SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 3
CS&B COMMITTEE AGENDA
JUNE 27, 1996
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: June 17, 1996
TO: Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets
FROM: Director of Community Services, Social Planning
SUBJECT: KidSafe Funding Request
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Council approve a Program Stabilization grant of $5,000
for the 1996 KidSafe Summer Program. Source of funds: 1996
Childcare Grants Program, 1996 Operating Budget.
CONSIDERATION
B. THAT Council consider a one-time emergency grant of $25,000
for the 1996 KidSafe Summer Program. Source of funds: 1996
Contingency Reserve.
C. THAT if Council approves the emergency grant noted in B, the
following conditions should apply:
i) release of funds be subject to confirmation of receipt
of matching contributions from the Province of British
Columbia; and
ii) the KidSafe Board agrees to forward an end of summer
report to Council about the services provided, the
number of children served, the partnerships
developed and the expenses incurred.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services submits A, B and C for
CONSIDERATION.
COUNCIL POLICY
Approval of grants requires eight affirmative votes.
PURPOSE
This report proposes possible action regarding the request from
KidSafe Society for an emergency one-time grant of $30,000 towards
their 1996 KidSafe Summer Program.
BACKGROUND
The KidSafe project was launched by the Vancouver Sun Children's Fund
in the fall of 1993. The goal was to provide safe havens for "at
risk" elementary school children during times when schools are
traditionally closed. Four inner-city schools in the East Broadway
corridor participate in the project: Grandview/Uuqinak'uuh, Queen
Alexandra, Florence Nightingale and Mount Pleasant. Four community
agencies, (Mount Pleasant Community Centre, Trout Lake Community
Centre, Britannia Community Education and Boys and Girls Club) use
these schools to deliver the KidSafe program on behalf of the KidSafe
board. To date, KidSafe has offered recreational and creative play
programs, food services and clothing exchanges during the school
vacations at no cost, for identified "at risk" students aged 5-12
years attending the four designated schools. Children are referred to
the program by school principals, teachers, police liaison officers,
health professionals and social workers.
In late 1995, the Vancouver Sun Children's Fund turned the KidSafe
project over to be administered by a community board. Funding for the
1996 Summer Program became an immediate priority for the new board
members, when the start-up funding from the Sun Fund came to an end in
March 1996.
On April 18, 1996, a KidSafe Board member made an initial request for
information about City funding possibilities. On May 22, 1996, a
letter requesting a one-time emergency grant of $30,000 was received.
Additional program and budget informa-tion has since been received
(see Appendices I and II).
DISCUSSION
After reviewing the materials submitted by the KidSafe board and
engaging in discussions with neighbourhood groups, Social Planning
staff have determined that the KidSafe Project is meeting an important
need in the East Broadway corridor area. In this inner-city
neighbourhood, licensed childcare options for school-aged children are
in short supply and are inacces-sible to "at risk" children when their
families do not qualify for a childcare subsidy through the Ministry
of Social Services (to qualify the parent must be working/studying/
actively looking for work, or the child must designated "special
needs"
or deemed urgently in need of "protection services"). Traditional
summer recreational programs (unlicensed), which are offered through
the Boys & Girls Club, Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House, Britannia,
Mount Pleasant Community Centre and Trout Lake Community Centre have
served many children in the area, but these programs rely upon
families registering their children on a first come first served
basis, paying a small user fee and delivering their children to the
program site. This left some of the most needy and at risk children
without the support and activities they needed during the school
holiday periods. It was noted that these children were spending
considerable time on the school playgrounds and in local parks
unsupervised and unattended. The KidSafe project was established as
an unlicensed summer drop-in program to address this need.
Anecdotal evaluations of the KidSafe Program indicate that it is
achieving beneficial results for "at risk" children. The school
principals and teachers are reporting that the children's re-entry
into school programming after the vacation period is over, is much
smoother because the children have been properly fed and
constructively involved during the vacation period. Furthermore,
because children have had the opportunity to do fun, recreational
activities within the school setting without the usual academic
pressures, their overall attitude about school is positively affected.
Another positive outcome of KidSafe is the emerging partnership
between the schools and the local community centre associations.
