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STATE OF CALIFORNIA BOARD OF STATE COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS CALVIP GRANT AWARD
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council approve a resolution:
1. Authorizing the acceptance of grant funding from the State of California Board of State Community Corrections California Violence Intervention and Prevention (CalVIP) Grant; and
2. Authorizing all required appropriations and expenditures in compliance with and for the purposes stated in the project agreement over a two year time period, including $428,000 of Grant Revenue budget to be allocated between Office of Violence Prevention ($38,000) expenditures, and $390,000 for Community-Based Organization (CBO) sub recipient agreements and professional services.
3. Authorizing the City Manager to execute, on behalf of the City of Stockton, all required contracts or agreements with the granting agency, provide additional information and furnish such documents as may be required, execute all documents and amendments or extensions pertaining to the grant project, and take any and all necessary and appropriate actions to carry out the purpose and intent of the resolution; and
4. Authorizing Professional Services Agreements with Friends Outside and Faith in the Valley, associated with the approved CalVIP Grant; and
5. Authorizing the City Manager to execute Professional Services Agreements within existing contract authority limits for additional grant sub recipients as consistent with the approved CalVIP Grant.
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Summary
In January 2018, the City of Stockton Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) submitted an application to the State of California’s Board of State Community Corrections (BSCC) CalVIP Grant. On April 23, 2018, the City of Stockton OVP was notified by the BSCC that the application was approved in the amount of $428,000 for a two-year period. The Operation Ceasefire partnership in Stockton has achieved successful outcomes as well as created a Leadership Council with funds from the BSCC Strengthening grant, which consist of clients at high risk of gun violence who have made progress and become advisors and advocates. The OVP proposes to utilize funds received for this grant to build on these successes to mobilize the community behind violence reduction as well as make the Leadership Council a community asset. The CalVIP grant will allow our partners, Friends Outside, to expand Ceasefire to Ceasefire Re-entry and Ceasefire Family Support. A consortium of faith based partners led by Faith in the Valley will conduct community engagement to spread a message of violence reduction and build community support for Ceasefire. The grant period runs from May 1, 2018 to June 30, 2020.
DISCUSSION
Background
The 2017 State Budget Act provides $1 million to the City of Los Angeles and $8.215 million for other cities and community-based organizations to compete for up to a $500,000 grant through a Request for Proposals (RFP) process. CalVIP funds are to be used for violence intervention and prevention activities, with preference given to applicants that propose to fund programs that have been shown to be the most effective at reducing violence. Preference will also be given to applicants in cities or regions that are disproportionately affected by violence. City grantees must subcontract with one or more community-based organizations for a minimum of 50 percent of their grant funds.
The OVP proposed to partner with Friends Outside, Faith in the Valley, Urban Peace Institute, the San Joaquin Community Data Co-Op and other service providers to be identified, to strengthen and advance Operation Ceasefire partnerships and approaches to collectively reduce violence in our community. With funds from the BSCC Strengthening Grant, the Operation Ceasefire partnership in Stockton has created a Leadership Council that consists of individuals at very high risk of gun violence, who were identified as Ceasefire clients and have made sufficient progress to become advisors and advocates for reducing violence in the community and building police-community trust. Peacekeepers have made a dramatic impact on the lives of key individuals that have been at the heart of violence in the community. However, while Operation Ceasefire is being successfully implemented in Stockton, the Marshall Plan anticipated the need for programs to expand. The Marshall Plan envisioned providing Operation Ceasefire services to a range of clients and reaching beyond clients to their support networks. In addition, the Marshall Plan calls for carrying a violence reduction message to the Stockton community at large. The goals of the CalVIP grant are to 1) Improve successful outcomes for Leadership Council participants 2) Improve successful outcomes for Ceasefire clients and their families and 3) Increase community participation in violence reduction efforts (Community Mobilization).
