Public Safety Committee
November 14, 2023
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Jestin D. Johnson,
City Administrator
FROM: G. Kentrell Killens, Interim
Chief of Violence
Prevention
SUBJECT: FY23 OJJDP Grant DATE: October 16, 2023
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That City Council Adopt A Resolution To:
1. Accept And Appropriate A Grant From The Office Of Juvenile Justice And Delinquency Prevention In An Amount Not To Exceed One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) For The Period Of October 1, 2023, To September 30, 2026; And
2. Authorize The City Administrator To Take All Steps Necessary For The City To Receive The Grant; And
3. Amend An Existing Grant Agreement With Communities United For Restorative Youth Justice For School Violence Interruption Services To Extend The End Date From September 30, 2025, To September 30, 2026, And Increase The Grant Amount By Three Hundred Fifty-Seven Thousand Four Hundred Eighty-Six Dollars ($357,486), For A Total Amount Not To Exceed Six Hundred Fifty-Seven Thousand Four Hundred Eighty-Six Dollars ($657,486); And
4. Amend An Existing Grant Agreement With Youth ALIVE! For School Violence Interruption Services To Extend The End Date From September 30, 2025, To September 30, 2026, And Increase The Grant Amount By Five Hundred Seventy Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty-Nine Dollars ($570,759), For A Total Amount Not To Exceed One Million One Hundred Twenty Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty-Nine Dollars ($1,120,759); And
5. Authorize The Department Of Violence Prevention To Enter Into A Memorandum Of Understanding With The Oakland Unified School District Regarding The School Violence Intervention And Prevention Program; And
6. Allocate Grant Funds In An Amount Not To Exceed Seventy-One Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty-Four Dollars ($71,754) To Fund 0.10 Full-Time Equivalent Of A Health And Human Services Program Planner Position In The Department Of Violence Prevention For The Period Of October 1, 2023, To September 30, 2026.
Nov 1, 2023
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: FY23 OJJDP Grant
Date: October 16, 2023 Page 2
Public Safety Committee
November 14, 2023
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The proposed resolution, if adopted, will allow the City Administrator to do the following:
1. Accept a grant from the Office on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) for $999,998 to augment the Department of Violence Prevention (DVP)’s School Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) Program by funding three school-based violence interrupters to work in Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) high schools during the 2023-2024, 2024-2025, and 2025-2026 School Years.
2. Amend an existing grant agreement with Youth ALIVE! for $550,000 that funds two violence interrupters for the School VIP Program to add $570,759 from the OJJDP grant for two additional violence interrupters, for a total grant amount of $1,120,759.
3. Amend an existing grant agreement with Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ) for $300,000 that funds one violence interrupter for the School VIP Program to add $357,486 from the OJJDP grant for one additional violence interrupter, for a total grant amount of $657,486.
4. Negotiate and sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the DVP, OUSD, and community-based organizations (CBOs) funded to implement the School VIP Program.
5. Appropriate up to $71,754 in grant funding to fund 0.10 full-time equivalent of a Health and Human Services Program Planner position within the DVP to manage administrative tasks related to the grant.
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
School VIP Program. Violence impacting students who attend high school in OUSD is unacceptably high. During the 2022-2023 School Year, OUSD suspended high school students for violence over 600 times,1 and two shootings occurred on OUSD high school campuses, one of which resulted in a fatality. Many high school students also experience violence in the community directly or indirectly. In 2022, 67 shootings with injury, 56 incidents of intimate partner violence, 46 rapes, and 124 other sex offenses reported to OPD involved victims between the ages of 14 and 18.2
In response to the need for additional resources to prevent and respond to violence impacting OUSD high school students, the DVP developed school-based versions of the violence intervention, life coaching, and gender-based violence (GBV) services it funds in the community.
The resulting School VIP Program placed three individuals – one violence interrupter, one GBV specialist, and one life coach (school VIP team) – in four comprehensive high schools and three continuation high schools in OUSD during the 2022-2023 School Year. One high school received its own dedicated VIP team; the remaining six schools each received their own life coach but shared four violence interrupters and three GBV specialists across sites. The DVP and OUSD tasked school VIP team members with the following responsibilities:
1 Internal data obtained from the Oakland Unified School District in May 2023. 2 Internal data obtained from the Oakland Police Department in February 2023.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: FY23 OJJDP Grant
Date: October 16, 2023 Page 3
Public Safety Committee
November 14, 2023
• Violence interrupter (VI): Identify potential student conflicts, conduct safety assessments, proactively mediate conflicts, intervene to prevent retaliation following conflicts, and refer youth to needed services.
