Public Safety Committee
September 30, 2025
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: Holly Joshi
City Administrator Chief of Violence
Prevention
SUBJECT: Adjustments to DVP Grants with
Community-Based Organizations for
Grant Year 2025-2026
DATE: September 2, 2025
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution:
1. Amending A Grant With Oakland Private Industry Council For Employment Services From October 1, 2025, To September 30, 2026, To Add Ninety Thousand Dollars ($90,000) For A Total Amount Not To Exceed Three Hundred Ninety Thousand Dollars ($390,000); And
2. Amending A Grant With The National Institute For Criminal Justice Reform For Community Violence Intervention Services From October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026, To Add One Hundred Three Thousand One Hundred Twelve Dollars ($103,112) For A Total Amount Not To Exceed Five Hundred Thirty-Eight Thousand One Hundred Twelve Dollars ($538,112); And
3. Amending A Grant With Communities United For Restorative Youth Justice For Community And School-Based Violence Intervention Services From October 1, 2025, To September 30, 2026, To Add One Hundred Thirty Thousand Dollars ($130,000) For School-Based Violence Intervention Services From October 1, 2025, To June 30, 2026, For A Total Amount Not To Exceed One Million Ninety-Five Thousand Dollars ($1,095,000)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The proposed resolution will allow the City Administrator to amend existing grant agreements between the Department of Violence Prevention (DVP) and three community-based organizations for community and school-based violence intervention services from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026. Specifically, the DVP seeks to add $90,000 for participant incentives to a grant with Oakland Private Industry Council and $103,112 for emergency relocation funds to a grant with The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform as a result of increased Measure NN revenue projections for Fiscal Year 2025-2026. The DVP also seeks to Jestin Johnson (Sep 18, 2025 17:00:10 PDT)
09/18/2025
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Adjustments to DVP Grants with Community-Based Organizations for Grant Year 2025-2026
Date: September 2, 2025 Page 2
Public Safety Committee
September 30, 2025
reallocate $130,000 for school-based life coaching services at McClymonds High School from the Student Program for Academic & Athletic Transitioning to Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice due to significant concerns regarding the former’s ability to manage grant funds.
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The DVP is charged with reducing group violence, domestic 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:
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 violence as part of the City’s Ceasefire-Lifeline strategy.
2. Fund and coordinate community-based organizations to deliver intervention and healing services to individuals at the center of group violence, domestic violence, and commercial sexual exploitation.
3. Build capacity among community organizations that form the ecosystem of violence intervention services in Oakland.
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, and Oakland Fire Department 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 be allocated to grants with community-based organizations for violence prevention and intervention services.
In May 2025, the City of Oakland’s Finance Department projected that Measure NN revenue allocated to the DVP would total $17,085,922 in Fiscal Year 2025-2026, and therefore $12,814,000 should be awarded to community-based organizations. In July 2025, the Finance Department revised its projections to allocate $17,344,149 in Measure NN funds to the DVP for Fiscal Year 2025-2026, of which $13,008,112 must be awarded to community-based organizations.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Adjustments to DVP Grants with Community-Based Organizations for Grant Year 2025-2026
Date: September 2, 2025 Page 3
Public Safety Committee
September 30, 2025
DVP Awards for Grant Year 2025-2026
On May 20, 2025, the City Council awarded grants to 21 community-based organizations to deliver community violence intervention services funded by Measure NN from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026, for a total cost of $10,765,000 (Resolution 90734 C.M.S.). This resolution also awarded grants to five community-based organizations to deliver school-based violence intervention services from October 1, 2025, to June 30, 2025, for a total cost of $2,050,000. These awards totaled $12,815,000 and were made based on Request for Qualifications #267700, which the DVP released in December 2021 in response to its 2022- 2024 Strategic Spending Plan. They were also made based on the Finance Department’s original projection of $17,085,922 in Measure NN funds being allocated to the DVP for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 and $12,814,000 being awarded to community-based organizations.
