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Extraído del Informe Consolidado
Esta investigación fue publicada originalmente como parte de un informe consolidado más amplio que contiene múltiples investigaciones. Consulte el PDF consolidado para ver el documento completo.
Los Angeles County Grand Jury
• 2013-2014
7. Maintenance Issues and Living Conditions at Juvenile Halls
⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings 8 findings
F1
Page 187
In 2009, First 5 LA adopted a five-year Strategic Plan that called for making significant investments in a Place-Based Strategy. The new plan called for discontinuing funding of initiative-based direct services on a countywide basis and to concentrate funding to targeted communities with the goal of making a greater impact with the Agency’s investments.
F2
Page 187
The Implementation Plan called for spending $405 to $540 million over five years, or an average of $81 to $108 million per year on Place-Based activities in 14 high needs communities. $270 to $405 million per year were also allocated to Countywide Strategies, aimed at improving policies and services for children ages 0–5 in the 14 communities and beyond.
F3
Page 187
The budgeted amount for both Place-Based activities and Countywide Strategies for the three years ending in FY 2012-13 was $158 million, but actual expenditures were significantly below that amount, at $61.4 million, or only 39 percent of the amount budgeted.
F4
Page 187
Most of the $61.4 million in actual expenditures went towards funding Countywide Strategies policy and advocacy work; the amount expended on Place-Based activities in the 14 communities was only $14.6 million over the three years ending in FY 2012-13, significantly lower than the $65.1 million budgeted for activities in the 14 communities during those three years.
F5
Page 187
The new Strategic Plan included a roadmap for ending support to Prior Strategic Initiatives grants. The Agency has not implemented this component of the Plan and continues to fund several of these grantees. In addition, the Agency adopted other 156 2013-2014 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY FINAL REPORT FIRST 5 LA SERVING THE COMMUNITY? Countywide Initiatives in 2010. Spending on these two categories of grants has greatly exceeded spending on Strategic Plan components as a percentage of annual expenditures.
F6
Page 188
During the Agency’s “pause” on Place-Based Strategy funding in FY 2012-13, it appears that the right questions were raised, as to the core results to be achieved for families and communities. It took First 5 LA several years after implementation of the Place-Based Strategy to ask these questions and to develop quantitative metrics to monitor impact suggests insufficient planning for the new strategy. It contributed to a loss of momentum in activities for the newly formed Community Partnerships in the 14 designated communities.
F7
Page 188
The Agency’s own inquiry into implementation of the Place- Based Strategy, known as the Listening, Learning, Leading (L3) effort, concluded that the Strategic Plan was not being used as a guide to Agency funding and that new performance measures needed to be adopted. The Agency has adopted new performance measures after three years of minimal assessment of outcomes for its Place-Based Initiatives but the new measures have yet to be reported on. These measures do not cover the Countywide Initiatives that still comprise the bulk of what First 5 LA is funding.
F8
Page 188
While this audit was underway, the First 5 LA Commission adopted new Governance Guidelines that call for new programs and initiatives to be aligned with the Agency’s strategic plans, to have implementation timelines and to have specific outcomes and performance measures. If followed, all of these guidelines should help the Agency avoid some of the problems encountered in rolling out its Place-Based Strategy.
Recommendations 4
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R1Page 180Family Strengthening
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R2Page 180Community Capacity Building
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R3Page 180Systems Improvement Initiatives The Strategic Plan also included Countywide Strategies as a separate, but complimentary, component of the plan. In the 2010 Implementation Plan for the 2009-2015 Strategic Plan, the Family Strengthening and Community Capacity Building components are described in greater detail. The Systems Improvement Initiatives were combined with the Countywide Strategies. According to the early strategic documents, First 5 LA envisioned that the Countywide Strategies would develop strong, coordinated and responsive systems to support families and improve outcomes for children prenatal through five years of age. Figure 2.1 presents brief descriptions of the three components of First 5 LA’s Place-Based Strategy. 159 2013-2014 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY FINAL REPORT FIRST 5 LA SERVING THE COMMUNITY? Figure 2.1: Description of the Place-Based Components and Countywide Strategies Strategy Component Description Place-Based Strategy The Place-Based Approach is comprised of the three components below. Family Strengthening Investments to provide intensive, direct services to at-risk families. This component consists primarily of support for the “Welcome Baby!” and other home visitation programs. Community Capacity Seen as a vehicle for partnering Building with communities. Goal is to organize and train residents and organizations to advocate for themselves. Investments in this area have primarily supported the development of 14 Community Partnerships. Systems Improvement Activities designed to impact the larger structures affecting child well-being in the 14 communities. Countywide Strategies The countywide strategies are to consist of investments in seven areas, namely 1) Public Policy, 2) Public Education, 3) Resource Mobilization, 4) Workforce Development, 5) Data Systems Integration, 6) Health Access, and 7) Information Resource and Referral. Source: FY 2009-2015 Strategic Plan and 2010 Implementation Plan The components of the Place-Based Strategy and Countywide Strategies have not been presented consistently in budget and expenditure documents, thus making it difficult to track spending by activity over time. In fact, less detail has been presented over time in the Agency’s budget documents. A review of Agency budgets and expenditure reports illustrates this point. The names given to the Place-Based Initiative components changed between FYs 2010-2011 and 2013-2014. In the final two years, the investments in this category are referred to in a single line item as Best Start. 160 2013-2014 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY FINAL REPORT FIRST 5 LA SERVING THE COMMUNITY? This change is consistent with the restructuring of the Place-Based Strategy that occurred upon the adoption by the Commission of the Best Start Family Framework in June, 2013. However, collapsing spending records for different program elements into one budget category reduces the transparency of the Agency’s financial documents, as well as the Commission’s ability to provide oversight, and the level of disclosure provided to the public. Figure 2.2 presents budgeted amounts for the various program components that comprised Place-Based Initiatives in FYs 2010-11 through 2013-14, including program components that were transferred in and out of the Place-Based Initiative category. Figure 2.2: Changes in Budget Presentation for Place-Based & other Initiative Expenditures, FYs 2010-11 through 2013-14 FY 2010-‐11 FY 2011-‐12 FY 2012-‐13 FY 2013-‐14 Place-‐based Initiatives (PBI) Partnership Development 1 0,303,500 4 ,340,000 not disclosed not disclosed Community Capacity Building 3 ,545,000 9 ,680,000 not disclosed not disclosed Data Systems Integration 2 0 0,000 moved to: CWS moved to: CWS moved to: CWS Public Education 1 ,550,000 moved to: CWS moved to: CWS moved to: CWS Transition 1 ,700,000 one year only one year only one year only Family Strengthening -‐ 2 ,815,000 not disclosed not disclosed Best Start not disclosed shown in Prior SP 3 1,119,349 2 2,851,676 Total Place-‐based Initiatives 1 7,298,500 1 6,835,000 3 1,119,349 2 2,851,676 Prior Strategic Plan Investments (PSP) Best Start 5 6,538,000 9 ,465,000 moved to: PBI moved to: PBI Countywide Strategies (CWS) Data Systems Integration in PBI 1 ,165,000 3 7 5,000 1 ,436,150 Public Education in PBI 2 ,100,000 3 2 0,000 2 ,459,500 Source: Unaudited financials, and Agency budget documents, FYs 2010-11 to 2013-14 Between FY 2010-11, (the first year of the Place-Based Strategy) and FY 2013-14, details on spending in each of the key components changed. It contained decreasing levels of detail of how the monies were being spent in the latter two years. It is not possible to discern from Agency documents how funding was allocated between the distinctly different components of Family Strengthening, Community Capacity Building, and Partnership Development in FYs 2012-13 and 2013-14. Expenditures for these components were folded into the single “Best Start” budget line item. The term Best Start was also used in budget documents for the pilot program in Metro LA, which contained the same three components of the Place-Based Strategy. Collapsing this expenditure information in 161 2013-2014 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY FINAL REPORT
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R7Page 181Information Resource and Referral. Source: FY 2009-2015 Strategic Plan and 2010 Implementation Plan The components of the Place-Based Strategy and Countywide Strategies have not been presented consistently in budget and expenditure documents, thus making it difficult to track spending by activity over time. In fact, less detail has been presented over time in the Agency’s budget documents. A review of Agency budgets and expenditure reports illustrates this point. The names given to the Place-Based Initiative components changed between FYs 2010-2011 and 2013-2014. In the final two years, the investments in this category are referred to in a single line item as Best Start. 160 2013-2014 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY FINAL REPORT FIRST 5 LA SERVING THE COMMUNITY? This change is consistent with the restructuring of the Place-Based Strategy that occurred upon the adoption by the Commission of the Best Start Family Framework in June, 2013. However, collapsing spending records for different program elements into one budget category reduces the transparency of the Agency’s financial documents, as well as the Commission’s ability to provide oversight, and the level of disclosure provided to the public. Figure 2.2 presents budgeted amounts for the various program components that comprised Place-Based Initiatives in FYs 2010-11 through 2013-14, including program components that were transferred in and out of the Place-Based Initiative category. Figure 2.2: Changes in Budget Presentation for Place-Based & other Initiative Expenditures, FYs 2010-11 through 2013-14 FY 2010-‐11 FY 2011-‐12 FY 2012-‐13 FY 2013-‐14 Place-‐based Initiatives (PBI) Partnership Development 1 0,303,500 4 ,340,000 not disclosed not disclosed Community Capacity Building 3 ,545,000 9 ,680,000 not disclosed not disclosed Data Systems Integration 2 0 0,000 moved to: CWS moved to: CWS moved to: CWS Public Education 1 ,550,000 moved to: CWS moved to: CWS moved to: CWS Transition 1 ,700,000 one year only one year only one year only Family Strengthening -‐ 2 ,815,000 not disclosed not disclosed Best Start not disclosed shown in Prior SP 3 1,119,349 2 2,851,676 Total Place-‐based Initiatives 1 7,298,500 1 6,835,000 3 1,119,349 2 2,851,676 Prior Strategic Plan Investments (PSP) Best Start 5 6,538,000 9 ,465,000 moved to: PBI moved to: PBI Countywide Strategies (CWS) Data Systems Integration in PBI 1 ,165,000 3 7 5,000 1 ,436,150 Public Education in PBI 2 ,100,000 3 2 0,000 2 ,459,500 Source: Unaudited financials, and Agency budget documents, FYs 2010-11 to 2013-14 Between FY 2010-11, (the first year of the Place-Based Strategy) and FY 2013-14, details on spending in each of the key components changed. It contained decreasing levels of detail of how the monies were being spent in the latter two years. It is not possible to discern from Agency documents how funding was allocated between the distinctly different components of Family Strengthening, Community Capacity Building, and Partnership Development in FYs 2012-13 and 2013-14. Expenditures for these components were folded into the single “Best Start” budget line item. The term Best Start was also used in budget documents for the pilot program in Metro LA, which contained the same three components of the Place-Based Strategy. Collapsing this expenditure information in 161 2013-2014 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY FINAL REPORT