Jestin Johnson (Apr 27, 2026 15:51:14 PDT)
Apr 27, 2026
CITY
OF
OAKLAND TO:
Jestin
D.
Johnson
City
Administrator
SUBJECT:
MOU
Between
City
of
Oakland
and
the
University
of
Southern
California
City
Administrator
Approval
RECOMMENDATION
AGENDA
REPORT
FROM:
James
P.
Beere
Interim
Chief
of
Police
DATE:
April
15,
2026
Date:
Staff
Recommends
That
The
City
Council
Adopt
A
Resolution
Authorizing
The
City
Administrator
To
Enter
Into
An
Memorandum
Of
Understanding
(MOU)
With
The
University
Of
Southern
California,
Suzanne
Dworak-Peck
School
Of
Social
Work
To
Create
Internship
Opportunities
For
Graduate-Level
Social
Work
Students
From
August
2026
To
May
2031.
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
The
proposed
Resolution
would
authorize
the
City
Administrator
to
negotiate
and
execute
a
five
year
MOU
(Attachment
A)
with
the
University
of
Southern
California,
Suzanne
Dworak-Peck
School
of
Social
Work
(School)
to
create
internship
rotation
opportunities
for
graduate-level
social
work
students
with
the
City
of
Oakland
(City)
Oakland
Police
Department
(OPD).
The
Social
Work
and
Public
Safety
Program
at
the
Suzanne
Dworak-Peck
School
prepares
students
to
enter
the
social
work
profession
by
providing
relevant
working
partnership
and
professional
development
as
part
of
it Master
of
Social
Work
degree.
Students
are
required
to
fulfill
a
practicum
placement
which
includes
at
least
450
hours
per
year.
The
School
currently
has
Agency
Partnerships
with
multiple
Public
Safety
Agencies
including
the
Gardena
Police
Department,
the
Los
Angeles
Police
Department,
and
the
Santa
Monica
Police
Department.
Starting
in
2026,
OPD
intends
to
begin
a
partnership
with
the
University
of
Southern
California,
Suzanne
Dworak-Peck
School
of
Social
Work
to
participate
in
the
practicum
placement
(see
Attachment
B
for
more
information).
The
services
provided
by
students
in
a
practicum
placement
include,
but
are
not
limited
to,
the
following:
•
Crisis
intervention
and
emergency
response
support
•
Data
collection,
analysis,
and
research
•
Diversion
programming
•
Grant
development
and
writing
•
Inter-agency
and
multi-agency
collaboration
and
coordination
Public
Safety
Committee
May
12,
2026
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: MOU Between City of Oakland and the University of Southern California Date: April 15, 2026 Page2
• In-home assessments to identify underlying issues and determine optimal treatment pathways
• Resource linkage and navigation
• Mental health first aid and trauma-informed care
• Mentoring programs
• Community outreach and engagement
• Program planning, development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation • Crisis assistance and resource provision
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The University of Southern California, Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work Master of Social Work Degree offers a Social Work and Public Safety Program which includes practicum education. Practicum education prepares students for professional social work by integrating academic learning into practice, assisting with mastering core social work competencies, enhancing practice modalities and interventions, building knowledge for generalist practice, and advancing professional practice. The practicum placement includes at least 16 hours per week for a total of 450 hours in the first year placement and 24 hours per week for a total of 650 hours for the second year placement.
The City of Oakland must provide qualified staff as Practicum Instructors for the students.
Practicum instructors serve as supervisors and educators and are responsible for orientation with the Oakland Police Department, fostering a teacher-learner relationship, and developing learning opportunities. While participants in the program are required to adhere to the applicable policies set forth for employees, they remain students of the School and not City employees. If applicable, students will be required to criminal background clearance and any other clearance required to carry out assignments.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
The University of Southern California, Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work provides the following description of the need and proposed policy:
Social work and police work have more overlap than is commonly thought. Approximately 80% of calls to police are social service related. Police are also frontline responders addressing situations involving people experiencing homelessness, substance use or youth-involved crime and often find themselves striving to de-escalate a disturbance or connect people with social services. Associate Professors of Social Work Practicum Education Rosamaria Alamo and Ricardo Ornelas at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work are directly addressing this need through the Social Work and Public Safety Collaborative, a first-of-its-kind initiative they created to provide a working partnership and professional development pipeline between social work, local law enforcement agencies, and public safety and community based organizations.
The services provided by students in the practicum placement are aligned with the efforts of the Oakland Police Department and will reduce burden on existing staff. The internships are unpaid and the students will receive course credit only.
Public Safety Committee
May 12, 2026
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: MOU Between City of Oakland and the University of Southern California Date: April 15, 2026 Page 3
RELATED PLANNING EFFORTS
This agenda item is a routine item and does not relate to any Oakland strategic planning efforts.
FISCAL IMPACT
This Affiliation Agreement does not involve funding to or from University of Southern California, Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. Rather, it establishes a partnership and efforts to be undertaken by both parties for mutual benefit. The internships are unpaid and the students will receive course credit only.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
No outreach was deemed necessary for the proposed policy action beyond the standard City Council agenda noticing procedures.
COORDINATION
This report and legislation have been reviewed by the Office of the City Attorney and the Budget Bureau.
RACE AND EQUITY
Staff did not complete a Racial Equity Impact Analysis on the recommended action; going forward, data will be tracked in order to measure the short- and long-term impacts of this action that will be dependent on the placement of interns and their specific responsibilities.
Public Safety Committee
May 12, 2026
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: MOU Between City of Oakland and the University of Southern California Date: April 15, 2026
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Authorizing The City Administrator To Enter Into An Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) With The University Of Southern California, Suzanne Dworak-Peck School Of Social Work To Create Internship Opportunities For Graduate-Level Social Work Students From August 2026 To May 2031.
Page4
For questions regarding this report, please contact Anthony Tedesco, Deputy Chief at 510-238- 2144.
Attachment (2):
Respectfully submitted,
JA ESP. BEERE
Int rim Chief, Oakland Police Department
Reviewed by:
Dr. Tracey Jones, Police Services Manager
OPD, BRM, Research and Planning
Prepared by:
Anthony Tedesco, Deputy Chief of Police
OPD, Bureau of Field Operations 1
A: MOU with University of Southern California Department of Social Work B: Social Work Public Safety Program Overview
Public Safety Committee
May 12, 2026