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CONTRACT K-1617-76: A CONTRACT BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, AND THE CROSSROADS YOUTH AND FAMILY CENTER, INC., IN THE AMOUNT OF $60,000 FOR THE OPERATION OF THE EMERGENCY YOUTH SHELTER FOR THE PERIOD JULY 1, 2016 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2017.
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BACKGROUND: The City of Norman juvenile program in conjunction with the Crossroads Youth and Family Center, Inc., (“Crossroads”) was awarded a federal and state grant from the Office of Juvenile Affairs (“OJA”) to implement a Community Intervention Center (“CIC”) in early 1997. Originally, this was a pilot project and the City of Norman was one of five cities to open a CIC. This program began in October of 1997. The CIC is housed in a building owned by the City and located at 1900 West Robinson in Westwood Park.
The CIC was a multi-city collaborated project. The federal money for the program was originally “seed” money to start the program. By design of the grant, the federal funding ceased three years after the inception of the program. Funding for the program was from the state through OJA. Since that time, the CIC program had been very successful and had been considered one of the premier projects of OJA. The CIC program was the first program to have a partnership between a local government, the state government, youth service agencies and law enforcement.
The purpose of the CIC was to provide a community based location for law enforcement officers to take juveniles, who had been apprehended for committing an offense that is not detention-eligible, for the purpose of holding, supervising and releasing the juveniles to a parent or guardian as appropriate. The goal of the program was two-fold: To maximize police officer productivity by returning them back to patrol duties as timely as possible and to have a consistent entry for juveniles into the juvenile justice system where they can be offered social services and be evaluated for needs.
Under the administrative rules adopted by OJA, the juveniles could be held at the CIC for up to twenty-four (24) hours until a parent, guardian or responsible adult can be located. If a parent was not located within the 24-hour time period, the juvenile was transferred to the Emergency Youth Shelter (“EYS”). While at the CIC, information for court and social service referrals are gathered. Upon arrival to obtain custody of a child at the facility, the parent or responsible adult must sign a promise to appear in court with the juvenile. Under City ordinances if a juvenile misses a court date, both the parent and the juvenile may receive additional citations and/or have a warrant issued for their arrest. The CIC, in conjunction with juvenile municipal court programs, has been an important tool in dealing with juvenile crime in the community.
Prior to the CIC, police officers were delayed several hours at a time, trying to contact and wait for a parent to take responsibility for an arrested juvenile. The CIC allowed an officer to release the juvenile defendant to their custody. This allowed the officer to return to patrol within minutes. The average time an officer spent dropping a juvenile off at the CIC was 15 minutes or less. The average time the juvenile remaining at the CIC waiting on a parent or responsible adult to pick him or her up was 6.43 hours. For a 12-month period, this time savings, on the part of the police officers, is 3,114 hours and was valued at $84,148.
A previous requirement to receive the federal and state grant funding was for the participating municipalities to contribute a percentage of matching funds for the program. After the federal grant funds were discontinued, OJA, through state appropriations, provided the majority of the funding for the CIC program. Although the state technically no longer requires matching funds, they strongly encourage financial contributions from each of the municipalities. OJA had indicated that funding participation by the benefited cities would be a factor considered in future reapplications for funding. Practically, the cities’ matching funds have become a necessity for continued use of the facility as state and federal funding has decreased. In prior years, the contributory funding from cities of $95,000, has previously been split between the City of Norman - $40,000, Moore - $40,000, Lexington - $5,000, Noble - $5,000 and Purcell - $5,000.
For FYE15, the State Legislature made reductions to agency budgets across the state, including OJA. This reduction significantly impacted the viability of the CIC. When funds were originally decreased by OJA, Crossroads began working to restore state funding to prior year levels. As a result, the City of Norman provided an additional $20,000 for FYE15 to maintain the schedule and staffing for the CIC during FYE16.
Because the State Legislature in FYE16 made further reductions to agency budgets across the state, OJA has ceased all funding for all the CIC’s across the state, including the CIC in Norman. Last year, due to the budget cuts, Crossroads reduced the number of days the CIC was open, and on those days, law enforcement took juveniles to the Emergency Youth Shelter operated by Crossroads Youth and Family at 1650 W. Tecumseh. Now, the CIC is not operated at all at 1900 West Robinson in Westwood Park, but all juvenile arrests that fit the CIC category (release to parents or guardian within 24 hours) are taken to the EYS. For the EYS to be able to absorb this function, funding for additional staff is necessary.
DISCUSSION: This contract with Crossroads Youth and Family will allow law enforcement officers to still have a facility to take juveniles eligible for release to a parent or guardian within 24 hours at the EYS. Although this arrangement is not ideal, due to funding changes at the state level, Crossroads Youth and Family has worked to provide separate areas for kids coming into the EYS, and kids coming in under the criteria formerly used for the CIC. Being able to take juveniles to the EYS helps allocate the time of law enforcement officers by allowing a drop off location, and also serves the community by allowing youth to be professionally assessed for needs and then reunited with responsible family members should the youth find themselves involved in criminal activity.
Contract No. K-1617-76 is between the City of Norman and Crossroads Youth & Family Center, Inc., for Crossroads to continue to serve law enforcement and juveniles in a similar manner, but at a different location. This contract commits the City of Norman to provide funding of $60,000 toward the continued partnership for FYE17, maintaining the same funding level as was contributed in FYE15 & FYE16. The contributory funding levels from other cities are: Moore - $50,000; Noble - $5,000; and Purcell - $5,000.
It is staff’s recommendation that the $60,000 be paid to Crossroads Youth and Family Center Inc. from the Seizures Fund, Other Professional Services Account (025-6035-421.40-99).
RECOMMENDATION: Staff has reviewed the proposed contract and recommends approval of Contract K-1617-76 with Crossroads Youth and Family Center to continue to serve law enforcement and juveniles at the Emergency Youth Shelter at 1650 W. Tecumseh, Norman, Oklahoma. Staff recommends $60,000 be paid to Crossroads Youth and Family Center from the Seizures Fund, Other Professional Services Account (025-6035-421.40-99).