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Q&A
Council Member Stevens questions DYCD Commissioner on Beacon and Cornerstone program updates and equity concerns
2:58:16
·
178 sec
Council Member Althea Stevens inquires about the timeline for updating Beacon and Cornerstone program contracts, which haven't been revised in ten years. DYCD Commissioner Keith Howard responds, discussing ongoing conversations with OMB and plans for program expansion. Stevens expresses concerns about potential inequities and staff exodus between different youth programs.
- Howard mentions the opportunity to bring new providers into the system through the Compass program expansion.
- Stevens emphasizes the importance of considering the whole picture to prevent inequities between programs.
- The discussion touches on licensing, clearance, and conversations with public schools regarding space availability for these programs.
Althea Stevens
2:58:16
I'm gonna move on to beacons and cornerstones because you know as we're talking about expansion, think that it's important we talk about these other programs that are in that does very similar work.
2:58:28
Beacons and Cornerstone contracts have not been have not been produced in ten years, what is the timeline to reach a concept paper and RFP for those programs?
Keith Howard
2:58:39
We are engaged in conversations with OMB on exactly what that looks like.
2:58:46
We know that Beacon and Cornerstone is up next in terms of what a rollout looks like, what an investment looks like, but those conversations are happening and those conversations are happening in real time.
Althea Stevens
2:59:02
You have like any idea or timeline like in the next year?
2:59:05
I mean granted there's a lot going on, but you told me before that y'all can do a lot, and I push and I push back on this even in sense of and want to make sure that we're highlighting this because these are programs that do similar work and if we're expanding one piece this is why we create inequities in the field.
2:59:22
And so we don't want an exodus from all of our Beacon providers to now go to Compass because this is what often happens when we get these new RFPs and it's an ex odus from one program and now they're like we don't have no staff and everybody's over here and so how are we looking at the bigger picture to ensure that the whole sector is okay because I can see that happening that as we're rolling this out, literally people are gonna be like nah, let's go over here to Compass because that that even happens in our summarizing programs and we see that.
2:59:50
So how do we think about looking at this in an equitable space?
Keith Howard
2:59:56
Well one of the one of the great things about the Compass, it gives us an opportunity to level set.
3:00:02
And it gives us also an opportunity to bring in new providers to to this system.
3:00:07
And I think that's great.
3:00:08
So when the RFP comes out I'm excited about the opportunity of seeing providers who traditionally for the past ten plus years who wasn't in this space actually gets in this space.
3:00:20
You mentioned the licensing and the clearance.
3:00:24
Again that's why Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is at table to help us with that.
3:00:29
And having conversations with public schools in terms of you know space and availability.
3:00:34
I think those conversations about cornerstones and and beacons, I think they don't happen in a vacuum.
3:00:41
Those are the conversations that are happening consistently with not only Susan Haskell and her team, but our providers as well.
3:00:49
So we we feel that there's going to be a significant amount of new nonprofit organizations that are gonna enter into this space and we welcome we welcome
Althea Stevens
3:00:59
that.
3:01:01
Again, think we have to make sure that we're and this is always my thing like how are we looking at the whole picture and so for this, I can definitely see people leaving the cornerstone and beacons because of the inequities and so this is something we have to make sure we're looking at.