Fiscal Note
The proposed resolution authorizes CDD staff to conduct RFP processes in 2019, in accordance with the Neighborhood Center Support Policy Paper and the School-Age Child and Youth Development Policy Paper as the bases, and return funding allocation recommendations to the Common Council, for its approval, that would take effect on January 1, 2020.
The Community Development Division’s 2019 Adopted Operating Budget includes approximately $1.26 million of General Fund support for Neighborhood Center contracts and approximately $1.03 million of General Fund support for School-Age Child and Youth Development program contracts. Based on staff estimates, fully implementing the Center Support and School-Age Child and Youth Development RFP processes, as outlined in the accompanying policy papers, will require an additional resource commitment in the 2020 Operating Budget of between $320,000 and $475,000 over current funding levels and will be subject to Common Council approval.
Title
Accepting the Community Development Division (CDD) Neighborhood Center Support Policy Paper” and “School-Age Child and Youth Development Policy Paper” as the bases for structuring and conducting two Request for Proposals (RFP) processes, and authorizing the CDD to undertake those processes and recommend, for approval by the Common Council, funding allocation plans for each regarding awards and contracts to take effect on January 1, 2020
Body
The proposed resolution accepts the “Neighborhood Center Support Policy Paper” and “School-Age Child and Youth Development Policy Paper” and authorizes the Community Development Division to utilize these documents to undertake a funding process that will make recommendations to the Council for the allocation of funding in 2020.
In 2016, Forward Community Investments (FCI) completed, on behalf of the Common Council, an evaluation of CDD funding practices and offered recommendations to improve them. Center Support payments for neighborhood centers and School-Age Child and Youth Development funding are two of the last remaining major program areas to be subjected to an RFP process since its completion. Among the FCI-recommended modifications to RFP processes to which these policy papers will be responsive are:
• Establish clear, specific and standardized goals that reflect identified best practices and priorities
• Provide greater opportunity for input in developing goals and priorities
• Use data to help ensure funding is responsive to community needs
• Lengthen funding cycles (from two years to up to 5 years)
Neighborhood Centers and the broader system of child and youth development programming provide a network of valuable supports, particularly to low- and moderate- income families. City investments in these efforts improve the availability of quality out-of-school-time programming, access to experiences and relationships that contribute to positive youth engagement and development, and the presence in neighborhoods of organizations that focus on building community and improving the quality of life for City residents.
The goal of the Neighborhood Center and School-Age Child and Youth funding processes is to establish frameworks that better articulate performance expectations for contracted agencies, reflect best practices and community input, and improve transparency in funding structures that more clearly describe expectations for funded agencies.
WHEREAS, the City of Madison has a long-standing commitment of financial support to a group of 15 neighborhood centers as part of its strategy to build community, strengthen neighborhoods and improve the quality of life for disadvantaged individuals and families; and
WHEREAS, the City’s 2019 Adopted Operating Budget appropriates more than $1.3 million for Center Support payments made to 15 neighborhood centers located throughout the city, a sum that represents 51% of the City’s total annual financial commitments to neighborhood centers; and
WHEREAS, the City’s 2019 Adopted Operating Budget also appropriates more than $1 million to support ongoing School-Age Child and Youth Development program contracts, about $870,000 of which is allocated to neighborhood centers; and
WHEREAS, the Center Support contract amounts and the School-Age Child and Youth Development contract amounts are the product of Request for Proposals (RFP) processes conducted in 2013 (setting allocations for 2014); and
WHEREAS, the CDD, which is charged with administering these funds, is preparing to conduct new RFP processes that will establish Center Support and School-Age Child and Youth Development program allocations for 2020; and
WHEREAS, the CDD, with input from the Community Services Committee and Community Development Block Grant Committee, stakeholders, policy makers and residents has developed a Neighborhood Center Support Policy Paper outlining the parameters of a new funding model through which the City will allocate Center Support payments; and
WHEREAS, the Neighborhood Center Support Policy Paper sets forth a performance and financial framework intended to guide and strengthen the partnership between the City and the group of 15 currently supported neighborhood centers in order to better serve Madison residents; and,
WHEREAS, the framework sets forth benchmarks and expectations around four key areas -
1) focusing centers’ attention on serving individuals and families, particularly those with lower incomes, that reside in close proximity to the centers;
2) affording those residents meaningful opportunities to influence decisions regarding the services, programs, and activities the Centers offer;
3) striving to expand community access to centers including on nights and weekends; and
4) committing to provide Child and Youth Development programming that aligns with identified City standards and effective practices; and
WHEREAS, the new framework also simplifies and offers consistency to the Center Support payment structure by adopting a two-tiered approach that standardizes payment levels for centers based on shared attributes or characteristics; and
WHEREAS, the proposed framework insulates each of the 15 currently supported centers from funding reductions by adopting an approach that does not redistribute funds among centers, and by allowing centers under certain circumstances to transfer Center Support dollars for use in program support; and
WHEREAS, the CDD, also developed a School-Age Child and Youth Development Policy Paper identifying the program structures, effective practices, and cost estimates for a school-age child and youth development program continuum offered through neighborhood centers, as well as other community based organizations; and
WHEREAS, the School-Age Child and Youth Development Policy Paper incorporates a set of effective practices, developed through the Madison Out-of-School-Time Initiative in consultation with numerous stakeholders and community groups; and
WHEREAS, since Neighborhood Center Support and School-Age Child and Youth Development program allocations have not been subject to an RFP process since 2013, there has not been opportunity for agencies to seek funding to offset cost increases or program changes; and
WHEREAS, in recent years, there has been an influx of new organizations performing high quality services in support of child and youth development through CDD’s Emerging Opportunities Program and other short-term grants, and staff anticipate these organizations will seek further City funding; and
WHEREAS, based on staff estimates, fully implementing the Center Support and School-Age Child and Youth Development RFP processes, as outlined in the accompanying policy papers, will require an additional resource commitment in the 2020 Operating Budget of between $320,000 and $475,000 over current funding levels.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Common Council accepts and approves the Neighborhood Center Support Policy Paper and the School-Age Child and Youth Development Policy Paper as the bases for developing corresponding Request for Proposals processes; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council authorizes CDD staff to conduct those RFP processes in 2019 and return funding allocation recommendations to the Common Council, for its approval, that would take effect on January 1, 2020.