Public Safety Committee
October 24, 2023
RECOMMENDATION
AGENDA REPORT
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution:
1. A
ccepting And Appropriating A California Violence Intervention And Prevention Grant From The California Board Of State And Community Corrections In An Amount Not To Exceed Nine Thousand One Hundred Seventy-Four Dollars ($9,174) For The Period Of July 1, 2023, To June 30, 2025;
2. A
uthorizing The City Administrator To Take All Steps Necessary For The City To R
eceive The CalVIP Grant; And
3. Authorizing The City Administrator To Add One 0.8 Full-Time Equivalent Administrative Assistant I Position To The Department Of Violence Prevention (DVP) For The Term Of July 1, 2023, To June 30, 2025, For A Total Amount Not T o
E
xceed Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000) Using CalVIP Cohort IV Funding Accepted By The City In July 2022 Through Resolution No. 89367 C.M.S.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The proposed resolution will authorize the City Administrator to accept and appropriate a grant from the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC)’s California Violence Intervention and Prevention (CalVIP) Program in the amount of $9,174 for the term of July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2025, to provide mental health services to Department of Violence Prevention (DVP) crisis response staff. The proposed resolution will also authorize the City Administrator to add one 0.8 full-time equivalent (FTE) Administrative Assistant I position to the DVP using funds from a previous CalVIP grant that the DVP received in July 2022.
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
In July 2022, the City of Oakland accepted a grant from the BSCC through Cohort IV of the CalVIP Program in the amount of $5,999,948 for the term of July 1, 2022, to December 31, 2025 (Resolution No. 89367 C.M.S.). The purpose of the grant is to focus services and TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: G. Kentrell Killens
City Administrator Interim Chief of Violence
Prevention
SUBJECT: DVP CalVIP Grant DATE: September 25, 2023
City Administrator Approval Date:
Oct 9, 2023
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: DVP CalVIP Grant
Date: September 25, 2023 Page 2
Public Safety Committee
October 24, 2023
resources on individuals affiliated with violent groups in Oakland in order to reduce shootings and homicides. Specifically, the grant funds the following staff and activities:
• Six (6) family coaches and one (1) family coach supervisor who work with individuals involved in violence and their families to improve family communication, cohesion, and access to services in order to reduce the likelihood of the target individuals perpetrating or being victimized by gun violence
• Twenty-seven (27) community engagement team (CET) members who perform street outreach to group members in order to mediate potential conflicts before they result in violence, engage individuals in services and skill development and identify and remediate environmental contributors to violent crime (e.g. lack of lighting on specific street corners).
• Experts from Roca, Inc. to train family coaches and community engagement team members in the REWIRE cognitive behavioral theory curriculum, which teaches strategies for changing unhealthy thinking patterns that contribute to the perpetration of gun violence.
In April 2023, the DVP was invited by the BSCC to submit an application for up to $9,174 in additional CalVIP funding to provide mental health services to frontline workers. This funding opportunity was available to all recipients of CalVIP Cohort IV funding. The DVP submitted an application on April 28, 2023.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
Since receiving the CalVIP Cohort IV grant in July 2022, the DVP has identified a need for additional administrative support for CET members. Specifically, the DVP requires support processing payments for CET members, connecting outreach clients to helpful services, collecting data on CET outreach activities, and organizing professional development opportunities for CET members. The DVP also experienced a delay in hiring several family coaches for the grant, which resulted in salary savings of $350,000. The DVP would like to use $250,000 of the salary savings to fund a 0.8 FTE Administrative Assistant I position from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2025.
The DVP received notification on September 8, 2023, that its application for $9,174 in supplemental CalVIP funding for mental health services was approved. This grant will fund one individual clinical talk therapy session per month for eight months for six DVP staff who respond to shootings and homicides in Oakland. The therapist selected to deliver these services, Ms.
Ameeta Singh, will support staff in making sense of traumatic experiences, reducing intrusive flashbacks and thoughts, understanding how trauma affects emotional, mental, and physical well-being, effectively managing distress, and taking steps to heal. Ms. Singh has extensive experience working with individuals who have experienced significant trauma, including individuals incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison.
