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SR-01-24-1978-11GSanta Monica, California, January 11, 1978 TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: City Staff SUBJECT: Truancy Program JAN 2 4 1971 Introduction The City Council has directed staff to request proposals for a City - sponsored truancy program. City staff submitted requests for proposals to the Santa Monica Drug Abuse Council, The Salvation Army, and the John Rossi Youth Foundation. This report contains an assessment of the merits of each proposal and recommenda- tions related thereto. The delay in staff response is due to some legal ques- tions which were raised, but have since been resolved. tions Presented: 1. May a Santa Monica Police Officer arrest a juvenile found truant within the City of Santa Monica or the Santa Monica School District? Yes. A Santa Monica Police Officer may arrest a juvenile found truant within the City of Santa Monica for the Santa Monica School District, pursuant to Section 12405 of the Education Code of the State of California. 2. May a Santa Monica Police Officer deliver such a truant juvenile to the John Rossi Youth Foundation? A Santa Monica Police Officer may deliver such a truant juvenile who has been taken into temporary custody or arrested to the John Rossi Youth Foundation, so long as pursuant to Section 12406 of the Education Code of the State of California, the school or district from which the juvenile is truant has designated the John Rossi Youth Foundation as a proper counseling center prior to return to the juvenile's home or school. 3. May a Santa Monica Police Officer arrest or deliver to John Rossi Youth Foundation, a juvenile who is truant from a school district other than the Santa Monica School District? It is highly questionable whether a Santa Monice Police Officer may take temporary custody of, or arrest, a truant juvenile, or deliver such person to John Rossi Youth Foundation, when that juvenile is truant from a school district other than the Santa Monica School District, and his home is outside of the City of Santa Monica or the County of Los Angeles. I' JAN 2 4 1978 T0: Mayor and Council -2- January 11, 1978 4. Is there a violation of the Education Code if truants are picked up and sent directly to a designated social service agency? The District is bound by law to contact parents before any referral is made, and this procedure will be followed. Therefore, there is no vio- lation. Background The City Council budgeted $10,000 for Fiscal Year 77 -78 for a truancy program. Those agencies expressing an interest in operating the program were contacted and have responded. As a result of staff meetings with the Santa Monica Unified School District, truant Santa Monica students are designated for return to the School District. Non -Santa Monica residents may not be referred to a designated agency for resolution of truancy problems. The School District cannot contract with an agency to perform such a service, in that District staff can only make such referrals when permission has been granted by the parent. This is the arrangement that was followed in the past with agencies who have provided a service to truants. The School District will cooperate with an agency that the City designates. In a letter dated August 25, 1977, The Salvation Army expressed their desire to withdraw from competition and stated endorsement of the John Rossi Youth Foundation. In an effort to provide a fair and objective assessment of the two remaining agencies submitting proposals, staff has developed a criteria rating sheet. In addition, staff worked with a review team to assess the rating criteria and proposals submitted. The review team included representatives from the Santa Monica Unified School District, Santa Monica Police Department, City Attorney's office and City staff who administer the CETA program and have had occasion to work with each competing agency. Attached for your review are the questions and answers for each agency. T0: Mayor and Council -3- January 11, 1978 Conclusions 1. Either competing agency could operate an adequate truancy program for the City, but New Start would require major facility modification. 2. The John Rossi Youth Foundation has the experience of having operated a suc- cessful truancy program in the past with no complaints. They propose the following in their description of a methodology: Upon receipt of Field Interrogation Report from police officer trans- porting truant to the Rossi Youth Foundation, a brief counseling and recording of information would be entered on a daily log for truants of that day. These would be separated into two categories - -those of the Santa Monica Unified School District, and those who are non - residents apprehended within the confines of Santa Monica. In either case, trans- portation would be provided to return the student to the Santa Monica school site or to any other sites in the immediate Los Angeles area by a counselor and a vehicle provided by the Rossi Youth Foundation. The only exception