(a) The board shall allocate 94 percent of funds for the Youth Reinvestment Grant Program, upon appropriation of funds pursuant to Section 1450, to local jurisdictions, including a county, city, or city and county, through a competitive grant process for the purpose of implementing trauma-informed diversion programs for minors.
(b) The board shall distribute a grant under this article pursuant to all of the following conditions:
(1) A local jurisdiction shall be awarded no less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) and no more than one million dollars ($1,000,000).
(2) (A) A local jurisdiction shall provide at least a
25-percent match to the grant that it receives pursuant to this article. Funds used to provide the 25-percent match amount may include a combination of federal, other state, local, or private funds.
(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a local jurisdiction may provide less than a 25-percent match, but at least a 10-percent match, to the grant if the local jurisdiction is identified by the board as high need with low or no local infrastructure for diversion programming.
(3) (A) Ten percent of the funds shall be distributed to a lead public agency to coordinate with local law enforcement agencies, social services agencies, and nonprofit organizations on implementation of diversion programs and alternatives to incarceration and involvement with the juvenile justice system.
(B) Ninety percent of
the funds shall pass through the lead public agency to community-based organizations, that are nongovernmental and not local law enforcement agencies, to deliver services in underserved communities with high rates of juvenile arrests.
(4) Highest need is identified based on both of the following:
(A) Jurisdictions with high rates of juvenile arrests for misdemeanors and status offenses.
(B) Jurisdictions with racial or ethnic disparities on the basis of disproportionately high rates of juvenile arrests.
(5) (A) Services shall be community based, located in communities of local jurisdictions with the highest need.
(B) Services shall be evidence based or research
supported, trauma informed, culturally relevant, and developmentally appropriate.
(C) Direct service providers who receive funding from a grant pursuant to this article shall be nongovernmental and not law enforcement or probation entities.
(D) Direct service providers shall have experience effectively serving at-risk youth populations.
(E) Services shall include all of the following:
(i) Diversion programs and alternatives to arrest, incarceration, and formal involvement with the juvenile justice system.
(ii) Educational services, including academic and vocational services.
(iii) Mentoring services.
(iv) Behavioral health services.
(v) Mental health services.
(c) Local jurisdictions may apply for funding under this article on a regional efforts basis and receive the aggregate amount of funds that they would have received if awarded as independent jurisdictions.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 497, Sec. 299. (AB 991) Effective January 1, 2020.)
(a) The board shall be responsible for administration oversight and accountability of the grant program under this article, in coordination with the California Health and Human Services Agency and the State Department of Education.
(b) The board, in collaboration with partner agencies, shall perform all of the following duties:
(1) Provide guidance to applicant and recipient local jurisdictions, including guidance regarding available federal, state, and local funds for the purposes of braiding and matching funds.
(2) Support data collection and analysis to identify and target jurisdictions with the highest need
and to measure program outcomes and impacts.
(3) Track funding allocations and disbursements in accordance with the applicant’s proposed plans.
(4) (A) Secure or set aside sufficient funds to contract with a research firm or university to conduct a statewide evaluation of the grant program and its outcomes over a three-year grant period.
(B) The board shall make available on its Internet Web site a report of grantees, projects, and outcomes at the state and local levels upon completion of the three-year period.
(C) The board and collaborating agencies shall assist the research firm or university by providing relevant, existing data for the purposes of tracking outcomes. Measures may include, but are not limited to, any of the
following:
(i) Reductions in law enforcement responses to minors for low-level offenses, court caseloads and processing, days the minors spend in detention, placement of minors in congregate care, school and placement disruptions, and facility staff turnover.
(ii) Improvement in the health and well-being of the minors, school and community stability, educational attainment, and employment opportunities.
(iii) Projected state and local cost savings as a result of the diversion programming.
(Added by Stats. 2018, Ch. 36, Sec. 33. (AB 1812) Effective June 27, 2018.)