The 2011 Realignment Legislation addressing public safety and related statutes requires that certain felonies be punished by a term of imprisonment in a county jail. It also provides for post-release community supervision by county officials for persons convicted of these certain felonies upon release from prison or county jail. As part of the realignment of public safety services to local agencies, existing law establishes the Local Revenue Fund 2011 into which specified tax revenues are deposited and are continuously appropriated for the provision of public safety services, as defined. Under existing law, the Local Revenue Fund 2011 contains various accounts and subaccounts from which the revenues are then allocated to corresponding local accounts. With the passage of SB 1020 in 2012, the County was required to
create a Local Innovation Subaccount intended to promote local innovation and county decision making. Revenue deposited in this “Local Innovation Fund” must be used to support local needs.
Beginning with fiscal year 2015-16, 10% of the revenue received from the State in the form of growth allocations for the 1) Community Corrections, 2) Trial Court Security, 3) District Attorney and Public Defender, and 4) Juvenile Justice Subaccounts is to be deposited in the Local Innovation Fund each year. The law provides the Board of Supervisors with the authority to use revenue in the Local Innovation Fund for any activity that could be paid for with revenue from any of the underlying subaccounts that fund the Local Innovation Fund. In October 2017, Office of Reentry & Justice (ORJ) staff conducted a Request for Proposals (RFP) process for the utilization of Local Innovation Fund Revenue. After recommendations from the Public Protection Committee (PPC), in December 2017, the Board of Supervisors awarded contracts for innovative reentry programs to Fast Eddie’s Auto Tech Training for $75,000 and to the Richmond Workforce Development Board for $175,000. After a subsequent RFQ process, Jeweld Legacy Group was awarded a $75,000 contract in May 2018 to provide local reentry programs with Capacity Building Services.
In March 2019, the PPC considered the use of remaining available revenue in the Local Innovation Fund and directed staff to increase Fast Eddie’s contract by $37,500 so that services could be provided through the end of 2019. Staff was also directed to increase the award to Jeweld Legacy Group by $50,000 so that micro grants could be provided to the agencies participating in the County’s Capacity Building Program. With these changes, the programs from Richmond Workforce Board and Fast Eddie’s were set to conclude on December 31, 2019, and the Capacity Building Program led by Jeweld Legacy Group was on track to be completed no later than June 30, 2020.
During the PPC’s March 2019 meeting, the PPC also directed staff to develop a procurement process to identify new programs for Local Innovation Fund revenue. In June 2019 the ORJ then sought Input from the Community Advisory Board of the Community Corrections Partnership (CAB) on the development of a procurement process for the use of Local Innovation Fund revenue. In September 2019, at the advice of CAB, the Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) provided the following direction to the ORJ:
- An RFP process should be conducted to award up to $300,000 for innovative reentry program(s), and the RFP should prioritize use of the funding for programs that are:
- for young people up to age 25,
- an innovative employment program, or
- for at-risk or underserved population.
- Up to $150,000 should be utilized to continue support for some part of the current programs funded by the Local Innovation Fund.
- Any remaining Local Innovation Fund revenue be utilized to provide up to two shared learning events to be attended by local reentry partners that concentrate on topics related to successful reentry for young people up to age 25 and the characteristics of effective Adult reentry and diversion programming.
Based on this direction, on October 15, 2019, RFP #1909-365, for Local Innovation Fund Projects, was published by the ORJ with a maximum award of $300,000. After the RFP was released, the ORJ became aware that the Local Innovation Fund revenue for FY 2019-20 would be approximately $128,094 less than was initially projected. Since Fast Eddie's program is the only currently funded program that could be supported with the revenue remaining after funding RFP awards, the ORJ began the process of increasing Fast Eddie’s contract by $50,000 and extending the termination date to December 31, 2020.
RFP #1909-365
Responses to the RFP were submitted to the ORJ on November 14, 2019, and considered by a review panel the following week. The panel included a member of the CAB and various County staff that work with the reentry population, and are familiar with programs that provide services to this population. The panel’s work was facilitated by Donté Blue, Deputy Director, Office of Reentry and Justice, and was comprised of the following members:
- Henrissa Bassey, Community Advisory Board on Public Safety Realignment Member
- Michael V. Fischer, CORE Program Manager, Health, Housing & Homeless Division
- Mark Goodwin, Chief of Staff, Office of Supervisor Diane Burgis
- Marina Kisseleva-Cercone, Probation Supervisor
- Christopher Pedraza, Program Manager, Alcohol and Other Drug Services
The panel considered all six responses that were timely received by the ORJ. After reviewing each proposal, those with the three lowest scores were dropped from further consideration and the remaining responders were invited to interview with the Panel. Each of the three remaining responders attended an in-person interview with the Panel.