This resolution addresses the citywide priority of holistic community safety by providing additional administrative support for CET members, who work with individuals at the highest risk Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: DVP CalVIP Grant
Date: September 25, 2023 Page 3
Public Safety Committee
October 24, 2023
of being victims or perpetrators of violence. It also provides mental health services for DVP crisis response staff who experience vicarious trauma through their work.
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of this resolution will authorize the City Administrator to accept and appropriate a CalVIP grant for $9,174 for the grant term of July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2025. This grant will be appropriated into the California Board of State and Community Corrections Fund (2152), Oakland Unite Org (70111), CALVIP 2022-2025 Project (1006525), and Fostering Safe and Healthy Communities Program (SC22).
Approval of this resolution will also authorize the City Administrator to create a 0.8 FTE Administrative Assistant I position to support the activities of CET members funded through the CalVIP Cohort IV grant. Funding for this position is available through the California Board of State and Community Corrections Fund (2152), Oakland Unite Org (70111), CALVIP 2022-2025 Project (1006525), and Fostering Safe and Healthy Communities Program (SC22).
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
The DVP developed the CalVIP grant proposal in consultation with the Oakland Police Department, Faith in Action East Bay, Inc., the City Administrator’s Office, and the Mayor’s Office.
COORDINATION
The City Attorney’s Office, Budget Office, and the City Administrator’s Office were consulted during the preparation of this agenda report and corresponding resolution.
PAST PERFORMANCE, EVALUATION, AND FOLLOW-UP
Each of the intervention strategies proposed in the CalVIP grant application have been identified through research and practice to reduce gun violence. Street outreach, specifically, which involves credible messengers forming relationships with high-risk individuals in order to mediate conflicts, connect individuals to services, and promote a message of non-violence, is widely regarded as an effective approach to gun violence reduction. Multiple evaluations of the Cure Violence model of street outreach in Baltimore, Chicago, and New York have demonstrated significant reductions in shootings and homicides. The DVP has executed a contract with Urban Institute to evaluate all CalVIP-funded activities during the grant period.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: There are no economic benefits.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: DVP CalVIP Grant
Date: September 25, 2023 Page 4
Public Safety Committee
October 24, 2023
Environmental: There are no environmental benefits.
Race & Equity: The vast majority of shooting and homicide victims in Oakland are people of color. In 2022, African Americans represented 41% of shooting victims and 63% of homicide victims, even though they represent less than 25% of the Oakland population. By focusing resources on individuals who are most likely to perpetrate shootings and homicides in order to reduce their incidence, CalVIP grant activities will contribute to a reduction in shootings and homicides that disproportionately impact Oakland’s black and brown community members.
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Adopt A Resolution:
1. Accepting And Appropriating A California Violence Intervention And Prevention Grant From The California Board Of State And Community Corrections In An Amount Not To Exceed Nine Thousand One Hundred Seventy-Four Dollars ($9,174) For The Period Of July 1, 2023, To June 30, 2025;
2. Authorizing The City Administrator To Take All Steps Necessary For The City To Receive The CalVIP Grant; And
3. Authorizing The City Administrator To Add One 0.8 Full-Time Equivalent Administrative Assistant I Position To The Department Of Violence Prevention (DVP) For The Term Of July 1, 2023, To June 30, 2025, For A Total Amount Not To Exceed Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000) Using CalVIP Cohort IV Funding Accepted By The City In July 2022 Through Resolution No. 89367 C.M.S.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: DVP CalVIP Grant
Date: September 25, 2023 Page 5
Public Safety Committee
October 24, 2023
For questions regarding this report, please contact G. Kentrell Killens, Interim Chief of the Department of Violence Prevention, at 510-238-2916.
Respectfully submitted,
G. Kentrell Killens
G. Kentrell Killens (Oct 5, 2023 13:32 PDT)
G. Kentrell Killens
Interim Chief
Department of Violence Prevention
Reviewed by: Mailee Wang
Deputy Chief
Department of Violence Prevention
Prepared by: Jenny Linchey
Acting Deputy Chief
Department of Violence Prevention