DATE: May 25, 2021
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Kirk Haynes, Chief Probation Officer
SUBJECT: First Amendment to Retroactive Revenue Agreement with Fresno County
Superintendent of Schools for Truancy Intervention Program
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute first Amendment to Agreement No. 21-008 with Fresno County Superintendent of Schools for the Truancy Intervention Program, effective upon execution with no change to the term of July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021 and increasing the maximum by $164,021 to a total of $662,224.
REPORT
There is no additional Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The recommended action will add Sanger Unified School District into the agreement with Fresno County Superintendent of Schools (FCSS). This will provide an increase in the partial funding for the two Deputy Probation Officer (DPO) positions providing services to support the Truancy Intervention Program (TIP). The recommended amendment would increase revenue by about 25% over the potential 5-year contract term. Due to the collaborative nature of this agreement, the Department recommends the 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 item is not approved, Sanger Unified School District (SUSD) would not be added into the TIP agreement, as the Probation Department would not have sufficient funding to provide services to SUSD.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no additional increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The total salary and benefit cost for 2 DPOs to provide services to support TIP is $289,674. In addition, vehicle and radio costs associated with these positions are estimated at $12,250 per year. For the 2020-2021 school year, FCSS will provide a total of $103,471 towards the costs of the two DPO positions, with the remaining $198,453 funded with Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA) funds.
Should the agreement be extended beyond the current fiscal year, FCSS will provide a total of $139,688 per year, with the remaining $162,236 funded with Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA) funds. This is an increase in funding of approximately $3,831 for the current school year and $40,047 for each subsequent year, should the agreement be extended, due to adding SUSD to the agreement. The increase in participating school districts would also result in an increase number of DPO positions assigned to support TIP, increasing the assigned positions from 1.4 full-time equivalent (FTE) to 2 FTE.
The Probation Department’s current indirect rate of 25.86% of salary and benefits is $74,910. It is recommended that FCSS’s portion of the indirect rate not be included due to the collaborative nature of the recommended amendment, which has the potential to not only reduce absenteeism, but is also a prevention program that has been shown to deter students from engaging in future criminal activities. The portion of the indirect costs that may be funded with JJCPA funds is limited to 0.5% ($992 for the current school year and $811 for each year the agreement is extended), per funding requirements. Therefore, the Net County Cost for indirect cost is $73,918 for the current contract year, and $74,099 for each potential year the agreement is extended. Sufficient appropriations, estimated revenue, and Probation indirect costs for these positions are included in Probation’s FY 2020-21 Adopted Budget Org 3430, and will be included in future budget requests.
DISCUSSION:
On July 18, 2006, the Board approved a revenue agreement with the FCSS for implementation of a pilot program titled the “Truancy Intervention Program.” Subsequent annual agreements approved by the Board have continued to fund this program, which is no longer considered a pilot. On December 10, 2019, the Board approved a retroactive revenue agreement with FCSS for funding of two DPO positions, not to exceed five years. The first year of that agreement expired on June 30, 2020, and 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. The approved agreement currently has 1.4 FTE DPOs providing services five days a week, a decrease from the two DPO positions that were funded prior. The decrease in allocated DPO positions is a result of the fact that SUSD initially declined to participate in the current agreement, due to COVID-19. At this time, SUSD has elected to begin participating in TIP once again. The recommended amendment to the agreement before your Board now will add SUSD back into the agreement, increasing the DPO’s assigned to the support the TIP program from 1.4 FTE to two DPO positions, and increasing funding as a result.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI # 26 - January 12, 2021
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE
On file with Clerk - First Amendment to Agreement with FCSS
CAO ANALYST:
Samantha Buck