Title
a. Receive report and consider adoption of the Monterey County Gang Violence Prevention: Strategic Plan; and
b. Receive report on recommended staffing plan for Strategic Plan implementation, Integrated Violence Prevention Action Plan development, and ongoing program coordination.
Report
TITLE & RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
- Receive report and consider adoption of the Monterey County Gang Violence Prevention: Strategic Plan; and
- Receive report on recommended staffing plan for Strategic Plan implementation, Integrated Violence Prevention Action Plan development, and ongoing program coordination.
SUMMARY & DISCUSSION:
In the fall of 2012, at the direction of the Board of Supervisors, the County contracted with Social Policy Research Associates (SPR) to prepare a Gang Violence Prevention Strategic Plan in order to align the County's significant investments for maximum effectiveness in reducing gang violence.
On March 19, 2013, the Board received a report on the draft Strategic Plan; authorized a series of community meetings to obtain input on the Plan; approved funding to facilitate the development of an Integrated Violence Prevention Action Plan; and directed staff to develop a budget and staffing plan for implementation of the Strategic Plan implementation, development of an Integrated Violence Prevention Action Plan development, and ongoing program coordination.
The Monterey County Gang Violence Prevention: Strategic Plan is the product of extensive interviews with County, local and national experts in the field; an extensive review of best practices in violence prevention plans of cities and counties across the nation; and SPR's expertise in the areas of strategic planning, gang violence reduction, community engagement, organizational development and evaluation.
The Strategic Plan outlines a series of recommendations designed to aid in resource allocation and; leverage investments through strategic, proactive and monitored actions; and deeply involve the community. The five interrelated strategies which form the core of the Strategic Plan recommendations are:
- Declare gang violence prevention a top County priority.
- Create and fund a dedicated Gang Violence Coordinator Position and convene an interdepartmental Gang Violence Prevention Workgroup.
- Engage all relevant County departments in an integrated action planning process.
- Design and launch a county wide public health campaign to reduce youth violence and gang violence.
- Evaluate strategies on an ongoing basis.
Community meetings on the draft Strategic Plan were held in the cities of Greenfield (April 30th), Castroville (May 8th), Salinas (May 9th), and Seaside (May 14th). Participants were welcomed and provided with an introduction of the gang issue and an overview of the five recommended strategies. The participants then broke out into facilitated small groups designed to develop a dialog around creating a safer community together - provide participants the opportunity to share their concerns about gang violence, to identify ways individuals, businesses and other agencies can make a positive impact, and to discuss how the County can best align its resources to address gang violence prevention. Each of the groups then reported out to the larger group. The meetings were conducted in English with simultaneous Spanish translation, additionally Triqui translation was offered in Greenfield, and the small groups were facilitated by English and Spanish speakers.
The participants were also asked to complete a ten (10) question survey which was administered through the use of iPads, and paper if necessary, also in English and Spanish. The survey questions relate to Strategy 4, the design and launch of a county wide public health campaign to reduce youth violence and gang violence, which is where the community gets directly involved. The survey results have been incorporated into the recommended Strategic Plan document. The results also will serve as the start to the longer-term conversation with the community which will be part of the action planning process, the next step following the Strategic Plan adoption.
The recommended Strategic Plan also includes the addition of a compendium of County resources, summarizing the many County programs which in whole or part address the problem of violence in our community. The program list conforms to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) model to bridge the cycle of violence and is broken up into five categories: primary prevention, secondary prevention, intervention, suppression, and reentry. The resource compendium provides a snapshot of current activities and serves as a starting point for the assessment of resource deployment and allocation which will be addressed in the next phase of the program.
Following Board adoption of the Strategic Plan, work will begin on the development of an Integrated Gang Violence Prevention Action Plan (Strategy 3). The objective of the Action Plan is to maximize current investments and increase their impact through improved coordination and redesign. The first step the Action Plan process will be to form and engage a Gang Violence Prevention Workgroup in a highly facilitated Gang Violence Prevention Design Lab.
The formation of a dedicated “coordinator” position is one of the core recommendations (Strategy 2) contained in the recommended Strategic Plan. The recommended staffing plan for the violence prevention coordination function will be included in the County Administrative Office's FY13-14 budget recommendation. It is envisioned the coordination function will be staffed by an existing Assistant County Administrative Officer who will lead this effort (30%), with the assistance of a new Management Analyst III (100%), and new Administrative Secretary-confidential (30%).
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The County Administrative Office - Intergovernmental & Legislative Affairs Division prepared this report with information provided by SPR. Extensive interviews were conducted with County leadership, department heads, local and national experts in the field of violence prevention, in addition to a series of community meetings, which greatly contributed to the development of the recommended Strategic Plan.
FINANCING:
Funding for the development of the Strategic Plan ($40,000) was provided by the Board on 9/11/12 with a transfer from contingencies to dept 1040, budget unit 8054, appropriations unit CAO004. Funding for the development of the Action Plan ($95,998) was provided by the Board on 3/19/12 with a transfer from contingencies in the amount of $95,998 to dept 1040, budget unit 8054, appropriations unit CAO004. Funding for staffing tasked with the gang violence prevention coordination effort will be included in the County Administrative Office FY13-14 budget recommendation.
Prepared by: Approved by:
Annette D'Adamo Nicholas E. Chiulos
Management Analyst III Assistant County Administrative Officer
Date: May 8, 2013
Attachment: Monterey County Gang Violence Prevention: Strategic Plan