To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): District Attorney
Staff Name and Phone Number: Tatiana Lopez 565-2822
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services County Victim Services Program and Professional Services Agreement Amendments for the District Attorney’s Victim Services Division and Family Justice Center Programs.
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Execute a contract with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services for the County Victim Services Program Grant.
i. Adopt a resolution authorizing the District Attorney to execute a contract with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to accept the award in the amount of $262,294 for the term January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021.
ii. Adopt a resolution extending the 1.0 FTE time-limited Administrative Aide position to the department allocation table through March 31, 2022 to support continuation of this program. Extending the position beyond the grant term will allow for continuity in the program in the event that grant renewal notification is delayed as it has been in the past.
B) Authorize Amendments to Professional Service Agreements with YWCA of Sonoma County.
i. Authorize the District Attorney to execute an Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement with the YWCA of Sonoma County to continue to provide outreach and referral services to unsheltered victims of domestic violence for the extended grant term of January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021 in the amount of $50,000. The agreement will be funded by the California Office of Emergency Services’ County Victim Services Program Grant.
ii. Authorize the District Attorney to execute an Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement with YWCA to provide case management, advocacy, and referral services to victims of domestic violence for the extended grant term of January 1, 2021 through March 31, 2021 in the amount of $10,938.00. This agreement will be funded by the California Office of Emergency Services’ Family Justice Center Program Grant.
end
Executive Summary:
Board approval to authorize the District Attorney to execute a contract to continue participation in the County Victim Services Program (Outreach and Services to Homeless Victims of Crime) funded by the State of California, Office of Emergency Services for $262,294 from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021.
The objective of the Outreach and Services to Homeless Victims of Crime Program is to provide advocacy, case management and prosecution to the most vulnerable in Sonoma County, homeless victims of crime who may suffer from a disabling condition. The Homeless Outreach Team operates in collaboration with the Sonoma County System of Care, endorsed by the County of Sonoma Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, October 9, 2018.
The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office receives grant funding for programs including the following:
A. California Office of Emergency Services’ Outreach and Services to Homeless Victims of Crime Grant, and
B. California Office of Emergency Services’ Family Justice Center Program (Approval to accept grants funds and budget adjustments authorized by the Board Supervisors on March 19, 2019).
These grants rely upon partnerships with community-based organizations to achieve the goals set forth in the programs. These partnerships are formalized with Professional Service Agreements between the District Attorneys’ Office and community-based organizations.
The Professional Service Agreements with the YWCA of Sonoma County exceed an aggregate $100,000 per calendar year and therefore require approval by the Board.
Discussion:
The Victim Services Division of the District Attorney’s Office provides crisis intervention; emergency assistance; referral assistance; orientation to the Criminal Justice System; court escort/court support; case status and case disposition information; and claims assistance to victims of crime in Sonoma County.
Managed by the District Attorney’s Office, the Family Justice Center is a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary, co-located service center in Santa Rosa that provides services to victims of sexual assault/domestic violence, child/elder abuse, dating violence, and stalking in Sonoma County.
The unsheltered population continues to be one of Sonoma County’s greatest challenges. Sonoma County Homeless Census and Survey, Point-in-Time Count was conducted on February 28, 2020. At that time, the homeless population was 2,745, a reduction of 206 individuals from the 2019 count. Of that, 38% were sheltering in emergency or transitional housing and 62% were unsheltered, living on the streets, abandoned buildings, cars or encampment areas, a modest decrease in those unsheltered from 2019. People who experience homelessness have an average life expectancy of around 50 years of age, almost 20 years lower than housed populations.
The Sonoma County Homeless Outreach Team has identified domestic violence as the most prevalent crime type and reason for becoming homeless for the clients we serve. This is confirmed with 39% of the respondents reporting they have experienced domestic violence, compared to 34% in 2019. One of the goals of this program is to serve this vulnerable population by focusing on victimization such as domestic violence and sexual assault. The Homeless Census identified 80 homeless families in Sonoma County, 59 counted as unaccompanied children, and 245 as transition-age youth. Of the 245, 28% respondents have been in the foster care system.
