To: County of Sonoma Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): County Executive’s Office
Staff Name and Phone Number: Will Tesconi, 707-565-4736; David Guhin, 707-565-2431
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Immigrant-Serving Providers Initiative Funding Agreement
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Authorize the County Executive, or designee, to execute a grant agreement with Vital Immigrant Defense Advocacy and Services (VIDAS) for a term of up to two years and for a total amount not to exceed $1,500,000.
B) Authorize the County Executive, or designee, to execute modifications to the agreement that do not significantly change the scope of services and/or to increase the total not-to-exceed amount in order to address increased service needs, subject to available funding and review and approval by County Counsel.
C) Make a finding that the expenditures proposed in this Board item are in compliance with Government Code Section 26227, and that these expenditures are “necessary to meet the social needs of the population of the County
end
Executive Summary:
On July 29, 2026, the County Executive's Office released the Immigrant-Serving Providers Initiative Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) with $1,500,000 in available funding to support coordinated services for immigrant communities in Sonoma County.
The funding is intended to strengthen access to immigration legal services and removal defense, culturally and linguistically responsive mental health services, care navigation and coordinated case management, trusted outreach, language and literacy access, warm referral pathways, and privacy-protective performance reporting.
Staff recommends the Board authorize a grant agreement with VIDAS in an amount not to exceed $1,500,000 for a term of up to two years from date of execution.
Discussion:
The County developed the Immigrant-Serving Providers Initiative in response to needs identified through engagement with immigrant-serving providers across the region. On March 2nd 2026, the ’Countys Supporting Immigrant Communities Ad Hoc <https://sonomacounty.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/county-executives-office/projects/support-for-immigrant-communities> hosted over 40 individuals working in the immigration support space, in a facilitator-led discussion evaluating unmet service needs for immigrant communities. Providers identified urgent gaps in affordable immigration legal support and removal defense, access to immigration-related psychological and cognitive evaluations, culturally and linguistically responsive mental health capacity, and coordinated navigation systems that help residents move from referral to completed services.
On April 7, 2026, the Board approved $1,500,000 to support immigrant community resource needs in response to the gaps in services articulated by providers.
Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA)
The NOFA was designed to promote a coordinated system rather than as a set of standalone programs with trusted community-based outreach, in-language education, warm referrals, appointment follow-through, service completion, language access, literacy access, and privacy-first data governance intended to be embedded across funded activities.
The NOFA identified three integrated service categories eligible for funding. Proposers were invited to apply for one or more service categories and were not required to apply for all categories to be considered for an award:
Service Category 1 - Immigration Legal Services and Removal Defense: services may include legal representation expansion, removal defense consultations, mobile or walk-in legal clinics, immigration-related psychological and cognitive evaluation capacity, qualified interpretation, multilingual know-your-rights materials, low-literacy intake pathways, and legal referral follow-up.
Service Category 2 - Mental Health Services Capacity: services may include culturally responsive mental health services, immigration-specific trauma training, qualified mental health interpreters, bilingual and multilingual clinician capacity, group/family/peer support models, low-cost services for uninsured individuals, multilingual resource guides, and low-technology access options.
Service Category 3 - Care Navigation and Coordinated Case Management Infrastructure: services may include coordinated navigation, whole-family case management, warm referral protocols, multilingual navigation guides, regional hubs, privacy standards, secure information-sharing design, standardized intake forms, and trusted in-language communication channels.
Proposal Review and Advisory Panel Process
County staff screened proposals for minimum qualifications, including timely submission, alignment with one or more service categories, a credible service delivery model, capacity to coordinate with the multi-provider network, appropriate business authorization, absence from the federal debarment list, and required licensure, recognition, accreditation, supervision, or qualifications for regulated services included in the proposed scope.
A five-member Advisory Panel reviewed eligible proposals using the scoring criteria established in the NOFA. The Advisory Panel was composed of County employees from the County’s Executive’s Office, Department of Health Services, Office of Equity, and Probation Department.
The NOFA provided for up to 240 points before any Local Preference adjustment, with the following scoring categories: Community Need; Project Planning and Design; Monitoring and Evaluation; References and Past Performance; Budget; Leverage; Sustainability; Cultural Competency, Language Access, and Literacy Access; and Additional Priority Points. A verified Local Preference adds 5% to the final score, if applicable. The guidance and scoring worksheet provided to the Advisory Panel is included as Attachment D.
