To:   ALL CHILDREN ACHIEVE                      From:   Sara L. Hensley

                        COMMITTEE

 

   Subject:   SAN JOSÉ B.E.S.T. CYCLE XIII              Date:   05-29-03

                        ALLOCATION REPORT

 

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

1.      Approve the San José B.E.S.T. (Bringing Everyone’s Strengths Together) Cycle XIII Allocation Plan for 2003-2004.

2.      Approve the 2003-2005 Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force Strategic Work Plan.

3.      Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute grant agreements with the San José B.E.S.T. Eligible Service Providers, consistent with the Cycle XIII Allocation Plan for a total amount not to exceed $3,435,567.

4.      Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute a grant agreement with East Side Union High School District, accepting a National Safe Schools Healthy Students Initiative (SSHS) subgrant in the amount not to exceed $650,000 for the period September 1, 2003 through August 31, 2004, and further authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute grant agreements with service providers.

 

 

BACKGROUND

 

The San José B.E.S.T. Program provides funding to implement the strategies identified by the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force.  It utilizes a triennial process for the needs assessment and the Request For Qualifications (RFQ) to determine eligible service providers.  The 2002-03 fiscal year is the final year of this triennial period.  Due to the economic challenges the City is confronting and the uncertainty of San José B.E.S.T. funding, the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) was approved to suspend the RFQ process for 2003-04.  Instead, staff will utilize the existing list of eligible service providers and allocate funding based on the new Cycle XIII Allocation Plan (Attachment A), and will re-issue a new RFQ in Spring 2004.

 

The San José B.E.S.T. allocation plan provides the overall direction for staff to negotiate one-year contracts with the eligible service providers.  These service contracts are developed based on 1) the strategies identified by the MGPTF Strategic Plan (Attachment B); 2) the San José B.E.S.T.  Needs Assessment; 3) San José B.E.S.T. program evaluation (Attachment C) and 4) contract compliance issues. 

 

In coordination with these efforts, the San José B.E.S.T. program is also active in developing new matching funds to further enhance the Allocation Plan.  As such, the City has been in partnership with East Side Union High School District (ESUHSD) over the past three years to coordinate and subcontract services for over $3 million via the San José B.E.S.T. eligible service agencies.  For 2003-2004, this partnership is continuing through allocation of up to an additional $650,000 for the Safe Schools Healthy Students (SSHS) grant.

 

 

ANALYSIS

 

The MGPTF’s efforts in reducing gang activity and youth violence in San José have contributed toward maintaining San José’s position as the “Safest big city in America.”  Over the last nine years, gang-related arrests have declined by 50% in San José.  However, according to the San José Police Departments’ Crime Analysis Unit, gang related aggravated assaults increased by 61%, as well as juvenile arrests, within the last year. The work of the MGPTF is all the more critical during this time, if San José is to avoid the gang violence experienced in the late 1980’s and the early 1990’s.

 

The San José B.E.S.T. funding allocation plan is determined by a review of the citywide needs assessment conducted in January – March 2003.  This process has been designed to gather pertinent information, perspective, and evidence regarding community trends and the particular service needs of the San José B.E.S.T. targeted population.  Community input and crime and school data were also considered.  As a result of this process, PRNS found the following:

 

·         8,301 surveys were completed;

·         Eight youth focus groups and eight community focus groups were held;

·         78% of respondents were less than 25 years of age;

·         47% of respondents say gangs are a problem in San José; and

·         The following Top 6 service needs across the city were identified:

·         Assisting target youth succeed/get back into school

·         Help target youth stop using drugs

·         Assist youth avoid the dangers of gangs and conflicts

·         Assist target parents to work with their children to solve problems

·         Provide target youth with more positive adults in their lives

·         Provide target youth with support groups and activities

 

The data tabulated for these surveys are reflected in Allocation Plan.

 

On May 9, 2003, the MGPTF Policy Team approved the Strategic Work Plan for 2003-05, which emphasizes the need to direct its efforts to provide services that would have the greatest impact on the Task Force’s mission of reducing gang activity (see “target population” Attachment B, page 6).   The allocation of San José B.E.S.T. funding will focus on service programs that can best meet the needs of this target population across the City.  The MGPTF also identified “hot spots” or areas of San José that have an emerging or existing problems to be addressed via the Allocation Plan.

