DATE: January 23, 2024
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Chief of Police
SUBJECT: Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Extend an Agreement With the Alameda County Probation Department Through June 30, 2024, to Provide Services as a Delinquency Prevention Network Youth Service Center and to Accept and Appropriate $297,500 From Alameda County to Fund the Extension
RECOMMENDATION
That the City Council adopts a resolution (Attachment II) authorizing the City Manager to extend an agreement with the Alameda County Probation Department through June 30, 2024, to provide services as a Delinquency Prevention Network Youth Service Center, and to accept and appropriate $297,500 from Alameda County to fund the extension.
SUMMARY
Since the 1970s, the Youth and Family Services Bureau (YFSB) has had an annual contract with the Alameda County Probation Department to provide services to the Delinquency Prevention Network (DPN) Youth Service Center. Services provided include crisis intervention, counseling, case management, and diversion programs and the services are provided to youth who are justice system-involved or at elevated risk of system involvement.
In 2018, the City was awarded a three-year contract to continue to provide DPN services with the option to extend for two additional years. In 2021, the contract was extended through June 30, 2023. In December 2022, a Request for Proposals was released soliciting bids to continue to provide DPN Youth Service Center services. The City of Hayward completed the application process and received a Notice of Intent to Award in May 2023. Subsequently, the County received a bid protest from an unsuccessful bidder. On June 14, 2023, the City was notified that rather than executing new contracts for successful RFP bidders, existing DPN contracts would be extended for a six-month period (July 2023 through December 2023) to accommodate the bid protest process. In November 2023, the City was again notified that existing DPN contracts would be extended for an additional six-month period (January 2024 through June 2024) while the bid protest process continued. Additional funding in the amount of $297,500 is being awarded to continue services through the additional six-month extension.
Council approval is requested to authorize the City Manager to extend the agreement with the Alameda County Probation Department to continue the important work of providing crisis intervention, counseling, case management and diversion services to youth who are system involved or at elevated risk of justice system involvement.
BACKGROUND
YFSB’s central mission is to ensure Hayward’s richly diverse youth and families feel safe, supported, and experience community connectedness and general wellbeing. YFSB’s groundbreaking model of integrating youth serving systems across Hayward, including embedding mental health clinicians in a police department setting, allows YFSB to meaningfully improve the well-being of youth and families by maintaining alignment across the systems with which families have contact. This is achieved through offering comprehensive, culturally responsive services and opportunities that promote family stability and prevent juvenile justice involvement through empowering families to build on their strengths, supplement needs and create pathways to achieving goals. For nearly 45 years, the Bureau has successfully done this supporting thousands of families to address challenges and improve their individual and family functioning. Less than 10% of youth who participate in YFSB’s services are arrested or re-arrested within one year.
Since the 1970s, YFSB’s core service of providing mental health counseling to youth and families who are either system involved or at elevated risk of system involvement has been primarily funded through an annual contract with the Alameda County Probation Department for Delinquency Prevention Network (Youth Service Center) services.
In the Fall of 2017, the Probation Department in partnership with the Alameda County General Services Agency released a Request for Proposals (RFP) as part of a competitive bid process to identify the most qualified service providers to continue to deliver these services in specified geographic regions County wide. Hayward was identified as Region 8. Through the RFP, the County outlined both general and specific requirements for contractors.
The general requirements specified that services utilize evidence-based practices and incorporate three specific approaches:
Trauma Informed Care Approach, which recognizes the long-lasting impact of trauma, including historical trauma, and implements services and interventions accordingly; Positive Youth Development Approach, which values and honors the strengths that youth and families possess as the basis of what is needed to achieve their goals; and Cultural Responsiveness Approach, which emphasizes the importance of developing policies, systems, and structures that are relevant for families across racial/ethnic identities as well as gender, sexual orientation, language capacity, socioeconomic status, exposure to trauma, migration, and other factors that directly impact culture.
In December 2017, YFSB completed the application and interview process to provide the services outlined above. The submitted proposal was selected and annual funding in the amount of $500,000 was awarded. In May 2018, after the conclusion of the competitive bid process, the City received a Standard Services Agreement from the County specifying a three-year contract award (FY18-FY21) for $1.5 million in total funding with an option to extend an additional two years (FY21-FY23). The contract extension was executed in May 2021 bringing the total amount of funding over the five-year contract term (through June 30, 2023) to $2.5 million, offsetting the cost of the 6.8 FTE (5.0 FTE Family Counselors, 1.0 FTE Counseling Supervisor, and 0.8 FTE Administrative support) required to provide the contracted services.
In December 2022, an RFP was released soliciting bids to continue to provide DPN Youth Service Center services. The City of Hayward completed the application process and received a Notice of Intent to Award in May 2023. Subsequently, the County received a bid protest from an unsuccessful bidder. On June 14, 2023, the City was notified that rather than executing new contracts for successful RFP bidders, existing DPN contracts would be extended for six months (July 2023 through December 2023) to accommodate the bid protest process. In November 2023 the City was notified that the bid protest was ongoing and once again, the current contract would be extended for an additional six-month period (January 2024 through June 2024). Additional funding in the amount of $297,500 is being awarded to continue services through the additional six-month extension.
