Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Michael Callagy, County Manager
Connie Juarez-Diroll, Legislative Officer
Subject: Authorize the County Manager to Execute a Grant Agreement to receive Board of State and Community Corrections Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding.
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing the County Manager, or the County Manager’s designee, to execute a Grant Agreement with the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC), including any amendments thereto, in connection with the County’s receipt of Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding (CESF) grant funding.
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BACKGROUND:
The CESF Program is administered by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance to fund approaches that prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus.
The total CESF allocation to San Mateo County is $1,193,397.89. Allowable project elements include, but are not limited to, addressing the medical needs of jail inmates, purchasing equipment such as medical personal protective equipment and supplies, overtime, and training. Counties must pass-through at least 20 percent of the CESF award to non-governmental community-based organizations (CBOs) impacted by coronavirus and providing services in the county.
As a condition of the grant, the County also formed a CESF Local Advisory Committee (LAC) that includes stakeholders who have experience and expertise in the prospective programs and/or services to be implemented by the proposal, including members with lived experience. The CESF LAC is responsible for the development, implementation, and oversight of the funded project throughout the duration of the grant.
In accordance with the CESF Program guidelines, the County Manager submitted an application to the BSCC on January 29, 2021. Before grant funds can be transmitted to the County, however, the County must first submit a resolution from the Board of Supervisors delegating authority to the individual authorized to execute the grant agreement.
DISCUSSION:
The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division operates Maguire Correctional Facility (Maguire), which serves as a point of entry to the corrections facility system, with 50-70 people moving through this facility daily. SMC Correctional Health Services (CHS) has been working diligently since the beginning of the pandemic to prevent and respond to COVID-19 within our facilities. CHS’s public health interventions include, but are not limited to, thorough testing of inmates and staff, quarantining COVID-19 positive inmates, and daily symptom questionnaire signoffs and temperature checks for staff.
Because of these thorough strategies, CHS has been able to keep case numbers low. However, there are three key needs that remain unaddressed: (1) a lack of room for physical distancing in the Maguire intake area, (2) a lack of means to prevent COVID-19 upon re-entry into the community, and (3) a lack of access to telehealth and remote case management. The CESF Program proposal includes a three-phase renovation of the Maguire intake area, which would add COVID testing stations, realign medical interview rooms, increase distance or add partitions in smaller spaces, improve air quality, and shorten processing times. Because Maguire is the entry to both of the County’s major correctional facilities (Maguire and the Maple Street Correctional Facility), this renovation will positively impact the County’s entire corrections system. The renovation will allow for better integration of re-entry and clinical staff, which will improve coordination between nursing staff, social workers, re-entry planners, therapists, and community partners, who will be able to meet in one space to coordinate cases. The proposal will also provide access to Doxy.me (telehealth software) and Microsoft Teams to core re-entry and telecare providers so expand access and improve collaboration.
This grant will also allow the County to fund three organizations to supply basic needs that allow for quarantining, including 14 days of transitional housing, food, transportation, cell phones, and medicine as needed through Brilliant Corners and Life Moves (housing) and Service League (basic needs). When inmates are discharged, CHS will provide a letter to their re-entry provider attesting to their COVID-19 status and re-entry plan, as well as PPE, sanitizer, and a sterile change of clothing.
County staff conducted outreach through the following channels: CBO partners working with CHS on re-entry, county staff in the Probation, Sheriff, and Health departments, and local advocacy organizations. This committee met in January 2021 to develop the program plan, and will serve not only as the LAC required by the BSCC, but as the foundational body to leverage resources, share information, and improve services in the long-term.
The CESF grant requires this Board to adopt a resolution delegating the authority to receive the CESF grant monies to the individual executing the grant agreement. This resolution will authorize the County Manager, or the County Manager’s designee, to executing the grant agreement as well as any additional documents necessary to receive the CESF grant monies.
County Counsel has reviewed and approved the resolution as to form.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The CESF Program does not require any match funding for the award. For the proposed project, the total cost is $1,193,397.89 all of which will be covered by the CESF grant. The CESF Program grant period runs from March 31, 2021 to January 31, 2022.