City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: FEBRUARY 20, 2019
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of A Grant Application to the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) for the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Victim Services Grant Program.
BODY
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ISSUE: City Council’s consideration of a grant application to the Department of Criminal Justice (DCJS) for ongoing funding to develop and expand the Department of Community and Human Services’ (DCHS) services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual violence.
RECOMMENDATIONS: That City Council:
1) Authorize the submission of an application to DCJS for ongoing funding in the amount of $550,000 to be used to enhance services for victims of intimate partner violence and sexual assault survivors who are residing in the City of Alexandria.
2) Authorize the submission of an application to DCJS for on-going funding in the amount of $197,604 to be used to enhance services for victims of intimate partner violence and sexual assault survivors who are residing in the City of Alexandria under category 1(Services for Victims of Crime) of this grant application.
3) Approve one FTE Project Management Analyst I, and one FTE Family Services Specialist I which will be fully supported by grant revenues; and
4) Authorize the City Manager to execute all necessary documents that may be required.
BACKGROUND: DCHS staff was notified on January 17, 2019 of a non-competitive (SADVGP Category 3) and competitive (Services of Victims or Crime Category 1) ongoing funding opportunity from DCJS for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Programs. The application is due on March 4, 2019. Grant awards will be provided to support the development and expansion of services for domestic violence and sexual assault programs.
DCHS has received funding for Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence programs for more than 20 years to fund sexual assault and domestic violence crisis and core services. The current award for Fiscal Year 2019 is $508,466 which funds the following five FTEs:
• Family Services Specialist who conducts out-reach and prevention activities for Spanish-speaking residents to address the problem of domestic violence in the City's Hispanic community;
• Family Services Specialist responsible for providing services to children who have witnessed domestic violence and youth in dating violence relationships;
• Senior Therapist who provides therapy and advocacy services to sexual assault survivors;
• Bilingual Therapist who provides therapy and advocacy services to Hispanic survivors of sexual assault; and
• Volunteer Developer who recruits, trains, schedules and supervises a volunteer corps of 30 people who provide crisis intervention and counseling on the hotline on evenings, weekends and holidays.
• Part-time Management Analyst who provides administrative support services for the Sexual Assault Center and Domestic Violence Program.
The Department of Criminal Justice Services is encouraging applicants who have been awarded a Sexual Assault Sexual Prevention (SASP) grant to roll the award amount into Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Victims Services Grant Program (VSGP) under category 1 of this grant application. We currently receive a grant award of $12,655 for the SASP grant which funds 12 percent of one FTE position that we currently have.
This grant would expand the grants that DCHS is already receiving from DCJS.
DISCUSSION: The grant application requests $747,604 in combined personnel and non-personnel costs to coordinate, develop, implement and administer a strategic plan, training and a coordinator position for Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) and Domestic Violence Intervention Project (DVIP). This grant application is also requesting an additional Family Services position to focus on the Services for Children and Youth survivors of sexual and domestic violence. These grant funds would improve the quality of our citywide coordinated response to domestic violence and sexual assault and services for child and youth victims. This grant will complement the crisis and core services being provided by the current grants. The funding period is July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2021.
The funding would make it possible to create two positions that would be supported by the Services for Victims of Crime (category 1) grant. The first proposed position includes hiring a full-time Project Management Analyst I, GS 16, who will coordinate the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART)/Domestic Violence Intervention Project (DVIP), support a regional coordinated response effort and identify agencies that have agencies that are experts on trauma and coordinate a point person to provide trauma informed training to SART and DVIP members.
The second proposed position is a full-time Family Service Specialist who would focus efforts on services for children and youth by providing outreach and core advocacy services for clients. Trending data (increase in school based referrals and requested services) points to the need to focus on children and youth who are victims of sexual and/or domestic violence.
FISCAL IMPACT: The funding request in this grant application totals $747,604. The funding falls into two categories but only one grant application is required.
1. Funding Category 1: Services for Victims of Crime - this is a new grant initiative and awards will be made through a competitive grant review process. The request in federal funding is $158,083. There is a required 20 percent cash and/or in-kind match of $39,521, for a total program cost of $197,604. The matching funds requirement will be met by using in-kind volunteer hours from the Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence Program.
2. Funding Category 3: Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence Core Services - this grant is to fund Alexandria’s Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence Grant Program (SADVGP). The request of federal funds is for $506,000. There is a required 8 percent cash and/or in-kind match of $44,000, for a total program cost of $550,000. The required cash match is included in DCHS budget.
Category 3 is open only to current grant recipients of FY 2019 and awards will be made through a non-competitive process. Applicants must apply for the funding under the new grant application name Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Victims Services Grant Program.
This grant funding is expected to be ongoing. Nevertheless, the individuals who fill these grant-funded position will be notified that the positions may terminate if grant funds become unavailable in the future. The employees will also be required to sign an agreement of understanding about this as a condition of employment at the time they are hired. If grant funding becomes unavailable in the future, outcome data will be analyzed to determine the project’s effectiveness and may be used to search for alternative funding and/or to reprioritize current DCHS funding to support the program's continuation. If, however, grant funding becomes unavailable and alternative ongoing funding cannot be secured, the positions will be eliminated.
ATTACHMENTS: None.
STAFF:
Debra R. Collins, Deputy City Manager
Kate Garvey, Director, Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS)
Morgan Routt, Director, Office of Management and Budget
Stacey Hardy-Chandler, Director, Center for Children and Families, DCHS
Raphael Obenwa, Fiscal Officer III, DCHS
Debra Evans, Division Chief, DCHS