City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: JANUARY 16, 2024 FROM: OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: AUTHORIZATION TO APPLY FOR A $1,740,075 CALIFORNIANSFORALL ROUND 2 YOUTH SERVICE CORPS GRANT OFFERED BY THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA / CALIFORNIA VOLUNTEERS TO CONTINUE A CURRENTLY OPERATING YOUTH WORKFORCE PROGRAM – SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION ISSUE:
Authorization to apply for $1,740,075 in grant funding to continue a currently operating City of Riverside youth service corps program in partnership with the State of California / California Volunteers.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
Authorize the City of Riverside to apply for a CaliforniansForAll Round 2 grant application in the amount of $1,740,075, and accept the aforementioned amount if awarded, to continue the Youth Workforce Program in partnership with State of California/ California Volunteers; Authorize the City Manager to execute a no-cost amendment of the Round 1 Program Standard Agreement with the State of California / California Volunteers extending the City’s current Program funding with the State from May 1, 2024 to September 30, 2024; Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute any and all applications and necessary documents, including a Round 2 Standard Funding Agreement with the State of California/California Volunteers for the sake of a Round 2 grant funding application and award, making minor and non-substantive changes as necessary; and With five affirmative votes, and upon grant award, authorize the Chief Finance Officer or designee, to record an increase in revenue in the amount of $1,740,075, or in the amount of the grant award, and appropriate an equal amount in expenditures in the Grants & Restricted Programs Fund, CaliforniansForAll Youth Workforce Program revenue and expenditure accounts.
BACKGROUND:
In 2021, through the work of Mayor Lock Dawson and the Big City Mayors Coalition, the City received a $4.4 million from the State of California/California Volunteers to develop the CaliforniansForAll Workforce Development Grant ("Grant"). The purpose of the Grant was to fund a program that would increase youth employment, develop youth interest and experience towards a career, and to strengthen City capacity to address key areas of climate, food insecurity, and local COVID-19 recovery.
On December 7, 2021, the City Council authorized a grant application to the California Volunteers Program (“Grant”). On May 24, 2022, the City Council accepted an award from the State of California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research in the amount of $4,401,597 and authorized a Standard Agreement with the State of California for the grant funds.
In September of 2023 the State of California / California Volunteers offered Program time extensions for Round 1 funding from an original expiration date in May 1, 2024 to a new expiration date of December 1, 2024. The City has indicated that it will accept a Round 1 time extension. This no-cost time extension amendment (not presented with this report) will give the City additional time to expend Program dollars and allow for more time for the integration of Round 2 funding activities (detailed below).
On September 20, 2022, the City Council authorized the approval of Subrecipient Agreements with Community Settlement Association, Tree People, Inc.; Lighthouse of Hope, Feeding America Riverside/San Bernardino, and the C3 Initiative with total awards of $2,055,514 to hire interns over two years to work in Grant related positions and to be partners with the City in completing Grant related activities.
On December 8, 2023, California Volunteers released the 2023-2024 CaliforiansForAll Youth Service Corps grant application for the continued funding of the youth workforce programs established by the 2021 CaliforniansForAll Youth Workforce Development Program. The City of Riverside was allocated $1,740,075 through the advocacy of Mayor Lock Dawson in the Big City Mayor’s Coalition. Program allocations to Big City Mayors are included below.
City
Allocation
Los Angeles
$20,891,978
San Diego
$7,590,985
San Jose
$5,321,342
San Francisco
$4,613,759
Fresno
$3,014,593
Sacramento
$2,874,428
Long Beach
$2,541,924
Oakland
$2,327,430
Bakersfield
$2,265,394
Anaheim
$1,822,753
Stockton
$1,773,664
Riverside
$1,740,075
Irvine
$1,681,134
DISCUSSION:
In the first round of funding, the program has hired 71 total youth between the ages of 16-30, to work in 27 divisions across 9 City departments, and at five non-profit partners sites, to help Riverside’s capacity to address the policy areas of climate resiliency, food insecurity, and learning loss. A breakdown of Fellow staff allocations in Grant Round 1 is presented below.
City Department
Current
Completed
Vacant
Subrecipient Partner
Current
Completed
Vacant
Community & Economic Development
4 1
2 C3 Initiative
1 0
4 City Manager
2 1
1 Community Settlement Association
6 1
0 City Council
0 0
3 Feeding America Riverside San Bernardino
2 1
0 Finance
0 1
0 Lighthouse of Hope
10 13
0 Fire
1 0
2 Tree People
4 0
0 Housing & Human Services
1 3
3 Current
Completed
Vacant
Library
2 0
0 Totals:
23 15
4 Mayor
2 1
1 Parks, Recreation, Community Services
5 1
7 Public Works
9 2
2 Public Utilities
4 0
0 Current
Completed
Vacant
Totals:
31 10
21 To date, the City has expended approximately $1,100,399 or 25% of the original grant award of $4,401,597. The remaining unspent funds are expected to be expended by September 30, 2024 with the current program of Fellow cohorts. In the near future, a new Fellow cohort will be starting in March, and a summer program cohort in May/June. Each subrecipient partner has adjusted their budgets for the additional time and are also on track to use up 100% of their grant funds.
