Public Safety Committee July 22, 2025
AGENDA REPORT TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: Holly Joshi City Administrator Chief of Violence Prevention SUBJECT: Contract for Public-System High-Risk Youth Team DATE: June 23, 2025 City Administrator Approval Date: RECOMMENDATION Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Authorizing The City Administrator To Enter Into A No-Cost Agreement With The County Of Alameda, The Oakland Unified School District, And The National Institute For Criminal Justice Reform Regarding A Public-System Referral And Service Coordination Team That Serves Youth At High Risk For Group Violence, Intimate Partner Violence, Or Commercial Sexual Exploitation In Oakland For Up To A Five-Year Term EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Department of Violence Prevention (DVP) is seeking Council authority to enter a no-cost professional services agreement with the County of Alameda, the Oakland Unified School District, and The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform in order to receive service referrals for youth who are at the center of group violence, intimate partner violence, or team as being at highest risk of imminent violence. The DVP will only receive referrals from this group and will not provide information about the youth back to partner agencies. It is intended for this group to serve as a primary referral pathway for youth services funded through the DVP by Measure NN beginning in October 2025. BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY The DVP is charged with reducing group violence, intimate partner violence, and commercial sexual exploitation in Oakland. To do this, the DVP invests in immediate crisis response services and near-term interventions that stabilize victims and prevent additional violence, as well as longer-term, intensive support services for individuals caught in cycles of violence. Specifically, the DVP performs three primary functions:
Jestin Johnson (Jul 7, 2025 16:26 PDT)
07/07/2025
Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Contract for Public-System High-Risk Youth Team Date: June 23, 2025 Page 2 Public Safety Committee July 22, 2025
1. Supervise and deploy a team of direct service staff who perform intensive life coaching and violence interruption work with individuals at the highest risk of imminent gun Ceasefire-Lifeline strategy. 2. Fund and coordinate community-based organizations (CBOs) to deliver intervention and healing services to individuals at the center of group violence, intimate partner violence, and commercial sexual exploitation. 3. Convene and build capacity among community organizations that form the ecosystem of violence intervention services in Oakland to enhance collective capacity to prevent violence, deliver effective and coordinated services, and create a safer and healthier city. Measure NN On November 5, 2024, Oakland voters passed Measure NN, the Oakland Community Violence Reduction and Emergency Response Act, which approved the collection of parking and parcel taxes for nine years to fund activities within the DVP, Oakland Police Department (OPD), and Oakland Fire Department (OFD) that achieve the following goals: 1) Reduce homicides, robberies, carjackings, break-ins, domestic violence, and other gun-related violence. 2) Reduce response time for 911 emergency calls for service and improve the quality of response. 3) Reduce the incidence of human trafficking, including the sexual exploitation of minors. Measure NN allocates 40% of tax revenues to the DVP following an initial allocation of 3% to administrative expenses and $3,000,000 to the Oakland Fire Department. Measure NN also requires that 75% of funds received by the DVP are allocated to grants with CBOs for violence prevention and intervention services. Measure NN funding earmarked for CBO services will total $12,814,000 in Fiscal Year 2025-2026 and $13,000,000 in Fiscal Year 2026-2027. Measure-NN-Funded Services On May 20, 2025, City Council approved grant agreements between the DVP and 21 community-based organizations for community violence intervention services funded by Measure NN from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026, as well as grants between the DVP and five community-based organizations for school violence intervention services from October 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026 (Resolution 90734 C.M.S.). Funding was awarded to agencies that applied to Request for Qualifications #267700 to deliver services to individuals in domains such as crisis response, life coaching, housing, individual and group therapy, employment, and legal services. In contrast to grants funded by Measure Z during prior years, grants starting October 1, 2025, specified that agencies must serve individuals at the center of group violence, intimate partner violence, and commercial sexual exploitation rather than individuals at risk for those forms of violence. High-Risk Youth Team For the past three years, The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) has convened a group of representatives from the San Francisco Department of Children Youth and Families, San Francisco Probation Department, UCSF Health, and several community violence Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Contract for Public-System High-Risk Youth Team Date: June 23, 2025 Page 3 Public Safety Committee July 22, 2025
