COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE

DATE:

July 23, 2003

BOARD MEETING DATE:

August 12, 2003

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

James P. Fox, District Attorney

SUBJECT:

Application for Renewal of the Special Emphasis Grant Proposal for Fiscal Year 2003-2004

RECOMMENDATION:

Adopt a resolution authorizing the District Attorney’s Office to submit an application for and execute a one-year extension, for the Special Emphasis Victim Assistance Grant, in the amount of $110,000.

BACKGROUND:

The Victim/Witness Program was implemented in San Mateo County in 1974. It was a division of the Adult Probation Department until February 2002, and then became a division of the District Attorney’s Office.

In 1990, the Adult Probation Department submitted a grant proposal to the state’s Office of Criminal Justice Planning (OCJP), requesting funds to operate a Special Emphasis Project in conjunction with the already established Victim/Witness Program. The Board of Supervisors has passed yearly resolutions since the inception of the Special Emphasis Project, allowing for funds to support this intensive outreach program to minority crime victims in East Palo Alto, East Menlo Park, and the southeast section of Redwood City.

The Office of Criminal Justice Planning has extended funding for one additional fiscal year, 2003-2004.

DISCUSSION:
The Special Emphasis Project provides services to minority victims of violent crime, who reside in the target communities of the southern part of San Mateo County. The goal of the project is to provide immediate services to these victims such as crisis intervention, emergency assistance, counseling referrals and inter-agency assistance/coordination.

In order to expedite services to minority victims in the target communities, the victim advocates personally pick-up the police reports from the four law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction in those communities.

The Office of Criminal Justice Planning has extended funding for the Project for one year. Should the Office of Criminal Justice Planning not renew this grant at the end of the current fiscal year, this could result in the termination of intensive outreach services to victims residing in the target communities.

County Counsel has reviewed the grant and finds no prohibitive terms or conditions.

VISION ALIGNMENT:

The Special Emphasis Project provides assistance to minority crime victims residing in the aforementioned target communities within San Mateo County in conjunction with Goal #8: Help vulnerable people – the aged, disabled, mentally ill, at-risk youth and others – achieve a better quality of life. The Project strives to reduce the trauma of crime, and to facilitate quicker recovery for a victim.

FISCAL IMPACT:

Funding for the Grant for fiscal year 2003-2004 remains the same as in previous years, $110,000. The Grant requires a County match of 20% of the total project cost, $27,500. The match portion is a Cash and In-Kind Match, that is part of the District Attorney’s budget, and covers the day-to-day operating expenses.