DATE: March 09, 2021
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Kirk Haynes, Chief Probation Officer
SUBJECT: Retroactive National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Grant Staffing
Agreement with City of Fresno
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a retroactive Agreement with the City of Fresno for the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Grant Program, effective October 1, 2020, not to exceed three consecutive years, total not to exceed $280,500;
2. Adopt Budget Resolution increasing the FY 2020-21 appropriations and estimated revenues for Probation Org 3432 in the amount of $68,460 for the SAKI Program (4/5 vote); and
3. Approve Amendment to the Salary Resolution adding one Victim-Witness Advocate to the Probation Org 3432, effective March 22, 2021, as reflected in Appendix “C”.
REPORT
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The City of Fresno Police Department was awarded the SAKI Grant. The award will be used to fund enhancements to the City’s Sexual Assault Cold Case Unit in partnership with the James Rowland Crime Victim Assistance Center to provide maximum available assistance for victims of sexual assault identified in cold cases. The recommended actions will add one Victim-Witness Advocate position that will be fully funded by the City to provide services as part of the SAKI Program. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If the recommended actions are not approved, the Department will not be able to participate in the City’s Sexual Assault Cold Case Unit.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT:
The agreement’s effective date was October 1, 2020. The City received notice of the grant award from Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) on December 3, 2020. The Department is now bringing this to your Board on the first available Board date within the agenda item processing deadlines.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. If executed, the agreement will provide $93,500 per year from the City of Fresno Police Department, for three years beginning October 1, 2020. These funds will fully fund one full-time Victim-Witness Advocate position. The recommended budget resolution will add the estimated revenue and necessary appropriations to fund this position in the FY 2020-21 Adopted Probation Grants Org 3432 Budget. Funding for subsequent years will be included in future budget requests for the duration of this grant. It should be noted, there is no match requirement for the County to receive these funds and if funding is no longer available, this position will be deleted. There are no pending invoices for this agreement.
DISCUSSION:
The City of Fresno submitted an application to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs, BJA, for the FY 2020 SAKI grant Program. The funded program will focus on enhancing the Sexual Assault Cold Case Unit with emphasis on providing the maximum available assistance for victims of sexual assault identified in cold cases. The City proposed to increase the Fresno Police Department’s ability to respond to this population.
Upon entry into a grant agreement with the DOJ and the award of SAKI grant funds, the City, in partnership with the Probation Department’s James Rowland Crime Victims Assistance Center (CVAC), will provide additional assistance for victims of sexual assault within the County of Fresno. This includes addressing violence against victims using a combination of investigation, immediate response, immediate victim advocacy, and training for law enforcement officers.
Approval of the recommended Agreement and Salary Resolution will allow for the addition of one full-time Victim-Witness Advocate position to be assigned to the City of Fresno Police Department’s Sexual Assault Cold Case Unit. This will allow victims within this program to have access to services available through the CVAC. The Victim-Witness Advocate will report to the Probation Services Manager of the James Rowland Crime Victims Assistance Center.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Fresno
On file with Clerk - Resolution (Org 3432)
Salary Resolution Amendment (Appendix “C”)
CAO ANALYST:
Samantha Buck