Public Safety
April 12, 2022
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Edward D. Reiskin FROM: Guillermo Cespedes
City Administrator Chief, Violence Prevention
SUBJECT: DVP Additional Funding For Grants
Fiscal Year 2021-2022
DATE: March 14, 2022
City Administrator Approval Date: Mar 30, 2022
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That City Council Adopt The Following Pieces of Legislation:
1. A Resolution Amending City Council Resolution No. 88775 C.M.S. To Increase The Amount Of A Grant Agreement With An Existing Violence Intervention Program Service Provider (Youth Alive) By Thirty Thousand Dollars ($30,000) For The Provision Of Emergency Relocation Services For A Total Grant Amount For Fiscal Year 2021-22 Not To Exceed Nine Million Eight Hundred Forty-Five Thousand Dollars ($9,845,000)
2. A Resolution Amending City Council Resolution No. 88776 C.M.S. To Increase The Amount Of Grant Agreements With Non-Profit Entities To Conduct Town Nights Violence Intervention Events Throughout The City Of Oakland For A Fifteen-Month Term Beginning July 1, 2021 And Ending September 30, 2022 For An Additional Amount Of Two Hundred Seventy- Five Thousand Dollars ($275,000) For A Total Amount Not To Exceed One Million Eight Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($1,825,000); And
Awarding A New Grant Agreement To Family Bridges, Inc. To Conduct Town Nights Violence Intervention Events Program For A Six-Month Term Beginning April 1, 2022 And Ending September 30, 2022 In A Total Amount Not To Exceed Sixty-Five Thousand Dollars ($65,000).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report provides an overview of the additional violence intervention and prevention programs the Department of Violence Prevention (DVP) recommends for implementation with general purpose funds (GPF) appropriated in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-23 two-year budget adopted on June 24, 2021. The DVP currently administers violence intervention funds through grant agreements with 23 nonprofit and public agencies and by providing direct services within the City to individuals at highest risk for violence. It further provides detail on additional services
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: DVP Additional Funding For Grants Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Date: March 14, 2022 Page 2
Public Safety
April 12, 2022
and requests authorization to add funds to a subset of the approved agreements along with one new grant agreement for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-2022, at an approximate amount of $370,000.
Funding is needed now, in advance of upcoming expected grant awards and the midcycle process, as is further explained in this report.
The Department of Violence Prevention recommends that additional funding be added to six grant agreements previously approved for Fiscal Year 2021-2022 as well as one new grant agreement. The additional funding will provide for:
• Increasing the number of people who can receive emergency, temporary relocation services; and
• Expanding Town Nights, which activates Oakland’s parks and neighborhood streets, to serve 2 more sites and fully implement summer programming at seven of the original sites
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Oakland Unite 2019-2021 Spending Plan: The strategies in the Oakland Unite 2019-2021 Spending Plan centers on the belief that Oakland can move towards safety, healing and growth by working in close partnership with people and communities at the center of violence.
The Safety and Services Oversight Commission (SSOC) and City Council approved the current Spending Plan in winter 2018 (Resolution No. 87477 C.M.S.) which was informed by and aligned with the larger citywide planning process related to the Department of Violence Prevention.
Following discussion of a new proposed spending plan in December 2020, the City Council requested an extension of the current awards of violence prevention grant agreements to provide time for additional community input before returning to City Council with a new spending plan by June 30, 2021 (Resolution No. 88466
C.M.S.). The DVP Strategic Spending Plan for Fiscal Years 2022-2024 was presented to the Public Safety and Services Oversight Commission (SSOC) on May 24, 2021 and the Public Safety Committee on June 8, 2021. Following discussion, the item was continued to the July 13, 2021 Public Safety Committee meeting with instructions to prepare a supplemental report to include any additional funds appropriated to DVP during the two- year budget process. The DVP Strategic Spending Plan for Fiscal Years 2022 -2024 was adopted on July 30, 2021 (Resolution No. 88795).