Present Situation
On April 23, 2018, the City of Stockton OVP was notified by the BSCC that the application was approved in the amount of $428,000 for a two-year period. The CalVIP grant period is legislatively designated for the period of May 1, 2018 through April 30, 2019. Given this timeframe, the BSCC requested that grant recipients execute the formal grant documents as soon as possible and subsequently demonstrate City Council approval and authorization for grant funding appropriation. As such, City staff complied with BSCC grant requirements and now presents to the City Council the authorizing resolution and grant agreement (Exhibit 1 to the Proposed Resolution).
The proposed project is a three-pronged strategy to build on the achievements and progress of Leadership Council participants who understand the challenges of those most at risk for gun violence, leaders that have left the life of violence and now speak against it; to improve successful outcomes for young men who are at highest risk of violence (i.e. Ceasefire clients) and their families; and to mobilize diverse community leaders and partners to support the violence reduction efforts of Operation Ceasefire. The first prong aims to provide services directly to the Leadership Council participants including education and job readiness coaching, financial support, housing, and the development and implementation of a leadership curriculum.
The second prong consists of expanding Operation Ceasefire client services and extends services to Operation Ceasefire Re-entry clients and family members of Operation Ceasefire clients. This second element of the grant enhances job readiness services and counseling services. In addition, this element will seek out a community partner to development and implement of a housing assistance/relocation program to increase the number of clients in safe, permanent housing. Furthermore, training will be pursued to provide additional tools and training for our Ceasefire outreach and case management workers for interacting and serving the population at very high risk of gun violence. Finally, each of these enhanced services will be offered to re-entry clients and family members of Operation Ceasefire clients through our CBO partner Friends Outside.
The third prong aims to mobilize and engage community members in support of Operation Ceasefire through churches, neighborhood canvassing, focus groups, listening sessions, peace walks, boot camps, one-on-one outreach, mentoring, and training and education to individuals and communities most impacted by violence; and to break down silos of services to increase community engagement through communication of evidence-based, anti-violence messaging to cultivate community ownership to reduce violence. A summary of how the grant funding will be allocated to these elements is included in the table below:
|
Grant Activity |
Funding Recipient |
Grant Funding |
|
Leadership Council Curriculum Development |
To be determined |
$20,000 |
|
Leadership Council Program - Client Services & Supplies |
Friends Outside |
$30,000 |
|
Ceasefire Re-Entry & Family Support Expansion Programs |
Friends Outside |
$200,000 |
|
Housing Program |
To be determined |
$50,000 |
|
Community Mobilization |
Faith in the Valley |
$75,000 |
|
Local Evaluation Plan & Final Report (Project Evaluation) |
San Joaquin Data-Co-Op |
$15,000 |
|
Peacekeeper Training Programs (Urban Peace Institute Outreach Training, Cognitive Behavior Training, Trauma Informed Care) |
City of Stockton - OVP |
$38,000 |
|
Total |
|
$428,000 |
The grant requires the City to subcontract with one or more CBOs for a minimum of 50 percent of the grant funds. Two partners that have strongly supported Operation Ceasefire for a number of years were identified to support this grant effort, Friends Outside and Faith in the Valley. The OVP and the community partners have a shared interest in supporting individuals and their families at highest risk of violence to make safer and healthier choices for themselves and for the Stockton community. In the Ceasefire framework, each partner has an important complementary role in the overall effort to reduce violence. While the Office of Violence Prevention is committed to providing meaningful support to impact the critical needs of individuals at highest risk of violence, such support requires partnerships like those that are in place with Friends Outside and Faith in the Valley. For the community partner agencies, supporting the highest risk population and their families closely aligns with these organizations’ missions and well-established programming.
Friends Outside will work with the OVP to provide the core staff support for the guidance of the Leadership Council. In addition, Friends Outside will facilitate portions of Operation Ceasefire direct communication meetings, engage the Ceasefire participants, and most importantly facilitate expansion of client services to the re-entry population and family members of Operation Ceasefire clients. Friends Outside has the expertise to work with incarcerated individuals and their families to deliver the Ceasefire message well before re-entry occurs, and continue case management and support once they have returned to the community. Grants funds would support a full-time case manager to work with individuals re-entering the community. Grants funds would also provide supportive services such as counseling and support groups as well as funds to pay for work readiness and educational expenses. In addition, grant funds would be used to continue the ongoing development of the Leadership Council and provide materials, supplies and food for Friends Outside to support Ceasefire Call-ins. Friends Outside will use grant funds to provide case management for the families of Ceasefire clients as well as offer the same supportive services including counseling and support groups as well as funds for work readiness, education and emergency needs related to food and household supplies. The proposed contract in the amount of $230,000 is included for approval as Exhibit 2 to the Proposed Resolution.
