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CSUB will cut ties to First 5 Kern
Decision comes despite favorable audit findings
| Wednesday, Oct 10 2007 7:58 AM
Last Updated: Thursday, Mar 8 2007 10:24 PM
A research unit at Cal State Bakersfield will part ways with First 5 Kern despite a recent audit's favorable findings.
The university will work with First 5 through June 30, said Steve Ladd, the nonprofit's executive director.
"We will have to find a new research partner," Ladd said. "We've been assured (Cal State researchers) will continue to help us to get through the legal requirements ... It's only March. We have plenty of time to fill our legal requirements."
The agency must produce state-mandated annual reports, which are typically due in the fall, Ladd said.
The contract with Cal State Bakersfield may be temporarily extended, Ladd said. The university notified First 5 of its decision to "regrettably withdraw our application" in a letter dated March 1 to Dr. B.A. Jinadu, First 5 commission chairman.
"I am pleased that the audits have been completed and that First 5 Kern is looking ahead to continue serving the Kern County community," said campus President Horace Mitchell.
The new faculty researchers working with First 5 and others who could have been involved have the "desire to continue conducting research and evaluation that adhere to high standards of excellence, but in a less politically charged environment," Mitchell's letter stated.
William E. Wagner III, who heads the new research group, confirmed the contract's not being renewed but declined to specify why Thursday.
The research unit, formerly the Applied Research Center, is now called the Institute for Social and Community Research. The institute took over the evaluation contract in June.
Mitchell's letter arrived about 10 days after an independent evaluator's report stated research data collected by the center was "extremely useful in assessing the impact of First 5 Kern's funded programs."
The letter was supplied by First 5 Kern; a Cal State Bakersfield spokeswoman wasn't able to locate it Thursday afternoon. Cal State officials hired an outside consultant, Susan Enguidanos, to examine the quality of data collected by former researchers.
First 5 is an independent public agency with a nine-member oversight commission. The organization doles out money from voter-approved Proposition 10, which provides state cigarette-tax money meant to help children through age 5.