To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): District Attorney
Staff Name and Phone Number: Renate Amantite, ASO II, 565-3150
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Family Justice Center Grants
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Adopt a Resolution authorizing the District Attorney to execute a contract with the Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Victim of Crime to participate in the “Transforming Family Justice Center Services: Creating New Pathways of Hope and Healing for Polyvictims Program” for direct services revenue in the amount of $850,000 for the term October 1, 2019, through September 30, 2022.
B) Adopt a Resolution authorizing the District Attorney to execute a contract with the Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Violence Against Women to continue to participate in the “Improving Criminal Justice Responses Grant Program” for direct services revenue in the amount of $750,000 for the term October 1, 2019, through September 30, 2022.
C) Adopt a resolution to make budget adjustments necessary to appropriate these grant funds for FY 2019-20, totaling $399,185.63 (4/5th Vote Required).
D) Adopt a resolution adding 0.80 FTE time-limited Administrative Aide allocation to the department allocation table, through September 30, 2022, to support the continuation of the “Creating New Pathways of Hope and Healing for Polyvictims Program”.
end
Executive Summary:
The Family Justice Center Sonoma County (FJCSC) was developed by a broad coalition of community members, victim advocates, law enforcement agencies, and prosecutors to respond to the serious incidences of domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, dating violence, and stalking in Sonoma County, collectively referred to as family and community violence.
The Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Victims of Crime “Transforming Family Justice Center Services: Creating New Pathways of Hope and Healing for Polyvictims Program,” with revenue of $850,000 over three years, seeks to enhance services for these specialized clients by continuing comprehensive wrap-around services and introducing the whole-person and Hope Theory models of treatment and healing. This will be achieved with the assistance of a time-limited 0.80 FTE Administrative Aide serving as a Project Coordinator.
The Office of Violence Against Women’s “Improving Criminal Justice Responses Grant Program” seeks to strengthen existing victim services provided at the Family Justice Center with $750,000 over a three-year agreement.
Discussion:
Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Victims of Crime: Creating New Pathways of Hope and Healing for Polyvictims Program
Grant Award: $850,000
With this program, the Family Justice Center Sonoma County (FJCSC) will build upon its work serving polyvictims which began through the Office for Victims of Crime’s (OVC) 2016 demonstration initiative, “A Pathway to Justice, Healing, and Hope” grant. Polyvictimization describes the collective experience of multiple types of violence, usually in multiple settings, and often at the hands of multiple perpetrators, including: physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; neglect; witnessing violence; and separation from, abandonment by, or impairment of partners, parents, and/or caregivers due to drugs, illness, or incarceration. Polyvictims are the most vulnerable population served by the FJCSC and are at heightened risk of experiencing further victimizations. Based on a six-month assessment of clients visiting the FJCSC, 90% had experienced three or more types of victimizations. The 69 victims who were identified as polyvictims and completed a full polyvictimization questionnaire, had been victimized an average of 16 times in adulthood and 11 times in the previous year alone. The complex nature of polyvictims’ trauma and vulnerability to future victimizations necessitates a long-term continuum of care that prioritizes polyvictims in Sonoma County. The proposed project will enable the FJCSC to further evolve services for polyvictims and expand partnerships with providers that meet polyvictims’ complex needs. A variety of holistic services and the adoption of a whole-person framework are essential in reducing the risk of future victimizations and preventing negative mental and physical health outcomes.
Through the Office of Victims of Crime 2019 “Transforming Family Justice Center Services: Creating New Pathways of Hope and Healing for Polyvictims Program”, the FJCSC will expand its program and provide long-term case management for polyvictims with goals and objectives including:
1. Expanding commitment to integrate a trauma-informed approach, incorporating Hope Theory and applying the belief that the future can be brighter and better than the past and individuals have a role to play in creating a brighter future;
2. Developing a strategic plan for expanding the assessment tool used collaboratively among partners as well as standardizing data policies among all partners;
3. Identifying new partnerships to address the needs of polyvictims including substance abuse counseling and financial services;
4. Continue partnering with Hatcheul Tabernik & Associates, a research company, to conduct a site-specific project evaluation using an action research model, participate in a learning exchange team, and provide site-specific technical assistance to help in identifying services for expansion as well as additional partner agencies, and conduct a final assessment on the program’s impact to victims.
