TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute an agreement, and all necessary documents and any subsequent amendments, including amending the award amounts, with the Los Angeles County Development Authority, to accept and expend Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding in an approximate amount up to $254,000, to implement a Homeless Court Pilot Program in Long Beach, for the period of April 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022, with the option to renew for three one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager; and
Increase appropriations in the Health Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department by $254,000, offset by grant revenue. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
The Los Angeles County Development Authority recently approached the City Prosecutor’s Office and the Health and Human Services Department (Health Department) regarding the possibility of initiating a Homeless Court Pilot Program in Long Beach, facilitated by the Office of County Supervisor Janice Hahn.
After reviewing various Homeless Court models, both the City Prosecutor’s Office and the Health Department believe such a program is viable in Long Beach. The goal of the Long Beach Homeless Court Pilot Program is to assist justice-involved persons experiencing homelessness by connecting them with services, monitoring the progress of such individuals, and assisting them with clearing old convictions and resolving open misdemeanor cases.
The Health Department currently engages in extensive outreach and services for people experiencing persistent challenges, such as mental illness, substance use, and/or homelessness. Many of those served also have a history of non-violent, low-level misdemeanor arrests and convictions, and a homeless court project could remove legal barriers that make it harder to find employment and housing.
Over the past three years, the City Prosecutor’s Priority Access Diversion Program, has been connecting and reconnecting people experiencing...
Click here for full text