REPORT TO SHASTA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

BOARD MEETING DATE:  September  19, 2017
CATEGORY:  Consent - Law and Justice-6.

SUBJECT:

Resolution Authorizing the District Attorney to Act as Grant Agent and First Amendment to the Agreement with One Safe Place for Legal Advocacy Services.

Supervisorial District No. :  All

DEPARTMENT CONTACT:  Stephanie Bridgett, District Attorney (530) 245-6300

STAFF REPORT APPROVED BY:  Stephanie Bridgett, District Attorney

RECOMMENDATION

Take the following actions: (1) Adopt a resolution which approves and authorizes the Shasta County District Attorney to: (a) continue to serve as the grant agent for Shasta County for the purpose of the County Victim Services (XC) Program (Program) for an additional eighteen months through December 31, 2019; (b) sign Grant Subaward Amendment No. 1 increasing the total project cost by $244,325 to $580,683; (c) execute and submit future Program-related documents including, but not limited to, applications, agreements, amendments, and payment requests, including retroactive, which may be necessary for the implementation of the Program through December 31, 2019; and (d) continue to administer the grant Program; and (2) approve and authorize the Chairman to sign an amendment, effective date of signing, to the agreement with Shasta Women’s Refuge, Inc. d.b.a. One SAFE Place to provide legal advocacy services, which increases the maximum compensation by $48,865 to $116,137 during the entire term of the agreement, and extends the term of the agreement an additional eighteen months through December 31, 2019.

SUMMARY

Approving the recommended actions will allow the Victim Assistance Program in the District Attorney’s Office to accept additional grant funding and continue implementation of the County Victim Services (XC) Program to address victim services gaps/needs in Shasta County.

DISCUSSION

In July of 2016, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) provided one-time, Federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding to each of California’s 58 counties and the City of Los Angeles to help fill victim services gaps/needs. Shasta County’s share of that one-time funding was $269,086 to be spent over a two-year period (07/01/2016-06/30/2018).  The Board of Supervisors adopted Resolution 2016-071 authorizing the department to participate in the XC Program.

In August 2017, Cal OES notified the counties that additional funding was available to extend the Program to December 31, 2019.  Shasta County’s share of the new funding is $195,460, which will be for the period of July 1, 2018 through December 31, 2019.

The XC Program is staffed with 1.0 FTE Advocate that was hired as a result of the grant and a portion of an existing Advocate (0.54 FTE).  Prior to receiving this grant, the existing advocate assigned to the program was funded 100% through General Fund dollars. 

The grant requires a 20% match (20% of the total project cost which equals 25% of grant proceeds). The agreement with One Safe Place (OSP) satisfies the 20% match requirement of the grant and is necessary because the services offered by OSP are outside of the scope of services that are currently offered by the District Attorney’s Office.  OSP is uniquely qualified to perform these services which include family violence crisis counseling and assistance with civil restraining orders.  The costs for these services are reasonable and more cost-effective than hiring and training new staff to perform these duties.

The grant is being used to provide services to address the following gaps in victim services:  1) the need for family violence advocacy and restraining order assistance; 2) greater outreach and service provision in Eastern Shasta County; 3) additional safe-stay environments; 4) coordinated advocacy services for children with non-offending family members; 5) coordinated advocacy services for the elderly with non-offending family members; and 6) collaboration between Victim’s Assistance and Probation regarding restitution.

ALTERNATIVES

The Board could choose not to receive the additional funding, or defer action and request additional information from the District Attorney’s Office.

OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT

County Counsel has approved the amendment to the agreement with One Safe Place as to form. Risk Management has reviewed and approved the amendment to the agreement.  The recommendation has been reviewed by the County Administrative Office.

FINANCING

Salaries, benefits, operating expenses, and revenue associated with the grant were included in the Victim Witness Assistance FY 17-18 budget. Costs to the General Fund for FY 18-19 are estimated at $37,537 and $14,530 for FY 19-20, however, the grant is paying for a portion of an advocate (0.54 FTE) that was previously funded by the General Fund. The estimated grant funding for that advocate, which provides relief to the General fund, is $49,110 for FY 18-19 and $44,578 for FY 19-20. Program expenses and revenue will be included in the FY 18-19 and FY 19-20 budget requests and the department understands that the XC Program and the agreement with One Safe Place are both contingent on approval of those future budgets.