AGENDA REPORT
TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: LaTonda Simmons
City Administrator Assistant City Administrator
SUBJECT: OFCY 2023-2024 Year End
Evaluation Report
DATE: April 30, 2025
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Accepting The Oakland Fund For Children And Youth Final Evaluation Report For Fiscal Year 2023-2024.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Adoption of the proposed Resolution will fulfill Oakland City Council Ordinance No. 13588 C.M.S.
Kids First! Oakland Fund for Children and Youth (OFCY) requirement (Oakland City Charter, Article XIII, Section 1305.4) that the Planning and Oversight Committee (POC) submit an independent annual evaluation report to the Oakland City Council for adoption. The OFCY Final Evaluation Report FY 202 3-2024 was prepared by The Bridging Group (TBG) and is included here as Attachment A.
The comprehensive final evaluation report includes an overall analysis of program performance, outcomes achieved, impact at the strategy fund-level, and contributions towards city-wide goals and outcomes.
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The Kids First! Oakland Fund for Children and Youth (OFCY) was established by a voter initiative approved ballot Measure K in 1996 to set money aside for programs and services benefiting children and youth. The Oakland City Charter establishes the Fund for the purpose of addressing the well-being of Oakland children and youth from birth through age 21 for the period July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2033.
Article XIII Section 1305.04 assigns the Planning and Oversight Committee (POC) the responsibility to adopt a Strategic Plan, solicit grants through an open and fair application process, send recommendations for grant awards to the City Council for approval, and submit an annual independent evaluation of OFCY to the Oakland City Council for adoption.
Jestin Johnson (May 16, 2025 08:28 PDT)
May 16, 2025
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: OFCY 2023 – 2024 Year End Evaluation Report
Date: April 30, 2025 Page 2
LEC
May 27, 2025
OFCY Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-2024 grants were approved for the third year of funding in the three-year grant cycle established under the OFCY Strategic Investment Plan 2022-2025 by the City Council on June 6, 2023, Resolution No. 89772 C.M.S. The 148 grant awards in FY 202 3- 2024 totaled $18,837,382, for Summer Programs and Full Year Programs.
TBG presented the Year-End Evaluation Report for FY 2023-2024 to the Planning and Oversight Committee (POC) on March 19, 2025, where it was reviewed and unanimously approved.
OFCY is closing a 10-month implementation gap of time resulting from a leadership transition and the hiring and on -boarding of a new C hildren and Youth Services Manager (OFCY Director).
OFCY plans to have FY 2022-2023 and FY 2024-2025 completed independent OFCY Evaluation Reports for presentation in Fall/Winter 2025.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
Programs funded by OFCY provided direct services to 20,612 children and youth from birth to 21 years of age and 2, 891 parents and caregivers during the FY 2023-2024 program year. OFCY program participants predominantly live in neighborhoods with high levels of community stress in West, Central, and East Oakland.
Guided by the OFCY’s Strategic Investment Plan for FY 2022-2025, programs were funded to address OFCY’s legislated goals and contribute to the elimination of racial disparities in outcomes for children, youth, and their families. Most participants were youth of color, with 26% percent identifying as African American/ Black, 47% identifying as Latinx, 9% identifying as Asian or Pacific Islander, and 9% identifying as two or more races.
Citywide Priorities are built into the OFCY Strategic Planning areas as described below:
Holistic Community Safety. Preventing violence and reducing youth involvement in crime and gangs and helping youth transition to productive adulthood.
Housing, Economic, and Cultural Security. Supporting the healthy development of young children and helping children and youth succeed in school and graduate from high school.
There are no policy alternatives for consideration.
FISCAL IMPACT
OFCY’s total evaluation costs for the period covering April 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, is Two-Hundred Forty -Seven Thousand Two Hundred and Five Dollars ( $247,205) for project coordination, strategic advising, evaluation planning, grantee and POC engagement/ presentations, data visualization and preparation of a retrospective evaluation report for FY 2022- 2023 and a descriptive evaluation report for FY 2023-2024.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: OFCY 2023 – 2024 Year End Evaluation Report
Date: April 30, 2025 Page 3
LEC
May 27, 2025
The Bridging Group (TBG) services were funded through the OFCY – Kids First! Oaklan d Children’s Fund (1780), as an administrative cost of OFCY. There was no impact on the General Fund. TBG was selected through the competitive RFQ #27034 for Professional Services for the Human Services Department and the Department of Violence Prevention. There were two applicants (including TBG) who submitted complete applications to RFQ #27034 in Category 3:
Independent Evaluation of Program Services. The Bridging Group (TBG) proposal submission was the most responsive and most qualified respondent.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
The POC met on March 19, 2025, in a public meeting to review, approve, and provide feedback to the evaluation firm regarding the 202 3-2024 independent evaluation report. The OFCY Planning and Oversight Committee accepted the fin al evaluation report and receive d public comments prior to forwarding the final evaluation to the City Council for consideration.
COORDINATION
In addition to the Planning and Oversight Committee, t his report and legislation have been reviewed by the Office of the City Attorney, the Budget Bureau, and the City Administrator's Office.
PAST PERFORMANCE, EVALUATION, AND FOLLOW-UP
The OFCY evaluation supports a continuous quality improvement (CQI) process for program planning, implementation, and grantee performance management. Past performance, as cited in the third-party evaluation reports, is used in part in the determination of funding renewals.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: The Bridging Group is an Oakland -based organization that employs Oakland residents. OFCY programs provide free and low -cost programming that supports thousands of Oakland’s low-income children and families that would otherwise be inaccessible to families in poverty.
Environmental: Programs build youth leadership and engage youth in the physical environment through environmental justice and restoration projects, neighborhood arts, and through community building projects that improve the overall quality of life and community safety in Oakland neighborhoods.
Race & Equity: OFCY prioritizes services and programming for children, youth, and families with a specific intentionality and focus to address race and equity as reflected in the evaluation report.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: OFCY 2023 – 2024 Year End Evaluation Report
Date: April 30, 2025 Page 4
LEC
May 27, 2025
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Accepting The Oakland Fund For Children And Youth Final Evaluation Report For Fiscal Year 2023-2024.
For questions regarding this report, please contact ROBIN LOVE, Manager, Children and Youth Services Division, at (510) 238-3231.
Respectfully submitted,
LATONDA SIMMONS
Assistant City Administrator
Reviewed by:
Robin Love, Manager
Children & Youth Services Division
Prepared by:
Robyn Levinson, Program Planner
Children & Youth Services Division
Attachments (1):
A: OFCY Final Evaluation Report FY 2023-2024
LaTonda Simmons (May 14, 2025 17:21 PDT)