to this method would be a youth so far from the area that it would be impractical to drive such a great distance. In this instance we would contact the local authority in the area of the youth and place them aboard a bus to be returned. The daily log would be compiled into a weekly report, which would then be consolidated into a monthly report and would be submitted to the City of Santa Monica, bearing whatever statistics and results you may desire on a monthly basis. In instances where further counseling and follow -up is deemed advisable, the Rossi Youth Foundation will assume that responsibility and so designate by a separate report. Recommendation Following the analysis of the two proposals, the team review and on -site visits to both agencies, City staff recommends that: John Rossi Youth Foundation be awarded a contract in the amount of $10,000 to operate a truancy program for the City of Santa Monica as outlined in their proposal, and that the City Manager be authorized to execute same. 2. The terms of the contract shall become effective immediately to terminate June 30, 1978. Prepared by: Martha Brown Hicks MBH:nm Attachment 9/13/7? JOHN ROSSI YOUTH FOUNDATION RATING CRITERIA 1. Has agency established realistic objectives? Objectives are clearly stated; simple, but realistic. i 2. Does agency have experience in youth programs; particularly handling of truants? Yes, agency activities are - restricted to youth. Agency conducted truancy program at no cost to the City for three semesters. Loss of funding from Los Angeles County prohibited continuing the program. 3• What is agency share or commitment? Agency has agreed to commit approximately 30% in -kind of the estimated program cost. 4. What has been aaencv's intra - aaencv exneriPnra? 9/13/?? JOHN ROSSI YOUTH FOUNDATION U RATING CRITERIA 1. Has agency established realistic objectives? Objectives are clearly stated; simple, but realistic. 2. Does agency have experience in youth programs; particularly handling of truants? Yes, agency activities are- restricted to youth. Agency conducted truancy program at no cost to the City for three semesters. Loss of funding from Los Angeles County prohibited continuing the program. 3. What is agency share or commitment? Agency has agreed to commit approximately 30% in -kind of the estimated program cost. 4. What has been agency's intra- agency experience? a. CETA - The CETA experience was too restrictive for the kind of flexi- bility necessary at Rossi. It was the Rossi Foundation decision to withdraw. b. Other City programs (Police Department) - Rossi has run excellent truancy program in the past. No complaints. C. School District - The School District encountered a positive experience when Rossi Foundation ran the truancy program before. The most posi- tive reaction is the long -range experience in follow -up counselling provided to both the child and family beyond the truancy program. 5. What are linkages to other locally available resources, referral mechanisms, etc.? Agency has excellent social service agency linkages. Review with other referral agencies substantiates this claim. 9/13/-77 SANTA MONICA DRUG ABUSE COUNCIL - NEW START RATING CRITERIA 1. Has agency established realistic objectives? A total of fourteen goals and objectives were listed that extend far beyond what can realistically be accomplished within the budget. If 20 -60 truancies identified actually exist, it would require several staff persons to meet the stated objectives. Objectives will need to be quantified for the purp6se of evaluation. 2. Does agency have experience.in youth programs; particularly handling of truants? Yes, agency has large youth population in its program. Agency determined need for truancy program, but has not actually established such an activity 3. What is agency share or commitment? Agency is committing large share of in -kind services. The question is whether staff time will hinder their initial operation. Unless the magnitude of objec- tives is reduced, the program could encumber almost 85% of the Executive Director and Program Supervisor's time, although review of staff capacity indicates high rate of volunteerism from graduate students which might alleviate the problem. 4. What has been agency's intra- agency experience? a. CETA - The CETA experience encountered a few administrative problems in the beginning because the amount of funding was too large. The operation improved considerably the second year. b. Other City programs (Police Department) - Good relations exist between the Police Department and the agency. C. School District - The School District has not had the experience of a truancy operation with this agency. Other program experiences have been positive. Concern is raised over young truants being referred to New Start at its limited facility and encountering heavy drug users. 5• What are linkages to other locally available resources, referral mechanisms, etc.? Agency has excellent social service linkages. Review with other agencies sub- stantiates this claim.