The OVP will also partner with Faith in the Valley to mobilize community members through outreach and education. These efforts will reach hundreds of impacted community members in neighborhoods that are hot spots for violence by delivering information and engaging residents through their place of worship, neighborhood canvassing, small group discussions, listening sessions, peace walks and one-on-one outreach. Mobilization strategies will also include 2-3 Live Free Boot Camps, 5-10 research meetings with law enforcement and community partners. Faith the Valley will also provide support through clergy at Ceasefire Call-in meetings and mentoring sessions. The proposed contract in the amount of $75,000 is included for approval as Exhibit 2 to the Resolution. Operation Ceasefire partners have implemented the valuable programs, but only when there is community-wide support for Operation Ceasefire will significant violence reduction take place.
Additionally, the OVP will utilize $38,000 in grant funds to provide training for staff from the OVP and CBO partners. The core training, a collaboration with the Urban Peace Institute, will provide a street outreach worker training course and certification for ten OVP staff. A training contract with Urban Peace will be executed under the City Manager’s authority. Additional trainings will be sought out with vendors to be determined for Cognitive Behavior Therapy, trauma informed care and hospital intervention.
Finally, a portion of grant funds will be used for Data Collection/Evaluation which will be under the leadership of the San Joaquin Community Data Co-Op. The OVP will partner with the evaluation team to assess the extent to which the program met the overarching goal of expanding the implementation of a comprehensive violent crime prevention program in Stockton. The San Joaquin Community Data Co-Op will collaborate with the grant team on the preparation of all BSCC progress reports. In addition, the evaluation team will prepare a local evaluation plan, logic model, and final evaluation report. A contract for this effort will be executed under the City Manager’s authority.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
The grant award is $428,000, accompanied by a match of $428,000 funded with a minimal cash match of City funds and principally by in-kind matches from the City and grant partners, for a total program cost of $856,000. The following actions will be necessary to meet the grant structure as reflected in the table below.
A. To account for the grant funds the following appropriation in FY 2018-19 is necessary:
Appropriate Revenue:
Grant Revenue 025-6498-334 $428,000
Appropriate Expenditures:
Professional Services 025-6498-530 $390,000
Other Services 025-6498-530 $ 38,000
B. The $40,000 cash match represents budgeted expenditures from the Office of Violence Prevention annual budget in support of Operation Ceasefire clients and training funds that will be used to enhance case management skills of Peacekeepers.
C. The $388,000 of in-kind match is comprised principally of employee salaries and benefits of both OVP and CBO partners as outline in the table below. In addition, a portion of the City’s consulting services from the California Partnership for Safe Community will be dedicated to grant implementation.
|
CalVIP Budget Line Item |
A. Grant Funds |
B. Cash Match |
C. In-Kind Match |
D. Total (A+B+C) |
|
1. Salaries and Benefits |
$0 |
$0 |
$206,654 |
$206,654 |
|
2. Services and Supplies |
$0 |
$30,000 |
$0 |
$30,000 |
|
3. Professional Services |
$20,000 |
$0 |
$40,000 |
$60,000 |
|
4. Community-Based Organization (CBO) Subcontracts |
$355,000 |
$0 |
$141,346 |
$496,346 |
|
5. Indirect Costs |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
|
6. Equipment/Fixed Assets |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
|
7. Project Evaluation |
$15,000 |
$0 |
$0 |
$15,000 |
|
8. Other (Travel, Training, etc.) |
$38,000 |
$10,000 |
$0 |
$48,000 |
|
TOTALS |
$428,000 |
$40,000 |
$388,000 |
$856,000 |