To: Board of Supervisors of Sonoma County
Department or Agency Name(s): Probation Department
Staff Name and Phone Number: Marcella Chandler 565-6211
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): County-wide
Title:
Title
Professional Services Agreement for Juvenile Evening Reporting Center
End
Recommended Actions:
Recommended action
Authorize the Chief Probation Officer to execute an Agreement with The Center for Social and Environmental Stewardship (The Center) to provide a Juvenile Evening Reporting Center program to delinquent youth to support positive youth development for a term of July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2022, in an amount of $825,000.
end
Executive Summary:
The Probation Department requests Board approval to execute an Agreement with The Center for Social and Environmental Stewardship to provide a Juvenile Evening Reporting Center (ERC) program to youth involved in the juvenile justice system. This program, the “Vista Academy” is a Juvenile Evening Reporting Center where youth engage in a variety of programing including evidence based programs shown to reduce recidivism, academic support, employment development, recreational and physical education activities, and other activities consistent with the positive development of youth. The program is designed to structure a youth’s time while addressing their criminogenic needs (those needs shown to be linked to commission of crimes). Approximately 26 youth per year participate in this service. For fiscal year 2019-2020, $275,000 from the Juvenile Probation Activities fund (Realignment 2011) has been allocated for this agreement, based on historical spending for this program. This source will fund this agreement in future budget cycles as well.
Discussion:
Description of Services
Vista Academy is an intensive, community-based, after-school program (juvenile evening reporting center, or ERC) intended to supervise, assist, and serve juveniles referred by the Probation Department or Court-ordered to attend the program. The ERC provides a variety of services to youth including cognitive behavioral programming, tutoring, employment assistance and physical education. Youth are transported to and from the program and provided with meals. Occasional outings provide opportunities for youth to engage in pro-social, skill-building activities.
Vista provides intensive services designed to structure a significant amount of a youth’s free time over a period of several months and help gain skills and connections to support crime-free living. Ideal candidates are male age 14-17, who struggle to maintain successful probation because of poor impulse control/ inadequate consequential thinking and would benefit from the structuring of significant amounts of their free time and intensive behavior change services. Currently the program can serve a total of 16 male youth at a time. Vista is run by the Center for Social and Environmental Stewardship.
The ERC will operate during the afternoon and evening hours, which are identified as the peak hours for delinquent activities. The ERC will be organized around a Positive Youth Justice (PYJ) Framework. As such, the mission of the ERC is to assist youth, within a highly-structured, community-based setting, in developing skills and connections for successful, self-sufficient, crime-free adulthood. The ERC provides progressive supervision and structure based on youths’ developmental progress within the program, as well as skill development and positive connections to promote long-term pro-social community participation and to prevent reoffending and/or failing probation, which could result in further detention. The program includes a family engagement component that will allow for caregivers and other supportive adults to learn how to promote their youth’s positive development. The program will collaborate with other community-based organizations and leverage outside resources in order to provide a robust array of services.
In summary, the goal is to implement this program to assist youth and their families in successfully completing probation, preventing the relapse of criminal behavior and reducing crime. This program will provide a cost-effective alternative to detention for juvenile offenders who would benefit from structured programming during the after school hours when most at risk of involvement in misbehavior or youth who are having difficulty complying with the terms of their Probation. Evaluations of programming used at Vista have shown positive, long-term impacts related to recidivism reduction.
Short-term outcomes are reported for this program annually. For FY 2017-2018, youth showed the following improvements associated with their participation in Aggression Replacement Training while in the program:
• 76% of youth reported a decrease in general anger and aggressive responses.
• 71% of youth reported an increase in beginning social skills;
• 62% youth reported an increase in advanced social skills;
• 81% youth reported an increase in skills for dealing with feelings; and
• 71% youth reported an increase in skills alternatives to aggression.
Youth also:
• Demonstrated improvements in self-efficacy as part of their participation in Boy’s Council;
• Submitted proof of improved academic performance while in the program (such as earned credits, receipt of special school achievement or recognition, and/or all passing grades on report cards); and
• Completed the Career Exploration Inventory assessment, completed worksheets related to building soft- and work-readiness skills, and began development of a portfolio that included a basic resume template.
Request for Proposals
In 2010, Probation conducted a Request for Proposals (RFP) process for a Juvenile Evening Reporting Center. The Center for Social and Environmental Stewardship was the successful bidder in the process and held the contract until a subsequent RFP was completed in 2014. The Center was again the successful bidder in the 2014 process. A one-year contract was executed for the fiscal year 2014-2015 and a subsequent two-year agreement was executed covering fiscal years 2015-2016 and 2016-2017. On 6/11/18, the Probation Department received Board and Purchasing approval to renew the contract, which extended one year into fiscal year 2018-2019.
In March of 2019, the Probation Department initiated another RFP for the Juvenile Evening Reporting Center. Five bids were submitted for the RFP, and a review panel of five county staff, including one staff from another department, was convened. The Center for Social and Environmental Stewardship’s bid scored the highest in the categories of:
• Case planning & programming;
• Experience, qualifications, and expertise;
• Program administration/site logistics; and
• Lowest cost relative to the scope of services.
The reviewers felt the program offered by the Center was the most cohesive and well matched to the needs of the target population. The selection process was guided by the County’s Safety Net Services Contracting Principles.
Prior Board Actions:
Annually beginning 10/19/2010 the Board has authorized agreements for the Juvenile Evening Reporting center, including the most recent agreement for Vista Academy, authorized on June 11, 2018.
April 2, 2019 Board adopted Safety Net Services Contracting Principles.
Fiscal Summary
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Expenditures |
FY 18-19 Adopted |
FY19-20 Projected |
FY 20-21 Projected |
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Budgeted Expenses |
275,000 |
275,000 |
275,000 |
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Additional Appropriation Requested |
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Total Expenditures |
275,000 |
275,000 |
275,000 |
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Funding Sources |
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General Fund/WA GF |
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State/Federal |
275,000 |
275,000 |
275,000 |
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Fees/Other |
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Use of Fund Balance |
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Contingencies |
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Total Sources |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The total annual contract amount for this agreement is $275,000. For fiscal year 2019-2020 through 2021-2022, funding from the Juvenile Probation Activities fund (Realignment 2011) is allocated for this agreement. This amount is based on historical spending on this program.
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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:
Professional Services Agreement with “The Center for Social and Environmental Stewardship”
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
n/a