Title
Acceptance of Funding from California Volunteers, Office of the Governor for CaliforniansForAll Youth Service Corps and Authorization to Execute Grant Agreement with Urban Strategies, Inc.
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FileID
File ID: 2024-01093
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Location
Location: Citywide
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Recommendation
Recommendation: Pass a Resolution authorizing the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee to: 1) execute a State of California, Department of General Services Standard Agreement in the amount of $2,874,428 for the CaliforniansForAll Youth Service Corps Program; 2) conduct all negotiations and execute all other documents, including without limitation applications, agreements, amendments, and payment requests, related to the CaliforniansforAll Youth Service Corps program; 3) establish the CaliforniansForAll Grant Project (G02180360); 4) establish revenue and expenditure budgets for (G02180360) in the amount of of $2,874,428 in the Operating Grant Fund (Fund 2702); and 5) execute a Second Amendment to the American Rescue Plan Act Grant Agreement with Urban Strategies, Inc. (City Contract #2023-1448) in the amount of $124,092 for a total not to exceed of $362,992.
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Contact
Contact: Kevin Daniel, Workforce Development Project Manager, (916) 808-7845, kldaniel@cityofsacramento.org; Denise Malvetti, Deputy Director, (916) 808-7064, dmalvetti@cityofsacramento.org; City Manager’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development
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Presenter
Presenter: None.
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Attachments
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Resolution
3-Exhibit A: State of California Department of General Services Standard Agreement
4-Exhibit B: Second Amendment to American Rescue Plan Act Grant Agreement with Urban Strategies, Inc.
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Additional Description/Analysis
IssueDetail
Issue Detail: In June 2022, the State of California awarded the City a $6.98 million CaliforniansForAll Youth Service Corps grant. The CaliforniansForAll Youth Service Corps Program is a governor’s initiative administered by California Volunteers in partnership with cities and counties across California. The purpose of this initiative is to increase youth employment, develop youth interest in and experience towards a career, and strengthen city capacity to address key areas of climate, food insecurity, and local COVID-19 recovery. This program brings together youth across the state to help address urgent challenges in their communities, while simultaneously learning key skills and earning money to help create career pathways.
CaliforniansForAll has three primary goals:
GOAL 1: Increase youth employment.
GOAL 2: Develop career pathways.
GOAL 3: Strengthen city/community capacity to address key areas of food insecurity, climate, education, and public service.
Since receiving the grant, the City has contracted with 17 community-based organizations to train and hire 315 youth and young adults. To date, the City has used the grant funding to help employ 167 youth who have worked over 37,000 hours; the City plans to place another 200 youth and young adults over the next 4 months. An example of a current program is 27 youth and young adults working at Sierra Service Project providing over 6,000 hours of work in climate action and food insecurity. In addition to funding a participant’s salary, the grant also covers wraparound services to support the young person’s success. The wraparound services are designed to meet the young person’s needs, but may include uniform or work clothing, transportation, soft skills training, and childcare. The Office of Innovation and Economic Development has also been working with several internal departments including Public Works, Information Technology and Youth, Parks and Community Enrichment to launch a program to expand City pathways. City pathways promotes pathways to employment and focuses on economically challenged neighborhoods.
Due to the success of the CaliforniansForAll Youth Service Corps Program, it has been reauthorized by the State of California and $58,459,459 has been made available to the 13 largest cities in California. The City of Sacramento was eligible to apply for $2,874,428. On January 23, 2024, City Council authorized the City Manager to submit an application and the funds have since been awarded.
