TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute an agreement between the City of Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, acting as lead agency, and the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Program (DOJ) to provide continued Weed and Seed Community Services in Police Beats 4 and 5; and execute all necessary documents, subgrants and any amendments changing the amount of the award or extending the grant term upon receipt of DOJ funding. The grant award amount will be between $750,000 and $950,000, pending federal budget approval, for the period of October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2012. (Districts 1,6,7)
DISCUSSION
In August 2007, the City of Long Beach was awarded a 5-year Weed and Seed Community Collaborative Strategy Grant. The grant award funding is renewable annually from October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2012 with a graduated funding cycle as follows - Year 1: $175,000; Year 2: $150,000 (reduced by $25,000 due to federal budget cuts); Year 3: $275,000 (pending federal budget); Year 4: $200,000 (pending federal budget); Year 5: $106,000 (pending federal budget).
The Weed and Seed program furthers the Department of Justice mission to prevent, control, and reduce violent crime, drug abuse and gang activity. The Weed and Seed initiative is a community based, comprehensive multi-agency approach for law enforcement, crime prevention, and neighborhood restoration. It is designed for neighborhoods with persistent high levels of serious violent crime and corresponding social problems. Weed and Seed Communities (WSC) must be developed in partnership with many local organizations, including the United States Attorney's Office to reduce crime and improve quality of life in a community primarily through the redeployment of existing public and private resources into the community. WSC also helps to address related social problems that, without proper intervention, often lead to violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity.
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