Administration of Justice News Briefs
Cal OES Grant Opportunities
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), Victim Services and Public Safety Branch is soliciting proposals for the Innovative Response to Marginalized Victims (KI) Program for 2018-19. The purpose of the KI Program is to support innovative projects that serve marginalized victims of crime. Priority will be given to proposals that focus on serving the following victim groups: low wage workers, transgender, and foster care youth. Approximately, $10M is available for the KI Program. Applicants may request up to $307,000.00. The grant sub award performance period is January 1, 2019 thru December 31, 2019. Submission Deadline: Monday, August 27.
The RFP can be found on the Cal OES website here.
Additionally, the branch is soliciting proposals for the Sexual Assault Law Enforcement Specialized Units (ST) Program for 2018-19. The purpose of the ST Program is to support and enhance specialized units to provide a coordinated response to adolescent (age 11 and older) and adult victims of sexual assault, through compassionate investigative interviewing, immediate victim advocacy, training for patrol officers/first responders, and the development/updating of effective protocols and practices. Approximately $409,000 is available for the ST Program through the Violence Against Women Formula Grant fund. Applicants may apply for up to $204,500 for a 12 month grant sub award performance period, beginning October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019. The proposal package must be received or postmarked by Friday, August 3.
The RFP can be found on the Cal OES website here.
New Online Resource: Stepping Up County Self-Assessment
The Stepping Up County Self-Assessment is designed to assist counties interested in evaluating the status of their current efforts to reduce the prevalence of people who have mental illnesses in jails. The online tool guides counties to determine their implementation progress according to the framework detailed in Reducing the Number of People with Mental Illnesses in Jail: Six Questions County Leaders Need to Ask. Counties that use the tool will also have access to online resources to help advance their work in areas where they have not fully implemented identified best practices. The new on-line resource tool can be found here.
National Conference on Mass Violence Response
Chief Matthew Carmichael of the University of Oregon Police Department, the California Victim Compensation Board and the Oregon Department of Justice are once again presenting a conference on mass violence response and effective partnerships between law enforcement and victim services to assist victims of crime. The conference will take place in the great Pacific Northwest from September 5-7 at the University of Oregon in Eugene.
This year’s national conference will follow up on last year’s sold out conference theme of Best Practices for Mass Violence Response. They plan to include detailed presentations regarding some of the more recent mass violence incidents including the Route 91 Harvest Festival concert shooting in Las Vegas, the First Baptist Church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, the shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas and the shooting at the Pathway Home, the Veteran’s Home in Yountville, California. For more information and to register, please visit: https://center.uoregon.edu/uosafety/2018/registration/
.AOJ Bills of Interest
AB 372 (Stone, M.): This bill, as amended, would create a pilot program that would allow the counties of Napa, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Yolo to offer an alternative to the batterer intervention program. AB 372 would allow the pilot counties to take an alternative and innovative approach to the current, statutorily required 52 week batterer intervention program and is the first step in assessing whether there are treatment programs that do not necessarily comply with current statutory requirements, that more effectively address the criminogenic needs of batterers and result in reducing recidivism. AB 372 is set to be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday, Aug 6.
AB 2934 (Stone, M.):This bill amends the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Program to authorize the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to authorize a local health department to implement and administer the program that certifies individuals doing lead-related construction work. AB 2934 is set to be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday, Aug. 6.
AB 2720 (Waldron): This bill would authorize county probation departments to use the Juvenile Reentry Grant Special Account for rehabilitative services for persons who have been discharged from a juvenile court’s jurisdiction for up to two years after dismissal. The Juvenile Reentry Grant Special Account was established to provide resources for county probation departments who assumed new populations and workload to supervise and assist with programming for youth returning from the State Division of Juvenile Justice facilities. This measure is unclear as to how this would be operationalized since it would allow expenditure of funds for a population that is no longer under the jurisdiction of the court or county. CSAC is opposed to this measure and very concerned about how the funds would be allocated, overseen, and managed to ensure the funding is meeting its intended use.