To: Board of Supervisors
From: Kendra Carr & Peter Kim, Co-Directors Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice
Report Title: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Systems for Action Grant Application
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
RATIFY approval and authorization for the Co-Directors of the Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice to apply for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Systems for Action grant funding in the amount of $200,000 to support the implementation planning and evaluation expenses for the first phase of the African American Holistic Wellness and Resource Hub (No County Match).
FISCAL IMPACT:
A grant application has been submitted for $200,000, which requires no County match.
The Board of Supervisors previously allocated $8,580,000 in Measure X funds for the implementation of an African American Wellness Hub, including $7.5 million to support the establishment of the hub, $1 million to fund programs to address immediate needs, and $80,000 to support a feasibility study. If awarded, the $200,000 in grant funds would supplement the Board’s previous allocations and would be used to evaluate the impact of the services in the first phase of the African American Holistic Wellness and Resource Hub. (No County Match, 100% grant funded)
BACKGROUND:
The Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice (ORESJ) and the Board-appointed African American Holistic Wellness and Resource Hub Feasibility Study Steering Committee have partnered with Ceres Policy Research to conduct a community needs assessment and a feasibility study process. The feasibility study proposes that the African American Holistic Wellness and Resource Hub (AAHWRH) be implemented through a three-phase, readiness-based approach to meet urgent needs while building the foundation for long-term sustainability, equity, and shared governance.
The Board received a presentation on the feasibility study at its April 15, 2025 meeting and directed the ORESJ to work with Equity Committee to address actionable next steps related to the development of the African American Holistic Wellness and Resource Hub, including to:
• Explore potential deployment and partnership frameworks for the AAHWRH, including possible partners and related successful models;
• Consider community oversight and engagement mechanisms, such as an Oversight/Advisory Committee;
• Explore jurisdictional partnerships and philanthropic partners to support early service delivery (e.g. mobile wellness teams, satellite activations, and coordination infrastructure).
The ORESJ has begun work on next steps under the direction of the Equity Committee and will return to the Board with updates and proposed actions in July 2025. One Board-directed action includes exploring philanthropic partners to support early service delivery. Through this exploration, ORESJ identified the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Systems for Action: Community-Led Systems Research to Address Systemic Racism grant. The grant opportunity will provide funding for a cohort of community-led pilot studies to produce new, actionable evidence about how to help medical, social, and public health systems work together to address forms of systemic racism.
The African American Holistic Wellness and Resource Hub brings together County agencies and community-based partners to address the health equity crisis in the Black community. In its inaugural stage, the AAHWRH initiative would benefit from additional, dedicated funding to measure the impact and effectiveness of the initial rollout of first phase services.
The proposed research phases build on the work already underway and extend the evaluation and governance infrastructure of the Hub. The following chart shows a high-level summary of research grant phases and key activities.
|
Grant Phase |
Start |
End |
Key Activities |
Alignment with AAHWRH |
|
Phase 1: Co-Creation |
October 2025 |
November 2025 |
Develop and pilot Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with key institutional and CBO partners |
ORESJ is working w/ CCH, EHSD, Probation, and Library on implementation design of AAHWRH |
|
Phase 2: Capacity Building |
January 2026 |
March 2026 |
Launch the first phase services of the AAHWRH |
Deepens network coordination with providers; initiates systems pilots |
|
Phase 3: Research Design & Evaluation Plan |
March 2026 |
May 2026 |
Data analysis, community meaning-making sessions; co-develop evaluation plan |
Advances metrics and shared learning; aligns with AAHWRH equity goals |
|
Phase 4: Pilot Evaluation |
August 2026 |
September 2026 |
Pilot evaluation implementation; analyze results; disseminate findings |
Feeds findings back into Hub model for design improvement, scale-out and replication |
Also included in the grant proposal is the creation of a Community Research Council (CRC), a new advisory structure that will be established for this project and serve as the participatory research and evaluation team for the grant period. All research will be in accordance with Institutional Review Board (IRB) guidelines, as required by the grant. This CRC is a distinct and grant-funded evaluation team. The CRC would not have ongoing County governance authority. The CRC members will be trained by the contracted Research Partner and supervised by a contracted Participatory Research Facilitator. Grant-funded stipends will be provided to the fifteen (15) Community Research Council members.
Grant funds are proposed to be budgeted to encourage participation of community-based service provider grantees in the evaluation activities, which would occur beyond their existing service contract period. Grant funds are also proposed to be budgeted for incentives for people who participate in a Community Member Meaning Making Session. These grant funds will be dispersed in accordance with applicable county policies.
As recommended by the grant proposal instructions, ORESJ identified potential consultant partners in the proposal. However, if awarded the grant, ORESJ will solicit at least three informal bids for qualified consultants and document the selection process, ensuring compliance with County procurement policies, before awarding the contract.
The proposal includes food costs for eight (8) in-person convenings with the Community Research Council and AAHWRH grantees and one (1) Community Member Meaning-Making Session. ORESJ will ensure compliance with applicable County policies, including preparing and submitting a food exemption request memo in advance of any expenditures related to food. If the grant is awarded, ORESJ will ensure that applicable event-related policies are followed.
Proposed uses of grant funds are outlined in the Budget Summary table below.
|
ORESJ Budget Summary for RWJF Systems for Action Grant Proposal |
|
Category |
Cost and Description |
|
Office Operations |
Total: $10,000 Printing/copying; Supplies and materials for workshops and trainings |
|
Communications/ Marketing |
Total $6,000 Costs to create and host a unique web site specific to the African American Holistic Wellness and Resource Hub |
|
Meeting Expenses |
Total $13,000 Expenses for staff/partner meetings, eight (8) in-person convenings of the Community Research Council and one (1) Community Member Meaning-Making Session, including meeting room rental, meals/refreshments, and caregiving. |
|
Stipends/ Participation Incentives |
Total: $45,500 Community Research Council stipends: $22,500 Service Provider Participation Fees/Incentives: $20,000 Community Member Meaning-Making Session: $3,000 |
|
Consultants/ Contractors |
Total: $125,500 Research Partner Oversee research and evaluation design, conduct research activities, produce evaluation model/plan. Cost: $66,000 Cost Calculation: $220/hr at 300 project hours, across 4 phases Community Participatory Research facilitator Coordinate and facilitate participatory research activities including CRC meetings and Community Member Meaning-Making Session Cost: $45,000 Cost Calculation: $150/hr for 300 hours, across 4 phases Communications Consultant Manage and implement communication strategy and activities Cost: $14,500 Cost Calculation: $200/hr for 50 hours |
|
Grand Total |
$200,000 |
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice will not have the opportunity to apply for grant funding from a philanthropic partner to support the implementation and evaluation services for the first phase of the African American Holistic Wellness and Resource Hub.