The grant funding and program include one 0.80 FTE time-limited Administrative Aide, county position to work at the Family Justice Center to help provide program coordination, research, data tracking and ensure compliance with all grant reporting requirements.
The project will continue to collaborate with many local agencies including Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa, Council on Aging, Legal Aid of Sonoma County, Verity, and the YWCA of Sonoma County.
During the three year grant period, $260,558 will go toward salary and benefits for the Administrative Aide; $546,555 toward procurement contracts with partner agencies providing direct services to victims; $13,426 toward supplies for Survivor Empowerment Group and Coping Skills Group (English and Spanish), Survivor Day of Nurturing, and travel vouchers; and the remaining $29,461 toward travel for training and indirect costs.
Office of Violence Against Women: Improving Criminal Justice Responses
Grant Award: $750,000
This Opportunity is a continuation of the 2016-2019 Office of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women “Improving Criminal Justice Responses Grant Program.”
Between 2016 and 2018, the FJCSC served 4,045 unduplicated victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, and other forms of interpersonal violence, 76% or 3,084 of whom were new FJCSC clients. In 2018, the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office reviewed 1,313 domestic violence cases, 122 sexual assault cases (not including rape), and 24 rape cases. The number of domestic violence cases reviewed has sadly remained unchanged during the past four years, ranging between 1,353 in 2015 and 1,313 in 2018.
The main reason prosecutors dismiss cases for crimes against FJCSC victims, is due to a lack of victim cooperation during crime investigations. Without victim cooperation, criminal justice partners at the FJCSC and throughout the county are often unable to compile sufficient evidence to successfully prosecute these offenders. Victims who feel supported by the criminal justice system tend to participate and cooperate more in the justice process. Victims are often unwilling to cooperate with law enforcement and other criminal justice agencies because: 1) they are engaged in a cycle of abuse and do not want to get their abuser in trouble; 2) they are afraid of their abuser; and/or, 3) they have nowhere else to go for resources (besides back to their abuser). There is a clear need to provide trauma-informed and victim-centered support to increase victim cooperation with criminal justice agencies in order to improve investigation and prosecution of their abusers. There is also a need for robust investigation processes to collect sufficient evidence of crimes of interpersonal violence to assist in prosecution and hold offenders accountable.
The FJCSC is built on a foundation of partnerships and collaborations to provide trauma-informed and victim-centered services and support to FJCSC client. The addition of a specialized Investigator furthers this effort and greatly improves the county’s criminal justice response to domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, dating violence, and stalking. In 2018, the District Attorney assigned an experienced Investigator to the FJCSC and this grant funding helps sustain this valuable resource for the FJCSC. The Investigator complements the existing colocation of services onsite at the FJCSC by focusing on coordinating with law enforcement, victims, witnesses, advocates, and others to investigate and prosecute cases. Specifically, the Investigator helps ensure the proper chain of custody with evidence and exhibits, expedites meetings and pre-trial preparation, and works directly with detectives from different law enforcement agencies regarding cases being prosecuted by the District Attorney’s Office.
FJCSC Navigators and Advocates engage the Investigator directly to facilitate contact with local law enforcement to document an initial statement and launch an investigation, receive updates on case investigations and/or prosecutions, talk with victims to demystify the investigation and prosecution process (e.g., clarifying exactly what will happen in the courtroom), and increase their likelihood to cooperate in this process. We will now have funding for a 0.50 FTE dedicated Investigator at the FJCSC providing continuity of the advocacy team, allowing for victims to be interviewed in a comfortable environment, where they can feel physically and emotionally safe, and as a sworn law enforcement officer, the Investigator ensures any new information can be reported properly.
The Improving Criminal Justice Responses Grant Program seeks to strengthen the existing victim services provided at the FJCSC and achieve the following goals:
1. Secure a dedicated 50% FTE Investigator onsite at the FJCSC to increase coordination among law enforcement and partner agencies to enable more effective and efficient investigation and prosecution of alleged crimes against FJCSC clients and to increase the number of crimes that are prosecuted with victim cooperation;
2. Ensure that victims have access to and receive needed services that contribute to their safety, recovery, and stability through referral to appropriate services provided by onsite and offsite partners;
3. Design and implement a collaborative and participatory strategic planning process and develop a comprehensive plan for long-term sustainability for the FJCSC.
