Napa County group coalesces around written digital equity plan, grant applications and digital navigator training

Mark Rebus, Napa County broadband project manager, convened a cross-sector digital equity working group to discuss county efforts, grant opportunities and priorities for serving residents without reliable internet. Rebus said the county recently "submitted an application with Solano County...for a $7,700,000 grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration" and summarized how those funds — along with match — would pay for device lending, part-time digital navigators, mobile computer labs and other programs.

A nut graf: Participants representing libraries, adult education, farmworker services, health-care providers and aging services agreed the county needs an inventory of existing services and a written digital equity plan to guide funding and coordination. That plan would also shape applications for a separate state-administered digital equity capacity grant and local partnerships, participants said.

In the meeting, Rebus outlined recent actions and funding prospects. He said the NTIA-related application estimated a total program cost of $10,400,000, with $2,650,000 in cash match and roughly $7,750,000 in grant funds earmarked for services including digital literacy classes, device loans and digital navigators. He also described a pilot to bring Wi‑Fi to the county's three farmworker centers (each described as holding about 60 residents) and a current pilot to train library staff as digital navigators.

Colleen Peterson, principal at Napa Valley Adult Education, described the adult school’s existing curriculum: "We provide training for computer literacy and computer applications...we also are doing some basic computer skills," and said the school plans a Spanish-language basic-computer pilot in Calistoga in partnership with Valley Family Center. Peterson noted adult education funding limits her program's ability to purchase devices to give away, though Chromebooks are loaned for coursework.

Sonia DeLuca, executive director of the Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation, said outreach during COVID revealed large gaps: "Over 50% of farm workers who live and work here don't have access to Wi‑Fi or broadband at home." DeLuca described a laptop lending library and basic skills classes the foundation already runs and said the group wants to coordinate with county efforts to remove access barriers.

Several participants pressed for a written plan so funders and service providers can align. "It would be really helpful to me... if I knew... if you had a plan and... what are the guideposts?" said the executive director of the Napa Solano Area Agency on Aging (identified in the meeting only as Elaine), who described using a written plan to target advisory-council work and funding. Rebus said the state digital equity capacity grant draft guidelines allow up to $50,000 per county for planning and that partnering with Mendocino County could raise the combined planning funds to $100,000.

Attendees discussed priorities and staffing models. Dan Woodard, a member of the Napa County Commission on Aging, suggested separating two problems: getting the broadband “pipeline” to homes and building users’ capability to use devices and services. Rebus and others emphasized digital navigators — trained staff who help an individual sign up for service, set up email, use telehealth portals or find affordable plans — as a near-term priority; Rebus said the county is piloting library staff training and could expand to health and human services staff if funding is secured.

The meeting also covered outreach to rural areas with limited or no service. Participants raised short- and medium-term approaches: device and Wi‑Fi access points at community locations, coordinating providers such as local ISPs and using existing public Wi‑Fi at libraries or partner sites. The group discussed Starlink and other satellite/home cellular options; participants noted cost is a barrier (Starlink hardware and service costs were cited during the meeting) and legal/licensing constraints could limit sharing a single residential service widely.

On next steps, Rebus said he would include a written digital equity plan in preliminary grant planning and would follow up with meeting notes and a scheduling poll. Attendees supported continuing the work group and proposed forming smaller workgroups for (1) internet access, (2) device programs and (3) training/digital literacy. Rebus pledged to post the recording and to circulate follow-up materials and dates for another meeting.

Ending: The group did not take any formal votes; the meeting closed with staff commitments to document an inventory of local services, explore a joint planning grant with Mendocino and to pilot digital navigator training through the county library. Rebus said he would notify participants by email about meeting timing and grant updates.