COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Human Services Agency

DATE:

March 20, 2002

BOARD MEETING DATE:

April 2, 2002

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Maureen D. Borland, Director, Human Services Agency

Yvonne Frazier, Administrator, Alcohol and Drug Services

SUBJECT:

California Department of Health Services/Tobacco Control Section Grant for Tobacco Control Interventions Targeting Young Adults

Recommendation

1)

Adopt a resolution to:

a)

Accept a three-year grant from the California Department of Health Services/Tobacco Control Section (CDHS/TCS) in the amount of $600,000 for the period July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2004; and

b)

Waive the Request for Proposals (RFP) process; and

c)

Authorize the President of the Board to execute an agreement with URSA Institute; and

d)

Authorize the President of the Board to execute first amendment to the agreement with Martin L. Forst.

Background

The California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section (CDHS/TCS) issued a Request for Application (RFA # TCS-01-101) on March 1, 2001 to solicit applications for programs that reach California's young adults who are disproportionately targeted by the tobacco industry and experience exceedingly high rates of tobacco use. Young adults are defined as those from 18-24 years of age of all ethnicities, whether attending college, university, or trade school, a member of the Armed Forces, employed or unemployed. Interventions may target those in this age group where they live, work, congregate, or recreate.

The Human Services Agency Tobacco Prevention Program (HSA/TPP) submitted a grant application, in collaboration with the URSA Institute (URSA), and independent program evaluator Martin L. Forst, to provide tobacco prevention interventions targeting young adults not going to college. Young adults not in college are an unusually hard-to-reach and resistant audience and are more than twice as likely to become regular smokers as collegians from the same age group.

The CDHS/TCS encourages collaboration among agencies. The collaboration with URSA increased our competitiveness by enabling us to benefit from the expertise of both agencies, increase capacity and improve program stability. URSA, a San Francisco based non-profit formed in 1975, has extensive experience working with the target population. URSA has a successful history of CDHS/TCS funding and is currently completing the second-year of a three-year project to reduce tobacco use among young people, ages 18-25, at Cañada College in Redwood City. Martin L. Forst has extensive experience with tobacco prevention planning and evaluation of San Mateo County programs.

Discussion

On May 2, 2001 the HSA/TPP received preliminary notification from the CDHS/TCS that the grant application had been approved in the amount of $600,000 for the period of July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2004. However, the negotiations that followed entailed numerous revisions of the project budget and scope of work before the grant was approved by the state. We were not able to complete contract negotiations with URSA Institute and Martin L. Forst until early March, 2002, after the state approved the grant budget and scope of work.

The primary goal of the anti-tobacco education and advocacy interventions is to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke among the target population. The HSA/TPP will mount an intensive campaign to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke in three specific neighborhoods in the southern section of San Mateo County: East Palo Alto, North Fair Oaks and Redwood City. Young adults not going to college are an almost invisible population in San Mateo County, but they are at high risk of tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.

The project goals and objectives as outlined in the Scope of Work are as follows:

(by June 30, 2004)

Goal: Reduce exposure to secondhand smoke.

Objectives:

·

The number of young adults ages 18-24 exposed to secondhand smoke in home or work settings in Southern San Mateo County will be reduced by 15%.

·

Policies prohibiting smoking within 30 feet of their entrances will be adopted by at least four free-time locations such as health and fitness clubs, bars, and movie theaters in Southern San Mateo County.

·

Smoke-free sections will be set up inside and/or outside at least five multiple-unit apartment buildings housing substantial amounts of young adults ages 18-24.

·

Policies prohibiting smoking within 30 feet of their main entrances will be adopted by at least four workplaces employing substantial numbers of young adults ages 18-24 in Southern San Mateo County.

The effort will be led by teams of young adults who are members of the target population. They will be recruited, trained, and will work under the supervision of URSA in collaboration with the HSA/TPP and evaluator Martin Forst, to launch and later evaluate three distinct advocacy initiatives to reduce young adults exposure to secondhand smoke. Each initiative will be the primary focus of a single year's advocacy efforts.

Year One Initiative: Entertainment and Recreation Venues

Year Two Initiative: Housing and Home Locations

Year Three Initiative: Work Sites

The grant, agreement with URSA Institute, first amendment to the agreement with Martin L. Forst, and resolution have been reviewed and approved as to form by the County Counsel's office.

Vision Alignment

The grant with URSA Institute and the first amendment to the agreement with Martin L. Forst keep the commitment of Realizing the potential of our county's vulnerable population and goal number 8: Help vulnerable people achieve a better quality of life. This grant-funded project contributes to this commitment by providing opportunities for young people to influence community norms about secondhand smoke exposure.

Fiscal Impact

The HSA/TPP will be the fiscal agent for this CDHS/TCS grant funded project targeting young adults. Projected funding is as follows:

Tobacco Prevention Program

FY 2001-02

FY 2002-03

FY 2003-04

Tota

URSA Institute

43,296

32,139

37,933

$113,368

Martin Forst -

165,644

125,494

145,494

$436,632

Evaluator

20,000

10,000

20,000

$50,000

Total

$228,940

$167,633

$203,427

$600,000

The three-year grant period is July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2004. The contract terms correspond with the grant period. The maximum contract obligation for URSA Institute is $436,632. The amended contract obligation for Martin L. Forst is $101,000, with $50,000 for evaluation of the project targeting Young Adults and $6,000 to support evaluation of Youth Coalition services funded by the American Legacy Foundation through CDHS/TCS. There is no required County match for either project. There is no Net County Cost associated with this transaction.