Current Grant Agreements: On June 18, 2019, City Council passed Resolution No. 87756 C.M.S., which awarded grant agreements to multiple violence intervention service providers selected through the Request for Proposal (RFP) process for a one-year term beginning July 1, 2019 and ending June 30, 2020. A renewal year was approved by City Council in June 2020 to extend approved grant agreements with non-profit and public agencies, selected through the 2019 RFP process, to provide violence prevention and intervention services to run from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021 (Resolution No. 88120 C.M.S.). In May 2021, City Council approved an additional year of grant funding for the current fiscal year from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. (Resolution No. 88654 C.M.S.).
Following the adoption of the two-year budget, City Council approved additional grants to expand violence prevention services (Resolution No. 88775 C.M.S.) and launch Town Nights (Resolution No. 88776 C.M.S.). The DVP seeks to add additional funding to fully implement violence intervention and prevention services in FY 2021-2022.
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: DVP Additional Funding For Grants Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Date: March 14, 2022 Page 3
Public Safety
April 12, 2022
Department of Violence Prevention: On June 20, 2017, City Council approved the creation of a new Department of Violence Prevention (Resolution No. 13451 C.M.S.). The mission of the DVP is to dramatically reduce violent crime and serve communities impacted by violence to end the cycle of trauma. Oakland Unite activities transitioned into the DVP and under the direction of the Chief of Violence Prevention in FY 2020-21.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
Oakland has experienced a dramatic rise in gun and gender-based violence during the pandemic, in 2020, Oakland suffered a dramatic uptick to 102 homicides compared to 75 in 2019. The last time Oakland eclipsed 100 killings was 2012, when it was ranked the third most dangerous city in the nation by violent crime rates. From June to December 2020, Oakland experienced over 100 shootings each month and female-identified shooting victims increased by 77%. In 2021, Oakland experienced the worst year of violent crime since 2012 with 134 homicides. Even with the increases, Oakland saw fewer shootings and homicides during the weeks Town Nights took place in 2021 than in 2020.
Recommendation: DVP recommends increasing current grant agreements for six grantees and a new grant agreement with one additional non-profit agencies to serve Oakland residents for Fiscal Year 2021-2022 and through Summer 2022. The agencies listed below in Table 1 and Table 21 were selected based upon past performance and have demonstrated effective implementation of violence intervention and prevention programs and services. Funded intervention and prevention strategies include:
Expanded emergency, temporary relocation services to support Oakland residents in immediate danger of harm where they reside, often due to the threat of retaliatory violence following a shooting or homicide. Youth Alive! has provided temporary relocation services for 43 individuals/families between July 2021 through March 2022 and has exhausted current grant funds identified for temporary relocation services. The additional funding will support up to 16 additional individuals/families with temporary relocation services that cannot be met by the current grant funds.
Services are intended to help such individuals transition to a safer temporary location until the situation is abated or until a long-term plan has been established. Emergency Temporary relocation services include:
• Lethality assessment to understand the immediate threat and likelihood of mortal harm • Funding for immediate relocation needs such as: transportation, temporary hotel stays, and support for family providing shelter in the new location • Funding will be prioritized for Oakland residents who are recent victims of gun violence, between the age of 18 and 35 years old, and who might not be eligible for Victim of Crime support due to prior criminal justice system involvement.
Table 1 details the agency name and additional grant award amounts for the community-based provider that will deliver emergency, temporary relocation services.
1 Due to the need for Town Nights programming in Summer 2022, the grant periods for the grants detailed in Table 2 will be 15-months to account for an additional quarter (through September 2022).
