Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Michael P. Callagy, County Manager
Subject: Fourth Amendment to Agreement with Live in Peace
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing a fourth amendment to the agreement with Live in Peace, increasing the agreement amount by $1,900,000, for a maximum aggregate amount not to exceed $4,000,000, and extending the term of the agreement through June 30, 2020.
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BACKGROUND:
On February 12, 2015, the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) approved $885,000 in Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Grant (Byrne JAG) year one funding to San Mateo County for the implementation of a truancy prevention and educational support program in the City of East Palo Alto and the Belle Haven neighborhood of Menlo Park. This funding was approved by the BSCC for the period of March 1, 2015, through December 31, 2015. On January 22, 2016, the BSCC approved an additional $832,817 in year two program funding for the 2016 calendar year and on December 22, 2016, the BSCC approved a final $830,474 in year three funding for the 2017 calendar year.
“Students With Amazing Goals” (SWAG) is the County’s comprehensive community-based multi-disciplinary program funded through the Byrne JAG which is aimed at reducing juvenile truancy and criminal justice involvement among at-risk youth in the communities of East Palo Alto and the Belle Haven neighborhood of East Palo Alto. Statistics show that high school graduation rates for these areas of the County are much lower (67%) versus other all other parts of the County (87.7%) and that low graduation rates result in greater criminal justice involvement for youth.
DISCUSSION:
The SWAG program, which is overseen by the County Manager’s Office (CMO) and operated by Live in Peace (LIP), is a collaborative effort with the Sequoia Union High School District. SWAG serves approximately 80 at-risk youth at any given time providing them with intensive case management and other educational and social supportive services needed to help this population improve school attendance and complete the educational credits needed to graduate. In addition, youth develop “Life Plans” to chart the course of their future educational and/or employment goals.
Since launching in 2015, the SWAG program has served over 300 students. The final evaluation report produced for the Byrne JAG grant in 2018 by Stanford University’s Gardner Center found that, SWAG youth demonstrated increases in credit accumulation and graduation that were both substantial in magnitude and statistically significant compared to students who did not participate. Specifically, more than 90% of SWAG seniors graduated in 2016-17 (72 of 78), compared to a 67% graduation rate for students from EPA and Belle Haven without the SWAG program. These findings establish that impressive progress was made in the first phase of the program; however, there is much more work to do and many more youth to be served.
Byrne JAG funding for the SWAG program was provided to the County for a 34-month cycle starting March 1, 2015 and ending on December 31, 2017. As noted above, the County was awarded $885,000 in year one (March 1-December 2015) funding and the County entered into an initial agreement with Live in Peace on June 1, 2015, for the term of May 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016 (the “2015 Agreement”). Following the award of $832,817 in year two (January 1-December 31, 2016) funding, the 2015 Agreement was amended on August 30, 2016, to extend the term through September 30, 2016. At this time, however, the 2015 Agreement’s maximum payment amount was not adjusted to account for the additional $832,817 in year two grant monies.
On September 20, 2016, the County and Live in Peace entered into a new agreement with a term of October 1, 2016 through December 31, 2017, and a maximum payment amount to $1,300,000 (“the 2016 Agreement”). The 2016 Agreement amount included not only the initial grant of $885,000 for year one, but also $304,009 (out of $832,817) in year two grant monies and $110,991 in Measure A (now Measure K) funding. Due to an administrative error, the 2016 Agreement did not include updated exhibits and the 2016 Agreement was therefore amended on March 22, 2017 to attach the correct versions of those exhibits (the “First Amendment”).
Subsequently, on December 22, 2016, the County was awarded $830,474 for year three (January 1 - December 31, 2017) for a total Byrne JAG funding amount of $2,548,291. In addition, the County committed $350,000 in Measure K funds for FYs 2015-16 and 2016-17 ($175,000 per year) as match funding in its grant application. In 2017, the County committed an additional $350,000 per year in Measure K funds for FYs 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20, for a total of $1,400,000 in Measure K funds for the five year period from FY 2015-16 to FY 2019-20. The parties thereafter amended the 2016 Agreement a second time, on April 20, 2018, to extend the term to June 30, 2018 (the “Second Amendment”) but did not adjust the agreement’s maximum payment amount to include the aforementioned monies.
On March 25, 2019, the parties entered into the Third Amendment of the 2016 Agreement in order to extend the term of the agreement to December 31, 2019, and to increase the agreement’s maximum payment amount to $2,100,000. The new maximum payment amount included the first two years of Byrne JAG funding totaling $1,717,817, as well as the first two years of Measure K funding totaling $350,000 but did not include the $830,474 in Byrne JAG funding received for year three or the additional $1,050,000 in Measure K funding for FYs 2017-18 through 2019-20. Accordingly, this amendment seeks to increase the agreement’s maximum amount by $1,900,000 in order to fully account for all Byrne JAG and Measure K revenues appropriated for this program. Additionally, the amendment will extend the date of the agreement through June 30, 2020.
To assist the program in securing additional funding to run at full capacity, the County Manager’s Office worked with Live in Peace, the Sequoia Union High School District and the Gardner Center to apply for a new round of Byrne JAG funding. A County application was submitted to the BSCC on April 25, 2019. Should the grant application be funded, it would provide the SWAG program with approximately $3.1 million in new federal funding to run the program for an additional 36-month cycle (October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2022). The County has continued to commit $350,000 in Measure K funds annually as match and will fund the program at this level whether or not it is selected to receive a new round of Byrne JAG funding. The BSCC is expected to announce funding decisions in July 2019. Live in Peace has also committed to seeking private source donations to run the program as supplementary funding to a Measure K-only funded program. If the additional funding is received, then a further amendment will be brought to the Board for its consideration and approval in order to reflect the additional Byrne JAG grant monies and matching County funds.
The County of San Mateo will continue to serve as the lead agency and program fiscal agent to the BSCC should the SWAG program be selected for additional funding and County Manager’s Office will be the County department responsible for Measure K reporting. The County’s Legislative Officer will direct the program in consultation with the County Manager.
County Counsel has reviewed the Resolution as to form.
Approval of this Resolution contributes to the Shared Vision 2025 of a Prosperous Community by providing the County’s most at-risk youth with the intervention and supportive services they need to improve school attendance rates, graduate from high school and promote success in life.
PERFORMANCE MEASURE(S):
|
Measure |
FY 2016-17 Actuals |
FY 17-18 Actuals |
FY 18-19 Anticipated |
FY 19-20 Projected |
|
Percent of 5th year seniors that graduate high school |
90% |
90% |
90% |
90% |
|
Percent of SWAG youth with reduced truancy/chronic absenteeism |
48% |
38% |
55% |
50% |
|
Percent of SWAG youth with post-secondary Life Plan |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
|
Percent of SWAG youth completing program |
90% |
90% |
88% |
75% |
|
Percent of SWAG youth pursuing college, trade school, or living wage job within one year of graduating |
68% |
75% |
80% |
75% |
FISCAL IMPACT:
The term of the agreement with Live in Peace is extended through June 30, 2020. The total obligation is $4,000,000, which reflects a combination of Byrne JAG ($2,548,291) and Measure K ($1,400,000) funding.