Title
Public Health Department recommending the Board approve and authorize, in-concept, the El Dorado County Public Health Department to apply for the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) Allocations to Counties for Children's Outreach, Enrollment, Retention, and Utilization (OERU) Activities by responding to the Request for Plans and Budgets.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Approve.
Body
Background: The Public Health Department is the County agency, appointed by the Board of Supervisors as the lead for the safety net provider coalition and current children's health coverage activities. Therefore, Public Health is the agency required to submit the County's OERU plan and budget and to provide the fiscal and administrative oversight and accountability of the OERU plan and budget. Counties must use the allocation funding to enhance, not supplant, currently established funding sources for children's health coverage activities.
CDHS strongly supports and encourages counties to partner with the California Service Corps AmeriCorps program, acting on the opportunity to maximize current children's health coverage funding by providing a low cost way to hire interns/trainees to assist in OERU activities. CDHS is supporting a statewide intermediary agency to contract for AmeriCorp members. Counties that receive allocations will use some of the funding to pay for the annual $24,000 per FTE AmeriCorp intern/trainee cost.
Reason for Recommendation: The purpose of this CDHS OERU Request for Plans and Budgets is to provide funding to counties for targeted activities that will build on local efforts to enroll eligible, but uninsured children in the Medi-Cal and Healthy Families program.
El Dorado County meets the eligibility criteria for funding because the County can demonstrate an established infrastructure for children's outreach and enrollment and document a well established safety net provider coalition.
Public Health anticipates proposing to use the allocation to fund four FTE AmeriCorp members, a 0.7 FTE Health Education Coordinator, and a 0.25 Supervising Health Education Coordinator plus all operational and indirect costs associated with the OERU plan.
Fiscal Impact/Change to Net County Cost: This proposal would provide up to $864,000 (up to $288,000 per FY 06-07, 07-08, and 08-09) to implement the OERU activities. The funding allocation may be used for personnel salaries and benefits, operating expenses such as rent, equipment, travel and outreach materials, and indirect costs. There is no cost to the County's General Fund.
Action to be taken following Board approval: Department to prepare and submit OERU plan and budget, and all supporting documentation, to CDHS for allocation funding; Department to return to Board for approval and signature authority of CDHS approved OERU plan, budget and agreement.