Inland Southern California
Higher Education/Healthcare Industry
Convergence Group
June 11, 2015 Meeting Synopsis
- Welcome– All were welcomed to this historic meeting of the Convergence Group by Pres. Debbie Freund, Claremont Graduate University and Pres. Devorah Lieberman, University of La Verne. Thanks were expressed to California Baptist University for their generous hosting of today’s event.
Dr. Freund reminded the attendees that September 17th is the next Convergence meeting. She asked that each entity attending make the commitment of $1,000 and be consistent with the representative attending the meetings.
- Convergence Overview –Dr. Lieberman gave the background of the Convergence stating that it has been in formation for the past three years. The Convergence is significant for our region as it is the first group to bring together hospitals, education, and professional organizations into one place to ensure that our region has the health professionals pipeline needed to support our regional health goals. During formation of Convergence, the questions asked were “What is our region needing?” and “How will be work together?” Paul Granillo spoke about the relationship between IEEP and the Inland Coalition/Reach Out. IEEP has two councils that will work together with this group: the Health Council and the Education Council.
3. Overview of Progress on Organizational Commitments to Convergence and Recognition (see attached list of organizations who have committed and either returned their agreement, paid the sponsorship amount, or both)
Dr. Lieberman recognized the entities that have signed the Convergence Agreements; she and Dr. Freund will call the others who were not there; she also tasked the organizational representatives to work with their respective CEO’s and presidents to have the Agreement signed. It was asked for other partners who should be included:
· Judi Nightingale (RCRMC) recommended that ESRI should be included; Dr. Lieberman will contact them.
· Note: after the meeting, the San Bernardino County Workforce Investment Board asked to join; and it was recommended that Susan Harrington from Riverside County Public Health be contacted; Ms. Fox will reach out to her.
4. Progress on the Convergence Top 5 Priority Goals and Recommended Next Steps. Dr. Freund reviewed the 5 top priorities of the Convergence and said that 2 of the 5 will be addressed at today’s meeting – the Health Workforce Intelligence System and the Articulation Agreements.
i. GOAL: Build a health workforce intelligence system that provides the foundation for gap/shortage/overage tracking, as well as 5-year forecasting. System will also include monitoring of emerging and future health professions.
Note: The San Bernardino and Riverside County Workforce Investment Boards have agreed to partner with the Convergence Group and the Inland Coalition to create the Health Workforce Intelligence System (HWIS). See attached Health Workforce Intelligence System Overview.
Dr. Lieberman announced that the Lewis Family Foundation has agreed to commit a 15 hour/week master’s level Fellow to assist in gathering Workforce Intelligence. This intern will also make a public presentation on findings at the end of term. The Convergence is extremely grateful for the support from the Lewis Family for their support of a Fellow. Dr. Lieberman reminded all members who have signed an agreement that they are to “commit” an intern to this effort. She asked that each person fill out the Referral form with the name of the contact to begin this identification. Not all interms will be needed at the same time, and we will work to match the needs of the educational institutions/availability of interns to the work flow so that this is a smooth process.
Healthcare employers will need to be involved in this effort and provide HR information such as current openings, anticipated retirements forecasted future needs of newly developed positions (ex: health coaches). The Health entities will also have the opportunity to work alongside higher education in building rigor into training requirements.
Edna Vallecillo-Garcia, Riverside Co. WIB, gave an overview of the 2-County Slingshot initiative and that the two Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) in the Inland Empire were selected along with four others in the state of California to pilot this work: Heathcare is one of 2 focus areas for the Inland Empire Slingshot initiative, and the Convergence will work alongside Slingshot to move this forward. The other industry sector chosen was manufacturing. The task is to connect identified programs such as CCPT, Inland Coalition/Reach Out, CVEP, TAA, WIOA—accelerate and connect all these initiatives.
