Health, Education, and Social Services Committee Mission Statement The mission of the Health, Education, and Social

Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F23, F24, F25, F26, F27, F28, F29, F30, F31

Comments 9

• CO1
  I. The following statistics for 2014 were provided by the Director:
• CO2
  Children admitted ages • 0–5 701 • 6–12 409 • 13–17 368 Total admitted 1,478
• CO3
  Destination of children released from the Center: • 15% returned home • 6% placed with relatives • 20% placed in foster homes • 3% placed in group homes • 48% to emergency foster homes • 8% other: Juvenile hall, hospitals FINDINGS: F1. In a previous report it was noted the outdoor sign was in need of repair. At the time of the visit it was noted that thesignhadbeen replaced. F2. The 10 minute introductory video shown on admission was viewed by HESS. The video was found to be very informative and not inneed ofupdating at this time. F3. The furniture in the lobby and visitation rooms are heavily worn. The Director is in the process ofreplacingthe existing furniture. F4. The cafeteria serves three meals and two snacksa dayto the children.The Kern County Health Department inspected the food services andissuedan “A” rating. F5. The building is protected by a new closed circuit video system and recordings are kept for a minimum of two weeks. Thehigh qualitycameras and the Digital Video Recorder wereprofessionally installed. F6. The Kern County Superintendent of Schools (KCSS) oversees the two class room school.The classrooms are separatefrom the Center’smain building.The interiors were inviting and well equipped. KCSS maintains all student educational records. 178 F7. Children are rated on a behavioral scale from 1 the lowest, to 4 the highest. On admission,all children are rated a 2. If the child has known high risk behaviors the number is adjusted according to their behavioral history. They can quickly earnahigher number with good behavior. F8. Paid jobs are available to children who achieve a three or four rating. The jobs allow them to earn gift cards upon their placement. F9. Field trips will be offered to children with a two or higher rating. These trips could includepizza parlors, bowling alleys, movie theaters, CALM and beaches. F10. If a child cannot be medically treated by a staff member,they are taken to Kern Medical Center. If the child needs ablood draw or other minor procedures they are taken to SagebrushPediatric Care Center. F11. Children’s medications are controlled by the Registered Nurse (RN). Medicationsare kept in a locked cabinet.The RNdispenses the medications into individual doses. In the event she is unavailable to administer the medication a staff member gives the child the medication. F12. The interior walls of the hallways were covered in reinforced fiberglass plastic paneling making them easy to clean and extremely hard to damage. F13. They have anewlydesignatedmusic roomwhere staff and volunteers work with the children. Instruments for the program have been donated. F14. The outdoor playground has a canopy fully covering the play equipment. F15. The exterior of the building and trim is in need of repair.The exterior color coat has numerous areas whereit is peeling. F16. The Center has experienced a reduction in the volunteer force. The current cost to become a volunteer is $108.00 upfront, the cost of the backgroundscreening. The County will reimburse the volunteer after 6 months of service, but the upfront cost seems to be the deterrent. COMMENTS: The 2015-2016 Kern County Grand Jury would like to thank the Director and staff for taking the time to show us the Center and the operations. The tour was very informative and thorough. HESS was impressed with the enthusiasm of the Director and staff throughout the facility. 179
• CO4
  The Miriam Jamison Children’s Center should post a copy of this report where it will be available for public review.
• CO5
  Persons wishing to receive an email notification of newly released reports may sign up at: www.co.kern.kern.ca.us/grandjury.
• CO6
  Present and past Kern County Grand Jury Final Reports and Responses can be accessed on the Kern County Grand Jury website: www.co.kern.ca.us/grandjury. RESPONSE REQUIRED WITHIN 90 DAYS PRESIDING JUDGE KERN COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT 1415 TRUXTUN AVENUE, SUITE 212 BAKERSFIELD, CA 93301 CC: FOREPERSON KERN COUNTY GRAND JURY 1415 TRUXTUN AVENUE, SUITE 600 BAKERSFIELD, CA 93301 180 181 REGIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CENTER KERN HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT “THE SCHOOL THAT CHANGES LIVES” SUMMARY: The Regional Occupational Center Program (ROC) is truly a lesser known entity of the Kern High School District (KHSD). No one that visits the facility could leave not being impressed. The cleanliness of the grounds would not be expected as the campus serves about 900 students each day. The curriculum is not to be believed. The courses consist of Fire Fighting, Law Enforcement, Welding, Auto Body, Diesel Mechanics, Agriculture (Ag), Medical, Child Care and Computer Classes just to mention a few. PURPOSE OF INQUIRY: The 2015-2016 Kern County Grand Jury (Grand Jury) Health, Education and Social Service Committee (HESS) visited ROC at 501 South Mt. Vernon Avenue, Bakersfield, California pursuant to the California Penal Code §§925 and 933 authorizing the Grand Jury to investigate and report on departments throughout Kern County. HESS had reviewed previous reports and was interested in the levels of funding and what changes have been made in recent years at the Center. PROCESS: The Committee interviewed the Supervising Administrator for ROC. In addition a tour of the facility on Mt. Vernon Avenue was conducted. The website was studied and literature made available to the Committee was reviewed. BACKGROUND: ROC is a KHSD facility where