Life Enrichment Committee
May 23, 2023
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Steven Falk FROM: Scott Means
Interim City Administrator Interim Director, Human
Services
SUBJECT: OFCY FY 2023-2024 Grant Renewal
Recommendation
DATE: April 28, 2023
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Awarding Oakland Fund For Children And Youth Grant Agreements In A Total Amount Not To Exceed $18,837,382 To Public And Non-Profit Agencies To Provide Direct Services For Children And Youth For An Additional One-Year Term From June 1, 2023 – September 30, 2023 For Summer Programs And From July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2022 For Full Year Programs.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The proposed resolution authorizes the City Administrator to renew 147 grant agreements with non-profit and public agencies through the voter approved Oakland Kids First! Children’s Fund in the amount of $18,837,382 for programming in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-2024. On May 3, 2023, the Oakland Fund for Children and Youth (OFCY) Planning and Oversight Committee (POC) recommended these programs for renewal for the second year of the current three-year OFCY funding cycle, Year 1: 2022-2023, Year 2: 2023-2024, Year 3: 2024-2025.
OFCY provides grant awards to non-profit and public agencies to support children and youth from birth through 21 years of age, and their families. Over 95 non-profit and public agencies are funded for the 149 distinct grant programs across eleven (11) funding strategies as detailed in the OFCY 2022-2025 Strategic Investment Plan (Attachment A). Through March 31, 2023, these programs collectively have provided direct services to 16,980 youth and 1,459 parents and caregivers (unduplicated.) Attachment B provides the list of programs and awards recommended for renewal by the POC.
Funded programs are designed to be appropriate for different age groups, reflecting the needs of communities and leveraging outside funding to ensure better short- and long-term outcomes for children. These range from parent support groups, family resource centers, and mental health services for families with young children to after school, summer youth employment and transitional programs for older youth.
May 11, 2023
Steven Falk, Interim City Administrator
Subject: OFCY FY 2023-2024 Grant Renewal Recommendation Date: April 28, 2023 Page 2
Life Enrichment Committee
May 23, 2023
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The Kids First! Amendment (Article XIII – Amended in 2020) of the City of Oakland Charter requires that three percent (3%) of the General-Purpose Fund be set aside as annual revenues, along with interest accrued and any unspent funds from prior years and appropriated to the Oakland Kids First! Children’s Fund. Ninety percent (90%) of the annual revenue is made available for grants to non- profit and public agencies to address the well-being of Oakland children and youth from birth through age 21. Ten percent (10%) is available for administration and evaluation. The City Council adopted Ordinance No. 13588 C.M.S. on March 3, 2020, which extended OFCY for twelve (12) years, beginning July 1, 2021, and continuing through June 30, 2033.
The City Council approved the 2022-2025 OFCY Strategic Investment Plan in December 2021.
Based on the subsequent release of the OFCY Request for Proposals (RFP) that was released on January 10, 2022, and the recommendation of grant awards by the POC in April 2022, the City Council approved 135 grant awards totaling $17,817,382 for FY 22-23, with an option to approve one year grant renewals for fiscal year 23-24 and 24-25, for the three-year OFCY grant cycle (Resolution No. 89245, C.M.S) on June 7, 2022.
A Supplemental Report was presented to Council on May 26, 2022 to request grant award funding approval for an additional 14 grantees for $1,225,000, as revised estimates to the City’s General Purpose Fund increased the overall funding to the Kids First! Children’s Fund. These grantees were selected from the Priority List (Attachment C), with the exception of one, who was not on this list, but was selected to provide sports and recreation to a diverse group of youth at multiple locations in Council Districts 5, 6 and 7, and were selected and approved by the POC on June 1, 2022. In total, $19,142,382 grant awards were approved for 149 programs for FY 2022-2023.
For FY 2023-2024, OFCY summer program grants begin June 1, 2023, and year-round programming begins July 1, 2023, to complete the year two funding cycle under the 2023-2024 OFCY Strategic Investment Plan.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
OFCY Goals and Strategic Priorities
The following are the eligible services for the City of Oakland Kids First! Funding, Measure D
(2009): 1) Support the healthy development of young children, 2) Help children and youth succeed in school and graduate high school, 3) Prevent violence and reduce youth involvement in crime and gangs, and 4) Help youth transition to productive adulthood. Table 1 reflects the amounts and the number of programs funded for the OFCY funding strategies recommended in this report.