Brad Gates, San Bernardino Co. WIB announced the June 24th meeting where the healthcare portion of Slingshot will get feedback from the employers. (An overview of the Slingshot initiative can be found here: http://www.cwib.ca.gov/res/docs/special_committees/Executive%20Committee/2015/June%201%202015/Item%204b%20SlingShot%20Update.pdf )
Diana Fox explained that by combining funds from the California Endowment and the WIBs, Reach Out can institutionalize the gathering of the HWIS data. Inland Coalition will oversee the interns and will work together with the WIBs; the hired researcher will determine the methodology and protocols for the data to be collected, and the Inland Coalition will oversee the proper implementation and coordination of the project.
Christina Bivona-Tellez of Azusa Pacific University recommended including health educators to help ramp up or reduce training programs based on the information obtained
Ms. Vallecillo-Garcia recommended to Include other occupations that are connected to healthcare (i.e. accountants other management, IT, etc.). Dr. Lieberman noted that the information may provide opportunity for certification programs or non-credit bearing programs. Irene Malmgren from Mt. San Antonio College has a resource that collects the data. Mr. Gates noted that the SB WIB has a contracted economist and has some current date available; the link will be shared with the group.
ii. GOAL: Develop articulation agreements among K-20 institutions to share courses and human capital.
Dr. Freund requested that Dr. Paul Parnell, President of Norco College, be the chair of the Articulation group; he accepted. The following members volunteered to assist on the working group: Christina Boniva-Tellez (APU), Dr. Melody Graveen (MVC), Dr. Juan Carlos Belliard (LLU), Jessica Kump (UCR), Lizette Norton (Parkview Hospital), Leigh Cornell (PVHMC). It was recommended to reach out to San Gorgonio Hospital, San Antonio Regional Hospital, and Casa Colina to request their membership in this committee.
Dr. Parnell provided an overview of the new $12.8M California Career Pathways Trust (CCPT) grant that Riverside Community College District just received. The money must be spent in two years and sustained over 5 years by the partners. Dr. Parnell stated that the grant provides seed funds and the several school districts/partners have made significant in-kind commitments. The grant does include articulation agreements, and the Inland Coalition is a partner in this grant.
Dr. Lieberman stressed the need to ensure that the CCPT work is institutionalized; Dr. Parnell stated that the district and business commitments will drive the institutionalization. Dr. Lieberman invited the inclusion of the 4-year private and public schools as another means of institutionalization, and noted that Convergence can help with this.
Dr. Ron Carter (LLU) asked that the Convergence find out what currently exists in articulation agreements. Several members stated that there are some websites already that touch on this initiative. Dr. Belliard asked to have all this placed on a website—a functional portal that students can reference when looking for trends in employment; this needs to be a central place for students. Ms. Vallecillo-Garcia agreed, and added that there is a need for an e-portal to connect students to internships and connect to career centers. The Inland Coalition has been working on this for the past few years, and Ms. Allbaugh will share with the group what is already known.
ü Action Taken Today: Agreed to convene a working group of Convergence members, led by Dr. Paul Parnell as the chairperson. Ms. Fox and Carol Allbaugh of the Inland Coalition will follow up with the members, and also reach out to others who may not have been in attendance at this meeting; and will share out what is already known for articulation in the region. Dr. Carter and Ms. Fox will work on an articulation template. The first meeting of the Articulation Working Group will be in July or August as schedules align. Agreement that within 1 year from today that the portal will be online and fully functional.
iii. GOAL: Adopt internal policies among employers to recruit locally, and to provide priority hiring of qualified regionally-sourced applicants.
ü Action Taken Today: members were able to indicate on their Interest Form if they had resources to give to this Goal. This Goal will be the subject of future Convergence meetings.
iv. GOAL: Develop a “Homegrown Workforce” campaign that encourages students/residents to train and practice in the region. View the Nexus Group promo.
ü Action Taken Today: members were able to indicate on their Interest Form if they had resources to give to this Goal. This Goal will be the subject of future Convergence meetings.
v. GOAL: Focus on diversity and linguistically and culturally proficient students. See the Background Document for Goal 5 – recommendation to partner with the Boys & Men of Color Alliance.
ü Action Taken Today: Recommend that partners attend the Inland Coalition Quarterly Meeting on June 16th at APU to hear Marc Philpont from Policy Link, which is partnering with the Inland Coalition on the implementation of the Boys and Men of Color initiative and the White House’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative.