 

Allocation Plan Recommendations

 

If the 2003-3004 Proposed Budget is approved San José B.E.S.T. funding would be allocated to support services identified in the Cycle XIII Allocation Plan and would be consistent with strategies and objectives identified in the 2003-05 Strategic Work Plan of the MGPTF.  City staff will strengthen the overall commitment to serve high-risk youth and will increase the proportion of the services to youth in these emerging needs areas.  New funds raised through the resource development program will be distributed in accordance with funding conditions established and/or mandated by the funding source(s).  In addition, an annual review and evaluation of San José B.E.S.T. service providers’ performance will continue.

 

San José B.E.S.T. funding will again, provide a minimum of $200,000 to each police division, with the remainder of service funds distributed Citywide according to priorities identified in the FY 2003-05 MGPTF Strategic Work Plan and Allocation Service Plan.  To provide for a degree of flexibility in attempting to address the geographic service needs of the Police Division Allocation Plan, a 15% variance among division allocations is recommended to allow staff to address the needs without requiring additional City Council approval. Furthermore, all San José B.E.S.T. funding recipients will be required to match 20% of the grant amount.

 

In addition to the San José B.E.S.T funds in 2003-2004, the San José B.E.S.T.  Office will manage $64,821 of City funding for the T.A.B.S. Programs (Truancy Abatement Burglary Suppression) and up to $650,000 from the continued Safe Schools Healthy Students (SSHS) grant from ESUHSD.  The T.A.B.S. Program funds provide Truancy Intervention Program (TIP) follow-up and counseling services for identified youth referred by the San José Police Departments’ T.A.B.S. Program.  The Safe Schools Healthy Students grant would be in its fourth and final year of continuation of a Federal grant that provides substance abuse, conflict mediation, parenting support, truancy intervention, counseling services for youth in the targeted communities, and direct service staffing. Additional agreements managed by the San José B.E.S.T. office would be funding for the Boys and Girls Clubs ($29,238), California Youth Outreach ($91,988), and Rohi Alternative Community Outreach ($134,520) that are all funded in the PRNS Department Base Budget and are intended for purposes consistent with the San José B.E.S.T services continuum.  The San Jose B.E.S.T. Program would negotiate and manage the award of these funds totaling $255,746 for 2003-2004.  These agreements are awarded through the City’s General Fund.

 

The chart below delineates the B.E.S.T. Program resources:

Contract Service Allocations
Allocation

 

Minimum Allocation of $200,000 per Police Division

 

Allocation for addressing city-wide needs

 

Contract Services Subtotal

 

MGPTF Manager from the Mayor’s Office

 

Administrative/ Program Support

 

$800,000

$1,665,000

 

$2,465,000

 

$85,000

 

$450,000

 

Cycle XIII B.E.S.T. Allocated Funds

$3,000,000

 

T.A.B.S. Funding

 

PRNS Base Budget – C.B.O. Agreements

 

Safe Schools Healthy Students Grant Funding

 

$64,821

 

$255,746

 

$650,000

 

Total Program Allocation

 
Admin Program Support

 

MGPTF Manager

 
Total Funding for Service Providers

$3,970,567

-$450,000

 

-$85,000

 

$3,435,567

 

 

PUBLIC OUTREACH

 

As noted previously, community input was gathered via focus groups and surveys distributed and collected throughout San José between January and March 2003.

 

 

COST IMPLICATIONS

 

The allocation of $3,970,566, as delineated above, will fully fund the recommendations proposed.  The appropriation of funding for the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative grant will be requested upon the formal awarding of the grant expected in August 2003.  No commitment of the SSHS funds will be made until the award is secured.

 

COORDINATION

 

This report was prepared in coordination with the City Attorney’s Office and the Budget Office.

 

 

SARA L. HENSLEY

Director of Parks, Recreation

and Neighborhood Services

 

 

 

Attachments:     A - Cycle XIII Allocation Plan

B - MGPTF Strategic Work Plan 2003-05

C - B.E.S.T. Performance Logic Model Evaluation System