A total of four proposals were received by the deadline. All four proposals met the minimum qualifications and were reviewed by the Advisory Panel. After completing its review, the Advisory Panel recommended the full funding for Vital Immigrant Defense Advocacy and Services (VIDAS). A complete list of applications received is included as Attachment C.
Recommended Award
The proposal below is recommended for full funding:
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Recommended Recipient |
Vital Immigrant Defense Advocacy and Services (VIDAS) |
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Project Title |
Sonoma County Immigration Support: A Blueprint for Belonging |
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Recommended Award Amount |
$1,500,000 |
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Term |
November 1, 2026 through October 31, 2028 |
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Service Categories |
1. Immigration Legal Services and Removal Defense 2. Mental Health Services Capacity 3. Care Navigation and Coordinated Case Management Infrastructure |
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Geographic Area |
Countywide (via Community Hubs at La Luz, La Familia Sana, Corazon Healdsburg, Petaluma Family Resource Center, Positive Images, and Hanna Center) |
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Proposal Summary |
Expands Sonoma County’s immigrant support network by integrating legal defense, mental health care, and community hubs. Sonoma County Immigration Support: A Blueprint for Belonging will strengthen rapid response, removal defense, psychological evaluations, clinician training, promotoras-led outreach, warm referrals, and data-sharing systems to provide trauma-informed, culturally responsive support for immigrants in crisis. |
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Partner/[Budget] |
Latino Service Providers (LSP)/[$138,078] Immigration Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA)/[$188,650] Legal Aid of Sonoma County (LASC)/[$45,650] Sonoma Immigrant Services (SIS)/[$70,895] Catholic Charities of the Northwest/[$47,025] On the Margins (OTM)/[$220,000] La Familia Sana/[$20,000] La Luz/[$20,000] Corazón Healdsburg/[$20,000] Petaluma Family Resource Center/[$20,000] Positive Images/[$20,000] Hanna Center/[$20,000] Botanical Bus/[$50,000] Northern California Center for Well-Being (NCCWB)/[$159,100] Promotoras en Comunidad (PEC)/[$150,000] Health Equity Rising (HER)/[$52,140] |
The grant is authorized by Government Code Section 26227 as a financial contribution for programs designed to serve public purposes, benefit the community and economy, and meet the social needs, including health and welfare, of the population of the County of Sonoma.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Healthy and Safe Communities
Goal: Goal 1: Expand integrated system of care to address gaps in services to the County’s most vulnerable.
Objective: Objective 3: Identify and eliminate data gaps for underrepresented groups, and collaborate with the community to implement measures to mitigate the negative impacts caused by the lack of access to services by racial and ethnic groups that are disproportion
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
4/7/2026 <https://sonoma-county.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7964615&GUID=D333297F-0BA6-410D-8ACC-9CDC12CEB80E> - Introduction of an Ordinance to Uphold the Civil Rights, Dignity, Health and Safety of Our Immigrant Population and all Sonoma County Residents and updates from the Supporting Immigrant Communities Ad Hoc
Fiscal Summary
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Expenditures |
FY26-27 Adopted |
FY27-28 Projected |
FY28-29 Projected |
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Budgeted Expenses |
$1,500,000 |
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Additional Appropriation Requested |
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Total Expenditures |
$1,500,000 |
0 |
0 |
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Funding Sources |
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General Fund/WA GF |
$1,500,000 |
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State/Federal |
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Fees/Other |
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Use of Fund Balance |
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General Fund Contingencies |
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Total Sources |
$1,500,000 |
0 |
0 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
$1,500,000 for the Immigrant-Serving Providers NOFA is included in the FY26-27 Adopted Budget. These funds will be allocated to VIDAS in FY26-27 for a contract ending in FY28-29.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None.
Attachments:
Attachment A - Sample Agreement from NOFA
Attachment B - Immigrant-Serving Providers NOFA
Attachment C - Applications Received List
Attachment D - Advisory Panel Scoring Worksheet
Attachment E - VIDAS Proposal Summary
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
N/A