, IT IS HAPPENING THROUGH THE RESILIENCE OFFICE.
I, I JUST HAD A PREPAREDNESS, UM, EVENT AT THE LIBRARY AND I MET THE NEW COMMUNITY, RELATIVELY NEW COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OFFICER FOR, FOR HESO.
THEY'RE NOW FOCUSING IN ON THAT.
WE PROVIDED THEM WITH ADDITIONAL STAFFING OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS AND THEY'RE NOW STAFFED GREAT.
AND SO I THINK THAT WILL WILL HELP.
UM, SLUGO, DO YOU WANT THE LAST WORD? YEAH, SO JUST REALLY QUICKLY, I WOULD ASK, UM, IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, UM, CAN, UH, THIS BODY RECEIVE LIKE SOME BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE, THE RECENT USAGE? LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, DEMOGRAPHICS, UH, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE THAT WOULD BE SUPER HELPFUL.
UM, JUST SO THAT WE HAVE SHARED AWARENESS ABOUT THAT.
AND I HOPE THAT THE CONTINUED CONVERSATIONS ACROSS THE DIFFERENT ENTITIES, BECAUSE THEY'LL BE, YOU KNOW, YOU WERE SAYING YOU NEED SOME PLACES FOR FOOD DISTRIBUTION THAT MIGHT NOT BE THESE CENTERS, WHICH COULD BE THE SCHOOLS.
I'M, I'M ASSUMING THAT THAT IS CONTINUING.
UM, AND I'LL JUST SAY AS A COUNCIL MEMBER, I WOULD LIKE THE OFFICE OF THE RE THE RESILIENCE OFFICER POSITION TO CONTINUE.
I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT WORK AND THERE IS A DISTINCTION BETWEEN THAT AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND WE WILL BE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS, BUT IT WAS, YOU KNOW, CREATED BY COUNCIL VERY DELIBERATELY TO HAVE THAT.
[01:50:01]
THINK YOU CAN JUST CHANGE IT WITHOUT US SINCE WE ACTUALLY CREATED IT.UM, SO WE WILL, WE WILL NEED TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AND WE WILL MISS OUR OFFICER CURRENT, OUR PAST OFFICER A LOT.
[VIII. Standing Items (set at previous meetings)]
RUSH THROUGH THE LAST PART, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, FUTURE ITEMS. I WOULD ASK FOLKS TO SEND FUTURE ITEMS TO YOUR RESPECTIVE STAFF LEADER.UM, WE'VE HEARD ONE WITH RESPECT TO AFTER SCHOOL, WHICH MIGHT TAKE UP A, A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME AT THE NEXT MEETING.
AND HOPEFULLY WE WILL ALSO BE ABLE AT THAT POINT IN TIME, SINCE IT'S ABOUT THREE MONTHS OUT, TO BE ABLE TO DO A DEEPER DIVE ON THE CHILDREN'S FUNDING PROJECT AND THE RECOMMENDED, UM, TRAJECTORY FOR THAT AS WE CONTINUE TO HAVE SOME OF THE, THE STAKEHOLDER, UM, DISCUSSIONS.
HOPEFULLY BY THAT POINT WE'LL BE, BE READY FOR A MORE PUBLIC CONVERSATION.
UM, BUT WE CAN SEE THAT, UH, MOVING FORWARD.
SO WITH THAT, IT IS 1 34 AND I WILL ADJOURN, ADJOURN THIS COMMITTEE MEETING.
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE.
AND PLEASE GRAB SOME LUNCH IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY.