Life Enrichment Committee
November 14, 2022
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Edward D. Reiskin FROM: Estelle Clemons
City Administrator Interim Director, Human
Services
SUBJECT: SAMHSA ReCAST Grant DATE: November 1, 2022
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution:
1. Awarding Grant Agreements Using Substance Abuse And Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Funds To Four Non-Profit Agencies In A Total Amount Not To Exceed $365,000 To Provide Trauma Informed Behavioral Health Services To High- Risk Youth And Their Families From September 30, 2022 Through September 29, 2023; And
2. Waiving The Local And Small Local Business Enterprise Program (L/SLBE) And Request For Proposal/Qualifications (RFP/Q) Requirements And Awarding Professional Services Agreements Using SAMHSA Funds To East Bay Agency For Children In An Amount Not To Exceed $65,000 For Trauma Informed Systems Trainings And To Crisis Support Services Of Alameda County In An Amount Not To Exceed $20,000 For Mental Health First Aid From September 30, 2022 Through September 29, 2023.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Oakland’s Human Services Department was awarded a second ReCAST Grant from the United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to address Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST) for five years for a total award of $5,000,000 beginning September 30, 2021 through September 29, 2026. The purpose of this program is to assist high-risk youth and families and promote resilience and equity in communities that have recently faced civil unrest through implementation of evidence-based, violence prevention, and community youth engagement programs, as well as linkages to trauma-informed behavioral health services.
Adoption of this resolution will authorize the City Administrator to enter into agreements with various providers to deliver services aligned with the three ReCAST goal areas: Goal 1:
Increase the capacity (knowledge, skills, and dispositions) of City workforce in agencies, local Nov 3, 2022
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: SAMHSA ReCAST Grant
Date: November 1, 2022 Page 2
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service provider networks, and community interventionists to provide and collaborate in the provision of trauma-informed and culturally relevant services and activities for youth and families impacted by stress and trauma; Goal 2: Expand practice of community and youth partnership to promote the trauma informed principles of voice, choice, collaboration, and mutuality in Oakland City agencies and local provider networks; and Goal 3: Increase opportunities for community- driven resilience and healing among and between community members most affected by violence and trauma in Oakland.
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The City of Oakland’s Human Services Department (HSD) was first awarded an annual grant to address Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST) from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) during the first cycle of this 5-year grant from 2016 – 2021. This second cycle of the ReCAST grant that will run from 2021-2026 was awarded based on a competitive application that built on the successful work of the prior ReCAST grant.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
Oakland ReCAST is designed to provide culturally appropriate, evidence-based, community designed and driven interventions to high-risk youth and families impacted by civil unrest, violence, and COVID-19. This approach recognizes that violence and civil unrest fueled by systemic racism have an intergenerational impact that can be disrupted by providing and promoting nurturing and healing relationships. Highly stressed youth and families who receive community-driven trauma and resilience supports have increased likelihood of improving their behavioral health, creating more resilient communities, and reducing incidents of violence.
Oakland ReCAST is a multi-departmental, multi-agency partnership that supports community resilience in the face of trauma. Oakland ReCAST works to strengthen, heal, and reimagine the systems that community members seek when in distress through training, capacity building, coaching, and fostering cross-systems collaboration and coordination. This approach recognizes that these systems often perpetuate systemic racism through toxic practices, policies, and procedures; that they risk retraumatizing residents most affected by violence and civil unrest when services are not provided through a trauma-informed lens; and that a lack of coordination across systems limits community access to resources that mitigate inequities.
Year One Program Implementation:
The first year of Oakland ReCAST involved extensive work in meeting required SAMHSA deliverables, including a disparity impact statement, a needs and resources assessment, a strategic navigation plan and evaluation framework, developing an advisory group, and starting programmatic offerings.
Hiring Project Manager, Oakland’s current ReCAST Project Manager, Desralynn Cole was hired in February 2022 to fill the vacated position previously held by Stephanie Montgomery.
Desralynn managed the Minneapolis Minnesota ReCAST grant and comes with 5 years of Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: SAMHSA ReCAST Grant
Date: November 1, 2022 Page 3
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experience implementing ReCAST programming. She leverages her expertise by continuing to elevate Oakland ReCAST during its second cycle of grant funding.
Disparity Impact Statement (DIS) focused on resource gaps and issues with access to culturally relevant trauma-informed behavioral health services. Findings from the 2017 Oakland ReCAST community needs and resources assessment revealed that mental health stigma, system navigation, and provider capacity all posed barriers to behavioral health services in Oakland. For many members of the community, youth in particular, any programs that are perceived as part of the mental health system are viewed as negative. Even if members are open to services, many community members are unaware of existing behavioral health services and navigating the system without support can be especially difficult. Once connected, community-based service providers are challenged to meet community needs as there is a high level of demand exceeding the number of available resources to properly respond.
There is also a need for more socially-or culturally responsive providers and services as not enough mental health consultants share the same lived experience (e.g., racial, and ethnic background, engagement with similar community stressors or traumas) as the community they serve, and many services and resources are not offered in alternate languages. To review the full Disparity Impact Statement, see Attachment A.
Community Needs and Resources Assessment (CNRA) process was developed by conducting a review of department wide existing and current needs assessments prepared by the Human Services Department and the Department of Violence Prevention to reduce retraumatizing overly surveyed populations. See Attachment B to review the CNRA.
Strategic Navigation Plan for Oakland ReCAST was developed based upon a review of the CNRA results, as well as contributions from the residents of the communities of East and West Oakland through community listening sessions and surveys. In April 2022, two listening sessions were held via Zoom in which community members were invited to share their feedback on the mission and goals of ReCAST as well as on what they perceived to be the most pressing community needs and gaps in existing services. The sessions were attended by community residents, community-based service providers, City of Oakland Human Services staff and other stakeholders and partners. . . The information gathered from both the surveys and listening sessions were analyzed and the results have been incorporated into the goals and objectives outlined in the strategic navigation plan (Attachment C).
Community Advisory Group Oakland ReCAST recruited and installed members of the advisory board in this first year of the grant. Advisory Group members provided input on the ReCAST Community Needs and Resource Assessment and, the Strategic Navigation Plan, and The Advisory Group will continue to provide guidance on programming throughout the life of the grant.
Program Offerings:
Oakland ReCAST offered a variety of trauma informed and mental health trainings as well as capacity building trainings to service providers. Highlights of the programming offered are listed below:
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: SAMHSA ReCAST Grant
Date: November 1, 2022 Page 4
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Be The Change Consulting, LLC (BTC) provided a series of capacity building trainings to 128 community-based organizations that work with Oakland Fund for Children and Youth serving youth and families most impacted by stress and trauma in East and West Oakland.
Life Coaching skills were offered to the Department of Violence Prevention community interventionists with goal of increasing participants’ readiness to partner with the families of the clients they serve by providing them with a foundational understanding of life coaching skills.
There were 52 frontline workers and community interventionists that participated.
Trauma Informed Systems (TIS) training was offered Citywide. TIS is an organizational change model developed by the San Francisco Department of Public Health designed to nurture and sustain trauma-informed practices and organizations that work to reduce trauma. Two cohorts were trained in TIS 101 with a total of 59 City staff across multiple departments, including:
Oakland Parks, Recreation & Youth Development, Department of Transportation, Oakland Public Works Department, Oakland Public Library, and the Human Services Department.
Principles into Practice (PIP) series took a deeper dive into the Trauma-Informed Systems 101 Training. This 6-part series had staff focus on exercises and explorations of TIS principles to help expand their knowledge and understanding of trauma and stress, cultural humility, safety, compassion and more. A cohort of about 14 City staff participated in this series including:
Department of Violence Prevention, Fire Department, Department of Transportation, Public Works, Police Department, Library, City Administrator’s Office, and the Human Services Department.
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), an education program designed for the public that teaches people how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental health challenges. This skills-based training teaches participants how to approach, engage, provide initial support, and connect someone to care. There were 29 City staff were trained in MHFA across the following city departments: Oakland Public Library, City of Oakland - Adult & Aging Services, City of Oakland Head Start, Department of Violence Prevention, and Oakland Human Services.
In partnership with The Youth Leadership Institute Oakland, ReCAST is working on a youth mini grant making curriculum and process that engages youth in the role of government in participatory grant making. This curriculum will ensure strategies that center the power of youth voices in deciding who will be funded, with approximately $50,000 going to youth specific interventions. This work is also in partnership with the Department of Violence Prevention, who trains community interventionists in the practices of participatory grant making.
Creative Arts Practices conducted by AE Creative Consulting Partners, LLC in conjunction with the 501c3, Artist as First Responder uses art-based and culturally responsive approaches to healing activities for youth and families that promote resiliency, healing, belonging, joy, and equity. AE Creative, in partnership with community, provided safe, intimate sessions for over 38 adult and young men to discuss grief, fear, violence, healing, and transformation through storytelling, testimony, music and art therapy.
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: SAMHSA ReCAST Grant
Date: November 1, 2022 Page 5
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Year Two Implementation of Programming
The Human Services Department proposes to execute a variety of grants and professional service agreements with the following agencies and in the following amounts to support implementation and the expansion of Oakland ReCAST activities:
Trauma Informed Systems (TIS) 101 & Principals in Practice (PIP): The TIS 101 and PIP series will continue to be offered in coordination with Citywide training to all City staff. The program will be expanded to include an additional cohort of Train the Trainer to embed a sustainable pipeline of trainers within the city. East Bay Agency for Children (Trauma Transformed) will partner with Oakland ReCAST to provide this offering. Trauma Transformed; a program of East Bay Agency for Children will provide the TIS 101 trainings. Trauma Transformed is the only regional center and clearinghouse in the Bay Area that promotes a trauma-informed system by providing trainings and policy guidance to systems of care professionals and organizations. Oakland ReCAST seeks to enter into a professional service agreement with East Bay Agency for Children for an amount not to exceed $65,000 to provide training, technical assistance and coaching on Trauma Informed Approaches and Systems for City staff. This agency was not selected through a competitive Request for Proposal/Qualifications (RFP/RFQ) process and does not meet the L/SLBE requirements, and a waiver of these requirements is requested in order to execute a professional service agreement.
Mental Health First Aid training: The Mental Health First Aid trainings will continue to be offered through Crisis Support Services of Alameda County. A professional service agreement will be entered into with Crisis Support Services of Alameda County in an amount not to exceed $20,000 to provide skills-based training on mental health. These training will be offered with the intention of providing more resources and support to city staff who work first and foremost with community members.
Crisis Support Services of Alameda County is uniquely positioned and has the capacity to train and provide credentials to those who have successfully completed the Mental Health First Aid training. This agency was not selected through a competitive RFP/Q process and does not meet the L/SLBE requirements, and a waiver of these requirements is requested in order to execute a professional service agreement.
Capacity Building: Oakland ReCAST will expand the programming with Be The Change Consulting, LLC to continue to provide capacity building to service providers whose organizations serve Oakland’s most vulnerable, high stressed community members. Oakland ReCAST seeks to enter into a grant agreement with Be The Change Consulting, LLC in an amount not to exceed $60,000.
Youth to Youth Mini Grant Making: The youth mini grant making for this second cycle of the ReCAST grant will begin this year. Oakland ReCAST will continue to partner with The Youth Leadership Institute (YLI) to manage this program and will serve as the fiscal agency to allocate funds to the youth grantees, in addition Youth Leadership Institute will continue to work with Department of Violence Prevention on community grant making initiatives. Oakland ReCAST seeks to award a grant agreement with YLI for an amount not to exceed $205,000 to provide training, technical assistance, and implementation support for youth-led projects.
Mental Health Provider Pipeline: The Human Services Department is in the process of conducting an RFQ/RFP and Oakland ReCAST will look to enter into a professional service Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: SAMHSA ReCAST Grant
Date: November 1, 2022 Page 6
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agreement to build a mental health provider pipeline. This pipeline will provide funding and capacity building to mental health and behavioral health providers to serve East and West Oakland communities. Oakland ReCAST seeks to enter into a professional service agreement in an amount not to exceed $125,000 with a provider to be selected upon completion of the RFQ/P process.
Creative Arts Practices: AE Creative Consulting Partners, LLC will fulfill the role of the cultural strategist and arts organizer for the ReCAST grant employing trauma-informed pedagogy to center the stories of cultural workers whose art practices heal communities and save lives through art-based healing modalities. AE Creative will continue and expand the ongoing work of Artist as First Responder. Oakland ReCAST seeks to award a grant agreement in an amount not to exceed $100,000 to provide creative arts practices for community healing from trauma.
Independent Evaluation: The Human Services Department is in the process of conducting an RFQ/RFP and Oakland ReCAST will look to enter into a professional service agreement with an independent evaluator for the term of the ReCAST program in an amount not to exceed $60,000 annually through the grant term of 2021-2023.
The citywide priority of Holistic community safety is advanced by this proposed resolution through training City staff in trauma informed principles and engaging in systems change, as well as through funding of a youth-to-youth mini grant program which provides youth an opportunity to become grant makers and support their peers by funding grants centered around creative and dynamic solutions that promote healing and increase resiliency in Oakland communities.
FISCAL IMPACT
SAMHSA funding for Program Year Two is appropriated in the Department of Health and Human Services Fund (2128), Department of Human Services: Administration Organization (78111), and the SAMHSA Oakland ReCAST Grant 09-29-23 Project (1005678), Fostering Safe and Healthy Communities (SC22) Table 1 below provides a breakdown of the grant agreements and professional service agreements as described in the report and resolution:
Table 1: Oakland ReCAST Grantees
Partner Agencies Annual Not to
Exceed
AE Creative Consulting Partners, LLC
$100,000
The Youth Leadership Institute $205,000
Be The Change Consulting, LLC $60,000
Total Contracts Amount: $365,000
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: SAMHSA ReCAST Grant
Date: November 1, 2022 Page 7
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Table 2: Oakland ReCAST Service Providers
Contractors Annual Not to
Exceed
Crisis Support Services of Alameda County $20,000
East Bay Agency for Children $65,000
Total Contracts Amount: $85,000
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
Oakland ReCAST conducted community outreach in the creation of the Strategic Navigation Plan by holding two listening sessions where community members, community organizations and other stakeholders convened to provide input in the creation of the plan.
COORDINATION
The Budget Bureau and Office of the City Attorney were consulted in the preparation of this report.
PAST PERFORMANCE, EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
During the first cycle of this SAMHSA grant, Oakland ReCAST worked with Resource Development Associates (RDA) to evaluate the 2016-2021 program (Attachment D: Oakland ReCAST Evaluation Report (2016 – 2021). RDA used a participatory evaluation approach with both quantitative and qualitative methods to access the community programs and outcomes.
Oakland ReCAST 2016-2021 Key Outcomes
• Oakland ReCAST supported teachers and Mental Health Consultants in the Head Start program, which serves some of Oakland’s most vulnerable children and families. • Oakland ReCAST trained staff members in City government to work with each other and the community in a more trauma-informed way.