• Life coach: Provide case management to students who have caused or been victims of violence; help students and their families reduce high-risk behaviors, improve functioning, increase motivation, and address unhealthy beliefs.
• GBV specialist: Deliver workshops for students to address dating violence, stalking, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and commercial sexual exploitation; provide service referrals and general support for impacted students.
The pilot year of program implementation revealed both the invaluable role that VIP teams can play at their school sites and opportunities for improvement in service scope and reach. In March 2023, the DVP led conversations with administrators and school VIP team members from each site to receive feedback on the model. Administrators expressed deep appreciation for school VIP team staff, highlighting their relatability to students, dedication to supporting students by any means necessary, flexibility in approach based on the needs of individual students, and alleviation of work from classroom teachers. Administrators also overwhelmingly expressed the desire to have a dedicated VI at each site rather than splitting VIs between sites due to the expansive need for services and the pivotal role that daily exposure plays in developing trusting relationships with students. Administrators also expressed a desire to have VIs conduct outreach to parents to involve them in violence mediation efforts and provide them with additional tools and resources to support their youth.
DVP Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-2023 Grant Agreements. On December 10, 2021, the DVP released a request for qualifications (RFQ) for violence prevention and intervention services from 2022 to 2024. The DVP received eighty-two (82) responsive applications from over seventy (70) agencies. Based on this RFQ, the DVP awarded contracts to 32 non-profit and public agencies to perform violence prevention and intervention services using funding from Measure Z funds and the General Purpose Fund for a total of $19,350,000 for the period of July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023 (Resolution No. 89273 C.M.S.). Through this process, the DVP awarded grants to Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, Community & Youth Outreach, and Youth ALIVE! to deliver violence interruption services through the School VIP Program due to their content expertise and existing relationships with community members and other service providers. Table 1 provides an overview of the number of VIs assigned to each school site and the agencies funded to hire and supervise VIs during the 2022-2023 School Year.
Table 1. Number of VIs and hiring agencies by school for the 2022-2023 School Year.
School Number of VIs Agency
Castlemont 0.5 Youth ALIVE!
Dewey 0.5 Youth ALIVE!
Fremont 1 Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice McClymonds 1 Community & Youth Outreach
Oakland 0.5 Youth ALIVE!
Ralph Bunche 1 Community & Youth Outreach
Rudsdale 0.5 Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: FY23 OJJDP Grant
Date: October 16, 2023 Page 4
Public Safety Committee
November 14, 2023
DVP FY23-25 Grant Agreements. On September 19, 2023, the City Council approved new grant agreements with the non-profit organizations selected through the December 2021 RFQ for the term of October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2025 (Resolution No. 89899 C.M.S.). This included grants with Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, Community & Youth Outreach, and Youth ALIVE! to provide violence interruption services for the School VIP Program during the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 School Years in the same staffing configuration outlined in Table 1.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
In May 2023, the DVP developed and submitted an application to OJJDP’s Fiscal Year 2023 Enhancing School Capacity To Address Youth Violence grant program to fund three additional violence interrupters for the School VIP Program. On September 25, 2023, the DVP was notified that its grant application was accepted for funding in the amount of $999,998 for the period of October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2026 (3 years).
Table 2 provides an overview of the number of VIs assigned to each school site and the agencies funded to hire and supervise VIs during the 2023-2024, 2024-2025, and 2025-2026 School Years as a result of OJJDP funding. Dewey and Oakland High Schools, which previously shared a single VI, will each receive their own full-time VI, both of whom will be hired and supervised by Youth ALIVE!. Rudsdale Continuation High School, which previously shared a VI with Castlemont High School, will receive its own full-time VI hired who will be supervised by CURYJ. This VI will speak Spanish and have experience serving newcomer students from Central America. Castlemont High School, which previously shared a VI with Rudsdale Continuation High School, will receive two full-time VIs due to the high levels of community and school-based violence impacting Castlemont students. The new VI hired to work at Castlemont will speak Spanish and have experience serving newcomer students from Central America. New VIs hired with OJJDP funding will start at their respective schools in January 2024 and continue working full time through the 2025-2026 School Year.
Table 2. Number of VIs, hiring agencies, and funding sources by school for the 2023-2026 School Years.