The KidSafe organization is going through a transition period. The
change over to a community board has not gone as smoothly as had been
hoped, although the board members' commitment and enthusiasm remains
high. Some of the project's past funding support is no longer
available and late applications have made it ineligible for other
funding sources for at least this fiscal year. The Board is
attempting to make some connections with other community
organizations, including licensed childcare operators in the area,
whose support and expertise were overlooked in the early days of the
project. There also remains some concerns about exactly how KidSafe
fits within the larger childcare continuum from a licensing and
funding perspective.
The "no fee" approach which ensures KidSafe is accessible to the most
needy children, poses major fundraising challenges for the KidSafe
Board and raises some concerns amongst other inner-city service
providers who have subsidized their user fee approach by applying for
grants and undertaking community fundraising. It is clear that a long
term collaborative planning process which involves KidSafe and all
other service providers in the area is essential to avoid the creation
of an unhealthy, competitive funding environment.
Despite these concerns, there is community consensus that the
immediate objective must be to ensure that the four KidSafe programs
are in place for this summer. There is a clear need for service for
"at risk" elementary school-aged children in the East Broadway
corridor and many families are counting on the service for this
summer. Attached in Appendix II is the KidSafe baseline summer
budget. This has been revised from the original projections of
$200,000 given the looming timeline of the end of school year and the
continuing funding shortfall. To date the KidSafe board has raised
$83,720. A number of expenses are being covered by in-kind
donations/services. The $30,000 requested from the City is earmarked
for salary and food costs.
Social Planning notes that the KidSafe request has missed all of the
usual civic grant deadlines except for the Childcare Program
Stabilization emergency grant program (maximum 1996 grant size
$5,000). Although the KidSafe program does not entirely meet the
criteria of the Childcare Grants program because it operates through
the recreational stream rather than as licensed childcare and it is
not a year round operation, the Childcare Co-ordinator is willing to
support a one time emergency grant of $5,000 being taken from the 1996
Childcare Grants budget. The board of KidSafe has asked that the
remaining $25,000 of the their request be put forward for Council
consideration for emergency funding from Contingency Reserve. Social
Planning notes that given the mandate for "at risk" children, youth
and families is primarily with the Province, any City funding should
be contingent upon at least a matching contribution by the Province.
Finally, staff recommend that if Council approves a grant to KidSafe,
the KidSafe board be asked to submit an end of summer report to
Council outlining the numbers served, the activities offered, the
partnerships forged and the expenses incurred.
Recognizing that emergency funding does not address the longer term
issue of sustainability, the KidSafe board and the Childcare
Co-ordinator have already agreed to work together with other child
oriented service providers in the inner-city to look at some of the
broader and longer term issues related to meeting the needs of "at
risk" children.
CONCLUSION
Social Planning is recommending a $5,000 Program Stabilization grant
be given to KidSafe for their 1996 Summer program. The KidSafe board
is requesting that the remaining $25,000 of the their emergency
request be considered by Council as a Contingency Reserve item. If
these grants are approved, staff note that the release of actual funds
should be subject to confirmation of matching contributions from the
Provincial Government and an agreement by the KidSafe board to submit
an end of summer report to Council.
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APPENDIX II
THE KIDSAFE PROJECT SOCIETY
1996 Summer Program Budget Projection revised June 10, 1996
A. EXPENDITURES
Program Salaries & Benefits $105,320
Food Program (incl. labour) 42,240
Excursions 12,820
Program Supplies 5,300
Admin. expenses 2,000
* Rent donated
** Admin. Co-ordination donated
Staff/volunteer training donated
TOTAL $167,680
B. CONFIRMED REVENUE
Federal Government Summer Career $ 33,300
CKNW Orphan's Fund 15,000
Ministry of Social Services 10,000
Ministry of Education 7,500
Fletcher Challenge 6,000
Police staff 5,000
Anonymous Food Donation 2,500
Anglican Church 2,000
Other cash donations 2,420
TOTAL $ 83,720
C. OUTSTANDING REVENUE REQUESTS
Emergency Request to City 30,000
Ministry of Ed. Social Equity (food) 42,240
Central City Mission 10,000
Other 1,720
TOTAL $ 83,960
* Rent is being provided free of charge by VSB (3 sites)
and Boys and Girls Club (1 site).
** Ministry of Social Services is providing a six month
co-ordinator to KidSafe (pro-rated value to summer
program $4,800).
KidSafe has applied to the Vancouver Sun Fund for $20,000 to fund an
additional literacy component. This has not been included in the
baseline budget as the program will only be offered if funding is
confirmed.
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