Program evaluation of YFSB’s Youth Service Center services over the last five years has shown the effectiveness of YFSB’s evidence-based approach. For Youth Service Center cases closed July 2018 to December 2022 (which is the most recently available data), 96% were determined to be successful. 80% demonstrated reduced risk behavior as defined by either improved scores on an evidence-based outcome tool (PCOMS), improved GPA, or improved truancy. 97% were not arrested or incarcerated while receiving services. 99% of participants were not arrested within six months of completing services and 98% were not arrested within 12 months.
DISCUSSION
YFSB’s Youth Service Center services have successfully served Hayward youth and families for more than four decades. At a time when the needs of families are only increasing, it is more important than ever to maintain critical mental health services for youth. Moreover, as the field of law enforcement strives to be responsive to the needs of the community, programs like YFSB that prioritize the use of mental health services can be part of the solution. The services that will be provided under the recommended agreement have been developed in partnership with the Alameda County Probation Department. They reflect best practices for keeping youth positively engaged in the community and preventing involvement with the juvenile justice system., Moreover, the program model allows for universal access to services with all City of Hayward residents being eligible to participate at no cost, regardless of insurance or immigration status. Services like those provided by YFSB have been shown to mitigate the negative impacts of arresting youth during adolescence, including reducing the likelihood of future arrest or incarceration and increasing school enrollment and graduation rates.
Components of YFSB Delinquency Prevention Network (Youth Service Center) Services (through June 30, 2024) Family-focused mental health counseling and crisis intervention for at-risk and system-involved youth ages eight to 18, as well as Transition Age Youth (TAY), ages 18-21 with active probation involvement or non-minor dependents. At-risk and system-involved youth are defined as youth who are habitually truant, youth who runaway, and/or youth at risk of becoming wards under Section 601 and youth described in Section 602 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code; Support for The Alameda County Crisis Receiving Home that provides receiving capability for police departments and other appropriate community agencies for youth who are beyond parental control and need short-term (72 hour) respite placements; Case management services to link youth and families to appropriate community resources; and Diversion services specifically aimed at diverting identified problem behavior and preventing formal entry into the juvenile justice system.
Youth and Family Services Bureau Program Staff
The YFSB staff are highly qualified to provide the described services. Table 1 below outlines their education and licensure status. Clinical staff range in years of experience from three to 25 years. The YFSB Family Counselors and Clinical Supervisors reflect the diversity of the Hayward community and six are bilingual, bicultural Spanish speakers.
Table 1. YFSB Clinical Staff Training/Licensure
Degree/Licensure
Number of Clinical Staff
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
2 Licensed Clinical Social Worker
3 Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
6 Registered Associate Social Worker earning hours towards licensure 2 Program Sustainability
It is anticipated that these programs will continue for many years to come and an increase in funding has been awarded as part of the current contract extension. Continued increases are also expected when the new contracts are executed after the bid protest is resolved. County financing comes from state allocations for Juvenile Probation Activities Funding and the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act and is a recurring expenditure in the County’s operating budget.
The services that will be provided under the recommended agreement are part of the YFSB’s overarching strategy to reduce and prevent juvenile involvement in the justice system by linking youth to services and opportunities that help them stay positively connected with the community. Addressing the root causes underlying youth behavior problems, such as mental health challenges, family functioning issues, school engagement problems, and insufficient access to positive activities and supports are critical components to encourage youth success and prevent contact with law enforcement. For youth who do encounter law enforcement, these services give officers more options and minimize formal processing in the juvenile justice system. This has a clear nexus with public safety and contributes to the overall wellbeing of Hayward families.
STRATEGIC ROADMAP
This agenda item supports the Strategic Priority of Enhance Community Safety and Quality of Life. Specifically, this item relates to Project Q17: Continue to provide family support programs through the Youth and Family Services Bureau.
FISCAL IMPACT
With the additional $297,500 awarded as part of the recommended amendment, the City will receive a total of $3,047,500 for DPN Youth Service Center services from July 2018 through June 2024, spanning six fiscal years. The 6.8 FTE required to provide the services discussed above are included in the City’s FY 2024 Operating Budget; accepting and appropriating these funds will help to offset the cost of these positions. While the revenue from these agreements does not fully cover the cost of the positions, the costs are further offset by additional revenue from the Medical Administrative Activities (MAA) program. Any remaining net costs to the City General Fund are already included in the budget.
NEXT STEPS
If the Council authorizes this action, staff will work to: 1) Extend and amend the agreement with Alameda County Probation Department for Delinquency Prevention Network (DPN) Youth Service Center services through June 2024; and 2) accept and appropriate $297,500 and 3) continue providing essential mental health services to Hayward youth and families.
Prepared by: Perla O’Shea, Management Analyst
Emily Young, YFSB Administrator
Recommended by: Bryan Matthews, Chief of Police
Approved by:
_________________________________
Kelly McAdoo, City Manager
Josh Weber, Michael Umpierre, and Shay Bilchik, Transforming Juvenile Justice Systems to Improve Public Safety and Youth Outcomes (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, 2018).
The Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2018). Transforming Juvenile Probation: A Vision for Getting it Right. Baltimore, MD: Author. Retrieved from https://www.aecf.org/resources/transforming-juvenile-probation/ Cauffman, E., Beardslee, J., Fine, A., Frick, P.J., & Steinberg, L. (2020). Crossroads in Juvenile Justice: The Impact of Initial Processing Decision on Youth Five Years after First Arrest. Development and Psychopathology.