Title
Staff Report for a City of San Leandro City Council Resolution to Approve the Staff Recommendation on the Establishment of New Domestic Violence Programming (to establish a new domestic violence program using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding in the amount of $200,000)
Staffreport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the staff recommendation to establish a new domestic violence program. The funding is for one fiscal year at a total appropriation of $200,000. The appropriation is included in the ARPA Budget that was approved by the City Council on November 1, 2021.
BACKGROUND
The City of San Leandro’s Human Services Gap Analysis identified the need for domestic and intimate partner violence services. Domestic violence-related calls for assistance in San Leandro have fluctuated in recent years, from a high of 334 in 2011 to a low of 249 in 2006. In Alameda County, San Leandro hospitals are amongst the highest to receive domestic violence related hospital visits. The contrast between police and public health data is reflective of the fact that many victims of domestic violence do not call the police and end up in hospital emergency departments. The proposed domestic violence program will be a new partnership between the community-based organizations Family Violence Law Center (FVLC), Building Futures with Women and Children (BFWC), and Safe Alternatives from Violent Environments (SAVE).
Currently, the City’s Community Assistance Program (CAP) funds a nonprofit to follow-up with domestic violence victims reported to the police department. Over the course of fiscal year 2020-2021, CAP attempted to connect with and serve a total of 201 survivors. Of that total, 142 (70%) were successfully contacted for services.
FVLC, BFWC, and SAVE propose to hire and/or increase capacity of existing staff who can focus on conducting outreach to locate and provide supportive services for domestic and sexual assault survivors in San Leandro, including survivors who are homeless or living in crowded conditions. San Leandro-focused staff will develop close working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders in San Leandro, including but not limited to, Davis Street Family Resource Center, Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, San Leandro Hospital, La Clinica de la Raza, Asian Health Services, LifeLong Medical Care, Kaiser Hospital, and other urgent care facilities so that the particular needs of survivors in San Leandro are addressed holistically. Survivors experiencing housing instability, will benefit from these partnerships by receiving focused services. Additionally, staff will provide training to street outreach and other homeless serving teams, and to the San Leandro Police Department (SLPD) and Alameda County Fire Department (ACFD) about gender-based violence and trauma-informed practices. Staff will be mobile to provide services at locations most accessible for the people served. Staff will also develop referral systems with SLPD and ACFD so that survivors can access services quickly and efficiently, 24/7/365.
Survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in the City of San Leandro will benefit from having dedicated staff available to support them. Two of the communities most impacted by domestic violence and sexual assault in San Leandro are undocumented immigrants and Spanish and Chinese speakers. FVLC and BFWC will recruit staff who are bicultural and bilingual in Spanish and Chinese for these positions.
Fiscal and Budget Authority
The funding for this project will come from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) with a budget of $200,000 for one fiscal year. Appropriation has been approved by the City Council on November 1, 2021 when the ARPA Budget was adopted.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends the approval of City Council to support this project.
PREPARED BY: Jeanette Dong, Director, Recreation and Human Services