Steven Falk, Interim City Administrator
Subject: OFCY FY 2023-2024 Grant Renewal Recommendation Date: April 28, 2023 Page 3
Life Enrichment Committee
May 23, 2023
Table 1: Number of Programs and Funding by Strategy Area Strategy Area Number of
Programs
Funded
OFCY
Funding FY
23-24
Social-Emotional Well-Being in Early Childhood 5 $775,000 Family Resource Centers & Parent Engagement 10 $2,261,035 Comprehensive Afterschool Programs – Elementary Schools 38 $3,230,000 Comprehensive Afterschool Programs – Middle Schools 15 $1,500,000 Middle School Engagement, Wellness & Transitions 5 $710,000 High School and Postsecondary Student Success 11 $1,245,000 Youth Leadership & Development 33 $4,645,347
Summer Academic & Enrichment, Summer Youth Employment 12 $1,161,000 Violence Prevention 3 $655,000
Career Access and Employment for Opportunity Youth 9 $1,660,000 Career Access and Employment for Youth in School 6 $995,000 TOTAL FY 2023-2024 Grant Awards 147 $18,837,382
Program Evaluation: Mid-Year Snapshot
OFCY uses a Results Based Accountability (RBA) framework to evaluate overall impact at the fund level, strategy level, and program level. The three main guiding questions in an RBA framework are:
• How much did we do?
• How well did we do it?
• Is anyone better off?
Table 2 provides a mid-year overview of key indicators at the fund level in an RBA framework to address these questions. These snapshots are developed at the strategy level and program level at year end for the independent evaluation report.
Table 2: OFCY Mid-Year RBA Snapshot
Program Achievements - How much did OFCY programs accomplish? Unduplicated No. of Youth Served 16,993
Unduplicated No. of Parent/Caregivers Served 1,463
Total Hours of Services Provided 1,129,330
Participant Demographics & Geographic Areas
Data through December 2022 indicates that 16,993 children and youth received direct services in a program supported by OFCY. Most were served through the comprehensive afterschool programs strategy, reaching over 6,973 children in elementary and middle schools, followed by children and youth participating in the Youth Development and Leadership strategy, which reached 3,502 children and youth this year, while 6,518 were served throughout other strategy areas.
Steven Falk, Interim City Administrator
Subject: OFCY FY 2023-2024 Grant Renewal Recommendation Date: April 28, 2023 Page 4
Life Enrichment Committee
May 23, 2023
Participant Demographics & Geographic Areas
Youth (0-21 yrs.)
47% of all children and youth (7,961 participants) served by OFCY Summer and Year-round programs identify as Latinx, followed by 31% that identified as Black or African American (5,239 participants), and 9% that identified as Asian (1,547 participants).
Adults & Caregivers
57% of all adults & caregivers (843 participants) served by OFCY Family Resource Centers & Parent Engagement programs identify as Latinx, followed by 22% that identified as Black or African American (327 participants), and 6% that identified as Asian (92 participants).
Geographic Areas Served
Nearly three out of every four children and youth served reside in one of five zip codes in East Oakland, West Oakland, and Fruitvale/ San Antonio: 94601 (24 percent), 94621 (19 percent) 94603 (13 percent) 94605 (10 percent) and 94607 (8 percent).
Policy Alternatives
Alternative #1 The Kids First! Oakland Children’s Fund (Article XIII. of the Oakland City Charter) tasks the POC with submitting funding recommendations to the Oakland City Council for adoption, which can be approved or rejected only in their entirety. The rejection of individual grants would be a rejection of the package in its entirety and would result in returning to the POC for review and modification of the recommendations.
Pro A revised renewal recommendation resulting from Council rejection would be considered by the POC at the July 2023 meeting and returned to City Council in July or September 2023 for adoption after the August recess.
Con Rejection of the funding recommendation would result in a delay in services for programs in 2023-2024 and potential loss of services for summer programming that directly serve Oakland’s most vulnerable, impacting up to 1,200 children & youth, and their working parents & caregivers.
Reason for Not
Recommending
The funding recommendations address the priorities in the OFCY FY 2022- 2025 Strategic Investment Plan. Rejecting the funding recommendations would result in a delay in the contracting process and potential loss of programming to Oakland children and youth for the summer months.
Therefore, staff recommends council approves the report and resolution.
This project advances the Citywide priority of Holistic Community Safety.
Steven Falk, Interim City Administrator
Subject: OFCY FY 2023-2024 Grant Renewal Recommendation Date: April 28, 2023 Page 5
Life Enrichment Committee
May 23, 2023
FISCAL IMPACT
The total project cost of these grant agreements is $18,837,382 for FY 2023-2024. Kids First! legislation requires that no less than 90% of funds be used for direct services for children and youth through the award process. The City of Oakland Proposed Budget FY 2023-2024 identifies $24,655,977 for the Kids First! Children’s Fund, of which 90%, or $22,190,379 is available for grants in FY 2023-2024. Additional grant award recommendations may be brought back to Council (following POC approval), at a future date within the FY 22-23 program year to fund more programs selected from the Priority List of Programs to be Considered for Funding (Attachment C). This list includes organizations who responded to the RFQ but were not selected for initial funding.