intervention organizations on a weekly basis to discuss recent violent incidents involving youth in San Francisco and make coordinated service referrals. NICJR is a national technical assistance, research, and advocacy organization in the field of community violence intervention that is located in Oakland and played an important role in the revitalization of deterrence strategy (Ceasefire-Lifeline) in early 2024. In the fall of 2024, the DVP was approached by staff from NICJR who wanted to replicate high-risk youth coordination team in Oakland to achieve better outcomes for young people at the center of violence in Oakland. Since then, the DVP has engaged in regular planning conversations with staff from NICJR, OUSD, and several departments within the County of Alameda who share the desire to have a shared space where agency staff can identify youth at high risk for violence and make coordinated service referrals. ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES The DVP is seeking Council authority to enter a no-cost professional services agreement (PSA) with the County of Alameda, OUSD, and NICJR that will allow the DVP to receive and prioritize service referrals for youth who are at the center of group violence, intimate partner violence, or -Lifeline team as being at highest risk of near-term violence. Table 1 identifies the public system partners that would be involved in this high-risk youth coordination team and their responsibility for either making or receiving referrals of youth for services. coordinate the deployment of resources and services to best address needs and prevent ongoing violence and victimization. Information shared between agencies shall not be used for punitive, enforcement, or surveillance decisions by any agency. The DVP will only receive referrals and will not provide information about the youth back to partner agencies. It is intended that this group serve as a primary referral pathway for youth services funded through the DVP by Measure NN beginning in October 2025. Table 1. -risk youth coordination team. Party Submit referrals Receive referrals (service) Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE) Yes Yes (school enrollment) Alameda County Probation Department (ACPD) Yes Yes (Delinquency Prevention Network) (DAO) Yes No DVP No Yes (life coaching) NICJR No Yes (diversion) Although the planning group for the high-risk youth coordination team has not finalized criteria by which referrals to the group will be made, the DVP requires that youth meet the first criterion below, OR two of the subsequent criteria, to be eligible for Measure-NN-funded services related to group/gun violence: 1. Is the individual connected to a street crew or group? 2. Has the individual ever been shot, stabbed, or shot at? 3. Does the individual have a significant juvenile justice history? Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Contract for Public-System High-Risk Youth Team Date: June 23, 2025 Page 4 Public Safety Committee July 22, 2025
4. In the past six months, has a close friend, family member, or group member of the individual been shot or arrested for a shooting? Agencies that submit referrals to the high-risk youth coordination team will adhere to the data-sharing principles outlined below, which will be outlined in the executed PSA. The DVP will only receive referrals from partner agencies and will not share participant data. Confidentiality: All shared information shall be treated as confidential and shall be used solely for the purposes outlined in this MOU. Compliance with Laws: The parties shall comply with all applicable state and federal laws regarding data privacy and security, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Data Security: The parties shall implement appropriate security measures to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of shared data. Consent: When sharing personally identifiable information (PII) about minors, the parties shall obtain appropriate consent from parents or guardians, in accordance with applicable laws. The proposed resolution advances the citywide priority of holistic community safety by intimate partner violence, and commercial sexual exploitation in Oakland. FISCAL IMPACT There is no cost associated with this contract. PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST No public outreach was deemed necessary for the preparation of this resolution and agenda report. COORDINATION Office and were consulted during the preparation of this agenda report and resolution. Additionally, the DVP has held weekly planning meetings with representatives from NICJR, OUSD, ACPD, and ACOE since the beginning of 2025. PAST PERFORMANCE, EVALUATION, AND FOLLOW-UP For the past three years, NICJR has convened a group of representatives from the San Francisco Department of Children Youth and Families, San Francisco Probation Department, UCSF Health, a several community violence intervention organizations on a weekly basis to discuss recent violent incidents involving youth and make appropriate service referrals. This work has not been evaluated for impact, but the group has identified and served 40 youth who had previously committed repeated violent offenses.
Jestin D. Johnson, City AdministratorSubject: Contract for Public-System High-Risk Youth Team Date: June 23, 2025 Page 5 Public Safety Committee July 22, 2025
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES Economic: There are no economic opportunities associated with this report. Environmental: There are no economic opportunities associated with this report. Race & Equity: The majority of individuals, including youth, who are impacted by group violence, intimate partner violence, and commercial sexual exploitation in Oakland are residents of color. In 2024, Black residents accounted for 33% of shooting victims and 65% of homicide victims despite representing 21% of the population. Similarly, Hispanic residents accounted for 42% of shooting victims despite representing 29% of the population. Domestic violence incidents reported to OPD in 2024 involved Black residents as victims in 50% of cases and Latinx individuals as victims in 32% of cases. Services funded by the DVP are intended to reduce experiences of these forms of violence and the associated trauma, thus moving Oakland closer to racial equity. ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Authorizing The City Administrator To Enter Into A No-Cost Agreement With The County Of Alameda, The Oakland Unified School District, And The National Institute For Criminal Justice Reform Regarding A Public-System Referral And Service Coordination Team That Serves Youth At High Risk For Group Violence, Intimate Partner Violence, Or Commercial Sexual Exploitation In Oakland For Up To A Five-Year Term For questions regarding this report, please contact Holly Joshi, Chief of Violence Prevention, at (510) 920-6272. Respectfully submitted, Holly Joshi Chief of Violence Prevention, Department of Violence Prevention Prepared by: Jenny Linchey, Deputy Chief of Grants, Programs, and Evaluation Attachment (1): A. Draft scope of services for no-cost agreement