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: DVP Additional Funding For Grants Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Date: March 14, 2022 Page 4
Public Safety
April 12, 2022
TABLE 1: DVP Violence Intervention Grant- General Purpose Fund (FY 2021-2022) ADDITIONAL FY 2021-2022 GRANT AMOUNT
Agency Name
Current
Request
Approved
Additional
Amount in
July 2021
FY2021-22
Renewal
Total
Shooting and Homicide Response
Youth ALIVE! $30,000 $400,000 $1,060,000 $1,490,000
TOTAL $30,000
Town Nights DVP partnered with eight community-based organizations to host a series of events in Winter 2021 and want to build on the success and expand for the summer of 2022, which starts in the current fiscal year. The Town Nights Program is part of the DVP’s Community-Driven Strategy intended to disrupt violence by offering programming and extended- hour activities in neighborhoods with high rates of violence during hours of the day when violence is likely to spike. Town Nights program is intended to disrupt violence by using three program components: community outreach/jobs; extended recreational programming/food; and violence interruption with proactive peace-making dialogue. The recreational activities and community outreach served as a vehicle for critical violence interruption dialogue between community members with a history of violent conflicts associated with group or neighborhood identity.
The Summer 2022 Town Nights program implementation will include a series of events on four consecutive Fridays, June 17, June 24, July 1, and July 8, from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm at the following locations:
1. ACORN Learning Center – Urban Peace Movement in partnership with the KHADAFY Washington Foundation
2. West Oakland Youth Center – Urban Peace Movement in partnership with the Hoover- Foster Resident Action Council
3. Chinatown neighborhood/Lincoln Park– Family Bridges, Inc.
4. San Antonio Park – TRYBE, INC
5. Josie De La Cruz Park – Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice
6. Roots Community Health Center (MacArthur) – Roots Community Health Center
7. Liberation Park – Black Cultural Zone
8. Arroyo Viejo Park– Black Cultural Zone in partnership with Homies Empowerment
9. Verdese Carter Park – Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency
10. Elmhurst Park – TRYBE, INC in partnership with BASIC Ministry
The events include free food and activities, and employ people from the neighborhood, particularly youth, as well as activating community volunteers. The addition of Family Bridges, Inc. will provide for an agency with a deep reach into the Asian community to coordinate Town Nights in Chinatown.
Table 2 details the agency name and additional grant award amounts for the community-based providers that will plan and implement Town Nights. To implement summer, evening programming, the term of these agreements will be July 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022.
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: DVP Additional Funding For Grants Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Date: March 14, 2022 Page 5
Public Safety
April 12, 2022
TABLE 2: DVP Violence Intervention Grants with Town Nights- General Purpose Fund ADDITIONAL FY 2021-2022 GRANT AMOUNTS
Agency Name
Current
Request
Approved
Additional
Amount in
July 2021
FY2021-22
Renewal
Total
Community Healing/Violence Interruption/Town Nights
Communities United for Restorative
Youth Justice $30,000 $350,000 $175,000 $555,000
TRYBE Inc.2 $60,000 $450,000 - $510,000
Community Healing/Town Nights
Building Opportunities for Self-
Sufficiency3 $30,000 $100,000 $550,000 $680,000
Black Cultural Zone Community
Development Corporation4 $95,000 $100,000 _ $195,000
Movement Strategy Center
(Fiscal sponsor for Urban Peace
Movement Oakland)
$60,000
$200,000
$350,000
$610,000
Family Bridges, Inc. $65,000 - - $65,000
TOTAL $340,000
*Activities for these agreements will continue through Summer 2022.
FISCAL IMPACT
Total Projected Expenses: Approval of the proposed resolution will authorize the City Administrator to include additional funds in grant agreements with nine community-based organizations to provide violence intervention and prevention services along with one new grant agreement. The total projected cost of these efforts for FY 2021 – 2022 is $370,000 to accommodate Town Nights summer programming in Summer 2022, the grant period for a portion of this amount, not to exceed $340,000 will be from July 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022.
Name Project Award Fund Org Program Account Amount
Town
Nights
1005660 23277 1010 70211 PS37 54912 $340,000
YA! 1005654 23277 1010 70211 PS37 54912 $30,000
Funding Sources: The primary funding sources for this request is General Purpose Funds (1010) appropriated to DVP in the FY 2021-2023 Biennial Budget, per City Council Amendments.
Staff recommends, that any unexpended GPF balances be held in a project to be determined in the General Purpose Funds (1010).
2 This grant will include a sub-award intended for BASIC Ministry. 3 This grant will include a sub-award intended for Adamika Village, Inc. 4 This grant will include a sub-award intended for Homies Empowerment.
