REGULAR MEETING of the EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL OCTOBER 12, 2022, 8:30 A.M. CITY HALL, BOARD AND COMMISSION ROOM #1101 301 WEST SECOND STREET AUSTIN, TEXAS Some members of the Early Childhood Council may be participating by videoconference. Public comment will be allowed in person or remotely via telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once, either in person or remotely, and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation by telephone. To register to speak remotely, call or email Caitlin Oliver, Program Coordinator, Austin Public Health, at 512-972-6205 or Caitlin.Oliver@austintexas.gov. CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS/COMMISSIONERS: Cathy McHorse, Chair Raul Alvarez Eliza Gordon Johanna Hosking Pulido Cynthia McCollum Casie Schennum Matt Worthington, Vice Chair Ashley Bliss Lima Tom Hedrick Aletha Huston Rhonda Paver AGENDA CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first five speakers to register prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Early Childhood Council Regular Meeting on September 14, 2022 STAFF BRIEFINGS 2. Staff COVID-19 updates from Caitlin Oliver, Austin Public Health DISCUSSION ITEMS Updates from related groups (as needed), including Austin Chapter of the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children, Austin ISD, Child Care Regulation, Child Inc, E3 Alliance, Success By 6 Coalition, Workforce Solutions Capital Area, and other groups in attendance Presentation by Sharmila Mukherjee from CapMetro regarding Project Connect DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS Approve 2023 Early Childhood Council meeting calendar Discussion and possible action on creating a budget workgroup, designating members, outlining responsibilities, timeline, and authorizing members to speak on behalf of the ECC on matters pertaining to their assignment Discussion about ECC Quality of Life Study and possible action to appoint members to the Quality of Life Study Work Group and schedule meetings FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 hours) before the meeting date. Please or Caitlin.Oliver@austintexas.gov, for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. For …
DRAFT Early Childhood Council 2023 Approved Calendar of Regular Meetings The ECC will meet on the second Wednesday of the month in 2023, except for in April and August when the ECC will meet on a different day of the week. There will not be meetings in July or December. Date Time Location * January 11 8:30 a.m. City Hall, Room 1101 (pending confirmation) February 8 8:30 a.m. City Hall, Room 1101 (pending confirmation) March 8 8:30 a.m. City Hall, Room 1101 (pending confirmation) April 11 (Tuesday) ???? p.m. TBD May 10 June 14 July – No meeting 8:30 a.m. City Hall, Room 1101 (pending confirmation) 8:30 a.m. City Hall, Room 1101 (pending confirmation) August 12 (Saturday) ???? a.m. TBD September 13 8:30 a.m. City Hall, Room 1101 (pending confirmation) October 11 8:30 a.m. City Hall, Room 1101 (pending confirmation) November 8 8:30 a.m. City Hall, Room 1101 (pending confirmation) December – No meeting * Locations subject to change and will be listed on posted agendas and available on the Early Childhood Council page: http://austintexas.gov/ecc.
Quality of Life Study QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSION | CITY OF AUSTIN Early Childhood Council Quality of Life Study Guiding Questions Recommended process for today’s discussion. • Discuss the 9 topics below, which were part of an outline that the LGBTQ+ QOL group used at the beginning of their work. • Tom Hedrick to facilitate. • Each topic has suggested time limit to ensure that we get through all/most of the issues. We will attempt to stick to those limits but do NOT want to limit discussion. Blue = suggestions from SX6 Coalition Leadership Team Brainstorming 1) How do we define quality of life or find out what it is? (15 minutes) • Can we have initial focus groups that help decide this? • What parts of life are we trying to improve? • Begin with a focus group, so the questions start with the community; starting the question with equity in mind. • QOL overview from Wikipedia: Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns".[1] Standard indicators of the quality of life include wealth, employment, the environment, physical and mental health, education, recreation and leisure time, social belonging, religious beliefs, safety, security and freedom. 2 2) Goals – what does success look like? What do we want out of the study? (15 minutes) • Actionable: Need for concrete recommendations or a survey of strengths, gaps, desires? • Do we want to align with COA strategic direction areas? For more detail: https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=341820 • Accessible, readable story telling • Strengths-based power Analysis 3) How do we define boundaries/ scope: Whose quality of life are we trying to learn about? (10 minutes) • Who are the constituents that we are trying to study – o Age of children o Demographic characteristics (Family? Caregiver?) o Region • Define subgroups: o Language - people who speak languages other than English o Age groups - infants, 0-3, preschool, school age o Income • To what extent does lack of access leads families in our community to alter their career - how often would one parent choose to stay home? What aspect/ direction (Healthy beginnings, 0-3, specifically focusing on?) • What does it look like for parents who wish they could …
EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OCTOBER 12, 2022 EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2022 The Early Childhood Council convened in a regular meeting on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, at City Hall, Board and Commission Room #1101, 301 West Second Street in Austin, Texas. Chair McHorse called the Early Childhood Council Meeting to order at 8:43 a.m. Board Members in Attendance: Chair McHorse and Members Bliss Lima, Gordon, Hedrick, Hosking Pulido, Huston, McCollum, and Worthington Board Members in Attendance Remotely: Members Alvarez and Schennum Staff in Attendance: Caitlin Oliver, Rachel Farley, Michelle Rodriguez, and Cindy Gamez PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first five speakers to register prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. There was no public comment. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approve the minutes of the Early Childhood Council Regular Meeting on September 14, 2022 The minutes from the meeting of 9/14/2022 were approved on Member Huston’s motion, Member Hedrick’s second, on a unanimous 8-0 vote. Members Alvarez and Worthington were not present at time of the vote. 1. 2. STAFF BRIEFINGS Staff COVID-19 updates from Caitlin Oliver, Austin Public Health The COVID-19 community level in Austin-Travis County remains low. People are encouraged to get the new bivalent COVID-19 booster designed to protect against COVID-19 omicron subvariants. The flu season began early in Austin this year. There is more flu transmission in the community than this time last year. APH is encouraging people to get the flu shot as soon as possible. EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES DISCUSSION ITEMS OCTOBER 12, 2022 3. Updates from related groups (as needed), including Austin Chapter of the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children, Austin ISD, Child Care Regulation, Child Inc, E3 Alliance, Success By 6 Coalition, Workforce Solutions Capital Area, and other groups in attendance Updates from Austin ISD provided by John Green-Otero, Early Learning Director. Roughly 4400 students enrolled so far this year. District still dealing with staffing shortages. The Child Care Regulation (CCR) update was given by Roy Jones. CCR continually permitting and monitoring child care operations, to ensure safety and well-being of children in care. CCR is also doing community engagement with parents and providers and outreach in regions considered child care deserts. They are searching for unregulated providers to help them get a required permit in …