Specific funding allocations approved through Resolution 90734 C.M.S. included the following:
• $300,000 to Oakland Private Industry Council (OPIC) for employment training and navigation services. With this funding, OPIC will support participants in life coaching services delivered or funded by the DVP in accessing job placement and training opportunities in the Bay Area based on their unique skillsets, career interests, safety considerations, transportation options, and income requirements. Additionally, OPIC will develop and deliver employment training sessions to two cohorts of up to 15 DVP life coaching participants over 16 weeks. Participants will receive instruction related to workplace attire and etiquette, resume creation, interview preparation, employment laws, job searching, and financial literacy.
• $265,000 to The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) for emergency relocation services. NICJR’s relocation specialist supports individuals at imminent risk of lethal violence in relocating outside of Oakland while the conflict is mediated or a longer-term plan for safety is developed. The relocation specialist supports individuals in identifying viable housing options and coordinating relocation logistics. The relocation specialist then makes payments for hotel stays, security deposits, rent payments, or other moving costs. NICJR’s contract for October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026, currently includes $105,000 in relocation funds, which represents an average of $3,000 spent on each of 35 people during the grant period.
• $130,000 to Student Program for Academic & Athletic Transitioning (SPAAT) for life coaching services at McClymonds High School. Life coaching is an intensive model of participant-centered case management that supports students at the center of group violence in achieving long-term safety and stability. These services are delivered as part of the School Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) Program, which places one life coach, one gender-based violence specialist, and one violence interrupter at nine high schools in the Oakland Unified School District to support students who are directly impacted by group or gender-based violence.
• $130,000 to Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ) for life coaching services at Fremont High School and $210,000 to CURYJ for violence interruption services at Fremont High School and McClymonds High School. As with life coaching services delivered at McClymonds High School by SPAAT, these services are delivered as part of the School VIP Program. Through other funding Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Adjustments to DVP Grants with Community-Based Organizations for Grant Year 2025-2026
Date: September 2, 2025 Page 4
Public Safety Committee
September 30, 2025
sources, CURYJ also delivers violence interruption services at Bunche Academy and life coaching and violence interruption services at Oakland Technical High School.
As a result of the Finance Department’s updated projections from July 2025, the DVP must award an additional $193,112 to community-based organizations for services delivered from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026, to comply with Measure NN legislation.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
The proposed resolution will allow the City Administrator to amend existing grant agreements between the DVP and two community-based organizations for community violence intervention services to be delivered from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026, to reflect updated Measure NN revenue projections. These amendments involve the addition of the following funds:
1. $90,000 added to the DVP’s grant with OPIC to increase monthly incentive payments from $375 to $1,000 during four-month employment training cohorts.
DVP life coaching participants currently receive up to $375 per month in incentive payments for their active participation in life coaching services. With an additional $90,000, OPIC will be able to pay life coaching participants $625 per month for four months while they engage in employment training cohorts, bringing their total monthly incentive payments to $1,000. This responds to resounding feedback from participants and service providers that participants require meaningful financial support to fully engage in life coaching services. Of the $90,000 added to OPIC’s grant, $75,000 represents incentive payments to participants and $15,000 represents indirect costs associated with processing these payments.
• $103,112 added to the DVP’s grant with NICJR to increase average relocation funds from $3,000 to $5,000 per individual and increase the number of individuals served. Since May 2025, it has become apparent that individuals who are relocating outside of Oakland due to immediate lethality concerns require more than $3,000 to cover their relocation expenses. The addition of $103,112 to NICJR’s grant will allow the DVP to increase the average amount of funding spent on each relocation to $5,000. It will also allow the DVP to increase the minimum number of people served from 35 to 37.
Of the $103,112 added to NICJR’s grant, $93,738 represents funds that will be spent on relocation payments, and $9,374 represents indirect costs associated with processing these payments.
