COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Probation Department

 

DATE:

February 7, 2005

BOARD MEETING DATE:

March 1, 2005

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

 

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Loren Buddress, Chief Probation Officer

SUBJECT:

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Expenditure Plan

 

RECOMMENDATION:

Adopt a resolution:

1)

Approving the TANF Expenditure Plan for the term January 1, 2005 through June 30, 2007;

2)

Waiving the Request for Proposals process for continued provision of Community Crime Prevention Associates’ (CCPAs) evaluation services of TANF service providers; and

3)

Authorizing the Chief Probation Officer to administer and the County Manager to execute agreements in the amounts indicated on the January 1, 2005 through June 30, 2007 TANF Expenditure Plan for TANF service providers and evaluation services.

   

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitment: Ensure basic health and safety for all.

Goal 8: Help vulnerable people - - the aged, disabled, mentally ill, at-risk youth and others - - achieve a better quality of life.

 

The services approved under this Expenditure Plan contribute to this commitment and goal by providing prevention and early intervention services focusing on alcohol and substance abuse, gang prevention, and domestic violence issues to at-risk youth in high risk areas of San Mateo County.

 

The following performance measures will be used to evaluate the performance of individual contractors approved by the TANF Council under this Plan and will be incorporated into the final evaluation of the TANF Plan to be prepared by Community Crime Prevention Associates. The projected 2004-05 is a partial year projection (six months) due to service ramp up.

 

Performance Measure(s):

Measure

FY 2004-05
Projected

FY 2005-06

Projected

SERVICE PRODUCTIVITY

(-100% to +100%):

   

Parent Reported Developmental Asset Service Productivity

75%

75%

Youth Reported Developmental Asset Service Productivity

75%

75%

SATISFACTION RATING (0% to 100%)

   

Overall Satisfaction Rating:

   

- Parent

75%

75%

- Youth

75%

75%

   

BACKGROUND:

The Comprehensive Youth Services Act (CYSA) of 1997, also known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), is a capped block grant allocated to counties as a means of funding juvenile prevention services.

 

Funding appropriated under the CYSA provides an allocation for Probation departments to expand prevention and early intervention services to at-risk youth and to their families. TANF services promote increased self-sufficiency; personal responsibility and family stability; thus positively impacting school attendance and the fostering of pro-social behaviors. The provision of these services results in a reduction of juvenile delinquency and Juvenile Court intervention.

 

DISCUSSION:

On September 25, 2004, the TANF Planning Council (comprised of representatives from: 1) various county departments, including health, mental health, probation, child protective services, and education; 2) local school districts; 3) city and county law enforcement agencies; 4) community-based organizations that serve at-risk youth; 5) at least one at-risk youth; and 6) parents or family of at-risk youth) advised the Chief Probation Officer to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for services that target high-risk youth attending school or residing in, but not limited to, identified zip codes and services covering three core issues, including, but not limited to, gangs, domestic violence, and substance abuse.

 

The TANF RFP was advertised locally for three consecutive days and mailed to 150 potential providers including local government agencies, local middle and high schools, and private, non-profit agencies in San Mateo, Alameda, San Francisco, and Santa Clara Counties. Of 60 potential providers that attended a mandatory pre-proposal conference, 17 proposals were submitted. Raters met and made their recommendation to the TANF Planning Council at its regularly scheduled TANF Planning Council meeting, December 10, 2004. The TANF Planning Council has recommended the expenditure plan with no revisions to the Raters’ recommendation.

 

Of the $1.6 million allocated for the period January 1, 2005 through June 30, 2005, $353,079 is allocated to community-based organizations selected through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process; $25,125 is allocated to TANF program evaluation services; and the remaining funds are allocated to Probation’s Risk Prevention Program (RPP), Parent Education, Institutional TANF, the TANF Coordinator position and Department of Justice support. The TANF programs and evaluation services will use this period as start-up to identify data to be collected, develop evaluation tools, establish programming staff in identified middle schools, and build relationships with school personnel to begin a client base. It is anticipated that direct youth services will be in full operation by all community-based programs and formal evaluation will begin by July 1, 2005.

 

Evaluation services conducted by Community Crime Prevention Associates (CCPA) will continue to provide consistent data gathering and reporting using a youth developmental asset-based evaluation. The evaluation design, as it has been the last three years, is a fusion of Mark Friedman’s Performance Accountability model and the United Way of America’s Logic Model. CCPA designs and implements training for contracted TANF providers and Probation’s RPP and Parent Education program; develops individualized program surveys; conducts all data entry and analysis; develops service productivity, customer satisfaction, and developmental asset level data; conducts ancillary research related to mid-year and final evaluation reports; and assists TANF grantees to collect units of service data. CCPA also attends TANF Planning Council meetings and contributes research and input to assist the TANF Planning Council’s decision-making process.

 

Services under this Plan will be for 30 months, from January 1, 2005 through June 30, 2007, contingent on continued State TANF funding. Services will be provided in pre-identified high-risk areas targeting core issues of gangs, domestic violence, and substance abuse. A majority of the services will be conducted on designated middle school and/or high school campuses by permission of the schools’ administrations.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

San Mateo County’s portion of the State TANF Allocation for the period January 1, 2005 through June 30, 2005, $1,600,588, is reflected in the Probation Department’s FY 2004-05 budget. The 2005-06 and 2006-07 State Allocations will be included in future budget requests should state funding continue for this purpose. The entire available amount of TANF funding for this period was awarded by action of the TANF Planning Council. Distribution for future TANF allocations will be determined by the TANF Council under the guidelines specified in this Expenditure Plan. There is no impact to the Net County Cost.

 

Exhibit A

Request for Proposal Matrix

1.

General Description of RFP

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Funds - - Direct Youth Prevention Services for Juvenile Probation

2.

List key evaluation criteria

Services: 1) provided in pre-identified zip code areas; 2) targeting gang, domestic violence, and substance abuse issues; 3) collaborating with schools; 4) cost effectiveness

3.

Where advertised

San Mateo County Times #414890 September 25, 26, 27, 2004

4.

In addition to any advertisement, list others to whom RFP was sent

Private, non-profit organizations in San Mateo, Alameda, San Francisco, and Santa Clara Counties; local government agencies; and local middle and high schools

5.

Total number sent to prospective proposers

150

6.

Number of proposals received

17

7.

Who evaluated the proposals

Mark Tracy, Sheriff, Santa Cruz County

John Belforte, Commissioner, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission

Margaret Taylor, Consultant

Mary Anne O’Shea, Director Juvenile Services Division, Probation

Nancy Hetrick, Management Analyst, County Manager’s Office

8.

In alphabetical order, names of proposers (or finalists, if applicable) and location

Finalists:

Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse, PO Box 5090, San Mateo, CA 94402: Serving county-wide domestic violence issues

Fresh Lifelines for Youth: 120 West Mission Street, San Jose, CA 95110: Serving East Palo Alto and Redwood City

Mid-Peninsula Boys and Girls Club-Bayshore District: 200 North Quebec Street, San Mateo, CA 94401: Serving Bayshore region of Daly City

San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office: 400 County Center, 3rd Floor, Redwood City, CA 94063: Serving middle and high schools in all unincorporated areas county-wide.

Youth and Family Enrichment Services/YMCA Youth Service Bureaus: 610 Elm Street #212, San Carlos, CA 94070: Serving Daly City, East Palo Alto, Redwood City, San Mateo, and South San Francisco.