Whatcom County Council Public Works & Health Committee

**Healthy Children's Fund Performance and Spending Patterns** The central policy discussion focused on the significant gap between the fund's collection and spending. SEVA Workshop's evaluation revealed that while $26 million has been collected from taxpayers since the levy's inception, only $8 million (31%) has been encumbered through contracts and just $2.9 million (11%) has been actually dispersed to service providers as of July 2025. The evaluation framework, based on "results-based accounting," examined three core questions: How much did we do? How well did we do it? Is anyone better off? While the fund has served over 41,000 clients and created eight new infant childcare slots plus 192 flexible drop-in slot days monthly, the scale of operations has been significantly smaller than originally anticipated. Vivian Savath from SEVA Workshop explained that administrative capacity emerged as "a through line" in their analysis. The fund has spent only about 25% of its allowed 9% administrative cap, which correlates directly with lower programmatic spending. This suggests that fuller administrative staffing could accelerate program implementation and fund deployment. **Childcare Slot Creation Challenges** Council Member Stremler pressed for details about childcare capacity, noting that the county was told there was a shortag…

**SEVA Workshop (Vivian Savath):** Presented a balanced evaluation acknowledging both the fund's cautious start and its emerging results. Recommended increased administrative capacity, longer-term strategic planning, improved interdepartmental processes, policy clarification, and enhanced communications. Emphasized that while spending has been lower than planned, the foundation for future impact is being established. **Health and Community Services Leadership (Sarah Simpson, Ann Beck):** Defended the department's cautious approach as necessary due diligence with public funds. Emphasized that major contracts totaling nearly $15 million are now in the pipeline, representing significant acceleration since the July evaluation cutoff. Stressed the complexity of legal compliance …

**Vivian Savath, on fund performance:** "As of July, there is a significant unspent balance. Spending has been lower than planned." **Council Member Todd Donovan, on the unspent funds:** "We're sitting on $18 million out of $26 million that hasn't been spent. That's, I think, going to be pretty stunning to people when they hear that." **Sarah Simpson, on pipeline projects:** "We have an RFP that closed just recently for $5.5 million for capital projects, and so those things are rolling, and …

**Evaluation Transparency Established:** The county now has its first comprehensive external evaluation of the Healthy Children's Fund, providing baseline performance data and specific recommendations for improvement. **Pipeline Acceleration Revealed:** While the evaluation showed concerning spending delays through July, the presentation revealed that nearly $15 million in contracts are now advancing through the pipeline, potentially doubling the fund's encumbered amount. **Performance Audit Model Created:** Chair Scanlon positioned this evaluation as a template for the broader performance audit program that county voters approved through the recent…

### Meeting Overview The Whatcom County Council Public Works & Health Committee met on December 9, 2025, to receive a presentation from SEVA Workshop on their external evaluation of the Healthy Children's Fund. The presentation covered the fund's performance to date, challenges in implementation, and recommendations for improvement. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Results-Based Accounting:** An evaluation framework that examines three key areas: how much did we do (performance), how well did we do it (process), and is anyone better off (impact). The Healthy Children's Fund uses this framework to measure its effectiveness. **Encumbered Funds:** Money that has been committed or contracted but not yet spent. As of July 2025, 31% of the Healthy Children's Fund revenue had been encumbered. **Gift of Public Funds:** A legal doctrine that restricts how government entities can spend taxpayer money, particularly when working with private businesses. This created challenges for the county in funding child care slots with private providers. **Child Care Deserts:** Areas where there are insufficient licensed child care providers to meet community need. Whatcom County has been identified as having extreme child care deserts in some areas. **RACI Exercise:** A management tool that clarifies roles and responsibilities by identifying who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for various tasks and decisions. **Drop-in Child Care Slots:** Flexible child care arrangements that families can access on an as-needed basis, as opposed to regular long-term enrollment slots. The fund created access to 192 flexible slot days monthly. **Implementation Plan:** The specific actions and strategies the county will take to achieve the Healthy Children's Fund's long-term goals. This plan is set to be refreshed on a two-year cycle. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Jon Scanlon | Committee Chair, Whatcom County Council | | Mark Stremler | Committee Member, Whatcom County Council | | Todd Donovan | Whatcom County Councilmember (attended online) | | Barry Buchanan | Whatcom County Councilmember (attended online) | | Tyler Byrd | Whatcom County Councilmember (attended online) | | Sarah Simpson | Health and Community Services Director | | Vivian Savath | Principal of Policy and Evaluation, SEVA Workshop | | Ann Beck | Health and Community Services staff | ### Background Context The Healthy Children's Fund was established through a voter-approved levy to address critical needs in chil…