Board approves juvenile justice, reentry and community grants; funds for programs to reduce recidivism
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Summary
Supervisors approved a set of grant agreements to fund juvenile reentry programs, workforce and reentry services, and other community support awards directed at at-risk youth and vulnerable residents.
The Board of Supervisors on Jan. 14 approved multiple grant awards and contracts to support juvenile reentry, job training and community support services for at-risk youth and other county residents.
The Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council approved more than $1.1 million in funding in October; the board on Jan. 14 authorized execution of grant agreements with local nonprofits and education partners to deliver services funded by the state’s Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act and other sources. Programs funded include vocational and job-training services, peer mentorship, and reentry supports, with providers such as the Carpenter Training Partners, Project Kinship, Prism Way (Prism Way), Project Youth OC, the Boys & Girls Club of Garden Grove, the Human Works Foundation and Hire Reentry & Employment.
Chief Probation Officer Daniel Hernandez described a multi-year procurement and outreach process to select providers for vocational programs: “It was about a 2 year process…we ultimately went out to the public with a request for proposals, and had 1 respondent to that request…[the vendor] was put through a lot of additional negotiation and additional scrutiny to make sure that that 1 respondent would be able to meet the requirements of the contract,” he said. The contracts include outcome measures that probation officials said are intended to produce gold-standard training credentials youth can use when they leave the juvenile facilities.
Supervisors also approved community support program awards and district discretionary expenditures intended to pilot emergency housing vouchers and other local assistance for families and seniors. Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento moved an item to pilot voucher support for housing-insecure families with children; Father Dennis Chris, a clergy member who has worked with local homeless families, spoke in favor of the pilot.
The board unanimously approved the grant agreements and related contract authority during the consent and discussion calendars, and directed departments to execute agreements and report on program implementation and outcomes.
