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State of the Vision – January 2002
Youth and Family**Strategy #1 (Action Plan #7 in Education): Engage parents as active participants and champions of their children’s education.
Significant progress noted, action #2 is complete, efforts are ongoing.
Action Item 1: The Boys & Girls Club has successfully begun operating satellite sites on school campuses until 6:00 p.m. daily. Several school districts in Greater Bakersfield area have programs where children and their parents learn together. In the Greenfield Union School District they have a Family Math and Reading Night, an Even Start Program offering ESL classes and tutoring for 0-13 year olds. In Bakersfield City School District 400 parents and their children participate in a family literacy program at the East Hills Mall and Mercado Latino. Bakersfield City School District also offers Parent Leadership classes one Saturday a month and a Migrant Education Even Start Program. The Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office sponsors a Family Project and Parents First Teachers Workshop. The Family Project offers communication, goal setting and other skill building classes to parents and students. The First Teachers Workshop the parents learn skills to enhance their children's learning. “Twilight” programs making use of school facilities are being explored through the use of State Preschool Program funding for 3-4 year olds, three hours per day. Bakersfield Adult School and the Regional Occupation Program offer twilight early childhood programs while parents are in training. Action Item 2: The Baby Steps program is in place.
Strategy #2 (Action Plan #13 in Quality of Life): Assure broad-based recreation programs in all neighborhoods of Greater Bakersfield at area parks, schools and community based organizations.
Significant progress noted, efforts are ongoing.
The City has completed a Recreation and Parks Master Plan. The City recently implemented and has expanded its mobile recreation program, which provides trailers that can transport recreation program materials to various park or school sites throughout the city. The City also purchased a mobile stage so concerts and other performing arts activities can be conducted throughout the city. The City Parks and Recreation District are considering a Spray Park interactive water feature as a pilot project. If successful and funding is available, it will be expanded as a feature in other parks. Additionally, a 30-acre park is being developed in the Buena Vista area that will have water features.
The County Parks and Recreation Department manages eight regional parks and 40 neighborhood parks. The Department is also responsible for operating the County's 27 veteran's halls, senior centers, and community recreation buildings. In addition to park and recreation facilities, the Department provides golf courses, scenic river trails, campgrounds, and several lakes. The County has been successful in obtaining grants to replace and refurbish playground equipment and other park amenities. The Department will likely be conducting a strategic planning process to identify park and recreational needs throughout the County in the coming year. The Director of the Parks and Recreation department meets regularly with the head of the City's parks department and park district directors to discuss programs and facilities. The County's ability to offer incentives is extremely limited
Strategy #3 (Action Plan #14 in Quality of Life): Coordinate regular, on-going schedule of community-wide events at area parks, schools, etc. (cultural fairs, recreational fairs, job fairs, fishing derbies, etc.).
Accomplished, monitoring and support efforts continue.
Action Item 1, 2: There are a number of on-going events in the community from fishing derbies to art events for children. After careful review of the most effective and broad-based ways to disseminate information to the community of events, it was concluded to support and promote the use of the Bakersfield Californian's community outreach efforts. The Bakersfield Californian provides information in their special supplement, Parent Wise. The information is also available online at “mykernlife.com,” sponsored by The Bakersfield Californian. In addition, the City Recreation and Parks Department conducts a wide variety of scheduled youth recreation events throughout the community. These range from after school recreation and sports programs, arts and crafts, aquatics, etc. The department prepares informational brochures, which are sent to city residents to inform them of various activities available. The Recreation and Parks department also has an extensive web site that provides information on the departments activities. The City recently implemented and has expanded the mobile recreation program, which provides trailers that can transport recreation program materials to various park or school sites throughout the city. Kern County's parks are host to a wide variety of activities for youth and adults alike. The County’s web site lists upcoming events. The list is compiled by the Board of Trade.
Strategy #4 (Action Plan #15 in Quality of Life): Create a streamlined universal insurance/liability plan for schools, churches, etc.
Significant progress noted, efforts are ongoing.
Action Item 1: the County's Risk Management Division has a Special Event Liability Insurance program that has been in effect for the last eight years. The Program has a very simple and easy process, whereby the insurance premium amount based on proposed event and facility usage, and the premium is collected and certificate of insurance issued. The County's Risk manager has held meetings with the City, Self Insured Schools of California, and the local insurance association since April 2001 to discuss the County's program.
Strategy #5 (Action Plan #16 in Quality of Life): Offer free events to families at various sites throughout Greater Bakersfield.
Accomplished, monitoring and support efforts continue.
