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had a chart showing the level of services that early childcare mental health interventions have provided. In the last year, over 1,000 individuals were served. Another chart showed the great increases in Spanish-speaking children that need services. At the present time, there is only one therapist in the program that works only ten hours a week and there is a waiting list of students. She said that the funds that are mentioned in the letter are in addition to the regular program service funds that come from the human resources budget. They are asking for the Board of County Commissioners to add this item to an agenda and earmark funds for the early childhood mental health program. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he and Chair Carey were the only two Commissioners that were present when ChildSCope was formed. He remembers being startled at the number of children in daycare who had been expelled from daycare services. He said that he and Commissioner Jacobs met with Ms. Bushnell this week with concerns. Club Nova also had concerns. He suggested having a work session dedicated to mental health reform issues and how this will impact agencies that have been established in Orange County for a long time. He said that they need to remove as much confusion as possible and give people assurances. He is worried because there is not anyone in Raleigh that really cares about what happens in Orange County when it comes to these programs. Chair Carey said that the County Commissioners are as concerned about the transition and the fear of mental health reform as the organizations are. He is the representative on the OPC LME Board and he said that they are working to make the transition as smooth as possible. He said that June 30th is not a drop-dead date. Myra Guinn-Summers said that she is part of the Advisory Council for Early Intervention, and she cares very deeply with regard to what happens to mental health programs for young children. She said that within OPC, it is her understanding that they did send out a request for proposal to ask for public bid on these early intervention programs and she was alarmed at this. She is not sure of the ramifications of this. She sees some of these programs being changed in spite of everyone’s efforts to keep them from changing. She met with the OPC administration several months ago to ask that a staff position be filled in the therapeutic classroom that serves the preschool children thrown out of daycare. The position has since been filled. She asked the County Commissioners to make a motion to preserve the funds needed for the transition of these programs, and earmark them specifically. She pointed out in the pie chart of the overall OPC services and that they are not requesting new funding of any kind, but these are funds that are allotted for mental health in Orange County, and they are requesting that 0.3% of these funds be earmarked for the transition and to preserve the programs. John Link made reference to the pie chart and said that the $1,268,000, which is Orange County’s contribution to OPC, is an appropriation from the Orange County budget ordinance solely enacted by the Board of County Commissioners. He recommends that if the steps they are proceeding with through OPC are not going to maintain the programs, then the Board can withhold funding until the transition and services are secure. He thinks it is important that all three counties go through the process of request for bids because they do not want to eliminate the chance of receiving federal or state funding for any one service. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he hoped that another Commissioner would accompany Chair Carey to meet with Representative Insko and Mr. Moseley because there is strength in numbers. They need to know that Orange County is going to do everything that it legally can do to make sure these programs are sustained. b. Matters on the Printed Agenda (These matters were considered when the Board addressed that item on the agenda below.)