EQUITY COMMITTEE
Meeting Date: July 15, 2024
Subject: Administer the $1M in Measure X funds for African American wellness services
Submitted For: Equity Committee
Department: Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice
Referral No:
Referral Name: Administer the $1M in Measure X funds for African American wellness services
Presenter: Peter Kim
Contact: Peter Kim, peter.kim@oresj.cccounty.us <mailto:peter.kim@oresj.cccounty.us>
Referral History:
On December 12, 2023, the Board of Supervisors, at the recommendation of the Measure X Community Advisory Board, voted to allocate $1,000,000 of Measure X funds for existing African American Wellness Services. The ORESJ was tasked with developing a plan to administer the funds. The plan was presented at Equity Committee meetings from February 2024 to April 2024, and included the following:
- Partner with a local community foundation with extensive experience supporting Black-led and Blackserving organizations to serve as a contracted agency tasked with overseeing and carrying out procurement, selection, and fund distribution responsibilities, which will include a community and resident participatory process that includes review of applications and recommendation of awardees (for Board of Supervisors approval), as well as monitoring of progress and assessing outcomes.
- Release the funding in two annual phases:
o $500,000 in phase 1 (July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025)
o $500,000 in phase 2 (July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026)
- While applications for funds will be accepted for all of Contra Costa County, programs and initiatives serving East County’s most impacted communities will be prioritized.
- These awards are expected to augment and/or expand existing services or programs by increasing capacity (e.g. serve more participants, host additional events, extend program periods).
- Based on MXCAB key areas of need, community input, and existing research data, the proposed service/program categories to be prioritized are:
o Mental health supports
o Food insecurity services
o Re-entry support services
o Youth development support/services
o Violence prevention/intervention services
o Community healing, particularly from trauma due to police violence
At the April 15, 2024 Equity Committee meeting, Supervisors, ORESJ and CAO staff discussed the need to solicit a partnership via an abbreviated Request for Qualifications. The RFQ was released and closed in June 2024.
Referral Update:
No proposals were received in response to the RFQ released to solicit the partnership of a community foundation. The ORESJ Co-Directors are exploring internal ORESJ/County capacity to administer the funds.
Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):
RECEIVE the update and PROVIDE direction on next steps.
Fiscal Impact (if any):
N/A