CITY OF SALINAS
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
_____________________________________________________________________________________ DATE: August 23, 2022
DEPARTMENT: LIBRARY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT
FROM: KRISTAN LUNDQUIST, LIBRARY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES DIRECTOR BY: JOSE ARREOLA, COMMUNITY SAFETY ADMINISTRATOR
TITLE: ACCEPTANCE OF GRANT FUNDING FROM BOARD OF STATE AND COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS CALIFORNIA VIOLENCE INTERVENTION PREVENTION (CalVIP) PROGRAM COHORT 4 RECOMMENDED MOTION:
A motion to approve an Agreement with the Board of State and Community Corrections accepting the California Violence Intervention and Prevention grant award in the amount of $3,130,453 for the period retroactive to July 1, 2022, through December 31, 2025, and establishment of the Cal VIP Cohort 4 appropriation totaling $3,130,453 and corresponding revenue budget as described in our grant budget with a 100% match requirement of $3,145,624.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that Council approve an Agreement with the Board of State and Community Corrections accepting the California Violence Intervention and Prevention grant award in the amount of $3,130,453 for the period retroactive to July 1, 2022, through December 31, 2025.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Salinas Community Engagement and Partnerships Division applies for and manages California Violence Intervention and Prevention (Cal VIP) grants as part of our comprehensive violence prevention strategy. Half of this grant award are passed through to Community Alliance for Safety and Peace (CASP) partners to provide critical violence intervention and prevention strategies. Through CASP we coordinate a violence reduction strategy following the Department of Justice's Prevention, Intervention, Enforcement, and Re-Entry (PIER) approach. The strategy is shepherded by CASP, co-chaired by the Mayor of Salinas and District 1 County Supervisor. Service gaps for high-risk youth are evident based on community input at strategy forums.
As part of our efforts to address these gaps, the City of Salinas submitted a proposal to the Board of State and Community Corrections and was selected as a recipient of a three-year Cal VIP grant to implement evidence-based and promising practice programs with our Salinas Police Department, Partners for Peace, the Natividad Foundation and Rancho Cielo Youth Campus for the period of July 2022 through December 2025. The grant requires an evaluation by an independent entity. In the grant proposal, the City of Salinas proposed the Monterey County Health Department as the local evaluator.
The Natividad Foundation will improve the Hospital-based violence intervention program called CHOICE. They expect to screen 80 victims of violence and enroll 40 in the program each year. Intervention Specialists connect with the victim within one hour of their emergency room arrival where possible, offering support during and after their hospital stay. The Intervention Specialists are bilingual, bicultural individuals who have been exposed to violence in their own lives.
Partners for Peace (P4P) will expand their Parent Education and youth mentoring programs. P4P will deliver an evidence-based/informed family skills and parenting training program for parents/caregivers of high promise youth. P4P will also offer the Step-Up mentoring program to 25 youth aged 11-14 who display two or more at-risk behaviors for gang involvement, such as truancy, poor school performance, or drug use. The mentoring program is built on research that intervention in youth violence and delinquency rests on increasing protective factors and reducing risk factors.
Rancho Cielo will continue their Tiny Home construction training program, 100% of Rancho Cielo students come from low-income families, 63% are on probation, 77% are Hispanic, 65% are male, and most are high school dropouts. Thirty of these youth aged 16-24 will be enrolled in the Tiny Home program each year; students may finish the program in a year or continue for a second year. They will receive academic instruction to obtain a WASC-accredited high school diploma, soft job skills (problem solving, customer service, etc.), and wrap-around connections to health and human services.
The Salinas Police Department (SPD) will develop new Community outreach and juvenile diversion programs with the help of the CalVIP grant. The new Community Outreach Team will include a Sergeant, four officers, and a part-time analyst. The Team’s main objectives are to reduce violence, prevent crime, improve community safety, support intervention activities/services, address quality of life issues, and build community trust. Two officers will be selected on the basis of their experience, skills, and aptitude for working with the community and youth. A Youth Services Officer will develop, implement, and maintain a juvenile diversion program similar to Advocating Responsible Choices (ARC) in Marina, California.
A big reason for our successful application is the ongoing partnerships and strategic plan established through the Community Alliance for Safety and Peace. This is the single largest Cal VIP grant award the City of Salinas has ever received. Prior to this the largest was $1.5 Million awarded in 2015. The grant period is July 1, 2022, to December 31, 2025.
CEQA CONSIDERATION:
Not a Project. The City of Salinas has determined that the proposed action is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (CEQA Guidelines Section 15378).
STRATEGIC PLAN INITIATIVE:
The approval and authorization of this agreement allows us to rigorously evaluate our violence intervention prevention programs and strengthen our local partnerships. Youth & Seniors
Public Safety
DEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION:
The Community Engagement and Partnerships Division of the Library and Community Services Department partnered with our Police Services and Finance departments in the development of the grant application.
FISCAL AND SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT:
The agreement provides for a high-level competent evaluation for a reasonable cost and allows us to meet the evaluation requirements required by the Cal VIP grant award agreement. There will be the establishment of the Cal VIP Cohort 4 appropriation totaling $3,130,453 and corresponding revenue budget for the Salinas Police department and sub-grantees as described in our grant budget with a 100% match requirement of $3,145,624.
ATTACHMENTS:
Resolution
Grant Agreement