Title
a. Approve a request to use unexpended Fiscal Year (FY) 2020-21 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds allocated to the Health Department in the amount of $879,250 to enhance Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) efforts in Salinas and Greenfield from March 1, 2022 through December 31, 2024; and
b. Approve the request for the implementation of CPTED in two additional Salinas schools and one location in Greenfield such as Greenfield High School, along with the surrounding neighborhoods.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Approve a request to use unexpended Fiscal Year (FY) 2020-21 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds allocated to the Health Department in the amount of $879,250 to enhance Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) efforts in Salinas and Greenfield from March 1, 2022 through December 31, 2024; and
b. Approve the request for the implementation of CPTED in two additional Salinas schools and one location in Greenfield such as Greenfield High School, along with the surrounding neighborhoods.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
The Health Department, City of Salinas Community Safety Division, the CAO’s Office of Community Engagement and Strategic Advocacy, as well as members of the Community Alliance of Safety and Peace (CASP) began a partnership thirteen years ago to reduce and prevent violence in Salinas. This partnership has been successful in its contribution to significant declines in violent crime. Changes in the trend of violent crime that suggest the importance of ongoing support include:
• Pre-pandemic, the rate of violent assaults per 1,000 youth in Salinas had declined by 57% since 2009.
• Pre-pandemic, the violent crime rate per 100,000 residents had declined by 36% in both Salinas and the County at large, since 2009.
• The number of homicides in Salinas had dramatically declined from a high of 40 in 2015 to a low of eight homicides in 2020.
• During the pandemic, in 2020, violent crimes among youth ages 10-24 increased in Salinas, requiring all partners to double their efforts to return the rate of violent crimes to the lower pre-pandemic levels. The Health Department joins with its partners to contribute to a reduction in the escalation of violent crime.
In September 2021, Monterey County’s STRYVE Program received a third five-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to prevent youth violence. STRYVE has been successfully led by the Health Department for over 10 years and are one of eight awarded projects nationwide. CDC has funded several strategies over the years in Salinas including a bullying prevention program, the expansion of Partners for Peace “Strengthening Families Program” and CPTED. CPTED is supported by governments internationally and reduces the likelihood of crime by making changes to the built and natural environment, such as better lighting and trimming of overgrown landscape. CPTED strategies aim to reduce violence by deterring crime, building a sense of community, and minimizing fear of crime. The amount of funding available to STRYVE through the CDC this cycle is significantly less. In previous years STRYVE was awarded $330,000 per year. This cycle STRYVE is funded $250,000 per year, a reduction of $80,000 annually and $400,000 through the life of the grant.
On October 5, 2021 a detailed presentation was provided to the Board of Supervisors on collaborative violence prevention strategies, the results achieved by this work, and new challenges facing these efforts. The Board expressed support for ongoing violence prevention efforts through a public health approach and indicated a desire to expand this work. This proposal is presented to expand public health violence prevention efforts in Salinas and Greenfield, both disproportionately affected by higher rates of both violence and COVID-19, when compared to the County at large.
On November 18, 2021 this request was presented to the Budget Committee and received its support and approval. Your approval of this request will extend the reach of current violence prevention efforts using ARPA funds allocated to the Health Department, which where unspent during the FY 2020-21 budget cycle.
STRYVE proposes to expand the use of CPTED to two additional high schools and one location in Greenfield, such as Greenfield High School, as described in Attachment A. The project will contribute to the reduction of violence that has disproportionately increased in Salinas and Greenfield during the COVID-19 pandemic:
• This request is consistent with ARPA funding restrictions with its call for evidence-based community violence intervention programs to prevent violence and mitigate the increase in violence during the pandemic.
• CPTED is among the community violence intervention programs recommended by the White House to address geographic areas that are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, such as Salinas and Greenfield.
• The total cost of this project over three years is $879,250 to expand CPTED to three additional schools and their surrounding neighborhoods: two schools in the Salinas Union High School District (beyond the two schools currently funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), and Greenfield High School.
