TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute an agreement, and all necessary subsequent documents, subcontracts, and subsequent amendments, including any amendment to the award amount, with First 5 LA to accept and expend grant funding in the amount of $500,000 for the Help Me Grow LA (HMG LA) Pathways project, for the period beginning July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2025, with the option to extend the agreement for three additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager; and
Increase appropriations in the Health Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department by $500,000 offset by grant revenue. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
In 2016, First 5 LA partnered with L.A. Care Health Plan, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) - California Chapter 2, to convene key stakeholders and experts across diverse sectors to engage in the early design and planning of a Help Me Grow (HMG) system for Los Angeles County.
HMG is a national model that includes four core components. These components are: 1) Centralized Access Points, 2) Community and Family Engagement, 3) Data Collection and Analysis, and 4) Child Health Provider Outreach. Each component is meant to help improve early identification and intervention (EII) by increasing developmental screenings, surveillance and promotion among service providers, and linking children and their families early to appropriate services and supports to help their child’s development.
First 5 LA and the LACDPH are joining with partners to ensure that all children get connected to the services they need. First 5 LA intends to establish a strategic partnership with the Health and Human Services Department (Health Department) to serve as the unifying agency for Community 7 under the HMG LA Pathways Project, a three-year investment that brings together agencies and programs, which provide EII services for developmental delays, with other agencies and families. The goal of HMG LA Pathways Project is to improve existing referral pathways through technology, infrastructure, and practice change to make sure all children get the services they need when they need it. The Health Department’s role would be to create a collaborative within the community and would be tasked with planning, testing, and refining strategies so that referral pathways in a community are more coordinated, integrated, and multidirectional.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Taylor M. Anderson on April 4, 2022 and by Budget Analysis Officer Greg Sorensen on April 7, 2022.
EQUITY LENS
The City has incorporated the Equity Toolkit in this recommendation, as requested by the City Council on April 21, 2020. The services derived from this contract were completed in accordance with procurement procedures. Efforts to utilize an equity lens will include deliberate community engagement with communities (e.g., Asian American/Asian, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, African American/Black, Latinx, and other communities) who have historically faced barriers to accessing early identification and intervention services.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on May 3, 2022, to allow the Health Department to begin the program as soon as possible.
FISCAL IMPACT
The City will receive funding in the amount of $500,000 for the Help Me Grow LA (HMG LA) Pathways project. An appropriation increase is requested in the amount of $500,000 in the Health Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department, offset by grant revenue. There is no match or in-kind service mandate required. This recommendation has no staffing impact beyond the normal budgeted scope of duties and is consistent with existing City Council priorities. There is no local job impact associated with this recommendation.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
KELLY COLOPY
DIRECTOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
APPROVED:
THOMAS B. MODICA
CITY MANAGER