CSAC Bulletin Article

BSCC Extends Deadline for Community Recidivism Reduction Grants

November 6, 2015

Counties interested in receiving their allocation of the additional $4 million added by the 2015-16 budget to the Community Recidivism Reduction Grant administered by the BSCC, must contact the BSCC before November 30, 2015 to inform the agency of your interest.

The 2014-15 budget created and allocated $8 million for the Board of State and Community Corrections’ (BSCC) Community Recidivism Reduction Grant Program. The grants are funded from the Recidivism Reduction Fund. The statute is very clear that any county participating in this program must award its grant dollars through a competitive process to a nongovernmental entity or a consortium or coalition of nongovernmental entities that provide community recidivism and crime reduction services to persons who have been released from state prison, county jail, or a juvenile detention facility, who are under supervision of a parole or probation department, or any other person at risk of becoming involved in the criminal justice system.

Documents that explain the process for requesting the funding, the statute that created the Community Recidivism Reduction Grants, allocation determinations, and the Frequently Asked Questions that describe the letter of interest needed from counties who would like to accept funding for FY 15-16 are available on our website.

If you have any questions and/or concerns please contact Megan Barber-Brancamp at 916.445.9435 or Megan.Barber-Brancamp@bscc.ca.gov.

Council of State Governments Justice Center and the Chief Probation Officers of California Launch New Policy Fellowship

With more than 200,000 people in California currently in state or local correctional institutions, “reentry” is an issue of unique importance for state and local policymakers. To help these policymakers tap into the latest research and best practices, The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center and the Chief Probation Officers of California (CPOC) have named a senior policy fellow, Deanna Adams, to provide support to California policymakers interested in learning more about “what works” in reentry as well as promising approaches from around the country on specific issues, such as employment or accessing treatment in rural communities.

This fellowship supported as part of the National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC), which is administered by the CSG Justice Center and funded by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).

Helping policymakers craft policies that can better support people with behavioral health needs returning to their communities after incarceration is one issue already prioritized for the senior fellow’s work. It will complement a number of initiatives underway that are focused on reducing the prevalence of people with mental illnesses in jails—including the launch in Sacramento this May of Stepping Up: A National Initiative to Reduce the Prevalence of People with Mental Illness in Jail, hosted by the California State Association of Counties, the California State Sheriffs’ Association, and CPOC.

Deanna Adams, an attorney who most recently served as program director for Friends Outside, a reentry program in Santa Cruz County, was selected for the year-long fellowship after a competitive application process. She brings experience with cognitive behavioral programs and interagency collaboration to the role, which will be based at CPOC’s headquarters in Sacramento. Ms. Adams will be joining the CSG Justice Center team just in time for the national reentry conference, Justice and Mental Health Collaboration/Second Chance in Action: Practical Strategies to Deliver Results, which will be held December 15–18 in Washington, DC. Deanna Adams can be reached at dadams@csg.org or (916) 447-2762.

Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Pay for Success Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)

There continues to be a revolving door between those who are incarcerated, homeless and in need of critical healthcare. Research indicates that those individuals released from prison are at a higher risk of becoming homeless and recidivating causing a perpetual cycle in the criminal justice system. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is allocating$8,679,000 to six Pay for Success (PFS) demonstration sites that provide affordable rental housing without time limits. HUD is the federal agency responsible for administering the PFS demonstration including awarding grants to intermediary organizations. The program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) will be overseeing the Pay for Success Permanent Supportive Housing which has been proven to prevent recidivism. Deadline: February 11, 2016

Eligibility: Applicants are allowed to submit only one application per demonstration site; may submit multiple applications if they are applying to more than one demonstration site; need to ensure they have a letter of interest in the application package that includes a potential partnership; and can be public controlled higher institutions, nonprofits and private institutions of higher education. There is a cap of $1.3 million per applicant.

Although this grant will be funded as a PFS it does not require an applicant to leverage resources through cost sharing or matching. For more information on the structure of PSF and outcome evaluation please click on this link.

In addition to this funding, The Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) has announced the availability of approximately $5,000,000 for the Social Innovation Financing Program -“Pay for Success (PFS) Grant Project”. This project is an innovative funding model that can help government better serve vulnerable populations. The broad purpose of these funds is to reduce recidivism using evidence-based approaches that may address such issues as homelessness, substance abuse and unemployment. Under a PFS model, governments, service providers, and funders agree on targeted outcomes for underserved populations. Private investors and philanthropy provide flexible multi-year operating costs to fund effective interventions aimed at recidivism reduction. If and when targeted outcomes are achieved government makes “success payments” to investors, who may recycle their returns to further impact social change.

Successful proposals will be funded for a project period that will commence on May 1, 2016 and end on October 31, 2019. The due date for eligible proposals is 5:00 p.m., February 1, 2016. A copy of the RFP is available on our website, or the BSCC website http://www.bscc.ca.gov/.

For additional information regarding the RFP, contact Colleen Stoner, Field Representative by email at Colleen.Stoner@BSCC.ca.gov or by telephone at (916) 324-9385.

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