High school Number of VIs Agency Funding
source
Castlemont 2 Youth ALIVE! OJJDP (1)
DVP (1)
Dewey 1 Youth ALIVE! OJJDP
Fremont 1 Communities United for Restorative
Youth Justice
DVP
McClymonds 1 Community & Youth Outreach DVP
Oakland 1 Youth ALIVE! DVP
Ralph Bunche 1 Community & Youth Outreach DVP
Rudsdale 1 Communities United for Restorative
Youth Justice
OJJDP
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: FY23 OJJDP Grant
Date: October 16, 2023 Page 5
Public Safety Committee
November 14, 2023
In addition to performing the core violence interruption activities of mediation and service referrals, the eight VIs assigned to the School VIP Program will implement the following new activities during the grant period:
▪ Groups for students: VIs will facilitate biweekly support and educational groups (15 times per school year) for at least 50 students at each site annually who are involved in or at high risk for group violence. These groups will have three purposes: (1) to help students process trauma and grief associated with harm they have experienced or caused; (2) to teach students cognitive skills that support safer behavior choices; (3) to facilitate relationship building between students to reduce the likelihood of future conflict. These groups will be held on campus during school hours and will be convened with care to avoid violent conflicts during groups. VIs will receive training from the DVP in group facilitation and the REWIRE cognitive behavioral theory (CBT) curriculum, developed by physicians based on research on trauma-informed CBT interventions and intended for use with individuals actively involved in violence.
▪ Training for school staff: VIs will train teachers and administrators from their school sites on signs and symptoms of youth violence. Certain behaviors, such as wearing a specific baseball cap out of allegiance to a neighborhood group or wearing a sweatshirt in the summer to conceal a weapon, may go unnoticed by untrained staff. With funding from a private foundation, the DVP will develop a curriculum and related resources that VIs can use to educate staff on indicators of ongoing or imminent violence, as well as the process for making student referrals to school VIP team members.
▪ Family outreach: VIs will conduct outreach to develop relationships with family members of high-risk students, particularly those who are chronically absent or suspended from school. When family members are amenable, VIs will work with them to identify and implement strategies for reducing high-risk behaviors among students and facilitating regular school attendance. VIs will also support parents in identifying and accessing services for their youth to reduce risk factors.
▪ Groups for caregivers: VIs will host monthly support and educational groups (7 times per year) for caregivers of high-risk students. VIs will educate parents on signs and symptoms of youth violence, explain violence interruption and life coaching services available, and facilitate conversations between parents to share ideas and support. VIs will also solicit feedback from parents on ways to improve the School VIP Program.
As a result of the OJJDP award, the DVP’s contract with Youth ALIVE! for school violence interruption services will need to be amended in the following ways to include funding for two additional violence interrupters during the 2023-2024, 2024-2025, and 2025-2026 School Years:
• Increase the original grant for $550,000 by $570,759, for a total grant amount of $1,120,759
• Extend the end date from September 30, 2025, to September 30, 2026
As a result of the OJJDP award, the DVP’s contract with Youth ALIVE! for school violence interruption services will need to be amended in the following ways to include funding for two additional violence interrupters during the 2023-2024, 2024-2025, and 2025-2026 School Years:
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: FY23 OJJDP Grant
Date: October 16, 2023 Page 6
Public Safety Committee
November 14, 2023
• Increase the original grant for $300,000 by $357,486, for a total grant amount of $657,486
• Extend the end date from September 30, 2025, to September 30, 2026
OJJDP requires the DVP to execute an MOU with OUSD and all CBOs funded to implement the School VIP Program as a condition of funding. Specifically, the grant solicitation states the following:
“…applicants should submit a draft or fully executed MOU or analogous document for all identified CBOs included in the service network as part of the original application. This fully executed MOU must be signed and dated by both the local education agency (i.e., board of education chairperson, superintendent, or school principal) and the CBO representative(s) who will be providing supports for the project as part of the service network. For those applicants unable to complete a fully executed MOU at the time of application, if awarded, they will be required to submit documentation (i.e., MOU or analogous document) that demonstrates the partnership for implementing the funded approach.”
Approval of the proposed resolution will authorize the City Administrator to negotiate and sign the required MOU with OUSD and CBOs funded by the DVP. The roles and responsibilities of each entity, which will be detailed in the MOU, are included in this agenda report as Attachment A.
This resolution addresses the citywide priority of holistic community safety by funding three violence interrupters to work at high schools in OUSD to mediate conflicts before they result in violence and connect students at high risk for violence to helpful support services.
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of this resolution will authorize the City Administrator to accept and appropriate a grant from OJJDP for $999,998 for the term of October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2026. The OJJDP grant will be appropriated into Fund (To-be-determined), Org (To-be-determined), Project (To- be-determined), and Program (To-be-determined).