The program has been a success with Fellows gaining valuable work experience in areas of interest and their efforts have produced positive outcomes for the community. It is worth noting that the program has also led to several Fellows being hired into full-time, permanent positions with the City. Going forward, the City plans to use the remaining funds and new funding allocation to fill Fellow positions where they have successfully transitioned out of the program and continue offering valuable work experience to youth from the community and give them an opportunity to meaningfully work towards solving Riverside’s biggest challenges.
In addition, 90% of the City’s Round 1 hires met the Grant’s priority applicant criteria of meeting two or more of the criteria below:
Have not participated in an AmeriCorps program;
May have difficulty finding employment;
Are low-income;
Are unemployed and/or out of school;
Are or were justice-involved;
Are in or transitioning from foster care; and/or
Are engaged with the mental health or substance abuse system.
The City plans to utilize Round 2 Grant funding to continue offering opportunities to youth in the Riverside community and help them gain the job skills to prepare them for a career in civic service. The new grant funding will allow the City to:
Continue the existing youth workforce program that was set up through the 2021 grant and offer part-time general service worker positions capped at 1000 hours per fiscal year; Expand the departments and divisions that will be able to request a Program Fellow and offer youth valuable work experience towards a high-paying career; and Continue offering on-the-job training and skill development opportunities to the Program Fellow’s to better prepare them for entry-level positions in the public sector.
In Round 2 the State of California/California Volunteers, changed the grant criteria and program structure. They replaced Covid-19 Recovery as a focus area with a focus on education and public service projects. The funding structure also changed, and they are offering one-year grants, with 18 months to spend the funds. The City will be able to apply for a second year of funding as soon as the State finalizes the FY 25/26 State Budget. Second year funding will be received through a contract amendment with the State.
Process of Receiving Funding:
California Volunteers will grant funds directly to cities on a monthly reimbursement basis. Cities can choose to subgrant all or parts of the funding to existing CBOs providing youth workforce development programming. Cities (or subgrantees under supervision of a city) are responsible for selecting or creating opportunities and recruiting, hiring and managing participants. Funding can be used to create new programming or expand existing youth workforce programs within the requirements of this grant. Programming can be run year-round or as an intermittent summer program. Regardless of program length, all positions must be 50-100% FTE and all funds must be encumbered and expended by the end of the calendar year 2025.
Next steps:
It is the intent of staff to update the City Council on the award status of the $1,740,075 CaliforniaforAll Round 2 grant annually; a reporting which will overview Fellow placements and benefits to the City and outside partners. California Volunteers has offered to extend the timeframe of expenditures under the Round 1 grant from May 1, 2024 to September 30, 2024. Given the State’s extension of the Round 1 program, each sub-recipient agreement requires an amendment to extend its original agreement term. These amendments will be considered in a near future report to the City Council. The City may also consider new sub-recipient partners and agreements in Round 2 of Grant funding. City Council approval would be needed for either extending the sub-recipient agreements and/or initiating new sub-recipient agreements.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This item contributes to Strategic Priority 3 – Economic Opportunity and Goal 3.2, working with key partners in implementing workforce development programs and initiatives that connect local workers with high quality employment opportunities and provide access to education and training in Riverside.
The item aligns with each of the five Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust – Applying for this grant and building a Youth Workforce Program serves the public interest by outreach to benefit the city’s diverse populations, and result in greater public good.
Equity – By program design, the funding will be used to benefit underserved populations of youth throughout the City, resulting in a more equitable distribution of opportunity.
Fiscal Responsibility – This program is funded by a non-City source; allowing for a beneficial municipal program to be implemented by external funding partnerships.
Innovation – This grant provides the City with the ability to create an innovative program for building career pathways in its young workforce.
Sustainability & Resiliency – This grant will provide funding for a Youth Workforce to address climate resiliency, food insecurity, and education.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The total fiscal impact of this action is $1,740,075. Upon Council approval and grant award following revenue and expenditure entries will be recorded as outlined in the table below. There is no match requirement for this grant.
Fund
Program
Account
Amount
Revenue
Grants & Restricted Programs
CaliforniansForAll Youth Workforce Round 2
9350700 - 334100
$1,740,075
Expenditures
Grants & Restricted Programs
CaliforniansForAll Youth Workforce Round 2
9350700 - 440210
$1,740,075
Prepared by: Edgar Arreola, Project Coordinator
Certified as to
availability of funds: Kristie Thomas, Finance Director/Assistant Chief Financial Officer Approved by: Rafael Guzman, Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
CaliforniansForAll Youth Workforce Program Round 2 ● Page 5