Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Michael P. Callagy, County Executive
Subject: Use of District-Discretionary Measure K Funds - Supervisorial District 2
RECOMMENDATION:
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Measure K: Adopt a resolution authorizing a one-time grant of district-discretionary Measure K funds, not to exceed $35,000, to Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County to support additional staffing for its Peninsula Family Advocacy Program, which assists low-income families with children with disabilities to access essential resources, and authorizing the County Executive, or designee, to execute the grant agreement.
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BACKGROUND:
Measure K is the half-cent general sales tax initially approved by San Mateo County voters in November 2012 and extended in November 2016 for a total of thirty years.
On March 9, 2021, and March 23, 2021, the Board of Supervisors (Board) held study sessions on Measure K expenditures and anticipated revenue for fiscal years (FY) 2021-23. The Board-appointed Measure K sub-committee, consisting of Supervisor Pine and Supervisor Canepa, convened the study sessions to, among other things, work with staff to facilitate the Board’s development of Measure K priorities and continuing initiatives for FYs 2021-23. The Board approved $5 million in one-time loans or grants for the FY 2021-23 budget cycle, divided equally among the five supervisorial districts, for district-discretionary needs and projects. District 2 has submitted a request to use their district-discretionary Measure K funds as shown below and described in the Project Summary section of this memorandum:
|
District/Project |
Amount |
|
District 2 (Supervisor Noelia Corzo) -Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County-- support additional staffing for Peninsula Family Advocacy Program |
$35,000 |
This item is consistent with the criteria for district-discretionary Measure K funds approved by the Board in December 2018.
PROJECT SUMMARY:
This is a request to authorize a grant to Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, and resulting grant agreement, in an amount not to exceed $35,000, to support additional staffing for its Peninsula Family Advocacy Program, which assists low-income families with children with disabilities to access essential resources. The County Executive’s Office will administer and manage the proposed agreement.
The mission of the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County (Legal Aid SMC) is to fight social injustice through civil legal advocacy for people living in poverty. Legal Aid SMC provides individual representation, community education, and strategic collaborative approaches to address legal issues and resolve problems in important areas of basic need including health, housing, income support, immigration, education, and freedom from violence.
Low-income families with children with disabilities face multiple barriers accessing the care and support they need. Despite being entitled to have their disabled children’s needs evaluated and be provided access to appropriate services in a timely manner, many families face long delays, denials, and limited services. Legal Aid SMC’s Peninsula Family Advocacy Program (FAP) provides legal assistance to low-income families with children with disabilities to help them access the support and services for which they qualify. This includes receiving appropriate early intervention services, special education services, healthcare, and financial support through safety net systems. Moreover, FAP can provide valuable support guiding low-income families with children with autism spectrum disorder to access medically necessary Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services through Medi-Cal, as well as to assist families in accessing Regional Center services, special education, and safety net benefits. Each of these systems is complex and can be difficult for families to navigate unassisted.
FAP is the only organization in San Mateo County that offers free legal services specifically targeted to assist low-income families with children with disabilities in receiving these services. FAP works to ensure that children with disabilities receive disability benefits, health insurance and services, special education, and safety net benefits.
FAP provides individual legal services for families, and identifies trends in order to highlight and work on systemic issues. FAP takes referrals and provides training and technical assistance to health providers so they can identify legal issues affecting the health and wellbeing of their patients. FAP also helps medical providers advocate for changes in existing systems that are negatively impacting their patients.
Currently FAP is staffed by one bilingual attorney and one bilingual non-attorney staff member, with support from other members of Legal Aid SMC’s staff to address legal issues in other areas. FAP is in need of more staffing in order to assist more San Mateo County families. This request for Measure K funding from District 2 would go toward FAP hiring additional staff. Staff salaries are projected to total $247,584, and the Measure K funding would go toward staff salaries.
FAP is currently funded with grants and contracts from First 5 San Mateo County Help Me Grow, State Bar Equal Access Funds, San Mateo County Aging & Adult Services Kids in Crisis funding, and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford Community Benefits.
Total Measure K Request: Not to Exceed $35,000
The release of funds will be contingent on the execution of an agreement providing for the County’s confirmation of the expenditure of funds for the purposes stated herein. The County will disburse the funds to the following organization for the purposes described above:
Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County of San Mateo
330 Twin Dolphin Drive, Suite 123
Redwood City, CA 94065
Stacey Hawver, Executive Director
mshawver@legalaidsmc.org <mailto:mshawver@legalaidsmc.org> 650-517-8917
PERFORMANCE MEASURES:
|
Description |
Target |
|
Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County will use Measure K funds to hire additional staffing for its Peninsula Family Advocacy program. |
Complete |
|
|
|
The County Attorney’s Office has reviewed and approved the agreement and resolution as to form.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There are sufficient Measure K funds for this specific FY 2022-23 Measure K request. These funds are budgeted in the Non-Departmental Services FY 2022-23 Adopted Budget.