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APPROVE MOTION TO EXECUTE CITY OF STOCKTON STANDARD AGREEMENTS WITH PARTNERS FOR THE CALIFORNIA VIOLENCE INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION (CALVIP) GRANT
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council approve a motion to:
1. Execute a standard agreement with California Partnership for Safe Communities (CPSC) to provide technical assistance to support CalVIP efforts in the amount of $445,377; and
2. Execute a standard agreement with Friends Outside to provide CalVIP program support in the amount of $583,169; and
3. Authorize the City Manager to execute additional Professional Service Agreements within existing contract authority limits for additional grant sub-recipients as consistent with the approved CalVIP grant.
It is further recommended that the City Manager be authorized to take appropriate and necessary actions to carry out the purpose and intent of this motion in support of the California Violence Intervention and Prevention (CalVIP) Grant program.
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Summary
With resolution 2020-12-15-1113, the City Council authorized the acceptance and appropriation of the 2020-2023 CalVIP grant in the amount of $1,499,917 from the State of California, Board of State Community Corrections (BSCC). The Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) and its partners seek to reduce violence citywide while also minimizing incarceration and promoting opportunity for young people at highest risk of violence - and to do both while strengthening community-police relations, particularly with the residents at disproportionately high risk of violence. The strategy employs evidence-based, focused-deterrence. But, equally important, the strategy incorporates a strong commitment to violence intervention services and supports. And, both the focused-deterrence and the intervention components are coupled to a nationally recognized community-police trust building initiative - important because the population to be served “needs the protection of the police but trusts them the least.” As is described below, the city’s strategy is rooted in evidence of effectiveness and the project includes a rigorous evaluation of city-level, individual and trust building components by a nationally recognized evaluation team. The grant period runs from October 1, 2020 to December 31, 2023.
DISCUSSION
Background
Formerly known as the California Gang Reduction, Intervention & Prevention (CalGRIP) grant, the State Legislature established the California Violence Intervention & Prevention (CalVIP) grant in FY 2017-18. CalVIP encouraged jurisdictions to develop local approaches that would meet the diverse needs of each community.
For eleven years, the CalVIP grant was funded annually at $9 million. With the enactment of the FY 2019-20 Budget, a one-time appropriation of $21 million was included, for a total appropriation of $30 million. Of that amount, the FY 2019-20 State Budget Act calls for the BSCC to retain five percent ($1.5 million) for administrative operations and $1 million is earmarked for the City of Los Angeles. The remaining $27.5 million must be distributed through a competitive grant process, administered by the BSCC staff and led by the members of the CalVIP Executive Steering Committee.
The OVP will partner with Friends Outside, California Partnership for Safe Communities (CPSC), and other service providers 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) Reduce homicides and non-fatal injury shootings citywide; 2) Improve outcomes for young people at very highest risk of violence and 3) Strengthening the role and voice of people at very highest risk of violence in program and policy - and, specifically in strengthening community-police relations.
Present Situation
In September 2020, the City of Stockton OVP was notified by the BSCC that funding would be available in the amount of $1,499,917 for a three-year grant term, from October 1, 2020 through December 31, 2023. The BSCC requires that grant recipients execute formal grant documents and demonstrate City Council approval and authorization for grant funding appropriation. As such, City staff brought forward resolution 2020-12-15-1113 in compliance with BSCC grant requirements and presented to the City Council, who approved and accepted grant funds from the BSCC (Attachment A - Approved Resolution). Following City Council’s approval, the Office of Violence Prevention continued to work with grant partners to finalize roles and expectations on this project and now present a follow up report with partner agreements with CPSC and Friends Outside for Council approval.
As the lead technical assistance provider, California Partnership for Safe Communities (CPSC) will work in close partnership with the OVP leads on several key program components and will provide project management support (Attachment C - CPSC Agreement). CPSC has worked with the city as the lead in designing and building the OVP’s capacity and as the overall lead on the development and implementation of its overall violence reduction efforts. First, CPSC will focus on the development of the legitimacy, trust-building and procedural justice facets of the project, most specifically that work related to the continued development of the Leadership Council. Second, CPSC will provide intensive support for institutionalizing each component of the project at the city level, ensuring the sustainability of the initiative. Third, CPSC will continue to build out the partnership-based management and oversight of the initiative to ensure it is inclusive and transparent. Fourth, it will collaborate with the OVP leads on the financial self-sufficiency components of the overall program. The above is detailed in the contract and scope of work developed in the context of the overall project workplan. CPSC’s executive director will be the lead on this project but will collaborate with senior staff and consultants, as needed, particularly with regard to the leadership and financial self-sufficiency components.
Additionally, OVP will work closely with Friends Outside to increase the evidence-based service capacity (Attachment D - Friends Outside Agreement):
• COMMUNITY FELLOWS: These are part-time - but living wage - positions for formal and informal community leaders that are “credible messengers.” Funding for such position have been awarded to support the increase in programming we propose. There are two objectives: (1) provide support that ensures quality implementation; and (2) continue to strategically align and integrate these programs to reduce duplication and better serve this high-need population.
• MEETING SUPPORT AND PARTICIPATION INCENTIVES: As noted, the very highest risk population being served are largely living at or below the poverty line and, therefore, meeting support (meals and transportation) are critical in and of themselves as well as playing a role in the relationship building necessary for successful service engagement.
• STIPENDS: These stipends - distinct from the meeting incentives above - are designed to: (a) continue to legitimize the role of members of the leadership council; and (b) support their participation in positions of significant power, authority, and responsibility in terms of local policy and practice. The positions themselves are also a step toward paid positions at OVP and its partner CBO’s. Also, note that stipends and participation incentives will be integrated into the financial self-sufficiency program components to assist with/facilitate asset development, improved credit, etc.
A summary of how the grant funding will be allocated to these elements is included below in Table 1.
|
Grant Activity |
Funding Recipient |
Grant Funding |
|
Program Coordinator (Healthy, Wealthy & Wise support and LC development) |
CPSC |
$121,377 |
|
Program Development & Project/Performance Management |
CPSC |
$324,000 |
|
Total |
|
$445,377 |
|
Support for Healthy, Wealthy, & Wise and Leadership Council: Community Fellows |
Friends Outside |
$190,201 |
|
Healthy Wealthy & Wise Leadership Council: Meeting Support |
Friends Outside |
$82,500 |
|
Healthy, Wealthy & Wise: Participation incentives |
Friends Outside |
$110,000 |
|
Leadership Council stipends |
Friends Outside |
$132,000 |
|
Program Administrator/Coordinator |
Friends Outside |
$68,468 |
|
Total |
|
$583,169 |
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
The CalVIP grant has been accepted and appropriated. Sufficient funds are available in the Special Purpose Grants Account 1220.
There is no additional impact to the City’s General Fund or any other unrestricted fund as a result of taking the recommended action.
Attachment A - Approved Resolution
Attachment B - 2023 CalVIP Grant Agreement - City of Stockton - signed
Attachment C - CPSC CalVIP Agreement
Attachment D - Friends Outside CalVIP Agreement