Title
Probation Department recommending the Board approve the application to the State of California for continued funding of the Community Alliance to Reduce Truancy (CART) program through the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA).
FUNDING: Community Alliance to Reduce Truancy (CART).
Body
BUDGET SUMMARY: |
|
|
Total Estimated Revenue |
|
$ 454,118 |
Interest |
|
$ 2,500 |
Funding |
|
|
Budgeted 2009-10 |
$ 456,618 |
|
New Funding |
$ |
|
Savings |
$ |
|
Total Funding Available |
$ 456,618 |
|
Net County Cost |
$ 218,356 |
|
Total Program Cost |
|
$ 674,974 |
Fiscal Impact/Change to Net County Cost:
The continuation of the Community Alliance to Reduce Truancy (CART) program will provide a proposed estimated allocation of $454,118.00 of JJCPA funding and approximately $2,500.00 in interest for El Dorado County. This allocation is a reduction from prior year 2008-09 of approximately $50,457. This funding source has been restructured from a State General Fund allocation to the new Re-alignment VLF funding.
The required Net County Cost to fully fund this program in the FY 2009-10 proposed budget is approximately $218,356. Total program cost for FY 2009-10 is projected to be $674,974.
Background:
The Community Alliance to Reduce Truancy (CART) Program in El Dorado County has been operational since March of 2001, supported by annual funding from the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA). The JJCPA was created by the Crime Prevention Act of 2000, which created a stable funding source for local juvenile justice programs aimed at curbing crime and delinquency among at-risk youth. The JJCPA involves a partnership between the state of California, 56 counties and numerous community-based organizations. Local officials and stakeholders determine where to direct resources through an interagency planning process; the State appropriates the funds, which the State Controller's Office distributes to counties on a per-capita basis. It is a partnership that recognizes the need for juvenile justice resources and the value of local discretion and multi-agency collaboration in addressing the problem of juvenile crime in our communities.
JJCPA requires that funded programs be modeled on evidence-based strategies that have proven effective in curbing juvenile delinquency. The JJCPA also requires counties to collect and report information on annual program expenditures and juvenile justice outcomes. At the local level, these evaluation activities enable stakeholders to assess progress toward desired goals, refine their programs, and target available resources. These evaluation efforts also enable the Legislature to monitor the investment the State has made in the JJCPA and assess its overall impact on juvenile crime and delinquency. Counties are statutorily required to report data for six (6) mandated outcomes: 1) arrest rate; 2) incarceration rate; 3) probation violation rate; 4) probation completion rate; 5) restitution completion rate; and 6) community service completion rate. In addition to these mandated outcomes, El Dorado County's CART Program also collects and reports data on two (2) additional outcomes: school attendance and grade point average.
Data submitted by counties indicate the JJCPA programs have consistently had a positive impact on juvenile crime and delinquency in communities throughout California. This conclusion was reported to the Legislature in the Annual Report prepared in March 2008 by the Corrections Standards Authority (CSA) as follows:
"Youth participating in JJCPA programs were arrested for new offenses and incarcerated at significantly lower rates than youth in a comparable reference group."
"JJCPA participants successfully completed probation at significantly higher rates than youth in the comparison group."
"JJCPA youth attended a greater percentage of school days, achieved significantly higher grade point averages, and were significantly less likely to be suspended from school than reference group youth."
"Because the efforts supported by JJCPA are collaborative and based upon strategies that have proven successful in the past, CSA staff believes this initiative will continue making a positive impact on public safety well into the future."
The Probation Department is proud to be part of the success of JJCPA, and we are especially proud to recently learn from CSA, that our JJCPA program, referred to as the CART Program, will be highlighted as an example of a successful JJCPA program in their next annual report to the Legislature currently in production. As mentioned, the CART Program has been operational for eight (8) years and has consistently met or exceeded program goals. The program assigns six (6) juvenile probation officers to eleven (11) high school campuses in El Dorado County, where they provide intensive supervision and monitoring to juvenile probationers. The officers have the ability to immediately address problem behaviors and truancy by probationers. They also maintain a high profile presence on the school campus and during school events to create a safer school environment by deterring problem behaviors, delinquent activity, and violence. The probation officers work collaboratively with school personnel, law enforcement, and community agencies to provide prevention, intervention, and outreach assistance to at-risk students and the entire student body and their families. Additional program activities include sharing information and intelligence with law enforcement, addressing and preventing gang activity, participating in safety planning, and responding to problems and critical incidents.
The Department is required by the Juvenile Court and law (Welfare and Institutions Code ยง 628.1, 654, 725, 727, 741, 777, 778, 790, 840, 841, 1300-1308) to provide services and probation supervision to juvenile offenders. Without the funds provided by the JJCPA, the department would still have to devote four (4) probation officers to provide the mandated supervision of juvenile offenders, but on a much less effective basis.
Reason for Recommendation:
On October 21, 2001 Senate Bill 736 was signed into law. Among other provisions, the bill required the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council (JJCC) to review and/or modify the Comprehensive Multi-agency Juvenile Justice Plan (CMJJP) annually. The JJCC reconvened on February 24, 2009 for this purpose, and reaffirmed its desire to fund the CART Program with the JJCPA funds allocated to El Dorado County to continue funding the CART Program for fiscal year 2009/10.
Action to be taken following Board approval:
Probation Department to submit the JJCPA application to the State of California by the May 1, 2009 deadline.
Contact:
Joseph S. Warchol II, (530) 621-5958