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: DVP Additional Funding For Grants Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Date: March 14, 2022 Page 6
Public Safety
April 12, 2022
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
Focus groups for each strategy were conducted during March and April 2021 as part of the DVP’s series of community engagement town halls and focus groups. In addition, following extensive outreach and research completed by its advisory committees, the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force included specific recommendations to City Council to increase funding for the community violence interventions and gender-based violence responses included in this report.
COORDINATION
This report and legislation have been reviewed by the Office of the City Attorney and Budget Bureau.
PAST PERFORMANCE, EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
Fall Town Nights Series: In November and December 2021, DVP funded eight community- based organizations to field test Town Nights events on the following four evenings from 6:00pm to 10:00pm: November 22, December 3, December 10, and December 17. During this first four- week series:
• More than 1,300 Oakland residents attended events weekly • 1,100 turkeys were distributed on November 22
• 1,400 families received toys for their children on December 17 • 92 part-time positions were created
Initial data analysis indicates that in the 48 hours following the start time of Town Nights events (6pm—all weekend), there were 15 shootings with injury, compared to 41 shootings with injury during the same days and hours in 2020. This is potentially a 63% reduction. During the specific hours the events took place, the reduction was 90% over the same hours in 2020. And though these reductions may not be causal, meaning we cannot say with scientific certainty that they are the direct result of Town Nights, we know that they represent an important shift that we hope to maintain when the Town Nights summer series begins in June 2022.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: Providing programs for Oakland residents affected by violence will improve their economic stability by linking them to organizations and services geared to produce positive outcomes for youth and young adults. Breaking the cycle of violence has the potential to save dollars in medical care, police services, and incarceration costs, among other costs.
Environmental: By expanding social services to and improving opportunities for those most impacted by violence, marginalized communities are made safer, healthier, and stronger. Safer neighborhood conditions contribute to the growth and revitalization of our Oakland communities, including efforts to preserve or improve the quality of the physical environment.
Race & Equity: DVP violence intervention programs help youth, young adults, and families who have been disproportionately impacted by violence and trauma, especially Black, Latinx and Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: DVP Additional Funding For Grants Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Date: March 14, 2022 Page 7
Public Safety
April 12, 2022
Guillermo Cespedes (Mar 30, 2022 15:21 PDT)
other communities of color as well as women who have survived violence, gain more equitable access to opportunity- by improving school performance, expanding employment opportunities, and providing critical support services such as legal advocacy, crisis response, and case management.
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That City Council Adopt The Following Pieces of Legislation:
1. A Resolution Amending City Council Resolution No. 88775 C.M.S. To Increase The Amount Of A Grant Agreement With An Existing Violence Intervention Program Service Provider (Youth Alive) By Thirty Thousand Dollars ($30,000) For The Provision Of Emergency Relocation Services For A Total Grant Amount For Fiscal Year 2021-22 Not To Exceed Nine Million Eight Hundred Forty-Five Thousand Dollars ($9,845,000)
2. A Resolution Amending City Council Resolution No. 88776 C.M.S. To Increase The Amount Of Grant Agreements With Non-Profit Entities To Conduct Town Nights Violence Intervention Events Throughout The City Of Oakland For A Fifteen-Month Term Beginning July 1, 2021 And Ending September 30, 2022 For An Additional Amount Of Two Hundred Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars ($275,000) For A Total Amount Not To Exceed One Million Eight Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($1,825,000); And
Awarding A New Grant Agreement To Family Bridges, Inc. To Conduct Town Nights Violence Intervention Events Program For A Six-Month Term Beginning April 1, 2022 And Ending September 30, 2022 In A Total Amount Not To Exceed Sixty-Five Thousand Dollars ($65,000).
For questions regarding this report, please contact Guillermo Cespedes, Chief, at 510-238- 2916.
Respectfully submitted,
GUILLERMO CESPEDES
Chief, Department of Violence Prevention
Prepared by:
Jennifer Argueta, Program Analyst III
Jessie Warner, Planner