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CC - (1) Authorization to the City to Receive State Funding of $3 Million for a Culver City Based Non-Profit Organization - New Earth Organization; and (2) FOUR-FIFTHS VOTE REQUIREMENT: Approval of a Budget Amendment to Record the Appropriations to FY 2021/2022.
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Meeting Date: July 12, 2021
Contact Person/Dept: Onyx Jones/Finance
Phone Number: (310) 253-5640
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [] Attachments: [X]
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date:
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (07/07/2021)
Department Approval: Onyx Jones, Chief Financial Officer (07/01/2021)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council (1) authorize the City to receive state funding of $3 million for a Culver City based non-profit organization - New Earth Organization (New Earth); and (2) approve a budget amendment to record the appropriations to FY 2021/2022 (budget amendment requires 4/5th vote).
BACKGROUND
New Earth Organization is a Culver City based non-profit organization, which provides mentor-based arts, educational, and vocational programs to youth ages 13-25. On July 8, 2019, City Council adopted a resolution approving the City’s participation in the Youth Reinvestment Grant Program (YRGP) through the State agency, Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC). The grant amount was for $763,014 to be paid over a three-year period. New Earth runs the YRGP for the City, which targets youth ages 13 to 25 and who are at risk of entering the juvenile justice system or further involvement in the system. Diversion services provided under this grant need to be trauma-informed, evidence-based, culturally relevant, and developmentally appropriate.
New Earth partners with the Culver City Police Department to divert youth ages 13-17 to their center in Culver City prior to arrest and enroll them immediately in programs and mental health support. New Earth is serving over 800 people per year in Culver City and throughout Los Angeles County.
New Earth has 14 years of experience operating other successful mentorship programming, arts education, and re-entry services inside juvenile detention centers and camps. New Earth was recently selected by Los Angeles County to manage the Residential Vocational Treatment Center at the former Camp Gonzalez in Malibu. This project is believed to be the first in the nation to transition a juvenile camp into a voluntary vocational treatment facility for trauma-impacted youth. New Earth is a community leader dedicated to providing the tools young people need to create lifelong success.
On June 7, 2021, the City Council authorized the City to serve as a pass-through agency for receiving State grant funds that may be awarded to New Earth and to administer such funds based on direction and guidelines provided by the State.
DISCUSSION
California State Senator, Sydney K. Kamlager of Thirtieth Senate District requested the Senate Budget Committee and Budget Subcommittee No. 5 provide additional funding for New Earth. The two-year, $3 million proposal is to build out New Earth’s infrastructure to better position the organization as one of the most effective and responsive community-based alternatives to address the needs for alternatives to detention, placement, and incarceration. This budget allocation will also allow the organization to expand and improve the full array of wrap-around services and programs for system-involved and at-promise youth by building out a robust mental health department providing acute and individualized trauma care.
New Earth intends to use the state allocation to further strengthen and deepen the services they currently provide as well as to:
1. Develop a true mental health model that bolsters our clinical efforts - adding therapists and mental health professionals who are equipped to provide the in-depth trauma support needed for the youth we serve and their families as well as an evidence-based treatment model that deals with trauma and addiction and also supports families.
2. Build several emergency shelters and transitional living units for their youth who desperately need permanent housing.
3. Fund their reentry model and work with all youth in the probation camps and juvenile halls throughout Los Angeles County to ensure a smooth and successful transition back into the community with jobs, education, mental health support, housing and transportation available to them at New Earth upon release.
4. Continue to strengthen our diversion model with both the Culver City Police Department and the Culver City Unified School District to keep vulnerable youth out of the court system while focusing on prevention and intervention.
The State Senate Budget Committee approved the amount of $3 million over two years and the state legislature voted on the proposal on June 28, 2021 (See page 325 of attached Assembly Bill and Senate Bill - Attachments 1 and 2, respectively).
FISCAL ANALYSIS
There is no direct fiscal impact to the City. The City is expected to receive initial funding from the State in September 2021. Finance staff will amend the FY 2021/2022 budget and appropriate the revenues and expenses as necessary (requires four-fifths vote).
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2021_07_12_ATT_Assembly Bill -129 Budget Act of 2021_Refer Pg. 325_Sr No. 167
2. 2021_07_12_ATT_Senate Bill -129 Budget Act of 2021_Refer Pg. 325_Sr No. 167
MOTION
That the City Council:
1. Authorize the City to receive state funding of $3 million over two years for a Culver City based non-profit organization - New Earth Organization;
2. Approve a budget amendment to record the revenue estimate and appropriation to FY 2021/2022 (requirements four-fifths vote).