This work supports the Monterey County Health Department’s 2018-2022 Strategic Plan Initiatives: 1. Empower the community to improve health through programs, policies, and activities; and 2. Enhance public health and safety through prevention. Additionally, this work supports three of the ten essential public health services: 1. Monitor health status to identify and solve community health problems; 2. Inform, educate, and empower people about health issues; and 4. Mobilize community partnerships and action to identify and solve health problems.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The Monterey County Health Department’s STRYVE Program has collaborated with the City of Salinas’ Community Safety Division and the Monterey County Administrative Office's Office of Community Engagement and Strategic Advocacy, through the Community Alliance for Safety and Peace (CASP).
FINANCING:
The Health Department’s STRYVE program is funded by the CDC and received a new grant that started September 1, 2021 and ends in 2026. However, this grant is funded for considerably less than in previous years (as identified above) and without additional funds will limit this project to just two Salinas high schools. This reduction may not have the impact on countywide violence that CPTED would have if it were offered in a total of four Salinas high schools and in Greenfield, the two areas most impacted by the surge in violent crimes.
Health Department staff has identified a viable financing option which will allow expansion of CPTED through a combination of grant, Health Department realignment funds, and ARPA funds.
In February, the Board allocated $6.5 million in funding to the Health Department for pandemic response efforts, financed with ARPA funds. Subsequent to the allocation of ARPA funds, the Health Department received direct grant allocations that defrayed some of pandemic response costs. The table below reflects the ARPA funds allocated and their uses, and the remaining balance on June 30, 2021, after grant funds were maximized.
|
Description |
Sum of Gap in Funding |
FY 2021 Expenditures |
Remaining |
|
Admin Support |
281,392 |
|
281,392 |
|
Broadband/Telecommunications |
18,000 |
|
18,000 |
|
Contract Tracing |
831,697 |
|
831,697 |
|
COVID-19 Compliance/Enforcement |
98,000 |
|
98,000 |
|
Employee Wages for redirected staff |
2,835,070 |
1,449,179 |
1,385,891 |
|
Food Assistant/Stipend Pilot Project |
350,000 |
335,800 |
14,200 |
|
Lab Infrastructure & Supplies |
571,303 |
|
571,303 |
|
Med Supplies and Equipment |
13,800 |
|
13,800 |
|
Public Communication |
126,758 |
152,540 |
(25,782) |
|
Testing Services/Vaccine |
1,254,358 |
102,525 |
1,151,833 |
|
Vaccine Administration |
193,764 |
|
193,764 |
|
Workplace Preparedness |
19,349 |
5,632 |
13,717 |
|
Grand Total |
6,593,491 |
2,045,676 |
4,547,815 |
The Health Department respectfully requests your concurrence and approval to implement the expansion of CPTED utilizing $879,250 in unspent ARPA funds for the period of March 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024. The anticipated amount needed for FY 2021-22 is $164,889. The Department will submit a request in the amount of $318,194.36 as part of its FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24, $77,972.67 as part of its FY 2024-25 Requested Budgets. As part of the ongoing program monitoring process, staff will ensure ARPA funds are expended within the spending period specified by the law.
After the expiration of ARPA funds, if alternative funding sources are not identified for an expanded STRYVE program, the program’s activities will be scaled down to the grant amount.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
Check the related Board of Supervisors Strategic Initiatives:
☐Economic Development:
• Through collaboration, strengthen economic development to ensure a diversified and healthy economy.
☒Administration:
• Promote an organization that practices efficient and effective resource management and is recognized for responsiveness, strong customer orientation, accountability and transparency.
☒Health & Human Services:
• Improve health and quality of life through County supported policies, programs, and services; promoting access to equitable opportunities for healthy choices and healthy environments in collaboration with communities.
☐Infrastructure:
• Plan and develop a sustainable, physical infrastructure that improves the quality of life for County residents and supports economic development results.
☐Public Safety:
• Create a safe environment for people to achieve their potential, leading businesses and communities to thrive and grow by reducing violent crimes as well as crimes in general.
Prepared by: Christabelle Oropeza, Public Health Program Manager, 755-4572
Miriam Mendoza-Hernandez, Finance Manager, 755-4622
Approved by:
______________________________Date: ____________
Elsa Mendoza Jimenez, Director of Health, 755-4526
Attachment:
Attachment A