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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 06251996 - C52 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contra FROM: < Costa John Cullen, Director _,--�,y.;c DATE: June 12, 1996 sT .'�_ County o•--_ A COU• SUBJECT: APPROVE AND AUTHORIZE 1996/97 COUNTY PLAN FOR REFUGEE SERVICES AND CONTRACT EXTENSIONS SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: I. APPROVE the 1996/97 County Plan for Refugee Services. II. AUTHORIZE the Director of Social Service, or his designee to accept Federal Refugee Program funding and execute the following State Agreement: Funding Program Anticipated Source Period Funding Amt. Refugee Employment Social Services (RESS) 10/1/96 - 9/30/97 $193 , 882 III. AUTHORIZE the Social Service Director or his designee, to prepare and execute amendments for subsequent increased funding allocations or adjustments as they are received, on the condition that no general funds are required. IV. AUTHORIZE the Social Service Director, or his designee,, to enter into continuing contracts with the following service contractors: Catholic Charities Work Related English as a Second Language $27, 428 Source of funds, TA 1995/96 $21,428 RESS 1996/97 6, 000 CCC Superintendent of Schools Employment Services ROP (Central/East Region) $64, 000 RCA Case Management $18, 000 Supportiv4' e re'c s $ , 00 Source of funds, RESS 1996/97 � CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE. RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE S: ACTION OF BOARD ON _ APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED 1� OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE UNANIMOUS ABSENT r ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: V, IV, II _NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ----- ABSTAIN: ----- OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. 61AN 4n cc: Contact: K. Morgan 3-1605 ATTESTED SOCIAL SERVICE (CONTRACTS UNIT) PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATION SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR AUDITOR-CONTROLLER CONTRACTOR 4 M382 (10/88) BY DEPUTY 14 Lao Family Community Employment Services Development, Inc (West Region) $34, 000 Interpretation and $29, 000 Referral (West) Source of funds, RESS 1996/97 Center for New Americans Interpretation and $19 , 494 Referral (Central/East) Source of funds, RESS 1996/97 FINANCIAL IMPACT: Funding for all of the above is from the Federal Office of Refugee Resettlement. No County funds are involved. The anticipated allocation for RESS 1996/97 is $193 ,882 as per a preliminary allocation letter from the State Refugee Program Bureau dated 5/30/96. BACKGROUND: On March 20, 1994, the Board designated the Social Service Department as the agency responsible for planning and writing County Plans for refugee programs funded by Federal Targeted Assistance (TA) services. Additionally, the Board resolved on November 10, 1987 that the Department would be responsible for administering the Refugee Employment Social Services (RESS) Program when administration responsibilities were transferred from the State to the County effective July 1, 1988. Beginning this FFY, the Federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) changed its allocation methodology to favor areas where newcomer refugees are settling. Consequently, Contra Costa is no longer eligible to receive TA funding and it is anticipated that FFY 1996/97 will be the final year of RESS funding. To receive RESS funds, Contra Costa County is submitting the present County Plan to the State Refugee Programs Bureau (RPB) for their approval. This County Plan was prepared according to guidelines issued by RPB and with input from the Refugee Services Advisory Council and from members of the community at a Public Hearing. Since refugee programs in Contra Costa are in the process of being phased out, and in the interest of maintaining stability and continuity of services for refugees already enrolled in programs, the Plan calls for extending contracts with current service providers rather than go through a competitive bid process. All of the above service providers won their contracts through a competitive bid process in August, 1995. All are performing well and have the capability and willingness to continue programs through FFY 1996/97 . The Refugee Services Advisory Council wishes the Board to be aware of the negative impact which this 47% reduction in funding will have on the local refugee community. The total absence of funding expected next year will cause even greater hardship. Although most local refugees are not newcomers, many still have problems with cultural adjustment and need help in order to aculturate successfully and achieve self-sufficiency. The Executive Summary of the 1996/97 Refugee Services County Plan is attached. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY C OUNT Y P LAN F OR REFUGE E S ERV=C E S 1 9 9 6/1 9 9 7 Contra Costa County has an estimated refugee population of 15,000 persons, and approximately 4,000 of them are receiving cash welfare assistance. Because of this, Contra Costa is one of 12 California counties designated by the Federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) as being "impacted" by refugee resettlement. As an impacted county, Contra Costa has been receiving two federal grants since 1984 to provide services to its refugee residents. Services are intended to help refugees acculturate quickly, find jobs as soon as possible after their arrival in the United States, and avoid protracted use of public welfare programs. The two federal grants are known as the Refugee Employment Social Services Program (RESS) and the Targeted Assistance Program (TA. ) Starting this year, (FFY 96/97) Contra Costawill no longer receive TA because ORR changed its allocation methodology basing funding levels on the numbers of refugees residing in an area who have been in the U.S. less than 5 years. The majority of Contra Costa County's refugees arrived prior to 1991. Consequently, the amount available to support refugee programs this year is 47% less than it was last year. In all probability, Contra Costa will also lose its RESS funding by next year if refugees continue to settle in other parts of the country. Acknowledging this financial reality, the Refugee Services Advisory Council's major task this year was to design a phase out plan which would accomplish the following three goals: 1. To preserve basic services with reduced funds 2. To transition as many refugees as possible into the labor market 3 . To prepare refugees to utilize mainstream services by the end of the year when specialized programs are no longer available. The Refugee Services Advisory Council is made up of 10 knowledgeable, individuals who have been meeting and developing County Plans for several years. The Advisory Council makes funding recommendations to the Social Service Department Director who, in turn, requests approval of the County Plans by the Board of Supervisors. The Advisory Council is composed of representatives from refugee organizations, public and private agencies involved in refugee resettlement, and local labor and business groups such as the Employment Development Department (EDD) and the Private Industry Council (PIC) . Since funds under consideration are minimal and options are limited, the Advisory Council completed the planning process in one meeting. The Council met on June 19, 1996 in Richmond and a Public Hearing was held on the same night. At the Public Hearing, several individuals spoke in favor of the plan although many expressed regret over cutbacks in programs caused by the loss of TA funding. Based upon the Advisory Council's recommendations and testimony obtained at the Public Hearing, the Social Service Department Director recommends that the following programs be funded with RESS funds: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Pale 2 COUNTY PLAN FOR KESS SERVICES - 1996/97 REFUGEE EMPLOYMENT SOCIAL SERVICES, (10/1/96 - 9/30/97) Preliminary Allocation $193 ,882 Less County Administration (10%) - 19, 388 Total available for Direct Services: $174,494 1996/97 RESS SERVICES PROGRAMS: COMPONENT CONTRACTOR CONTRACT EXTENSION AMOUNT Work Related Catholic Charities/ $ 6,000 English as a Second EB International Language (WRESL) Institute (West) RCA Case Management County Dept. of 18,000 Educ. - ROP RCA Support Serv. County Dept. of 4,000 Educ. - ROP Employment Serv. County Dept. of 64,000 (East/Central) Educ. - ROP Employment Serv. Lao Family 34 ,000 (West) Community Development, Inc Interpretation and Lao Family 29,000 Referral Community .(West) Development, Inc Interpretation and Center for New $19,494 Referral Americans (East/Central) The Advisory Council feels that the above plan fulfills the three goals set forth in the planning guidelines. Since this is a phase out plan, service providers will not be selected through the usual competitive bid process. Rather, since existing contractors are performing well according to the County's last monitoring review, current service contracts will be amended and extended until September 30, 1997. Note: This County Plan was developed on the basis of a preliminary RESS grant amount. The plan may be revised later in the year when the final allocation is confirmed. * For the period 10/1/96 to 6/30/97, Work Related ESL (WRESL)will be funded by RESS 1995/96 carryover funds in the amount of $21,428. RESS 1996/97 will finance the WRESL program for the period 7/1/97 to 9/30/97.