In the last year, the Homeless Outreach Team served 156 families and 244 individuals (many of whom are served throughout the year, as returning clients). The team served over twice as many families and almost 150% more individuals in 2020 than in 2019. Many of the clients are attempting to flee domestic violence, so would not have been counted in the Homeless Census. The most common age group served is 25-59. For many of the clients served by the Homeless Outreach Team, transportation can be a barrier; because the Family Justice Center was able to pivot to provide remote services when Shelter in Place commenced in March, families could receive services by phone, which may account in part for the significant increases in the number of clients served.
The California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) Outreach and Services to Homeless Victims of Crime Program award of $262,294 provides funds for an additional year of this program. The funds provide salaries and benefits for one full-time Homeless Outreach Coordinator housed within the Family Justice Center as part of the Victim Services Division of the District Attorney’s Office. Salary and benefits for this position was estimated at $107,067 based on budget projections and grant funds cover the entire amount, however there was an error in calculating the salary amount at the time of the application and a grant modification is in process to make the correction. The budget for the project, once the modification is processed will include $119,389 to cover the salary and benefits for the Homeless Outreach Coordinator.
The grant provides funding for Outreach Workers with current Community Based Organizations (CBO) who have expertise in victim assistance. The collaborative agencies are Catholic Charities, Verity, and the YWCA of Sonoma County.
The YWCA of Sonoma County will provide a full-time Outreach Worker, receive $50,000 of grant funds, and will provide grant matching in-kind services of $13,230 to cover their 24/7 hotline operation. Verity will provide a full-time Outreach Worker, receive $50,000 of grant funds, and will provide grant matching in-kind services of $12,732 to cover their 24/7 hotline operation.
Catholic Charities will provide a halftime Outreach Worker, receive $25,000 in grant funds, and will provide grant matching in-kind services of $6,825 to cover their 24/7 hotline operation.
Catholic Charities has experience serving the homeless, Verity targets victims of sexual assault and the YWCA focuses on domestic violence abuse. These partner agencies have been at the forefront for victim case management and sought to participate in this program as agreed by the Victim Services Steering Committee in 2016. Additional grant funds will be utilized for emergency housing vouchers ($16,303), outreach worker travel reimbursement ($1,094), and supplies and materials ($508).
The Outreach and Services to Homeless Victims of Crime program expands and enhances a coordinated system of multi-disciplinary response, outreach, and case management and provides timely and comprehensive services to homeless crime victims that may have disabling conditions.
Core services provided by partners include:
• Specialty outreach for homeless crime victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, as well as general crimes to provide wrap around services
• Complete screening by outreach workers to direct victims to services
• Emergency resources available to resolve immediate needs like food, clothing, and transportation
• Assistance with referrals for housing, health and social services
• Coordinated intake to encourage clients to participate in the full screening and assistance through nonprofit agencies; as well as transportation to shelters and services as needed
• 24/7 hotline resource cards and care kits provided
Available funding pays for short-term housing at two local motels; transportation in the form of City or County buses, and fuel cards, grocery store gift cards for food, and vouchers for clothing and shoes.
These grants rely upon partnerships with community-based organizations to achieve the goals set forth in the programs supported with the grant funds. The District Attorney’s Office contract with the YWCA of Sonoma County is required for the successful execution of these grant programs.
The YWCA of Sonoma County supports families affected by domestic violence by providing safe shelter, therapy, advocacy, and on-going support. These contracts were single-sourced as YWCA of Sonoma County is the only domestic violence advocacy agency in Sonoma County.
Under the California Office of Emergency Services’ Outreach and Services to Homeless Victims of Crime Grant, the YWCA will provide one full-time outreach worker who, in partnership with the Homeless Outreach Team, will provide direct outreach to unsheltered victims of crime, focusing on those experiencing disabling mental and physical conditions. The Outreach Worker will assist homeless victims of crime with disabling conditions to obtain housing, health services, and social services; engage individuals in a vulnerability assessment and link victims to ongoing, comprehensive care as well as to prosecution, compensation, and restitution; provide emergency resources and services; identify and address factors that increase the likelihood that homeless individuals who have disabling conditions will become crime victims; foster coordination across the County to sustainably address multiple difficulties of homeless victims of crime with disabling conditions.