The grant program also includes the provision of advocacy (including bilingual advocacy), civil legal, emergency counseling, and other services by onsite nonprofit service providers. The key nonprofit, nongovernmental victim service organizations involved in the development and direct implementation of this project include: Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa, Council on Aging, Legal Aid of Sonoma County, Verity, and YWCA of Sonoma County. Through these partnerships, the FJCSC has established a robust and successful model for providing coordinated wrap-around services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, dating violence, and stalking, and aspires to serve all victims of family and community violence in Sonoma County.
During the three year grant period, $335,286.50 will go toward salary and benefits for the DA Investigator; $20,000 for travel; $355,000 for contracts with partner agencies providing direct services to victims; and $39,713.50 in indirect costs.
Prior Board Actions:
Approved the increase of the Polyvictimization Coordinator from 0.50 FTE to 0.80 FTE on January 8, 2019.
Approved the acceptance of the 2016-19 Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Victim of Crime “A Pathway to Justice, Healing, and Hope: Addressing Polyvictimization in a Family Justice Center Setting Demonstration Initiative” and Office of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women “Improving Criminal Justice Responses Grant Program”, grants on November 1, 2016.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 19-20 Adopted |
FY20-21 Projected |
FY 21-22 Projected |
FY 22-23 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses OVC Polyvictims Program OVW Improving Criminal Justice Response |
|
$281,435.00 $248,089.25 |
$284,021.00 $252,485.12 |
$71,301.00 $63,483.00 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested OVC Polyvictims Program OVW Improving Criminal Justice Response |
$213,243.00 $185,942.63 |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$399,185.63 |
$529,524.25 |
$536,506.13 |
$134,784.00 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
|
State/Federal OVC Polyvictims Program OVW Improving Criminal Justice Response |
$213,243.00 $185,942.63 |
$281,435.00 $248,089.25 |
$284,021.00 $252,485.12 |
$71,301.00 $63,483.00 |
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
|
Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$399,185.63 |
$529,524.25 |
$536,506.13 |
$134,784.00 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The Polyvictimization Program is a three year Federal Fiscal Year program with funds of $850,000 split among FY 2019-20 (Q2, Q3, Q4), FY 2020-21, FY 2021-22, and FY 2022-23 (Q1).
Improving Criminal Justice Responses Grant Program is a three year Federal Fiscal Year program with funds of $750,000 split among FY 2019-20 (Q2, Q3, Q4), FY 2020-21, FY 2021-22, and FY 2022-23 (Q1).
|
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
Administrative Aide (0810) |
$4,576.01-$5,562.18 |
0.8 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
For the Polyvictims grant, the re-institution of the 0.80 FTE time-limited Administrative Aide allocation will not increase, decrease or change the work of any existing positions. The incumbent will continue to coordinate and facilitate program planning and evaluation meetings, document program design, track data and report on progress, complete grant reporting, and serve as the liaison with grant funder. Additionally, the Administrative Aide will build strong inter-agency collaboration, develop data collection and analysis systems that can refine service strategies, bring new resources to provide a variety of holistic services, and introduce the whole-person treatment framework. This position has been in place since October 2016 when the first three year term Polyvictimization Program grant was awarded and expired on September 30, 2019 at the end of that grant period. Notification of the 2019-2022 grant was not received until late September. It was then too late to extend the position before it expired, therefore the 0.8 FTE now needs to be added as a new allocation.
The ICJR grant increases the District Attorney’s Office investigations workload by a .50 FTE. Investigation assignments are changing and the resulting .50 FTE workload shortfall will be filled with a seasoned retiree extra help investigator. If and when additional funding becomes available for an additional 0.50 FTE District Attorney Investigator, the District Attorney will submit a request for a permanent or time-limited 1.0 FTE investigator position allocation.
Attachments:
A. Resolution to Execute Polyvictim Agreement
B. Resolution to Execute Improving Criminal Justice Response Agreement
C. Resolution to Approve Budget Adjustment
D. Resolution to Approve Position Allocation
E. Polyvictim Award Letter and Agreement
F. ICJR Award Letter and Agreement
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None