To: Board of Supervisors
From: Probation
Agenda Section: Consent
SUBJECT:
title
Request for the Authority to Apply for Youth Programs and Facilities Grant Program and Board Resolution
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Grant the Chief Probation Officer, Shaun Brenneman, the authority to apply for the Youth Programs and Facilities grant through the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC); and
2. Adopt the attached resolution granting Chief Probation Officer, Shaun Brenneman, has been given the authority to sign this grant application, including any amendments thereof.
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SOURCE OF FUNDING:
Board of State and Community Corrections, Probation Juvenile Hall (1100-234)
DISCUSSION:
As part of Senate Bill 823 regarding correctional facilities and construction, $9.6 million was set aside for the Board of State and Community Corrections to “award one-time grants, to counties for the purpose of providing resources for infrastructure-related needs and improvements to assist counties in the development of a local continuum of care.” (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 2250, subd. (a).) On April 9, 2021, the Board of State and Community Corrections released a Request for Application (RFA) to all California counties for the Youth Programs and Facilities Grant (YPFG) Program, which will award one-time funding to counties solely for infrastructure needs to facilitate youth programming that maintains trauma-informed, culturally relevant and gender-appropriate services to youth in the care of counties. Humboldt County Probation is seeking to apply for these funds and use them to meet some infrastructure needs brought on by the secure youth treatment program (SYTP).
The Humboldt County Juvenile Hall is a secure, 30-bed facility located at 2006 Harrison Avenue, Eureka, California. It is laid out with the sleeping rooms opening onto a large, shared, rectangular living space. Classrooms, dining area, and programming rooms are accessible from the common area. The detained youth in the hall range from ages 12 to 18. They include youth freshly arrested for alleged criminal behavior and wards pending disposition, placement or serving a commitment. Detained youth, regardless of their status, comingle as they attend school, participate in programming, share meals, and recreate.
The secure youth treatment program (SYTP) will change the profile of the youth housed in the juvenile hall. It will include a small number, perhaps 1 to 5 individuals, who are serving lengthy sentences, and whose age could be as high as 25. Based on prior Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) commitments from Humboldt County, staff expects they will have extensive criminal histories and a high degree of complex trauma. The introduction of older, more criminally sophisticated youth with significant service and security needs is a cause for concern as it relates to the younger detained youth. In addition, the SYTP youth will have unique program and treatment requirements that will benefit from a distinct secure treatment space.
In addition to the Juvenile Hall, Humboldt County has a second juvenile detention facility located directly adjacent to the Juvenile Hall called the Regional Facility. The building, constructed in 1997, is a separate, secure 18-bed facility, with program space, and classroom. It housed a locked treatment program for probation wards. The Regional Facility was closed in 2019 due to declining numbers, and the program it housed was consolidated into the main juvenile hall.
The Humboldt County SYTP intends to utilize this space to provide programming to youth committed to the program. It will also serve a distinct residential space if and when the number of SYTP youth grows. For this to be feasible, the facility will need to be able to be electronically controlled from the juvenile hall control room. This will allow youth and staff movement between the two facilities. This capacity currently does not exist, and Humboldt County intends to use the grant funds to link the second building to central control.
Humboldt County will contract with a vendor to install a security touch screen in the Juvenile Hall control room that will remotely operate the doors in the Regional Facility. This will require installation of physical equipment, programming, and testing. This will allow Probation staff to observe, operate, and move youth and staff back and forth between the Juvenile Hall and Regional Facility.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
This grant program is non-competitive and allows Humboldt County Probation to apply for up to $47,086 in grant funding to support the infrastructure needs of counties, including counties that can provide facility and treatment space for referrals from other counties that lack this local, specialized capacity. If successful, the grant funds would be received by Probation - Juvenile Hall (1100-234). There will be no impact on the General Fund.
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK:
This action supports your Board’s Strategic Framework by providing for and maintaining infrastructure .
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC)
Graphic Control Systems, Inc.
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Board may elect not to grant this authority to apply for this grant however that is not recommended as the project is critical to smooth transition into the newly constructed juvenile hall and without this grant funding, Probation, or the County General Fund, would bear the cost of this project.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Youth Programs and Facilities Grant Program Application- Part B
2. Appendix D: Certification of Compliance
3. Project Narrative
4. Proposed Budget Table
5. Project Quote
6. Resolution to Grant Authority to Sign to Chief Brenneman
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.: N/A
Meeting of: N/A
File No.: N/A