The scoring for proposals that were not advanced to the interview phase was as follows:
| Responder |
Program Type |
Amount Requested |
Score |
| All Hands on Deck |
Housing for Transition Age Youth |
$300,000 |
62 |
| Leaders in Community Alternatives |
Cognitive Based Intervention for Transition Age Youth |
$298,856 |
71 |
| Lao Family Community Development |
Employment training and support for Transition Age Youth |
$299,999 |
71.5 |
Below are final scores and a synopsis of the programs proposed by each of the three agencies that were interviewed by the Review Panel.
Community and Youth Outreach
[requested $265,551] Score: 79 points
Community and Youth Outreach (CYO) proposed an expansion of the County’s current Ceasefire program to reduce gun violence in East County. Currently, AB 109 revenue is used to fund a single coordinator for this program and this proposal sought to augment that investment with direct services to Ceasefire participants. This program would replicate services the agency is currently providing in the City of Oakland. Specifically, this would enroll up to 80 participants in services lasting 6 – 12 months where they would be provided with peer-led Intensive Adult Life Coaching and cognitive behavioral services through CYO’s Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise facilitated groups. The program would focus on providing services to young people ages 18 – 25 who have been assessed as high risk by the Probation Department’s risk assessment tool or who exhibit at least three of the following: four or more prior arrests, prior arrest for gun violence, active member of a gang, previously shot, has a close friend of family member who has been shot in the past year. While participating in the program, participants would be provided cash incentives for achieving various benchmarks that could amount to as much as $200 a month.
SHELTER Inc.
[requested $300,000] Score: 83 points
The Bright Futures program by SHELTER Inc. sought to provide up to 30 incarcerated young people between the ages of 18 – 25 with reentry planning prior to their release from custody and case management with career coaching upon the person’s release from custody. The program would work with young people during their final month of incarceration in a local jail or juvenile detention facility, and for up to a year after the person’s release from custody. Case management would look to connect the person to needed services with particular attention paid to helping the person meet their transportation needs. The program would have a “flex fund” available for each client that would allow creative remedies to be fashioned for the unique needs and challenges faced by those in the program. Bright Futures would leverage existing employment providers for needed training, and its own internal program for housing resources the population might require.
Rubicon Programs, Inc.
[requested $120,000] Score: 87.5 points
The Evening Connections Program would extend operating hours for the Reentry Success Center (RSC) in Richmond by providing evening hours from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. each weekday with interest in also opening for a half day on Saturdays. This program is intended to provide services to populations in need of evening services because they are unavailable during the day or released from custody outside of regular business hours and at an increased risk of returning to custody if not quickly engaged in needed supportive services. As part of the Evening Connections Program, individuals would be transported to the RSC directly from custody, even if they will ultimately be returning to the east or central region of the County. The activities to be provided at the center during these extended hours would vary night to night and include support groups, employment readiness support, reentry coaching, triage of needs and referrals to services, and prosocial recreational activities.
Final Panel Recommendation
After conducting interviews, the panel determined that the program proposed by Rubicon Programs, Inc. would be the best use of Local Innovation Fund revenue. To ensure that weekend hours and other program enhancements occur, the panel recommends that $150,000 be awarded to Rubicon Programs for FY 2020-21 to provide its Evening Connections Program at the Reentry Success Center in West County.
Because the other requests were so much more than the remaining $150,000, the panel didn’t feel it could recommend funding any of the remaining program while still maintaining the character of what was proposed. The panel also recognized that while need for services is steadily increasing in East County, and in some cases already exceeds that of West County, there are generally substantially less services available to the residents of East County. For these reasons, and because panel members believed the value of what was proposed by Rubicon Programs should also directly benefit East County residents, the panel also recommended funding the remaining $150,000 to Rubicon Programs for FY 2020-21 with the contingency that this additional funding be used to provide an Evening Connections Program in an East County location. Staff has subsequently been in contact with Rubicon Programs, Inc. about the Panel’s desire to duplicate evening services in East County, and Rubicon has indicated that it has available resources that can be leveraged to provide these services from its Antioch location, and these services would include the ability to transport individuals to this location if they are released from Martinez Detention Facility between 5pm and 7pm during the week. Furthermore, Rubicon indicated its interest and intention to collaborate with HealthRIGHT 360 in the provision of an Evening Connections Program in East County.
On December 2, 2019, the PPC considered the recommendations of the Review Panel and recommended the Board of Supervisors award $300,000 from the Local Innovation Fund to Rubicon Programs, Inc. for an Evening Connections Program in both West County and East County for FY 2020-21