BOCC and Children's Services Advisory Board Meet for Joint Work Session

BRADENTON – At Tuesday's Manatee County Commission work session, members reviewed their FY15/16 priorities and FY17 goals for issues related to children and family services. The session got off to a rough start, with a bit of confrontation about why a Children's Services Advisory Board member was kicked off.

Community Services Director Brenda Rogers sent Jennifer Radebach an email this week–and copies to all seven commissioners–that announced Radebach would no longer be on the CSAB.

Commissioner Robin DiSabatino was incensed with the method used and what she called a lack of communication and proper procedural action by the administration.

"Last week we discussed this, and we agreed (her emphasis) to discuss this again before we took any action," said Commissioner DiSabatino, adding, "and you emailed her. Didn't you even call her?

"Jennifer should be sitting up here right now. Maybe there is a conflict, maybe not," said a clearly perturbed DiSabatino, "but this is not the way to do this."

According to CSAB minutes of a March 2015 meeting, Radebach was accused of having a conflict of interest by receiving funds from the Early Learning Coalition of Manatee County, which receives some of its funding through the county.

When the board members were asked if any member had a conflict on the item of $1.8 million in funding to the ELC, no one indicated one, at which point the conflict was raised by ELC CEO Paul Sharff, who noted that Radebach's agency, Children's Academy, had a "school readiness contract" with the ELC. Radebach then abstained from the vote.

Before the next meeting in April, she filed the appropriate form to declare the contract and then abstained from a related vote because of it. However, at a recent BOCC meeting, the issue was suddenly brought up by some of the commission, including Chairwoman Betsy Benac. At Tuesday's work session, Benac said the discussion needed to happen some other time, and that the board needed to get back on track.

Both the BOCC and the CSAB met to evaluate current and proposed programs and make funding recommendations for the Annual Development Plan that will be presented at a November Joint Work Session.

The BOCC and CSAB meet annually for a planning process that kicks-off the next funding cycle. At Tuesday's meeting, commissioners selected programs they thought would be fitting for Children's Services FY16/17.

Commissioners were asked to pick three from a list of six program categories on CSAB's priority list.

Maternal and Child Health ranked first choice with most commissioners and School Readiness followed closely in second. Prevention and Redirection along with Out of School Time/ Youth Development followed. Family Strengthening & Support and Crisis Stabilization finished the list's ranking.

Funding for FY15/16 Children and Family Services is $9,617,694.

The next meeting is November 10, 2015 at the BOCC chambers.