Agenda

Return

C. 32

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	David Twa, County Administrator
Date:	March 26, 2019

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Youth Reinvestment Grant Application - Juvenile Diversion

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 03/26/2019

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

ABSENT:

Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor

Contact:	Paul Reyes, 925-335-1096
cc:	Diana Bection, District Attorney

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: March 26, 2019
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the County Administrator, or designee, to apply for the California Board of State and Community Corrections Youth Reinvestment grant in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000 for juvenile diversion for the period July 1, 2019 through February 28, 2023.

FISCAL IMPACT:

County will receive up to $1,000,000 over the entire grant period. The County is required to provide a 10% in-kind match which will be achieved through labor provided by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Juvenile Unit (General Fund) and volunteer hours from community partners.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

The County will be unable to apply for the grant from the State.

BACKGROUND:

The Youth Reinvestment Grant program was established in the 2018 Budget Act (Senate Bill 840, Chapter 29, Statutes of 2018) and the related trailer bill (Assembly Bill 1812, Chapter 36, Statutes of 2018). The Youth Reinvestment Grant program is aimed at diverting low-level offenders from initial contact with the juvenile justice system using approaches that are evidence-based, culturally relevant, trauma-informed, and developmentally appropriate. Grant funds will be used to target underserved communities with high rates of juvenile arrests and high rates of racial/ethnic disproportionality within those juvenile arrests.

The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office, in partnership with RYSE, a non-governmental organization that creates safe spaces grounded in social justice for young people to love, learn, educate, heal, and transform lives and communities, seeks $1,000,000 to implement the first restorative justice diversion program in the county. The District Attorney’s Office, along with agency partners, recognize the urgent need to address the growing racial and ethnic disparities in youth contact with the juvenile and criminal justice systems. To that end, restorative justice diversion has been identifed as a viable solution to reducing youth incarceration, recidivism, racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal legal system, and related social and fiscal costs.

The restorative justice program will divert felonies and high-level misdemeanors, with identifiable victims, post-arrest but pre-charge. This model of restorative justice diversion brings young people who have committed a crime together with those they’ve harmed and impacted community members into processes that repair harms and rebuild relationships. International studies show numerous benefits to restorative justice alternatives to criminalization, including high victim satisfaction, reduced costs, and lower recidivism rates.

A 2017 study of the Alameda County restorative justice diversion program found a 44% reduction in recidivism and a 91% participant satisfaction rate. Recidivism rates of Black and Latinx youth who went through the Alameda County program were also lower at 6, 12, and 18 months from program completion compared to the control group. When the program is fully operational, the average one-time cost for resolving a case through restorative justice is approximately $5,000 to $10,000 per youth, which is significantly less than the cost of probation or incarceration.

Today's action authorizes the County Administrator, or designee, to submit the grant proposal to the California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) for consideration.