• Oakland ReCAST lifted -up youth leadership through the Youth -to-Youth Mini -Grant program and by supporting the Oakland Youth Advisory Commission to make recommendations for how the city can improve public safety. • Oakland ReCAST amplified the role of artists as healers and first responders to community crises by supporting dozens of community events based in art and expressive practices
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: SAMHSA ReCAST Grant
Date: November 1, 2022 Page 8
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Key Implementation Learning Oakland ReCAST 2016-2021
Change happens through relationships: Oakland ReCAST centered relationship-building in all its work, applying principles from Adrienne Maree brown’s Emergent Strategy as a guidepost for implementation.
Investing in new approaches seeds change: One of Oakland ReCAST’s greatest strengths was the willingness to invest in partners beyond the “regular players” who traditionally receive City contracts. Oakland ReCAST developed creative programs and approaches, such as centering creative arts practices, alternative approaches to healing, and youth -centered grant making, that can be leveraged in Oakland government and community networks more broadly.
It takes time to build culture: Culture change requires repeatedly emphasizing and integrating new ways of communicating and interacting. It requires involvement, investment, and commitment from organizational leadership. For ReCAST, as the holder of this work within the Human Services Department, it took a consistent and intentional trauma informed centered effort, over the four years of implementation, to see measurable changes in HSD’s organizational culture.
Lifting youth improves strategies: The Youth 2 Youth Mini-Grant program and Oakland Youth Advisory Commission’s ( OYAC) involvement in the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force demonstrated that youth are eager to see and participate in change in their communities. Uplifting the leadership of the most vulnerable young people in our communities ; and providing training, mentorship, and resources that benefits everyone in the community.
Bigger is not always better: Oakland ReCAST partners sometimes faced pressure to reach large numbers of people to meet the grant’s goals. ReCAST applied the Emergent Strategy principle "Small is good, small is all" to advance the notion that small-scale work can produce some of the most meaningful insights and opportunities for growth.
Realism about staff capacity matters: ReCAST experienced challenges in ensuring that staff had time to participate in trainings and activities. In the realm of project management, the workload was too high for the allocated staffing of 1.5 FTEs, and project coordination suffered in areas of planning and outreach for events.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: Healing and resiliency through increased use of trauma informed approaches can improve education outcomes, employment opportunities, and economic stability for Oakland’s communities most affected by trauma, racism, violence, and civil unrest.
Environmental: There are no environmental impacts associated with this policy recommendation.
Race & Equity: ReCAST staff has completed the results-based accountability training provided by the Department of Race and Equity and is looking at strategies to incorporate results-based evaluation and data analysis into the performance measures of the program with an emphasis on equitable outcomes for the Oakland community, with particular emphasis on Oakland’s high- Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: SAMHSA ReCAST Grant
Date: November 1, 2022 Page 9
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November 14, 2022
risk youth and families most affected by the interrelated challenges of violence, civil unrest, and trauma.
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution:
1. Awarding Grant Agreements Using Substance Abuse And Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Funds To Four Non-Profit Agencies In A Total Amount Not To Exceed $365,000 To Provide Trauma Informed Behavioral Health Services To High-Risk Youth And Their Families From September 30, 2022 Through September 29, 2023; And
2. Waiving The Local And Small Local Business Enterprise Program (L/SLBE) And Request For Proposal/Qualifications (RFP/Q) Requirements And Awarding Professional Services Agreements Using SAMHSA Funds To East Bay Agency For Children In An Amount Not To Exceed $65,000 For Trauma Informed Systems Trainings And To Crisis Support Services Of Alameda County In An Amount Not To Exceed $20,000 For Mental Health First Aid From September 30, 2022 Through September 29, 2023.
For questions regarding this report, please contact Desralynn Cole, Program Director, at 510- 238-6477.
Respectfully submitted,
ESTELLE CLEMONS
Interim Director, Human Services Department
Prepared by:
Desralynn Cole, Program Manager
Oakland ReCAST Program, Human Service
Department
Attachments (4):
Attachment A: Disparity Impact Statement
Attachment B: Community Needs Resource Assessment
Attachment C: Strategic Navigation Plan
Attachment D: Oakland ReCAST Evaluation Report (2016 – 2021)