high school juniors, seniors and adults take courses designed to prepare students for entry-level employment. Students are trained so they may be able to apply and pass the certification tests in their field of study. The certification rate for some courses is as high as 90%. The overall average is about 50%. Their creed: “We believe that preparing students with the skills required to perform entry-level functions in the work world is our primary task.” 182 FACTS: A. ROC is a program of the KHSD. B. The goal is to supply the necessary skills to students so they can qualify for an entry- level position upon graduation and put them on a path for postsecondary education. C. Most students are bussed to the ROC location for 3 hour classes, (morning or afternoon sessions), from 17 schools in KHSD. D. Class size averages 30 students. E. Some classes are taught by business leaders from the community. Years of experience in the field they are teaching makes them well qualified to help the students. F. KHSD’s 2015 graduation rate was 79.8%, an increase of 3.4% over 2014. The program is a contributing factor in the higher rate of high school graduates. G. The ROC program is funded from the KHSD Budget. Their portion of that budget for 2014 was $5,351,782. H. There are currently 57 employees on the staff at the ROC facility. I. Bus transportation budget in 2013-2014 was $454,162. J. ROC has many outside business partners to help in the placement of students who achieve a certificate in their field. K. Outside business partners also assist in supplying materials and instruction for students. L. These five classes have the highest placement rates for students obtaining certificates:  Business, Banking & Finance  Nursing Assistant  Medical Assistant  Welding  Auto Technology M. Other courses offered include:  Ag/Diesel Mechanics  Law Enforcement  Early Childhood Education  Office Occupations  Animal Care  Food Science  Auto Body and Fender  Cisco Networking Academy  Fashion Merchandising  Fire Fighting  Retail Sales  Metal Fabrication 183 N. Recently added new courses include:  Mobile App Development  Robotics Engineering  3D Animation & Video Game Design  Video Game Programming  Pharmacy Tech  Physical Therapy Tech/Sports O. Students are given instruction on completing job applications as well as writing and maintaining current resumes. P. Students are made aware of the importance of attendance, appearance, safety programs, written communication and need for good verbal communication. Q. Approximately 900 students are enrolled in the ROC programs. FINDINGS: F1. The grounds of the campus were exceptionally clean. The classrooms were well organized and students appeared engaged as we toured the campus. F2. The teaching materials available to the instructors were exceptional. Examples of these items include:  Diesel engines for the students to tear down and reassemble in the ag/diesel mechanics classes  Firefighting equipment for the classes including full suits, breathing apparatus, fire pump engine and an extensive array of firefighting tools  A fully equipped auto shop includes vehicle lifts, alignment rack, numerous tool boxes and brake machine  A body shop with 2 state of the art paint booths, a wide variety of body tools and a very enthusiastic instructor  Welding classes have facilities to teach anything from basic techniques to the more complex, including overhead welding  The computer classroom has quite an impressive array of 64 new PC computers, very organized, to make the most of the teachers’ time. In addition there are numerous repair and troubleshooting stations to teach repair techniques  The Ag teachers have a vast array of equipment from large tractors to combines and other assorted farm implements F3. ROC campus has a full functioning Kern Schools Credit Union office, staffed by students from the Banking and Finance Class. They are supervised by an employee of the Credit Union. F4. The enrollment is only limited by space at this time. Additional programs at each high school will help relieve the load at the Mt. Vernon campus. 184 F5. There are plans to open a second campus on the west side of Bakersfield in the near future. F6. ROC is not well known nor understood by the general public. F7. The non-high school population is less than 10% and there is a waiting list. F8. The administrators of the ROC program are looking at new courses to help train the students. F9. Many of the programs allow the public to bring in projects for the students to work on and allow the student to get on the job training. Some examples are:  Auto Technology students do actual brake jobs, front end work, suspension service and other minor repairs  Animal Care students bathe and groom small animals for no charge to gain experience in the field  Welding students build items for non-profits and county groups. One example observed was the class building skateboard racks for a high school. COMMENTS: The Committee would like to thank the Supervising Administrator of ROC, the instructors and staff for the enlightening tour of a facility that can truly change the lives of high school students.
• CO7
  The Kern High School District should post a copy of this report where it will be available for public review.
• CO8
  Persons wishing to receive an email notification of newly released reports may sign up at: www.co.kern.ca.us/grandjury.
• CO9
  Present and past Kern County Grand Jury Final Reports and Responses can be accessed on the Kern County Grand Jury website: www.co.kern.ca.us/grandjury. RESPONSE REQUIRED WITHIN 90 DAYS PRESIDING JUDGE KERN COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT 1415 TRUXTUN AVENUE, SUITE 212 BAKERSFIELD, CA 93301 CC: FOREPERSON KERN COUNTY GRAND JURY 1415 TRUXTUN AVENUE, SUITE 600 BAKERSFIELD, CA 93301 186 187 188 189 190

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