Action Item 1: The Youth & Family Vision Force found that on average, one free event for families is held in our community on a weekly basis. As a group we agreed to find ways to inform the community through the organization we are currently affiliated with.**Strategy #6 (Action Plan #18 in Quality of Life): Provide consistent safety and law enforcement throughout Greater Bakersfield.
Significant progress noted, efforts are ongoing.
Action Items 1, 2, 3, 4: The City Police Department has implemented community oriented policing throughout the city and has recently modified its command structure holding lieutenants responsible for certain geographic areas of the City. The department has obtained grants and is upgrading computer aided dispatch and records management systems. The implementation of mobile data computers, which provide enhanced data and records management capabilities to replace existing mobile data terminals, is also being pursued. Strategies to more fully integrate Police and Sheriffs communications systems are being developed. A study was conducted on the integration of the BPD's and the Sheriff's Department data voice communications capabilities. A facet of this study included integrating the staff associated with these functions into one location. Although funding issues are prevalent, the concept remains feasible. The City Police Department has also completed a study evaluating the use of police substations as part of its community oriented policing strategy. A plan to fund and implement the recommendations in the plan will be presented with the upcoming annual budget.
Currently, the Kern County Sheriffs Department is developing a Crime Analysis Unit. The goal would to have greater interaction with the Bakersfield Police Department to share information and track crime trends and patterns to enhance proactive enforcement, investigations, and if needed, notification to the general public. The Sheriff's Department is decentralizing its metropolitan patrol. A substation has been established in Rosedale and an expansion of the current sub station in East Bakersfield is being planned. Along with the BPD, the Sheriff is reviewing the feasibility of a County/City substation in the southern area of Bakersfield. These community substations allow law enforcement to get closer to the community it serves. The Sheriff's Department conducts community policing public awareness campaigns as an integral component of its Crime Prevention and Neighborhood Watch programs, which are administered by the Sheriff's Community Resources Division.
Action item 5: Should a survey of residents' safety concerns be able to be funded, the Sheriff recommends that the survey be professional developed in collaboration with representatives for the Sheriff's Department and the Bakersfield City Police Department.
Action item 6: Current development standards for public streets, commercial development, and public areas require adequate lighting. Landscaping is also required, although those standards are under review.
Strategy #7 (Action Plan #22 in Quality of Life): Encourage inclusiveness and tolerance of other cultures with elementary school curricula and life-long learning classes.
Significant progress noted, efforts are ongoing.
Action Item 1: Currently many school districts offer curricula to encourage tolerance and inclusiveness. We are currently assessing where gaps may exist and how we might ensure that those gaps are filled. One program, that may become a model for others to emulate, is a nationally chartered program for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America called a "World of Difference." This intolerance and cultural awareness curriculum will soon be implemented at our local Boys & Girls Club sites.
Strategy #8 (Action Plan #25 in Quality of Life): Perpetuate the family-friendly culture of our city through intergenerational activities; include single parent families.
Significant progress noted, efforts are ongoing.
Action Item 1, 2: The senior collaborative is actively working to enhance activities for seniors and how it might increase the opportunity for intergenerational activities.
Strategy #9 (Action Plan #26 in Quality of Life): Provide resources for teens that are mentally ill and/or chemically dependent.
Significant progress noted, efforts are ongoing.
Action Item 1: During the past few years, the Kern County Mental Health System of Care has dramatically expanded services to youth with mental illness. The Department is now in the process of coordinating and enhancing services to youth with substance abuse problems.
The Mental Health Board and the Substance Abuse Board combined to become the Kern County Behavioral Health Board. The Department is committed to ensuring that is has coordinated and comprehensive mental health and substance abuse services for the youth and the families it serves. The Behavioral Health Board created the Children's Treatment and Recovery Services subcommittee. This group is assessing the availability of residential and outpatient facilities for the chemically dependent youth.
The Mental Health, Human Services, and Probation department are addressing the residential resources and needs for youth in our community. These Departments are working closely with a group, Reconcile Residential Treatment center, which is pursuing the implementation of a high level group home here in Bakersfield. These county agencies are also working together to pursue special funding and services that will allow youth to be maintained in their homes or foster homes and not require residential placement. The Mental Health Department has begun to provide intensive Therapeutic Behavioral Services in the youth's living environment.
Strategy #10 (Action Plan #27 in Quality of Life): Provide youth exiting the foster care system with scholarships, housing, etc. to encourage higher education as well as technical schools.
Significant progress noted, efforts are ongoing.
Accomplishments toward assuring transitional housing for foster youth aging out of the system include the opening of Building Blocks on Belle Terrace. Also, the Kinship Center opened October of 2001. This facility consolidates foster care and youth programs under one umbrella.
