To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): District Attorney
Staff Name and Phone Number: Shane Lewis 565-3150
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Delegation of Authority to the District Attorney to Apply for and Accept Grant Funding
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Adopt a Resolution authorizing the District Attorney, or their designee, to execute for and on behalf of the County of Sonoma any actions necessary for the purpose of obtaining state and federal financial assistance provided to the District Attorney or the Family Justice Center Sonoma County (FJCSC) by and/or sub-granted through the State of California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and/or the Federal Department of Justice, Board of State and Community Corrections, California Department of Insurance, Office of Traffic Safety, and other sources when available, to include agreements that require matching funds up to 25% of the award amount.
end
Executive Summary:
The District Attorney intends to apply for grant funding from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), United States Department of Justice (USDOJ), Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC), California Department of Insurance (CDI), Office of Traffic Safety, and other sources when available. In 2024, Cal OES began utilizing a grants management system (GMS) that applicants utilize from the point of application through management of the award and to the end of the funding term. The new GMS requires that applicants have authority to enter into agreements for their organization and must provide proof of authority at the time of application in order to be eligible for the award. Other awarding agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice and BSCC, also utilize GMS programs that require proof of authority at time of application.
All grant applications, awards, and related documents will be reviewed and approved by County Counsel before they can be signed or acted upon under the delegated authority. Upon receipt of any award, prior to receiving any funds, the District Attorney will bring the contract before the Board for award approval and budget adjustment.
Cal OES and USDOJ often have match provisions that require grantees to contribute a certain amount of their own resources (funds, in-kind contributions, etc.) to match the grant award. Waivers for this requirement are routinely requested, when available and this item requests delegated authority to enter into agreements with match requirements up to 25% of the award amount, upon review and approval by County Counsel. Obligations for matching funds will be met in alignment with the rules of the grantor and will be satisfied through use of existing budget line items, the value of volunteer hours as an “in-kind” match, or indirect costs, when allowed. Additional general fund resources will not be requested for this purpose.
Discussion:
It has been the practice of the District Attorney’s Office to apply for grant funding and, upon receipt of an award, request delegated authority from the Board of Supervisors to enter into the funding agreement. With the implementation of grant management systems, funding agencies increasingly require applications be submitted with proof of authority from a governing board in order to be eligible to apply. The timeline from release of a Notice of Funding Opportunity or grant solicitation to the application deadline is frequently too short to allow for submission of a board item to approve each individual grant application, putting the opportunity to apply at risk. The District Attorney’s Office anticipates applying for grant funding opportunities to support victim services and prosecutorial projects in 2025 and into the future.
Match obligations, when included as a part of a grant program, are addressed in the budget portion of the grant application and a specific plan for how to meet the requirement must be included in the application and approved by the grantor as part of the award. The District Attorney has been successful over the past several years in obtaining waivers for match requirements due to budget constraints after local emergencies, including fires in 2017, 2019, and 2020, and the pandemic. No current awards include match obligations; however obligations have been met in the past with costs for staff time spent on grant-related work but not funded by the grant, and costs for program-related training paid for by the department.
Two CalOES programs, the Victim Witness Advocate Program and the Unserved/Underserved Victims Program are anticipated to be renewed, through a non-competitive application process, at the end of the current grant cycles in September and December 2025, respectively. The Victim Witness Advocate Program award for Federal Fiscal Year 2024-25 provides funding for 4.5 full time equivalent (FTE) Victim Witness Advocate II positions, and the Unserved/Underserved Victims Program award for Calendar Year 2025 provides funding for 1.0 FTE Victim Witness Advocate II - Time Limited position as well as funding for community partners providing services through the program, cost of annual training for the advocate, and outreach materials and supplies. While recent state budget shortfalls create an unlikely scenario for new CalOES victim services programs in the next year, we remain hopeful that successful projects that have been terminated during the past few years will be reopened in the future. These projects include the Homeless Outreach and Advocacy program and the Marginalized Victims program that provided support to foster youth in our community.
The FJCSC currently receives funding from CalOES for the Family Justice Center Program which provides operational support to the FJCSC and currently funds 1.0 FTE Navigator (Victim Witness Advocate) - Time Limited position, and from U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for the Improving Criminal Justice Response (ICJR) Program which is funding the creation of a Domestic Violence High Risk Team as well as 0.5 FTE Navigator (Victim Witness Advocate) - Time Limited. Both programs are multi-year projects with terms ending in 2026. Renewal opportunity is expected for the Family Justice Center Program, through a non-competitive application process, however the ICJR program is not a continuous project and each of round of funding has a unique purpose. The possibility of availability of other funding opportunities through Cal OES and DOJ is dependent upon both state and federal budget allocations for victim services programs.
In addition to programs that support victim services, the District Attorney also receives funding from BSCC for the Organized Retail Theft prosecutorial project which currently funds 1.0 FTE Deputy District Attorney IV, Time-Limited and 1.0 FTE District Attorney Investigator II, Time-Limited, and is currently recruiting a 0.5 FTE Crime Analyst - Time Limited; Project funds have also been used for tools to effectively carryout the goals of the project, including radios, surveillance equipment, and a subscription to analytic software. The grant term ends June 1, 2027 and the one-time funding from BSCC is not expected to be renewed, however the BSCC website funding announcements are consistently monitored for future funding opportunities.
Prosecutorial programs that address automobile insurance fraud and workers’ compensation insurance fraud are funded through grants from the California Department of Insurance. These programs fund hours worked on applicable fraud cases by Deputy District Attorneys and District Attorney Investigators, in addition to support staff time and targeted training dedicated to this specific work. The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fraud grant has been renewed every year since Fiscal Year 2004-05 and the Automobile Insurance Fraud program award was first received in Fiscal Year 2009-10 and has been renewed every year with the exception of Fiscal Years 2014-15 through 2017-18. Both awards are expected to continue into the foreseeable future and the applications for FY2025-26 programs are currently in progress.
The Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) Driving Under the Influence Vertical Prosecution grant has been awarded to the District Attorney’s Office annually since Fiscal Year 2012-13. The current grant funds salary and benefits for two of the three Deputy District Attorneys assigned to the vertical unit. This highly competitive program is expected to continue through OTS and the application for the grant term beginning October 1, 2025 has been submitted.
Grant funding is crucial to the work of the District Attorney’s Office and the Family Justice Center. This action requests that the Board confirm the delegation of authority to the District Attorney, or their designee, to apply for, obtain, modify, request reimbursement, amend, and perform any and all actions required to engage in and execute grant awards.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
No prior board actions.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY24-25 Adopted |
FY25-26 Projected |
FY26-27 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
|
|
|
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
|
|
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
|
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
No fiscal impacts.
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
No staffing impacts.
Attachments:
Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
N/A