The California Office of Emergency Services’ Family Justice Center Program is to improve capabilities for established Family Justice Centers. This award provides funds to support the work of the Family Justice Center of Sonoma County.
The Family Justice Center of Sonoma County has established, working relationships with governmental and community organizations to ensure coordinated services are provided to victims. Funding bolstered the number of staff for the District Attorney’s office and the Community Based Organizations. This allowed for shortened wait times for clients to begin their service delivery process. Staff provides emergency resources and services outreach, advocacy, navigation, case management and legal services to victims.
For calendar year 2021, the aggregate of all Professional Services Agreements between the District Attorney’s Office and the YWCA of Sonoma County total $151,521.02. As a result, these Amendments require approval by the Board of Supervisors.
Prior Board Actions:
1) California Office of Emergency Services’ Outreach and Services to Homeless Victims of Crime Grant:
February 4, 2020: Board approved the acceptance of California Office of Emergency Services’ Outreach and Services to Homeless Victims of Crime Grant (grant term: January 2020 through December 2020) by the District Attorney Victim Services Division.
October 23, 2018: Board approved the extension of the program through December 31, 2019.
November 1, 2016: The Board of Supervisors granted approval to accept the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services for the Outreach and Services to Homeless Victims of Crime Grant Program (grant term: July 2016 through June 2018).
2) California Office of Emergency Services Family Justice Center Grant:
March 19, 2019: Board approved the acceptance of California Office of Emergency Services’ Family Justice Center Program (grant term: January 2019 through December 2020) by the District Attorney’s Family Justice Center.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 20-21 Adopted |
FY21-22 Projected |
FY 22-23 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses: CalOES Family Justice Center Programs - Amendment CalOES Outreach and Services to Homeless Victims of Crime Program |
$10,938 $131,147 |
$131,147 |
$0 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
|
Total Expenditures |
$142,085 |
$131,147 |
$0 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
$142,085 |
$131,147 |
$0 |
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$142,085 |
$131,147 |
$0 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
While the total amount paid to the YWCA under these two contracts does not exceed $100,000.00 in any one-year period, a previous contract for services also extends funding to the YWCA of Sonoma County. The aggregate of all contracts puts the YWCA over the annual threshold of $100,000.00 for calendar year 2021, therefore requiring Board approval. For calendar year 2021, the Professional Services Agreements and Amendments between the District Attorney’s Office and the YWCA Sonoma County amount to $151,521.02. All contract costs will be fully reimbursed by the grants, with no General Fund support required.
1) Budgetary appropriations were included in the department’s Fiscal Year 2020/21 Adopted Budget.
2) The CalOES Outreach and Services to Homeless Victims of Crime Program is non-competitive, funds for the 2021 program were anticipated and included in the department budget approved in September 2020 for Fiscal Year 2020/21.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
Administrative Aide |
$4,713.41 - $5,729.14 |
0 (Extension) |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
The extension of the 1.0 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, track data, and report on progress. Additionally, the Administrative Aide (Homeless Outreach Coordinator) will build strong inter-agency collaboration, develop data collection and analysis systems that can refine service strategies, and bring new resources to provide a variety of services. This position has been in place since October 2016 when the first two-year term of the Homeless Outreach Program grant was awarded.
The end date of the grant-funded Administrative Aide will be 3/31/2022, which will allow the position to continue beyond the contract’s expiration in order to accommodate common contract renewal delays. In the event that the contract is not renewed beyond December 31, 2021, the non-grant funded position costs from January 1, 2022 through March 31, 2022 would be paid with General Fund salary savings by the department. This grant is non-competitive and is expected to be continued in the future.
Attachments:
Resolution A - Grant Acceptance
Resolution B - Position Allocation
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
1) YWCA First Amendment to Professional Services Agreement - CalOES Homeless
2) YWCA First Amendment to Professional Services Agreement - CalOES FJC
3) Grant Award Document