To: Board of Supervisors
From: Esa Ehmen-Krause, County Probation Officer
Report Title: Contract Amendment with Bay Area Legal Aid
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the County Probation Officer, or designee, to execute a contract amendment with Bay Area Legal Aid, to increase the payment limit by $182,945 to a new payment limit of $930,708 and to extend the contract term six months, through December 31, 2026, to continue providing permanency, public benefits, and educational advocacy services, among other related legal services, to low-income and high-risk youth throughout Contra Costa County.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This contract amendment is 100% funded by the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA) funds.
BACKGROUND:
The proposed contract amendment extends the County’s partnership with Bay Area Legal Aid to continue providing civil legal advocacy services to eligible youth in Contra Costa County.
Bay Area Legal Aid has provided free, holistic legal services throughout the Bay Area since the 1960s. Its Youth Justice team is a unique practice area that, rather than focusing on a specific problem area, provides legal and social work services across a variety of areas to holistically support the needs of young people.
Bay Area Legal Aid will provide free civil legal advocacy services to low-income eligible youth, ages 13-26 years old in Contra Costa County, who are at high risk for entering the delinquency system. Specifically, services will be provided to youth in need of legal permanency options and educational advocacy in the areas of special education and school discipline. Other types of legal services will include public benefits, domestic violence and family law, and healthcare access.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Without this contract, legal services will not be available to at promise youth.