The proposed resolution will also allow the DVP to reallocate funding for school-based life coaching services delivered at McClymonds High School from October 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, from SPAAT to CURYJ due to financial challenges for SPAAT that have surfaced since the City Council approved DVP grant awards in May 2025. In August 2025, the DVP was notified that the life coach currently funded by the DVP through SPAAT to deliver life coaching services at McClymonds High School had not received a paycheck for three pay periods despite SPAAT’s invoices to the DVP being paid on time. This followed a prior lapse in payment that occurred in May 2025 and prompted the DVP to conduct an audit of SPAAT’s invoice for services rendered from January 1, 2025, to March 31, 2025. This audit, which the DVP Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Adjustments to DVP Grants with Community-Based Organizations for Grant Year 2025-2026
Date: September 2, 2025 Page 5
Public Safety Committee
September 30, 2025
completed in August 2025, revealed multiple invoice charges that lacked backup documentation or were identified as an inappropriate use of grant funds. On August 28, 2025, SPAAT notified the DVP that they would not be able to continue delivering life coaching services at McClymonds High School from October 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, due to serious financial challenges within the organization.
The DVP approached CURYJ about delivering life coaching services at McClymonds High School from October 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, since the agency delivers life coaching services at two other high schools and already performs violence interruption services at McClymonds High School, thus capitalizing on established relationships with students and staff. Life coaching and violence interruption services are currently delivered by the same agency at five of the nine high schools served by the School VIP Program, which supports strong coordination between those services. CURYJ expressed a strong interest in absorbing the grant for life coaching services at McClymonds High School starting on October 1, 2025, and hiring SPAAT’s grant- funded life coach to continue the work. SPAAT’s life coach also expressed a strong interest in continuing to deliver life coaching services at McClymonds High School as a member of CURYJ’s team.
This proposed resolution advances the citywide priority of holistic community safety by investing additional funding in services that are intended to reduce group violence and associated trauma in Oakland.
FISCAL IMPACT
This resolution will allow the City Administrator to add a total of $193,112 to grants with two community-based organizations for services delivered from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026. This funding will come from Measure NN, available in Fund (2255), Organization (70211), Program (PS37), and Project (1008064).
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
In preparation for this resolution and agenda report, DVP executive staff and planners had conversations with the four impacted agencies to review the proposed funding additions or shifts.
COORDINATION
The City Attorney’s Office, Budget Bureau, and City Administrator’s Office were consulted during the preparation of this agenda report and resolution.
PAST PERFORMANCE, EVALUATION, AND FOLLOW-UP
Resolution 90734 C.M.S., which authorized grants with 21 community-based organizations for community violence intervention services from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026, and Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Adjustments to DVP Grants with Community-Based Organizations for Grant Year 2025-2026
Date: September 2, 2025 Page 6
Public Safety Committee
September 30, 2025
five community-based organizations for school-based violence intervention and prevention services from October 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, contains information on evidence of impact for all service categories and prior performance for all funded agencies. It also includes information on how the DVP will assess the quantity, quality, and impact of funded services. Information specific to the three grant modifications made through this resolution is provided below.
• $90,000 added to the grant with OPIC to increase monthly incentive payments from $375 to $1,000 during four-month employment training cohorts. The practice of providing individuals with financial resources to reduce their risk for violence has been tested in recent years with positive results. The Advance Peace fellowship model, which operates in four California cities, provides individuals at the highest risk for group violence with $1,000 per month while they participate in services. An initial evaluation of Advance Peace in Sacramento found that during the 18-month service delivery period, gun homicides and assaults declined by 22% in areas of focus compared to the prior four-year average in those areas.1 Evaluations of guaranteed income programs implemented with populations similar to the DVP’s clientele have also demonstrated positive impacts on employment and mental health. In 2021, the City of Columbia, South Carolina, provided $500 per month for 12 months to low-income fathers who primarily identified as African American and had a high school diploma or less. The study found positive impacts on stress levels and employment for participating individuals compared to a control group.2
• $103,112 added to the grant with NICJR to increase average relocation funds from $3,000 to $5,000 per individual and increase the number of individuals served.
