To: Board of Supervisors
From: Diana Becton, District Attorney
Report Title: FY2024 Byrne Discretionary Community Project Grant Application
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the District Attorney, or designee, to apply for and accept the FY2024 Byrne Discretionary Community Project grant from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) in an amount not to exceed $963,000 for an Underserved Survivors Support and Safety Program for the period July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2028.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The County will receive up to $963,000 over the grant period. No match is required.
BACKGROUND:
The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office was invited to apply to the OVC FY2024 Byrne Discretionary Community Project Grants Program. Funding will only be provided for the specific OJP-Byrne projects designated for funding in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Public Law No. 118-42), including the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Underserved Survivors Support and Safety Program.
The number of victims and survivors of violent crime has increased in the state and in the county in recent years. Many of these survivors also experience unique vulnerabilities or are from marginalized communities where there are greater incidents of unsolved shootings. When the shootings are unsolved, the case may not be brought to the District Attorney’s Office and thus the victims and survivors never have the opportunity for support and access to services. Unsolved shootings become a barrier to engaging with the District Attorney’s Office and this results in underserved or unserved victims. Consequently, underserved and unserved victims are unable to access the services and support to meet their immediate and long-term needs for recovery and healing, they are more likely to be revictimized, and offenders are allowed to continue to cause violent harm to others.
Many of unserved and underserved survivors are Black, Hispanic, Indigenous and other people of color who are disproportionately impacted by various health, social, and economic barriers which also compound the trauma of being a victim of violent crime. Underserved and unserved victims can also include the elderly, disabled, unhoused, LGBTQ, non-English speaking and immigrant community members. Underserved and unserved victims of violent crime require a greater level of engagement that is culturally appropriate and responsive to their unique barriers.
Through its victim witness advocacy program, the District Attorney’s Office strives to serve survivors of crime, regardless of whether a case is filed, to assist them with services and support in the aftermath of crime. The FY2024 Byrne Discretionary Community Project Grant will fund additional positions in the District Attorney’s Office to assist unserved victims with culturally appropriate services to increase access to support, healing and recovery.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If unapproved, the District Attorney's Office will be unable to apply for and accept the grant.