BOARD MEETING DATE: May 19, 2000 AGENDA NO. 20

This contract will enable the AQMD to expand its efforts to assist children who are suffering from illnesses resulting from air pollution as called for by the Children’s Air Quality Agenda adopted by the AQMD Governing Board in January 1999. This is necessary because many area caregivers and children do not currently have access to adequate information on ways to reduce their exposure to air pollutants. Additionally, asthma and other respiratory illnesses have been identified as leading causes of school absenteeism and childhood visits to emergency rooms.

The $57,000 would be used by the American Lung Association of Los Angeles County (ALALAC) to develop its "A is for Asthma" educational video-based program to service preschool children and help teach them and their caregivers about asthma management and prevention. It will also be used by ALALAC to create and host a Children’s Website, as called for in Action Initiative No. 5 of the Children’s Agenda. The site will include information on how children are affected by air pollution and the relationship between asthma and air pollution. Additionally, the existing AQMD Clean Air Patch program will be expanded by ALALAC to involve additional youth organizations in lower income communities. ALALAC will provide quarterly updates to the Children’s Air Quality Advisory Committee.

Staff is recommending that the Board authorize the Executive Officer to enter into a sole-source contract with ALALAC to provide these services. ALALAC is a non-profit health organization, which by virtue of its long-term experience in educating the public about the affects of asthma on children, is uniquely qualified to carry out these programs.

‘‘A Is for Asthma’’ is a nationally recognized American Lung Association video-based program in English and Spanish featuring Sesame Street characters. The program promotes public awareness of childhood asthma, and supports families and the health and child care communities in helping children ages three to six understand and cope with the illness. It includes a caregiver’s guide and posters. This project would call for the expansion of the existing curriculum and the development of a pilot phase to provide outreach to Head Start and other child care centers located in economically disadvantaged communities in the basin.

Under this contract, ALALAC would create and host a "Clean Air Kids Club" page on its existing local website. The site will be designed to encourage interaction between youth leaders and children, and to share ideas and success stories about individual and group activities to improve air quality. The website would also include a resource library of indoor and outdoor air quality information for both children and their adult caregivers, in order to provide clear and concise guidelines on minimizing exposure risks during forecasted high ozone and/or high particulate episodes. The AQMD will assist in providing the needed information for this section.

This AQMD program is designed to assist girl and boy scouting organizations, boy’s and girl’s clubs, and children participating in community center programs in learning more about air pollution and what they can do to help improve the environment. The Clean Air Patch can be earned by completing requirements similar to those for scouting merit badges. The ALALAC would sponsor and make available the patch program to appropriate children‘s and youth groups in lower income communities. Children who earn the patch will be encouraged to submit a brief report on their projects and what they have learned. Synopses of these reports will be posted on the "Clean Air for Kids" webpage.

Section II Step 3(C) of the Consultant Selection Policy and Procedure identifies four provisions under which a sole-source award may be justified: 1) cost to prepare documents exceeds cost for consultant, 2) delay would result in the endangerment of public health, 3) services are only available from sole source, and 4) other circumstances exist identifying sole source as in the best interests of the AQMD. Sole source justification for this proposal is made under provision 3). The American Lung Association is the oldest national non-profit voluntary health organization in the country, and has addressed the impact of air pollution for over 25 years. The Los Angeles County affiliate manages a number of programs addressing air quality concerns including school-based programs, youth education programs, media outreach, and an information referral system.

The total budget of $57,000 addresses the costs associated with creating, organizing, and operating the components of these projects for one year. ALALAC will provide in-kind services consisting of staff time, office space and supplies, and other project incidentals during the first year. ALALAC is committed to sustaining the projects beyond the initial program year. Future funding will be solicited from appropriate federal, state and local government agencies, and from private foundations. The Budget allocation for AQMD’s contributions is as follows:

$25,000	‘‘A Is for Asthma’’
$25,000	‘‘Clean Air Kids Club’’ webpage
$ 4,000	Clean Air Patch program
$ 3,000	In-kind printing services
$57,000	Total Not to Exceed