A committee comprised of representatives of Probation, Mental Health and the Human Services Departments has been established to provide services for youth transitioning out of the Mental Health Children's System of Care, Social Services, or Juvenile Probation systems. The Kern Youth to Adult Project's target population includes youth aged 14 to 21 years. The Kern Youth to Adult Project Committee has established several subcommittees to identify services delivery gaps and formulate action plans to address these gaps. Subcommittees of the Kern Youth to Adult Project Committee include mental health, transportation, health, housing, employment, and education. The Project's objectives are to meet the needs of expanding population of youth who are aging out of the Mental Health Children's System of Care, Social Services or Juvenile Probation systems and to develop additional support systems to provide guidance and direction to youth transitioning into adulthood.
The Project's desired client outcomes are: a decrease in homelessness or time spent in acute and sub-acute facilities and in the number of criminal convictions within the first two years following a youths emancipation; an increase in the ability to live independently and be self-sufficient; employability; awareness of services and support systems. The Project's goals also include increasing the collaboration between public and private agencies, and increasing the number of emancipated youth served.
On June 5, 2001, the Board of Supervisors relayed to the legislature its strong support of increased funding for foster family home rate increase, expanded the Foster Youth Services Program for educational services, increased funding for foster parent recruitment and retention, and transitional housing and support for foster youth aging out of the foster care system. In this legislative session, the Governor signed AB 427 adding an additional $18 million for programs aimed at helping foster youth transition to independence. Unfortunately, there is a 60% county match required. The Board of Supervisors will continue to advocate for increased State funding for these programs assisting foster children and youth.
Strategy #11 (Action Plan #28 in Quality of Life): Offer leadership training for high school students.
Accomplished, monitoring and support efforts continue.
Action Item 1: Youth Leadership training program was developed as a class project of Team Three of the 2001 Leadership Bakersfield Class. The Chamber implemented the program in January 2002, with first year funding from Partnerships Plus.
Strategy #12 (Action Plan #29 in Quality of Life): Promote and support youth councils throughout the community.
Significant progress noted, efforts are ongoing.
Action Item 1, 2: The Kern County 4-H hosted a "Local Conversation" as part of a national conversation to find ways to improve the future of youth. The ideas that came out of our "Local Conversation" will be presented at a State level, then eventually be reported at a national level, and finally be presented to President Bush in spring of 2002. The Youth & Family Vision Force will see how we might assist in turning the main ideas into action. The Mayor has a very active Youth Advisory Council, which has a representative from each of the area high schools. They have monthly meetings with the Mayor to learn about local government and they participate in community projects. The Mayor is also actively involved in Teen Government Day, which provides high school students an opportunity to learn about city government, and services by shadowing the City Council, city managers and department heads. There is also a Youth Development Coalition which consists of government officials, local business owners, law enforcement professionals and educators which has a mission to work with non-profits to provide support for those activities which serve the needs of at risk youth. Several youth conferences that take place including the Leaders in Life Youth Conference and the Center for Kern Political Education (BC) planned events. No need for additional conferences.
Strategy #13 & #14 (Action Plan #30 and #31 in Quality of Life): Provide a myriad of choices for those in need of childcare.
Significant progress, action item's #2, #3, #4 are complete, efforts are ongoing.
The County financially supports the Local Child Care Planning Council whose responsibility it is to identify child acre needs and develop plans to meet those needs. The County's zoning ordinance already allows day care centers in all commercial zones. It is noted that there is a day care center located adjacent to the County's Human Services department's facility. The need for additional day care centers in or near all large government facilities has not been identified. Incentivizing day care facilities would require much additional evaluation and consideration.
Regarding Cal-ID LiveScan machines that are used for applicant fingerprints are installed in two Bakersfield sites. The machines are expensive ($45,000-$50,000), and attendant costs include training and maintenance ($9,000 per year). The Sheriff has noted the possibility of the Department of Justice grants for installing these machines at other public agency locations, if they meet the California policy for Live Scan device placement. Also, applicant fingerprinting can be done via contract with a mobile fingerprinting agency.
Action Items 2, 3, (strategy #14): Completed.
Strategy #15 (Action Plan #9 in Community Planning): Involve youth in re-developing blighted neighborhoods.
Accomplished, monitoring and support efforts continue.
Action Item 1: Blighted neighborhoods in Southeast Bakersfield, East Bakersfield, Oildale and 34th Street have activities involving youth in redevelopment activities in conjunction with their local community based collaboratives. Other communities are beginning to use their efforts as models to emulate ways to improve their neighborhoods.