A breakdown of the project funding sources is as follows:
Fund Source Organization Project Program Total
Amount
(1780) - Oakland Fund for
Children and Youth
(OFCY) - Kids First
Oakland Children’s Fund
FY 2023-2024
(78251) -
Youth
Services
Organization
(1006711) –
OFCY 2023-
2024
(YS04) -
OFCY
Program
$18,837,382
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
The POC provided notice and hosted a public meeting on May 3, 2023, to receive public input prior to approving the recommendations for forwarding to Oakland City Council.
COORDINATION
This report and the proposed legislation have been reviewed by the Office of the City Attorney, Budget Bureau, and Department of Workplace and Employment Standards (formerly Contracts and Compliance).
PAST PERFORMANCE, EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
Program Review and Renewal Process
The review and renewal process for FY 2023-2024 included review of program performance through the first seven months (June 1 – December 31, 2022), of the inaugural funding cycle for the three-year grant. All programs developed a detailed scope of work for the program year that establishes annual performance targets for enrollment and a projection of activities to be provided. Programs submit quarterly reports detailing client enrollment and participation in activities, along with narrative information on the program’s successes, challenges and changes. OFCY’s Program Analysts review quarterly reports, expenses and progress toward scope of work objectives and work with program staff to adjust services where needed.
Steven Falk, Interim City Administrator
Subject: OFCY FY 2023-2024 Grant Renewal Recommendation Date: April 28, 2023 Page 6
Life Enrichment Committee
May 23, 2023
At mid-year, 82% of programs were attaining satisfactory performance on one or both measures of performance. Staff continue to work with programs to address issues and monitor progress in the third and fourth quarters.
Program Evaluation
Programs evaluations are completed annually by an independent consultant. For FY 2021- 2022, the evaluation has been completed and approved by the POC last December 2022 and will be scheduled to present to the Council beginning of Summer. The evaluation process includes assessment of program quality and outcomes for children, youth and parents, detailed descriptions of demographics and performance with a goal of addressing impact and equity and will identify service needs and gaps relative to measuring outcome goals of the program.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: OFCY funding provides local employment opportunities through public and non- profit agencies, which are primarily Oakland-based, all of which employ local staff and have a positive economic impact. OFCY funds provide direct compensation to youth through subsidized internships and work experience. OFCY funds are used to leverage and match additional local, state, federal, and private philanthropic funds, bringing additional resources into Oakland.
Environmental: Programs will support community health and safety by providing physical activities outdoors, and nutritional snacks to improve the health and well-being of children and youth.
Race & Equity: OFCY prioritizes funding for services that reach youth and families with the greatest needs. Programs will work to support children, youth and families in need with basic health, education, enrichment, and employment services through a variety of means. The overwhelming majority of program participants are Latinx, African American, and Asian, indicating a racial equity focus in funding and delivery of programming. Programs are intended to provide children, youth and families that may not otherwise have the ability to participate in enriching, academically supportive, and socially engaging programming free of charge.
Steven Falk, Interim City Administrator
Subject: OFCY FY 2023-2024 Grant Renewal Recommendation Date: April 28, 2023 Page 7
Life Enrichment Committee
May 23, 2023
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Approve A Resolution Awarding Oakland Fund For Children And Youth Grant Agreements In A Total Amount Not To Exceed Eighteen Million Eight Hundred Thirty-Seven Thousand Three Hundred Eighty-Two Dollars ($18,837,382) To Public And Non-Profit Agencies To Provide Summer And Full Year Programs And Services For Children And Youth From June 1, 2023 – September 30, 2023, and For Summer Programs And From July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024.
For questions regarding this report, please contact Robin Love, Human Services Manager, Children and Youth Services Division, at (510) 238-3231.
Respectfully submitted,
SCOTT MEANS
Interim Director, Human Services Department
Reviewed by:
Robin Love, Manager, Children & Youth
Services
Human Services Department
Prepared by: Cindy King, Program Planner
Human Services Department
Attachments (3):
A: OFCY 2022-2025 Strategic Investment Plan
B: FY 2023-2024 OFCY Grant Renewal Award List
C. Priority List of Programs to be Considered for Funding if Additional Revenues are Identified