- Next Steps: At the September meeting, there will be a Press Conference to formalize the kick-off of the Convergence Group and this watershed moment for the Inland Southern California Region. It will be important that all member institutions, both healthcare Presidents/CEO’s and university Presidents and Provosts, attend this meeting in person. Everyone in attendance was asked to communicate with their top leadership to request their attendance and put the date on their calendars now to hold the date.
Responses from all in attendance on the Top Priority Goal Referral sheet will be compiled and shared with the group.
The Convergence Group has already received recognition in the Journal of Higher Education as an innovative initiative that is unique in the US. The meeting closed with Debbie Freund stating that the work that the Convergence is doing, although complex, is changing the region and the opportunities and health for all our residents.
- Next Meeting Date (including the Press Conference): September 17, 2015 at 8:30am --- Host: Inland Empire Health Plan, 10801 6th Street #120, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
Convergence Group Meeting Synopsis – June 11, 2015 Page 1 of 10
Background Document for Recommendation on Priority Goal #5
Focus on diversity and linguistically and culturally proficient students.
Recommended Partner: Alliance for Boys and Men of Color Alliance
Coordinated by PolicyLink, the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color is a coalition of change agents committed to improving the life chances of California’s boys and young men of color. The Alliance includes youth, community organizations, foundations, and leaders in government, education, public health, and law enforcement.
Working at the local and state level, the Alliance actively pursues policy and systems reforms that will help boys and men of color in California.
Alliance for Boys and Men of Color Engagement Opportunities:
· Join a policy work group – the one that seem the most relevant to your interests is the jobs and workforce work group convened by Erika Rincon Whitcomb. Erika hosts monthly calls and the work group takes action on legislation (submitting letters or making calls) or engages in opportunities to advance implementation of policy in communities throughout the state. Attached is a leg watch that includes some of the priority bills along with their descriptions. Those in the jobs and workforce category are the ones I’d encourage you becoming the most familiar with, particularly: AB 770, AB 1030, and AB 1093. In Education, I’d also encourage you to prioritize AB 288.
· Participate in advancing a local campaign – there are approximately 15 local campaigns with some of the newest ones being in the Inland Empire. San Bernardino, Riverside, and Coachella all have Alliance for BMoC campaigns. You are welcome to participate in all or just one of these. Because they are new, we ask for your patience as they begin to coordinate meeting schedules and develop strategy.
· Attend Hearings and Offer Testimony – PolicyLink supports the Assembly Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color. This year the Committee is led by Bonta (Oakland) and Jones-Sawyer (Los Angeles). They will host hearings in the Capitol and across the state with places like Salinas and Riverside / San Bernardino. In August, the Alliance hosts a Sons and Brothers Day at the Capitol which includes 300 youth and agency leaders testifying on the work they are leading to improve outcomes for boys and men of color.
· Support My Brother’s Keeper – PolicyLink is a TA provider for MBK and is actively working to support several communities in this effort. In the IE, we’ve not made much progress beyond Coachella and Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. We have not engaged Rialto, but know they have accepted the Challenge. You mentioned Riverside’s possible interest, please let me know if you have ideas about how to engage them. Thus far, our technical assistance has been limited to helping communities develop their action plans. See our guide at this http://www.policylink.org/find-resources/library/place-based-initiatives-boys-men-of-color.
ATTACHMENTS
Below are three bills that the Boys and Men of Color Alliance recommends for Support:
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 288
Introduced by Assembly Members Holden and Olsen (Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Baker, Chávez, McCarty, Santiago, and Ting) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Alejo and Weber)
An act to add Section 76004 to the Education Code, relating to public schools.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSELʹS DIGEST
Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to allow pupils whom the district has determined would benefit from advanced scholastic or vocational work to attend community college as special part-time or fulltime students, subject to parental permission. Existing law requires credit to be awarded to these pupils, as specified, authorizes a school principal to recommend a pupil for community college summer session if the pupil meets specified criteria, and prohibits the principal from recommending more than 5% of the total number of pupils from any particular grade level who completed that grade immediately before the time of recommendation for summer session attendance.