DATE: November 18, 2025
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Kirk Haynes, Chief Probation Officer
SUBJECT: Retroactive Revenue Agreements with Fresno County Superintendent of
Schools for Campus Deputy Probation Officers at Truancy Intervention Program and Violet Heintz Education Academy
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Approve and authorize Chairman to execute a retroactive revenue Agreement with the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools to provide partial funding to the County for services provided by two Deputy Probation Officers assigned to the Truancy Intervention Program, for the benefit of participating school districts, effective July 1, 2025, not to exceed three consecutive years, which includes a one-year base contract with two optional one-year extensions, total not to exceed $482,615; and
2. Approve and authorize Chairman to execute a retroactive revenue Agreement with the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools to provide partial funding to the County for on-campus services provided by one Deputy Probation Officer assigned to Violet Heintz Education Academy, effective July 1, 2025, not to exceed three consecutive years, which includes a one-year base contract with two optional one-year extensions, total not to exceed $121,743.
REPORT
There is no additional Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. Fresno County Superintendent of Schools (FCSS) will provide $154,605 in funding for Fiscal Year 2025-26 toward the two Deputy Probation Officer (DPO) positions providing services to the Truancy Intervention Program (TIP), and $39,000 in funding toward one DPO position at Violet Heinz Education Academy (VHEA), which is Fresno County’s educational program for expelled and Probation or Court-referred youth. FCSS will increase contributions by 4% each year over the potential thee-year terms. The remainder of direct costs for these positions will be funded with Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA) funds. The Probation Department (Department) and FCSS recognize a correlation between chronic school absenteeism, criminal activity, drug abuse, and incarceration, and, therefore, believe a coordinated collaborative effort will reduce school absenteeism. Due to the collaborative nature of the recommended agreements, the Department recommends your Board deviate from the County policy requiring full cost recovery (including indirect costs). This practice is consistently applied to similar agreements with other school districts. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If your Board does not approve the recommended actions, the Department will not have sufficient funding to continue providing on-campus DPO services to FCSS for TIP and VHEA.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT(S):
The Department has been in discussions with FCSS regarding continuing to provide on-campus services and support to TIP, including a fiscal year rate increase to cover general operating cost increases including salaries and benefits. Once the recommended agreements were finalized, they were approved by FCSS on October 23, 2025, for TIP and September 30, 2025, for VHEA. The Department is bringing this to your Board on the first available Board date within the agenda item process deadlines.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The total estimated FY 2025-26 cost for the two DPOs assigned to the TIP is $403,321, including $381,614 in salaries and benefits and $21,707 in estimated services and supplies (covering vehicle, radio and cell phone costs). FCSS will contribute $154,605 towards salaries and benefits of these two DPOs, with the remaining $248,716 funded with JJCPA funds. The total estimated FY 2025-26 cost for the DPO assigned to VHEA is $201,661, including $190,807 in salaries and benefits and $10,854 in estimated services and supplies. FCSS will contribute a total of $39,000 towards the VHEA DPO’s salaries and benefits, with the remaining $162,661 funded with JJPCA funds.
Based on the Department’s current indirect rate of 20.65% of salary and benefits, the indirect costs associated with the DPO positions at TIP and VHEA are $78,804 and $39,402, respectively. It is recommended that FCSS’ portions of these indirect costs not be charged to FCSS, considering the collaborative nature of the recommended agreements, which has potential to not only reduce absenteeism but is also prevention programs that have been shown to deter students from engaging in future criminal activities. JJPCA funding requirements limit the portion of indirect costs that can be covered by JJCPA funds to 0.5% ($1,244 for TIP and $814 for VHEA). Therefore, the Net County Cost for the indirect costs are $77,560 and $38,589, respectively. Should the recommended agreements be extended beyond the current fiscal year, FCSS will increase its contribution by 4%. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues, including Department indirect costs, for these positions will be included in the Department’s FY 2025-26 Adopted Budget Org 3430, which will be presented to your Board in September 2025, and for the remainder of the agreement terms.
DISCUSSION:
On July 18, 2006, the Board approved a revenue agreement with the FCSS for implementation of a pilot TIP program. TIP is a collaborative program to help decrease truancy, improve attendance, increase learning opportunities, and raise financial revenue for school districts throughout the County. The success of this program is demonstrated through an increase of the average daily attendance levels at each school district with TIP participation. Subsequent annual agreements approved by the Board have continued to fund this program, which is no longer considered a pilot.
On January 12, 2021, the Board approved a retroactive revenue agreement with FCSS for partial funding of 1.4 FTE DPOs to support the TIP program. On May 25, 2021, the Board approved a first amendment to the retroactive revenue agreement, which added Sanger Unified School District (SUSD) back into the agreement, increasing the DPOs assigned to the support the TIP program from 1.4 FTE to two DPO positions, and increasing funding as a result. On May 3, 2022, the Board approved a second amendment, which retroactively added Orange Center Elementary School District and Raisin City Elementary School District into the agreement, and provided an increase in the partial funding for the two DPO positions providing services to support TIP. On May 9, 2023, the Board approved a third amendment to add Pacific Union Elementary School District to the agreement, reducing the TIP service level to Orange Center Elementary School District, and providing an increase in the partial funding for the two DPO positions providing services to support TIP, effective retroactive to January of 2023.
On February 23, 2021, the Board approved a retroactive revenue agreement with FCSS for partial funding of 1 FTE DPO at VHEA. The program emphasizes education, career development, community involvement, and service. The Probation Officer funded through the recommended agreement will: provide case management services, monitor all minors on probation while at the VHEA campus, monitor and enforce orders of the Court, work on student tardiness, attendance and misconduct, arrange for meetings with school staff, parents, student and Probation Officers for the purpose of screening students for substance abuse and mental health services, keep the appropriate program personnel informed of student and parent
problems and concerns, encourage students to lead a safe and crime-free lifestyle and counsel them to avoid violence, substance abuse, and tobacco usage.
The prior agreements with FCSS expired on June 30, 2025. The recommended agreements will increase funding contributions by 4% from prior agreements, and also includes a 4% increase for each subsequent year.
The recommended agreements deviate from the County's model contract in two primary respects. First, they include a mutual hold harmless clause, which has been reviewed by Risk Management and deemed by the Department to be an acceptable business decision, as it assigns responsibility to each party for losses arising from their own negligent acts. Second, the recommended agreements provide for an initial one-year term, with the option for two one-year renewals, subject to written approval by both parties. This structure differs from the County’s model contract, which specifies a three-year term with two one-year renewal options. The proposed term allows the Department to annually assess the availability of JJPCA funding prior to committing to a renewal.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #44, May 9, 2023
BAI #40, May 3, 2022
BAI #45, May 25, 2021
BAI #25, February 21, 2021
BAI #26, January 12, 2021
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Agreement with FCSS TIP
On file with Clerk - Agreement with FCSS VHEA
CAO ANALYST:
Fine Nai