Although the City has been awarded $2,874,428 for 2024-2025, the initial grant is effective through September 2024 and has funding remaining. Staff proposes executing a contract amendment, under the original grant, with Urban Strategies Inc. The City initially entered into a grant agreement with Urban Strategies, Inc. in October 2023. Since that time, they have hired and trained 15 youth and young adults in the following activities: Urban Agriculture, Food Insecurity, Public Housing and Civic Engagement. Urban Strategies, Inc. will expand their Urban Agriculture program for high school students this summer to include hands-on training at a working farm then using those skills on 19 plots in the city’s community garden at Marisol Village. Because of their success so far with CaliforniansForAll, staff recommends increasing the Urban Strategies, Inc. contract by $124,092 to $362,992. With the additional funds, Urban Strategies, Inc. will train and employ up to 44 youth and young adults during the summer.
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PolicyConsiderations
Policy Considerations: The City’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development is focused on better connecting residents in underserved communities with critical workforce resources. The workforce development priorities and goals are to build capacity, expand the reach of workforce development training activities and provide wraparound and supportive services into the neighborhoods.
The City’s workforce development programs will support and advance inclusive economic growth, improve the health of neighborhoods and support people, places, and actions that promote overall economic recovery and impacts immediately and well beyond the pandemic.
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EconomicImpacts
Economic Impacts: Continuing to invest in Sacramento’s workforce system is critical for the region’s economic growth.
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EnvironmentalConsiderations
Environmental Considerations: The proposed action is not a project under CEQA because it relates to government fiscal activities that do not involve any commitment to a specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment. (Cal. Code
Regs., tit. 14, §§ 15060(c)(3), 15378(b)(4)).
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Sustainability
Sustainability: In June 2022, the City of Sacramento accepted a $6,980,080 grant from the state to implement the CaliforniansForAll Youth Workforce Development Program. The first program the City launched under this grant was the pilot Climate Action and Resiliency Youth and Young Adult Pathways Program, which resulted in grant awards to the Sacramento Tree Foundation, GreenTech, and Sierra Service Project to train and employ young residents in programs centered on sustainability and climate resiliency. Urban Strategies Inc. was selected as part of the second cohort of CaliforniansForAll providers which expanded the eligible program areas to include climate, food insecurity, and local COVID-19 recovery. Urban Strategies, Inc. is working with youth to grow food in the Marisol Village Community Garden and share healthy cooking ideas with residents in their demonstration kitchen.
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Commission/Committee Action
Commission/Committee Action: None.
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RationaleforRecommendation
Rationale for Recommendation: The CaliforniansForAll Youth Service Corps Program provides funding to youth and young adults 16-30 years of age giving priority to individuals who are most vulnerable and difficult to employ. CaliforniansForAll prioritizes youth and young adults who are living in community priority neighborhoods, having difficulty finding employment, low-income, unemployed and/or out of school, justice-involved, transitioning from foster care, or engaged with the mental health or substance abuse system. It is critical to invest in workforce programs that support Sacramento’s young residents and prepares them for the jobs of the future.
In May of 2023, the City released a RFP for Community-based Organizations (CBOs) to employ youth and young adults in Sacramento focusing on areas of climate, food insecurity, and local COVID-19 recovery. Urban Strategies, Inc. was selected through that process to provide participants with training and work experience in the areas of food insecurity, climate change, affordable housing, and urban agriculture and has met all of their employment targets.
Accepting the new grant and continuing work with Urban Strategies, Inc. allows the City to continue to invest in young residents’ futures.
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FinancialConsiderations
Financial Considerations: The total grant award is $2,874,428. The grant does not require matching funds. To properly track grant funds, staff recommends establishing a CalforniansForAll Grant Project (G02180360) with revenue and expenditures budgets in the amount of $2,874,428 in the Operating Grant Fund (2702).
In October 2023, the City entered into an American Rescue Plan Act Grant Agreement with Urban Strategies, Inc. (City Contract #2023-1448) in the amount of $238,900. Staff recommends an increase in the amount of $124,092 for a total not to exceed of $362,992. Sufficient grant funds remain in Youth Workforce and Training Programs (I02612020) to cover this contract amendment with Urban Strategies, Inc.
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LocalBusinessEnterprise
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not Applicable.
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