To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Probation Department
Staff Name and Phone Number: Christine Williams, 565-2145
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Youth Reinvestment Grant
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Authorize the County Administrator to sign a Grant Agreement with the Board of State and Community Corrections accepting $1,000,000 over three years for the Youth Reinvestment Grant program. (Majority vote requirement.)
B) Adopt a Resolution adjusting the fiscal year 19-20 budget, increasing appropriations and reimbursement in the Probation Department Juvenile Grants budget by $181,667 to fund Youth Reinvestment Grant services.
(4/5th vote required)
end
Executive Summary:
The Sonoma County Probation Department submitted a grant application to the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) for their Youth Reinvestment Grant Program (YRG) seeking to fund the implementation of a new countywide juvenile diversion program. On June 13, 2019, Sonoma County was awarded $1,000,000 for a period of three years and eight months (July 2019 - February 2023) to contract with a community-based organization(s) for the Sonoma County Youth Diversion Program (SCYDP), of the total $181,667 will be programmed for FY 2019-20.
Discussion:
The Sonoma County Youth Diversion Program (SCYDP) will divert low risk youth into intensive and individualized community-based services, in lieu of formal court processing. The program will serve approximately 20 youth and their families annually (5-7 at a given time) and is intended to support youth who enter the juvenile justice system and are identified as low-risk of re-offending, with high individual and family needs. Currently, no diversion program with this level of treatment and support exists in Sonoma County.
The Sonoma County Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council (JJCC) meets quarterly to update and monitor the Comprehensive Multi-Agency Juvenile Justice Plan, which identifies a key goal of increasing diversion options within the county and which directly informed the design of the SCYDP. The JJCC is comprised of Probation, Juvenile Court partners, law enforcement, community-based organizations, and other juvenile justice stakeholders.
Using the County’s Request for Proposal process, Probation will contract with one or more community-based organizations to provide services to diverted youth and families for an average of three months. Low- risk, high-need youth with a low-level criminal offense will be identified and referred to the program by Probation Intake Officers. When appropriate, Probation will collaborate with the District Attorney’s office for eligible youth with mandatory referrals. Selected community-based organizations will employ assertive engagement strategies to maximize client engagement in the program. Services provided will be culturally proficient, individualized, and evidence-based.
The goals of SCYDP are as follows:
1. Reduce the number of low-risk youth in Sonoma County with formal involvement in the juvenile justice system;
2. Improve youth and family outcomes for low-risk youth referred to Probation; and
3. Provide an opportunity to address disproportionate minority contact with the justice system.
As of March 2019, 48 youth assessed as low risk to reoffend were under supervision by Probation. While Probation has been implementing the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model for more than 10 years and has reduced the number of low-risk youth on Probation, there remains an opportunity to further adhere to RNR principles: research shows that low-risk youth are best served outside the juvenile justice system. Males and youth of color are disproportionately represented in the population of low risk youth referred to probation, mirroring national juvenile justice trends. While African American youth age 12-17 represent just 2.7% of the county’s population, they represent 8.3% of low risk youth on probation, in contrast to white youth, who make up about half of the county’s population age 12-17, but account for 33% of youth on supervision. Males account for just over half of the population aged 12-17 but represent nearly three-quarters of all low risk youth on supervision.
The SCYDP will serve as an intervention model through which service providers are able to enter the family home, build relationships with parents/caregivers, help navigate complex service systems, improve family functioning, and strengthen natural supports to prevent youth from future system involvement.
Finally, to meet the goals of the grant project, the SCYDP will include an evaluation of the program implementation and outcomes. In line with best practices, an evaluator will work closely with the Probation Programming Implementation and Evaluation team on developing the evaluation plan, working with the relevant data provided by the County and contractor, and making program improvement recommendations based on their findings. The Department will identify the appropriate evaluation partner via the County’s Request for Proposal (RFP) process, and return to the Board in the fall of 2019 with the contract award.
Prior Board Actions:
N/A
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 19-20 Adopted |
FY20-21 Projected |
FY 21-22 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
32,841 |
416,677 |
416,667 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
181,667 |
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
214,508 |
416,677 |
416,677 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
8,333 |
16,666 |
16,666 |
|
State/Federal |
191,175 |
366,011 |
366,011 |
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
15,000 |
34,000 |
34,000 |
|
Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
214,508 |
416,677 |
416,677 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The total cost of the multi-year program will be $1,256,201; which includes $1,000,000 from the State for direct contract services provided to youth and families. A $156,201 in-kind local match from State Juvenile Probation 2011 Realignment Funds will come from an existing Juvenile Program Manager totaling $106,203, and General Fund Indirect Costs totaling $49,998. The only hard-cost local match is a “Use of Fund Balance” (Juvenile Probation 2011 Realignment) for program evaluation services totaling $100,000. The attached YRG Program Budget provides fiscal details by year over the four-year grant period.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
|
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:
07-23-2019 PRB YRG Award Resolution
07-23-2019 PRB YRG Budget Resolution
2019 YRG Budget
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
n/a