To: Board of Supervisors
From: Public Protection Committee
Report Title: Use of AB 109 2011 Public Safety Realignment Reserve Funding
☐Recommendation of the County Administrator ☒ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE the use of up to $10.2 million in AB 109 Public Safety Realignment Community Corrections Partnership reserve funding to support one-time pilot programs to address re-entry service priorities areas, as approved by the Community Corrections Partnership - Community Corrections Partnership Executive Committee (CCP-CCP EC) and recommended by its Community Advisory Board (CAB).
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of this request will allow County departments to begin the planning and implementation of the proposed reentry pilot programs, including partnering with local community agencies as appropriate. If approved, a budget amendment for this AB 109 Community Corrections Partnership fund balance appropriation of approximately $10.2 million, will be submitted to the Board in the fall of FY 2024-25. The requested appropriation would provide expenditure authority for various one-time pilot programs and activities, some of which may operate for an approximate 3-year period.
The reduction to the fund’s reserve will not impact the AB 109 reserve policy of maintaining over 50% of budgeted expenditures.
BACKGROUND:
Since early 2023, the Community Advisory Board (CAB) of the Community Corrections Partnership Committee (CCP) has been engaged in a process to develop an AB 109 fund balance utilization plan, which would allocate up to $15 million of the approximate $40 million currently in the fund’s reserve to expand reentry services.
At its May 13, 2024, meeting, the CCP-CCP EC heard the CAB’s proposed AB 109 funding
recommendations. The four funding priority areas of focus selected by the CAB include:
1. Expanding housing services for justice-involved individuals
2. Expanding behavioral health support for justice-involved individuals
3. Increasing employment opportunities for reentry population
4. Enhancing pre-release engagement services
In addition to these four priority areas, the CAB also considered County department and community-based-organization (CBO) FY 2024-25 AB 109 Community Corrections Partnership funding modification requests that were referred to them for reserve funding consideration by the Executive Committee of the CCP. In its recommendations, the CAB also included additional funding recommendations for departmental and CBO training and project support to enhance and improve service delivery and the quality of funded services. The full report and attachments as presented to the CCP-CCP EC can be accessed by clicking on the following link:
<https://contra-costa.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6662765&GUID=819037F3-022D-4B15-B685-225B63E1F03B&FullText=1>
The last funding proposal considered by the CCP-CCP EC was from the District Attorney’s Office for facility costs for the Major Crimes Investigative Task Force due to the Federal Bureau of Investigation no longer funding the costs for the current facility. The request was for a 3-year allocation totaling $330,000.
The CCP-CCP EC unanimously approved the funding services included in priority areas 1 and 2, the departmental and CBO FY24-25 program modification requests, training and project support services for County departments and CBOs, and the District Attorney’s facility cost request, totaling approximately $1.2 million. The CCP-CCP EC also unanimously voted to defer, for additional CCP EC study, the priority areas 3 (employment) and 4 (pre/post-release engagement) proposals. Once the priority area 3 and 4 proposals are further developed and refined, the CAB will return to the CCP-CCP EC for additional review. The CCP-CCP EC further directed the CAB and Probation Department staff to coordinate their research efforts with the Employment and Human Services Department, to integrate further study of the CAB recommended guaranteed income pilot program with the current ongoing study for a Measure X funded guaranteed income pilot program.
At its June 3, 2024, meeting, the Public Protection Committee approved, as presented, the CCP-CCP EC’s funding recommendations for the use of up to $10.2 million in AB 109 Public Safety Realignment Community Corrections Partnership reserve funding to support one-time pilot programs to address re-entry service priorities areas. The funding approved projects are included as Attachment A of this staff report for the Board’s further consideration.
Approval of this request will confirm the Board’s agreement to utilize up to $10.2 of the approximate $40 million AB 109 Public Safety Realignment Community Corrections fund balance identified to address additional support services for the County’s reentry population. If approved, the funded programs can begin the planning and implementation processes. Once the CAB and CCP-CCP EC further develop the funding priority area proposals deferred for additional study, they will be presented to the Public Protection Committee for consideration before being presented to this Board. Due to the one-time nature of the funding, it is recommended that the proposed programs identify performance indicators and measures to support future external funding opportunities.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this request is not approved, the County AB 109 2011 Public Safety Realignment Community Corrections fund will continue to carry a high reserve and recommended pilot programs to address priority service areas will not be available to serve the immediate needs of the County’s reentry population.