DEPARTMENT: Health
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Jennifer Herriott, MPH
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
An ordinance authorizing a personnel complement of two full-time positions for the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District’s (Metro Health’s) Oral Health Program, funded by the City of San Antonio Head Start Program for expanded oral health case management services.
SUMMARY:
This ordinance authorizes the addition of two full-time positions to the personnel complement for Metro Health’s Oral Health Program, funded by the City of San Antonio Head Start Program through an interdepartmental agreement with the Department of Human Services (DHS). The addition of two Health Program Specialist I (HPS I) positions will provide expanded case management services for children identified with oral health concerns.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Head Start grant program is a federally-funded program administered by Health and Human Services (HHS). The program provides early childhood education, family support and comprehensive support services to eligible children between the ages of three to five years, and their families.
The Head Start Grant serves children at or below the federal poverty line and prioritizes the most vulnerable children, including those with disabilities, experiencing homelessness and children in the foster care system. The program mission is to prepare children and engage families for school readiness and lifelong success. The City of San Antonio program serves a total of 3,020 children: 777 children in the Edgewood Independent School District (EISD) and 2,243 children in the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD). As the program grantee, Head Start provides direct program management, oversight, training and technical assistance, governance, family support and mental wellness services. The comprehensive services approach positively impacts families and holistically addresses the needs of the children.
The City’s Head Start Program, administered by DHS, contracts with Metro Health for dental services to include case management for children identified with an oral health concern. Over 700 children are identified each year with an untreated oral health need. Dental case management increases the ability of access to oral healthcare services for families and children of low income.
ISSUE:
The Department of Human Services has been awarded additional funding and will increase the current interdepartmental agreement with Metro Health by $92,000. DHS is requesting Metro Health’s Oral Health Program increase their case management services due to their success in reaching and assisting families with children who have dental needs. Case management provides the means to identify barriers for families not accessing dental care and work alongside these families in efforts to restore oral health in children, promote healthy behaviors and ensure that children with unmet dental needs get connected to dental care for children enrolled in the City’s Head Start program.
Currently there is one position that provides case management services for those children that have dental needs. Of the over 700 children identified, this position can provide case management services to approximately 200 children with a focus mainly on the west side of the City. This ordinance would authorize two positions to assist with case management. With the additional two Health Program Specialist positions, Metro Health anticipates to assist an additional 500 children citywide and allow the program to provide the case management services to all children with dental needs. The Health Program Specialist positions would provide assistance and guidance to families in establishing a dental home for an initial dental visit and ensure routine dental care is obtained semi-annually through follow up dental visits until the child graduates from the Head Start program.
ALTERNATIVES:
If this ordinance is not approved, the DHS Family Support Workers will have to incur additional health roles which may delay the response time for children enrolled in the City’s Head Start program from receiving restorative treatment; when children’s oral health suffers, so does their ability to learn.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This ordinance authorizes a personnel complement of two full-time positions for the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District’s Oral Health Program funded by the City’s Head Start Program for expanded oral health case management services for the period February 1, 2019 through January 31, 2020. Funding for the positions will be provided by the City's Head Start Program through an interdepartmental agreement. There is no impact to the City's General Fund in the form of a cash match.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends City Council approval of this ordinance, authorizing the addition of two full-time positions for Metro Health’s Oral Health Program to provide oral health case management services to serve the City’s Head Start program.