To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Human Resources Department
Staff Name and Phone Number: Janell Crane, 707-565-2885; Andrew Lemen, 707-565-2940
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Memorandum of Understanding with Sonoma County Office of Education to Support School and Community Safety
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Authorize the Sonoma County Sheriff-Coroner, Chief Probation Officer, and the Directors of the Department of Health Services, Human Services Department, and Human Resources Department to execute the proposed Sonoma County Information Sharing Multiagency Agreement with the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE) to promote a coordinated approach to improving the safety and welfare of Sonoma County youth.
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Executive Summary:
To promote and enhance the health and security throughout K-12 educational facilities in Sonoma County and the community at large, the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE) has adopted a multi-disciplinary team model available to all school districts in Sonoma County to enhance school site safety and to support students. Under the model, each of the school districts address concerning behavior at the lowest possible level. If a particular school is unable to appropriately address the needs of the youth and family through their site-specific structures and requires additional support, the district may reach out to SCOE to request a higher-level assessment to include the County agencies identified in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement.
The MOU agreement designates participants on the Student Threat Assessment Team (STAT) including experts in education, juvenile justice, behavioral health and welfare from SCOE, the Probation Department, Sheriff’s Office, Department of Health Services, and the Human Services Department. The assessment team will focus on early intervention, information sharing (as allowed by law), holistic safety planning, and if appropriate providing youth referrals to community-based supports and services. Human Resources-Risk Management and County Counsel will provide logistical support, training, and assistance to participating county agencies, as well as their assigned Agency Counsel, to ensure any information shared with the STAT is appropriate within the state and federal legal constraints of each agency.
Discussion:
The Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE) is a partner to the County’s 40 school districts, providing services and oversight that help them serve roughly 66,500 students.
In the summer of 2023, SCOE began the process to adopt and implement a program to proactively identify and assess situations that may pose a threat of violence in school settings. The resulting model allows for early intervention and safety planning to help prevent potential acts of violence by providing a structured, multi-disciplinary approach to managing potential threats through collaboration with school staff, law enforcement, mental health professionals, and community partners.
In the fall of 2023, SCOE met with the County Executive of Sonoma and requested the County’s participation on the SCOE Threat Assessment Team (STAT). HR-Risk Management engaged with SCOE, representatives from the Sheriff’s Office, the Juvenile Division of the Probation Department, the Family Youth and Children Division of Human Services, the Behavioral Health Division of the Department of Health Services, and County Counsel to design a process and that will support school and community safety, promote long-range cooperation and information sharing, and ensure compliance with all laws governing each agency. The attached multiagency agreement is the result of these collaborative conversations.
The SCOE operational procedures outline specific actions that must be taken to request a higher level assessment to include the participation of one or more of the aforementioned County-level agencies to assist in the coordination of external interventions/mitigations that exceed the scope of the lower level, school-based assessment.
The term of the agreement shall be effective once approved by all the initially participating parties and shall automatically renew each July 1 thereafter. Any agency may withdraw from this agreement at any time after providing written notice to the parties. It is envisioned that additional local partner agencies will continue to join this agreement to share appropriate information and develop strategies to enhance the safety and security for all youth in Sonoma County Schools and the community.
Staff recommends that the Board authorize the participating Department Heads to execute the agreement as an opportunity to make sure that all available and appropriate resources are being devoted to support the safety and security of Sonoma County children and families.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
None
Fiscal Summary
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FY24-25 Adopted |
FY25-26 Projected |
FY26-27 Projected |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
There are no anticipated additional fiscal impacts to operational budgets already in place.
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
Staffing will be covered under current departmental staffing budget allocations and through collateral assignment with no additional staffing impacts.
Attachments:
Proposed Memorandum of Understanding with Sonoma County Office of Education for Threat Assessment Support
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None