To: Board of Supervisors
From: Esa Ehmen-Krause, County Probation Officer
Report Title: Purchase of gift cards for Juvenile Probationers.
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Purchasing Agent, or designee, to execute a purchase order with Blackhawk Network Inc, on behalf of the Probation Department for 25 $30 Chevron gift cards, 30 $30 Save Mart gift cards, 30 $30 Target gift cards, 30 $30 Uber gift cards, 50 $30 Walmart gift cards, 30 $50 Uber gift cards, 49 $50 Chevron gift cards, 60 $50 Target gift cards, 60 $50 Walmart gift cards, and a $100 shipping fee for a grand total of $15,000 to provide support for Juvenile Placement and Secure Youth Treatment Facility clients.
FISCAL IMPACT:
These gift cards will be 100% funded by the general fund.
BACKGROUND:
In response to state legislation (SB 823 and SB 92) Contra Costa County Probation Department now operates a Secure Youth Treatment Facility (SYTF). Clients remain in the Department’s custodial care at Juvenile Hall and extend through a stepdown to a “Less Restrictive Program” (LRP). The clients are in the custodial care of the Department for a minimum of two years, and as many as seven years, while also being supervised in the community for up to an additional two years. SYTF clients returning to the community are hindered by various barriers, including but not limited to resources for food, clothing, fuel, and transportation, all of which can negatively impact their success. Additionally, SYTF clients routinely report to the facility for scheduled check-ins in support of their re-entry plan and community supervision. At these meetings the Department utilizes Core Correctional Practices (CCP), as well as the Department’s Behavior Management System (BMS), which both offer incentives that may include gift cards, as a positive motivator for sustained behavioral change, and a necessary component to a successful BMS.
In addition, the Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) was implemented in California in 2017, and under CCR, the Resource Family Approval (RFA) Program created a new family-friendly and child-centered caregiver approval process for both Child Welfare and Probation agencies. The Contra Costa County Probation Department is expanding the internal process of RFA, in hopes of creating more opportunities for less restrictive placement options for youths on probation, who have been largely under-represented in the home-based placement population. Resource Family recruitment is a large piece of this developmental process, and it begins with awareness. These gift cards serve as an essential part of supporting the County’s foster care population along their individual journeys towards mental health, academic progress and stability, reaching rehabilitative goals, improving behaviors while in congregate care, and attaining housing and food security. Deputies assigned to the juvenile placement unit utilize these gift cards monthly and have reported back that the youth who receive them are grateful and express feeling supported and truly cared for by our staff through intentional and engaged efforts.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If unapproved, the Probation Department will not be able to support and retain foster parents for Probation Youth, and it could negatively impact community reentry efforts for our Secure Youth Treatment Facility clients.