SR-301-004-05
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City Council Report
City Council Meeting: September 26, 2006
Agenda Item: 1(,
To:
Mayor and City Council
From:
Barbara Stinchfield, Director of Community and Cultural Services
Subject:
Acceptance of County of Los Angeles Grant Award for the Santa Monica
Homeless Community Court
Recommended Action
It is recommended that the City Council accept County of Los Angeles grant funds in
the amount of $458,000 over a one-year period for supportive services and housing in
conjunction with a monthly Homeless Community Court; appropriate funds and make
necessary budget changes; and authorize the City Manager to execute any necessary
grant agreements.
Executive Summary
The City of Santa Monica has been awarded a $458,000 grant from the County of Los
Angeles to implement a one-year pilot of a Homeless Community Court. The $458,000
in grant funding will be used to provide twelve months of supportive services and
housing. As a result, the Santa Monica Homeless Community Court will be a
component of Santa Monica's homeless continuum of care. The Court will serve 120
unduplicated eligible chronically homeless individuals with open citations or warrants for
certain offenses committed in Santa Monica as well as those already engaged with local
service providers, but for whom citations and warrants are interfering with their ability to
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move forward toward greater self-sufficiency. The Court will make supportive services
and housing available as an alternative sentence for chronically homeless offenders.
The motion creating the program was introduced by Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and
was approved unanimously by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on June
26, 2006. Funding for this program is part of the County's $80 million Homeless and
Housing Program Fund. Authorization for the County Chief Administrative Officer to
execute a Project Agreement with the City of Santa Monica was approved by the Board
of Supervisors on September 12, 2006.
Discussion
Backqround
The proposed Homeless Community Court is predicated on the notion of "therapeutic
justice" - combining consequences and help to effectively address the underlying
problems contributing to the proliferation of quality-of-life crimes. In the therapeutic
justice model, when local police departments make arrests for such crimes, these cases
are all handled in a single court by the same judge and prosecutor and other court
personnel. The judge uses the individual's contact with the criminal justice system a
means to link the individual to supportive services and housing. Supportive service staff
consults with the officers of the court and are often present at the court proceedings.
In the context of homelessness, the goals of these "problem-solving" courts are to use
the criminal justice system as a component of a continuum of care dedicated to moving
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chronically homeless individuals off of the streets and into supportive services and
housing; to maximize the efforts of the multiple systems working with the individual to
achieve successful outcomes; to use the authority of the court to establish a
commitment from chronically homeless offenders, increase their accountability, and
decrease their interaction with law enforcement and the criminal justice system.
Santa Monica Homeless Community Court Pilot Proqram
The Santa Monica Homeless Community Court is designed as a community court
specifically for homeless individuals. As such, it will prioritize chronically homeless
individuals cited with "presence" crimes including camping, sleeping in doorways, lying
down on the Promenade, park closure, abusive solicitation and some trespass cases.
Participants will be provided with supportive services and housing in order to address
underlying causes of their offenses - often their homelessness coupled with substance
abuse or mental health issues. Persons with serious criminal convictions, including
felons, would not be eligible for the program. Charges for "presence crimes" would be
filed, but sentencing or dismissal would be deferred while the Homeless Community
Court monitored the defendant's progress in supportive services and housing through
successive court appearances.
The Santa Monica Homeless Community Court will be in session one-half day per
month. It is anticipated that the initial location for the court will be City Council
Chambers because of the amenities that location offers (a secure, formal setting that is
proximate to the Santa Monica County Court Building and the Santa Monica Police
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Department). The Santa Monica Police Department will provide security along with LA
County Sheriffs. A monthly pre-session meeting will be conducted by the judge and
attended by the prosecutor, defender and supportive service staff to review the progress
of court participants. Effective communication and coordination between service
providers, law enforcement, the City Attorney's Office, the Public Defender's Office and
the Superior Court Judge will be key to ensuring the success of the program.
In order to maximize coordination and communication, a service coordination consultant
(Resource Coordinator) will be contracted by the Human Services Division to serve as
the primary liaison between law enforcement, court room staff and service providers in
Santa Monica's continuum of care. The Resource Coordinator will ensure that case
plans consistent with the individual participants' needs are developed and followed.
The Resource Coordinator will monitor participants' progress, make reports and
recommendations to the court prior to each Homeless Community Court session as well
as do outreach at the Santa Monica Jail and with service providers to identify potential
court participants. Potential participants will also be identified by the Court at LAX and
may be referred to the Resource Coordinator.
The $458,000 in funding awarded to the City of Santa Monica for the Homeless
Community Court will be used to fund the Resource Coordinator and to provide
participants greater access to psychiatric and mental health services, transportation,
residential substance abuse programs, and emergency housing.h
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It is anticipated that the City will enter into a contract for services with the Los Angeles
County Department of Mental Health for psychiatric services and medication; and will
issue a Request for Proposal to procure the additional supportive services, emergency
housing and treatment beds from area providers. Funding for additional costs incurred
by the Superior Court for the operation of the monthly court session and pre-session
meetings has been allocated by the County but will not pass through the City.
The program will be evaluated for successful outcomes including: participants' use of
services and placement in permanent housing. Changes in participants' interactions
with law enforcement before and after intervention will also be measured. City staff has
engaged in initial positive discussions with County staff regarding continued funding
beyond the initial twelve months should the program demonstrate positive outcomes.
BudqetlFinancial Impact
The $458,000 in funds is one-time funding for a pilot Santa Monica Homeless
Community Court Program. The City is providing the following in-kind resources to the
program: program space (Council Chambers and meeting rooms); security assistance
from the Santa Monica Police Department; staff time (from the City Attorney's and City
Manager's offices and from the Human Services Division); and existing supportive
service and housing resources available through the Chronic Homeless Program
(including housing subsidies), and the Federal Housing for Persons Who Are Homeless
and Addicted to Alcohol Grant.
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Program costs are expected to begin November 1, 2006 and will continue for twelve
months. The following budget changes are needed to record receipt of the grant funds
in FY 2006-07 and make it available for program use. Remaining grant funds at year-
end will be carried over to FY 2007-2008.
1) Establish a revenue budget in the amount of $458,000 at account 20262.406160;
2) Appropriate the same amount at account 012628.561600;
3) Establish interfund transfers between General Fund and Miscellaneous Grants
Fund at 01695.570260 for $458,000 and 20695.570260 for $458,000.
The City is under no obligation to continue the program absent funding.
Prepared by: Stacy Rowe, Human Services Administrator
Approved:
Forwarded to Council:
t!J~,-~
Barbara Stinchfield
Director of Community and Cultural
Services
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