Board approves County Office of Education role to manage Prop 64 youth programs

The Del Norte County Board of Supervisors approved a contract authorizing the county Office of Education to serve as program manager for a Proposition 64 public health and safety grant to support youth substance‑use prevention programs.

Chief Probation Department staff briefed the board on the status of the Prop 64 grant, noting the county’s award of nearly $3,000,000 tied to marijuana tax revenues and explaining that the current phase requires selection and rollout of at least two youth programs, plus evaluation. Staff said the Justice Advisory Committee and Youth Advisory Board will participate in selecting programs and that the county lacks internal capacity to run the selection and rollout process without a partner.

The contract with the County Office of Education will fund a program‑manager position to facilitate advisory committees, select and implement at least two programs (from a list of recommended approaches compiled by consultants), and coordinate local evaluation already arranged with a Cal Poly Humboldt research team. The board discussed consultant recommendations — which included higher staff salaries and the possible need for a youth drop‑in center — and acknowledged some recommendations may not be immediately attainable. Supervisors emphasized using local stakeholder input to select feasible programs.

The board voted unanimously to approve the agreement and fund the program manager role out of grant funds. No local matching funds were requested at this meeting.