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County hears review of 'InPlay' after‑school directory; committee asks for annual report and feasibility study on vendor fees
Summary
The Social Services Agency presented an overview of InPlay, the county‑funded online directory and text‑based enrollment platform for after‑school and summer programs.
The Social Services Agency presented an overview of InPlay, the county‑funded online directory and text‑based registration system that lists after‑school and summer programs for families, the committee heard Friday.
George Montes of SSA's Office of Contracts Management said InPlay began in January 2019 and the current contract runs through June 2025 for $206,000. He reported active users (65,967), 704 providers and 16,389 programs; SSA officials said program and session counts had increased substantially year over year. The platform supports outreach in the county's threshold languages (Spanish, Vietnamese and Mandarin) and operates a text‑message registration (OSCR) for families without desktop access.
Committee focus: Supervisors pressed staff about missing listings — for example city parks and recreation programs that appeared absent for some districts — and asked whether the system inadvertently subsidizes private, fee‑based providers by listing them free. SSA said InPlay does not charge providers but that marketing and onboarding depend on provider outreach and InPlay staff requests; staff said they would connect missing public programs to InPlay on request.
Action taken: The committee voted to receive the report and directed SSA to return annually (January/February) with a report timed for pre‑summer outreach. The committee also asked for an off‑agenda feasibility study on whether a modest fee for for‑profit providers is appropriate, plus an equity analysis of outreach to ensure programs reach underresourced communities. The motion carried.
Why it matters: Supervisors said a central directory can reduce barriers to program enrollment but must be broadly representative of public and nonprofit offerings and avoid inadvertently directing families only to fee‑based private programs without scholarship information.
Next steps: SSA will return with an annual timing plan and an off‑agenda study on fee feasibility and equity of outreach.
