Advisory Board

Purpose: To provide advice to First 5 Santa Barbara County, Children and Families Commission on specific areas of interest, increase community participation and awareness, and assist in the annual update of the Strategic Plan.

Membership: Membership will not exceed twenty (20) persons. Membership will provide representation of the rich diversity of interests, geographical regions, economic backgrounds and cultural and ethnic heritage of our County residents. One member will be a representative from a tobacco cessation organization. Membership will be inclusive of the following categories:

Geographical

Carpinteria/Summerland
Isla Vista
Lompoc Valley
Cuyama/New Cuyama

Santa Barbara
Santa Ynez Valley
Santa Maria Valley

Goleta
Los Alamos
Guadalupe

Topical Representation

Early Care and Education Wellness & Health Family/Caregiver Support Alcohol, Drug & Mental Health Children with Special Needs	Prenatal/Maternal Health Parent of Child age 0-5 Expectant Parent Funding Partners Tobacco Cessation
There will be no less than two parents of young children on this Advisory Board

Membership will also be inclusive of the ethnic and cultural diversity of our County.

Meetings: There will be no fewer than four (4) meetings in a calendar year. All meetings will be posted and open to the public. The meetings will be located in various locations of the County and in weekday and evening hours to increase consumer participation. The Advisory Board will decide the meeting time and location. Every effort will be made to have translation and transportation assistance as well as accessibility for persons with special needs.

Meetings can be called by a request from the Commission to allow for increased input and participation relating to a specific topic. Additionally meetings can be called by request of Advisory Board members to the Chairperson of the Commission. Commission staff will support all meetings. Minutes of proceedings will be submitted to members of the Commission, Advisory Board, and will be posted on the Commission WEB page.

Reimbursement can be made to Advisory Board members for allowable costs associated with Advisory Board attendance and can include reasonable and customary costs for childcare, meals and transportation.

Quorum: A quorum will consist of no fewer than half of the Advisory Board membership.

Requirements of Participation: Members of the Advisory Board are expected to notify Commission staff of anticipated absence at any meeting. Members who have missed more than two consecutive meetings will be asked to reassess their ability to serve on the Board.

Recruitment of Membership: If a vacancy exists in the middle of a term, review will be made of prior applicants to fill the membership slot. If there is not an applicant on file that fulfills the required membership designation of geographical or topical representation, targeted outreach will be made to full the vacancy for the remainder of the term.

Once a term is completed, active community outreach will be made to fill the vacancy (ies). Outreach will include, but is not limited to: public notice in local papers, targeted mailings, community newsletters, the Commission WEB page and announcements in allied organizations. Applications will be made available in Spanish and English.

Selection of Members: Designated members of the Commission will review applications. Members of the review committee may contact references and/or the applicant for further information. Selected applicants will be brought to the full Commission for appointment.

The Commission will also designate a commissioner who will serve as the Commission Advisory Board Liaison. The Advisory Board will select an Advisory Board member who will serve as the Advisory Board-Commission Liaison. Advisory Board Chair and Vice-Chair will be selected at the first meeting of each calendar year.

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