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Regular-Law & Justice Services # 56.
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| Board of Supervisors |
Probation |
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| Subject |
| Approve agreement with the Yolo County Office of Education for $343,048, after deducting Average Daily Attendance revenues, to provide educational services to youth placed at the Juvenile Detention Center Facility and adopt budget resolution increasing the Probation Department's FY2019-20 budget. (General fund impact of $171,524) (Fruchtenicht/Ruiz) |
| Recommended Action |
- Approve a one year agreement with the Yolo County Office of Education to provide educational services to youth placed at the Juvenile Detention Facility by the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the amount of $171,524, after applying the Average Daily Attendance revenues, and for the Dan Jacobs Court School for the Yolo County detained youth in the amount of $171,524, after applying the Average Daily Attendance revenues, and subject to any modifications by County Counsel; and
- Adopt a budget resolution (Att. B) to increase the Probation Department's FY2019-20 budget by $171,524 with County General Fund Contingency, in order to incorporate the funds into the annual expenditures; and
- Delegate authority to the County Administrator or their designee to execute the agreement and any amendments necessary to effectuate the intent of the agreements.
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| Strategic Plan Goal(s) |
Operational Excellence
Safe Communities |
| Reason for Recommended Action/Background |
The Yolo County Office of Education (YCOE) provides educational services to the youth housed in the Yolo County Juvenile Detention Facility (JDF) through the Juvenile Court School Program, as mandated by law. These services are provided at the Dan Jacobs school located onsite at the JDF, utilizing two classrooms within the facility, for both Yolo County youth and the unaccompanied youth population housed through a contract with the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).
Due to the need to staff the Yolo County JDF with teaching personnel levels above traditional school settings, we are requesting approval of this agreement with YCOE to address a funding gap that has resulted for YCOE. Running a JDF school requires staff to run an educational program with dedicated staffing, even when the population is low. Since YCOE receives revenue reimbursement from the State based on the Average Daily Attendance, declining population levels at the Yolo County JDF have resulted in the revenue no longer covering the cost of the robust program offered.
While having less youth in detention is a wonderful occurrence, last year the Dan Jacobs School experienced a significant reduction in the number of students. As a result, YCOE and Yolo County Probation have engaged in multiple sessions to rework the existing MOU to create a structure that can ensure that students attending school at Dan Jacobs will continue to receive a high-quality education for next year and years to come. This agreement (see Attachment A) will sustain the positive momentum we have gained over the past couple years to provide quality education to youth detained in Yolo County.
Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)
While at the JDF, the ORR youth receive comprehensive programming that includes educational services through the Dan Jacobs School. Through a grant from ORR, the Yolo County Probation Department houses up to 24 youth who meet criteria for secure placement in the JDF where they receive comprehensive programming including educational, medical, mental health, and recreational services. The Yolo County Probation Department is committed to ensuring ORR youth receive quality services, including excellent educational opportunities. YCOE has determined that due to the nature of the program, the enrollment of ORR youth is unpredictable and inconsistent. This has caused YCOE to expend additional funds to maintain two classrooms, even when the ORR enrollment numbers do not support two classrooms. To ensure the provision of quality education at the Yolo County Juvenile Detention Facility, the Probation Department has requested, and ORR has approved, funds payable under this agreement to YCOE to support the academic program. This agreement between Yolo County and YCOE formalizes fiscal terms and expresses the commitment of both entities to collaborate in the delivery of the academic program for ORR youth at the Yolo County Juvenile Detention Facility.
Under this agreement, YCOE has committed to dedicate one teacher and one para-educator for the ORR population, at a maximum cost of $171,524 for an average population of 7.5 students. YCOE will bill Yolo County Probation the residual cost, after claiming the Average Daily Attendance revenues for enrolled ORR students. ORR has approved funding to supplement these educational services for ORR youth in the amount of $150,000. Chief Fruchtenicht will be negotiating with ORR to fund any remaining costs related to ORR above this amount, so that the educational component of this program can be fully funded. Should the contract for ORR services terminate prior to the end of the school year, YCOE has agreed to re-purpose the teacher and para-educator to offer services to other non-ORR youth at the Juvenile Detention Facility, or in the community schools, for the remainder of the school year.
Dan Jacobs Court School for Detained Yolo County Youth
The Dan Jacobs School is operated by YCOE with teaching staff providing a curriculum aligned with Common Core standards. Students are enrolled in the school program due to their incarceration by police authorities or violation of their probation and court orders. They are assigned to a classroom based on their living unit which takes into consideration the number of prior detentions, severity of prior offenses, violence level, gang related activity, criminal sophistication, substance abuse, sexual offense history, and many other factors.
Under this arrangement YCOE has committed to provide a bicultural and Spanish bilingual teacher, and one para-educator for one classroom for the local youth detained at the Yolo County Juvenile Detention Facility at a maximum cost of $171,524 for an average population of 7.5 students. YCOE agrees to claim for Average Daily Attendance reimbursement from the state and to bill Yolo County Probation only the residual amount. YCOE further agrees that should the ORR contract not be continued beyond January 2020, the teaching staff assigned to ORR will be repurposed to serve other Yolo County youth in agreement with the Probation Department.
The budget resolution in Attachment B, is requested in order to cover the cost of $171,524 for the educational program for the Yolo County youth in the JDF, using County General Fund Contingency. |
| Collaborations (including Board advisory groups and external partner agencies) |
Office of Refugee Resettlement
Yolo County Office of Education
County Counsel
County Administrator |
| Competitive Bid Process |
| No competitive bidding process was conducted; the Yolo County Board of Education is mandated by law to administer and operate juvenile court schools and to administer and operate educational services in the Juvenile Detention Facility. |
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| Fiscal Impact |
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| Source of Funds for this Expenditure |
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Explanation (Expenditure and/or Revenue) |
| Further explanation as needed: |
The Probation Department is requesting additional County General Fund to cover the budget gap for the educational programming for Yolo County detained youth. We have received three budget estimates from Yolo County Office of Education (YCOE) for each programming component (Yolo and ORR- attached.) Each scenario assumes receiving Average Daily Attendance revenues per attending youth of the same amount, but assumes a different number of attending students. While YCOE has provided a scenario for four, seven and a half, and twelve students for the school year, Chief Fruchtenicht has selected the scenario that most closely approximates our average population trends of youth in detention, of seven and a half Yolo students in attendance, at a County General Fund cost of $171,524. Should these population trends be materially different than the estimate in this staff report, Chief Fruchtenicht will return to inform the Board and ask for guidance on how to address the difference.
The costs for ORR will be an additional $171,524 but will be fully covered by the ORR grant and no additional budget action is needed for that at this time. However, this assumes no change in the ORR program for duration of the school year. Should the ORR contract terminate and the staff assigned to ORR need to be reassigned to perform non ORR duties in January 2020, we anticipate that Yolo County would have an additional budget exposure of $71,468 to cover the costs that would otherwise have been covered by ORR revenues. |
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