Relocation is an area of community violence intervention work that lacks robust research, but an evaluation of 35 participants who received relocation services funded by Oakland Unite from 2016 to 2019 found that recipients of relocation support were less likely to experience violent re-injury in the 2 years following services (10%) compared to the 2 years before engaging in services (67%).3
• $130,000 awarded to CURYJ for life coaching services at McClymonds High School instead of SPAAT. An evaluation of life coaching services in Oakland from 2016 to 2017 found that participants were 22% less likely to be arrested for a gun offense compared to individuals who did not receive services.4 Furthermore, an evaluation of 216 youth who received youth life coaching services funded through Oakland Unite between 2016 and 2017 found that the youth were 11% more likely than their peers to graduate from high school.4 CURYJ was identified to deliver life coaching services at McClymonds High School beginning October 1, 2025, due to the agency’s
1 Corburn, J., & Fukutome-Lopez, A. (2020). Outcome evaluation of Advance Peace Sacramento, 2018 – 19 [Report]. Advance Peace.
2 Bervik, A., Lyons, A., & West, S., et al. (2024, February). The American Guaranteed Income Studies:
Columbia, South Carolina. University of Pennsylvania, Center for Guaranteed Income Research. 3 D’Agostino, A. L., Hu, M., Gonzalez, N., Larkin, N., & Garber, M. (2020, November 18). Oakland Unite 2019–2020 strategy evaluation: Shooting and homicide response. Mathematica; Office of the City Administrator, City of Oakland.
4 Gonzalez, N., Larkin, N., Demers, A., & D’Agostino, A. L. (2021, January 19). Oakland Unite 2016–2020 comprehensive evaluation: Implementation and impacts of youth and adult life coaching (Comprehensive evaluation report submitted to the Office of the City Administrator, City of Oakland). Mathematica.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Adjustments to DVP Grants with Community-Based Organizations for Grant Year 2025-2026
Date: September 2, 2025 Page 7
Public Safety Committee
September 30, 2025
strong track record of delivering life coaching services at two other high schools and violence interruption services at McClymonds High School as part of the School VIP Program.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: The additional funding awarded to two agencies through this resolution will primarily be used on incentive payments to life coaching participants and rental or moving costs for individuals relocating outside of Oakland. These two usages reflect direct economic resources provided to vulnerable individuals in Oakland.
Environmental: There are no environmental opportunities associated with this report.
Race & Equity: Services funded through this resolution are intended for residents of Oakland who are most vulnerable to group violence, which are primarily 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. Services funded by the DVP are intended to reduce experiences of these forms of violence and associated trauma, thus moving Oakland closer to racial equity. Additionally, funded agencies use a credible messenger model to hire staff members with lived experiences and racial backgrounds that mirror the population served.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Adjustments to DVP Grants with Community-Based Organizations for Grant Year 2025-2026
Date: September 2, 2025 Page 8
Public Safety Committee
September 30, 2025
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution:
1. Amending A Grant With Oakland Private Industry Council For Employment Services From October 1, 2025, To September 30, 2026, To Add Ninety Thousand Dollars ($90,000) For A Total Amount Not To Exceed Three Hundred Ninety Thousand Dollars ($390,000); And
2. Amending A Grant With The National Institute For Criminal Justice Reform For Community Violence Intervention Services From October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026, To Add One Hundred Three Thousand One Hundred Twelve Dollars ($103,112) For A Total Amount Not To Exceed Five Hundred Thirty-Eight Thousand One Hundred Twelve Dollars ($538,112); And
3. Amending A Grant With Communities United For Restorative Youth Justice For Community And School-Based Violence Intervention Services From October 1, 2025, To September 30, 2026, To Add One Hundred Thirty Thousand Dollars ($130,000) For School-Based Violence Intervention Services From October 1, 2025, To June 30, 2026, For A Total Amount Not To Exceed One Million Ninety-Five Thousand Dollars ($1,095,000)
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
Reviewed by:
Mailee Wang, Deputy Chief of Administration
Prepared by:
Jenny Linchey, Deputy Chief of Grants,
Programs, and Evaluation
Holly Joshi (Sep 15, 2025 19:58:40 PDT)