To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Probation Department
Staff Name and Phone Number: Vanessa Fuchs, (707) 565-6258
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
SB 823 Youth Programs and Facilities Grant
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Adopt a Resolution accepting $1,152,571 in Youth Programs and Facilities Grant Program (YPFG) funds to be used over the course of 3 (three) years to Fiscal Year 23-24; authorize the Chief Probation Officer to execute a Grant Agreement with the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) accepting $1,000,000 for the YPFG, Part A - Regional Hub Application, and accepting $152,571 for YPFG, Part B.
B) Adopt a Budget Resolution adjusting fiscal year 21-22 budget, increasing revenue and expenditures by $500,000.
(4/5th Vote Required)
end
Executive Summary:
SB 823, known as DJJ (Division of Juvenile Justice) Realignment, was signed into law in September 2020. This law directs the phased closure of state-run youth detention facilities, with a commitment of annual funding to counties to serve impacted youth who would have historically been committed to DJJ for serious or violent felonies. The Department provided a comprehensive report to the Board regarding SB823, and the local plan for developing meaningful treatment and rehabilitative programs for realigned youth and their families on May 25, 2021.
The Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) set aside $9.6M for one-time grant funding, the Youth Programs and Facilities Grant Program (YPFG), to provide resources to counties related to infrastructure and improvements to develop local continuum of care for realigned youth. These funds may be spent over the three years of the grant period to build service capacity and enhance safety within the Juvenile Hall and Probation Camp, as well as in the community.
This solicitation was divided into two Parts: Part A provides five awards of $1 million per award toward one-time infrastructure improvements, training, and information systems needed to prepare to accept realigned youth into their secure facility which would be opened to referrals from outside jurisdictions; Part B is available to all counties for similar purposes but with no expectations that the recipient accept youth from outside the county. Part B funding is a flat amount based on county population, divided into Small, Medium, and Large allocation levels. On May 12, 2021 the Sonoma County Probation Department applied for both Part A and Part B funding.
On June 10, 2021, Sonoma County was selected as one of the counties awarded $1 million funding under Part A of the Regional Hub Application, and awarded $152,571 funding under Part B.
Discussion:
SB 823, known as DJJ Realignment, was signed into law in September 2020 with a commitment of annual funding, and a phased closure of state-run youth detention facilities. The Sonoma County Juvenile Hall has the current capacity to accommodate a total of 20 DJJ Realigned youth within the current configuration and staffing level, inclusive of both in-County and out of county commitments.
The intent of SB 823 is to:
• Keep system involved youth connected to their families and communities. Evidence has shown that youth are more successful, with lower recidivism rates when more prepared to transition to their own community.
• Ensure youth receive age appropriate treatment while closer to home.
• For counties to use evidence-based and promising practices/programs that improve outcomes for youth and public safety while also reducing the transfer of youth into the adult system.
• Ensure dispositions are in the least restrictive appropriate environment, reduce and then eliminate racial and ethnic disparities and reduce the use of confinement in the juvenile justice system by utilizing community-based responses and interventions.
• End the practice of placing youth in custodial or confinement facilities that are operated by private entities whose primary business is the custodial confinement of adults or youth.
• End placements of justice system-involved youth in out of state facilities that do not appropriately address programming, service, safety and other needs.
The ongoing annual block grant funding will support the care and custody of Sonoma County youth who would have otherwise been committed to DJJ, or current DJJ committed youth who exit DJJ and serve the remainder of their commitment locally. These funds will be incorporated into the Department’s annual operating budget.
The YPFG Part A funds will be used to enhance current services and modify existing infrastructure to enable Sonoma County to become a regional hub for other counties who lack the capacity to house and rehabilitate their realigned youth. The YPFG Part B funds will be used to prioritize the local continuum of care. The Department’s intent is to leverage the $1.15 million total grant to bolster the existing case management model for local realigned youth serving longer commitments and with heightened rehabilitative needs. The funds will be invested in four specific categories: Information system upgrades; redesign of facilities for family visitation, career and technical education, therapy, and tele-health spaces; the virtual system upgrades needed to support those spaces and improve the successful transition of youth back to the community; training materials and curriculum for staff and community organizations to improve services for youth and families. See Financial Summary section below for fiscal details.
Out of County Youth MOU:
A number of counties have expressed interest in the Sonoma County Secure Track Treatment Facility program being implemented with the YPFG funding. Most of these counties do not have existing capacity to address the needs of their local realigned youth, some are interested in establishing alternative detention programs for specific situations where it is in the best interest of the youth to access the services proposed in Sonoma County Juvenile Hall. The Department is working closely with County Counsel and the County Administrator on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) template form for other counties’ use to clarify the roles of both the sending county and Sonoma County in support of the youth and families in our system. The individual agreements with partner counties in the North and Bay Area Regions of the state will return to your Board for execution upon completion.
Out of County Rate:
The Department is currently developing a rate structure within the context of these inter-county agreements which recovers the cost of safely and securely housing and treating these youth, and the evidence based supportive services necessary for successful transition to the community at the completion of the youth’s term of commitment. The MOU Template is currently in draft form, and the rate has not been finalized. The daily negotiated rate will include access to all programming available to assist each youth to rehabilitate and reintegrate back into their communities. As individual county MOU’s are executed, and the Department begins to accept out of county youth into our facilities in FY 21-22, we will work with the County Administrator on the appropriate budget adjustments to recognize the resulting revenue offset. At this time, based on the uncertainty around out of county referrals, no revenue assumptions have been included in the FY 21-22 budget.
Prior Board Actions:
May 25, 2021 the Board of Supervisors approved the Juvenile Justice Realignment Block Grant Annual Plan.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 21-22 Adopted |
FY22-23 Projected |
FY 23-24 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
|
|
|
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
500,000 |
652,571 |
|
|
Total Expenditures |
500,000 |
652,571 |
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
500,000 |
652,571 |
|
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
500,000 |
652,571 |
|
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
YPFG funds will be disbursed to the County quarterly in arrears for eligible expenditures, upon execution of the grant agreements with BSCC, and will allow three (3) years to use the funds. The attached budget resolution requests appropriations of $500,000 in order to begin implementing the projects associated with needed improvements immediately upon execution of the grant agreements. Funds should be fully expended in year two of the grant period (FY 22-23), and will be included in annual budget development.
The Department is working with the Information Systems Department and General Services on more refined project plans and estimates. Additionally, the Department will be required under the grant to provide regular reporting on expenditures to the BSCC and the Realignment Subcommittee of the Sonoma County Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
n/a |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
n/a
Attachments:
Sonoma County YPFG Part A Application
Sonoma County YPFG Part B Application
SB 823 Grant Award Resolution
SB 823 Grant Budget Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
n/a