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
No public outreach was deemed necessary for this resolution beyond the standard City Council agenda noticing procedures.
COORDINATION
The OJJDP grant was developed in coordination with district-level staff from OUSD, the Office of Mayor Sheng Thao, and leadership from Youth ALIVE! and CURYJ. This resolution and agenda report were developed in coordination with the City Attorney’s Office, Finance Department, and City Administrator’s Office.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: FY23 OJJDP Grant
Date: October 16, 2023 Page 7
Public Safety Committee
November 14, 2023
PAST PERFORMANCE, EVALUATION, AND FOLLOW-UP
The School VIP Program was implemented in OUSD during the 2022-2023 School Year and has not yet been evaluated. The violence interruption and life coaching components of the School VIP Program, however, are rooted in evidence from Oakland and other cities across the country:
• Violence interruption: Multiple evaluations of the Cure Violence model of violence interruption and street outreach in Baltimore, Chicago, and New York have demonstrated significant reductions in shootings and homicides, including a 63% reduction in shooting victimizations in New York City.3 An evaluation of the DVP’s shooting and homicide response in 2019 and 2020 found that victims who engaged with VIs largely avoided retaliation and re-injury in the following two years.
• Life coaching: An evaluation of the DVP’s life coaching services in 2017 and 2018 found that individuals who received life coaching services had fewer short-term arrests for a violent offense relative to a comparison group.4 Roca’s similar model of intensive case management found that individuals who received services had a 42-46% reduction in recidivism over a three-year period.5
The School VIP Program is part of a comprehensive evaluation currently being conducted by the Urban Institute of all DVP activities funded by Measure Z. Preliminary results from that evaluation will be available in August 2024.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: There are no opportunities associated with this report.
Environmental: There are no opportunities associated with this report.
Race and Equity: Over 95% of students at each OUSD high school served by the School VIP Program identify as non-White, with the majority of students identifying as African American or Latinx. Adding three violence interrupters to the School VIP Program will reduce violence and related trauma at these schools and thus primarily benefit non-White youth in Oakland.
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council:
3 Cure Violence Global. (2021). The evidence of effectiveness. Retrieved February 4, 2022, from https://cvg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Cure-Violence-Evidence-Summary.pdf. 4 Mathematica Policy Research. (2020). Evaluation of Oakland Unite: Year 1 Strategy Report. 5 Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. (2023). Intervention Strategies. Retrieved April 20, 2023, from https://giffords.org/lawcenter/gun-laws/policy-areas/other-laws- policies/intervention-strategies.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: FY23 OJJDP Grant
Date: October 16, 2023 Page 8
Public Safety Committee
November 14, 2023
1. Accept And Appropriate A Grant From The Office Of Juvenile Justice And Delinquency Prevention In An Amount Not To Exceed One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) For The Period Of October 1, 2023, To September 30, 2026; And
2. Authorize The City Administrator To Take All Steps Necessary For The City To Receive The Grant; And
3. Amend An Existing Grant Agreement With Communities United For Restorative Youth Justice For School Violence Interruption Services To Extend The End Date From September 30, 2025, To September 30, 2026, And Increase The Grant Amount By Three Hundred Fifty-Seven Thousand Four Hundred Eighty-Six Dollars ($357,486), For A Total Amount Not To Exceed Six Hundred Fifty-Seven Thousand Four Hundred Eighty-Six Dollars ($657,486); And
4. Amend An Existing Grant Agreement With Youth ALIVE! For School Violence Interruption Services To Extend The End Date From September 30, 2025, To September 30, 2026, And Increase The Grant Amount By Five Hundred Seventy Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty-Nine Dollars ($570,759), For A Total Amount Not To Exceed One Million One Hundred Twenty Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty-Nine Dollars ($1,120,759); And
5. Authorize The Department Of Violence Prevention To Enter Into A Memorandum Of Understanding With The Oakland Unified School District Regarding The School Violence Intervention And Prevention Program; And
6. Allocate Grant Funds In An Amount Not To Exceed Seventy-One Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty-Four Dollars ($71,754) To Fund 0.10 Full-Time Equivalent Of A Health And Human Services Program Planner Position In The Department Of Violence Prevention For The Period Of October 1, 2023, To September 30, 2026.
For questions regarding this report, please contact G. Kentrell Killens at [email protected].
Respectfully submitted,
G. Kentrell Killens
Interim Chief of Violence Prevention
Department of Violence Prevention
Attachment (1):
A: Roles and responsibilities for School VIP Program MOU G. Kentrell Killens (Oct 26, 2023 13:56 PDT)
G. Kentrell Killens