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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/03/2024 09.A. Gang Reduction Intervention Task Force (GRIT) and transfer from City of Yakima oversight F`} '�O i4 _44iiiiIiii i,i i BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL YAKIMA, WASHINGTON AGENDA STATEMENT Item No. 9.A. For Meeting of: September 3, 2024 ITEM TITLE: Gang Reduction Intervention Task Force (GRIT) and transfer from City of Yakima oversight SUBMITTED BY: Sara Watkins, City Attorney SUMMARY EXPLANATION: In 2018 Governor Jay Inslee granted the City of Yakima $150,000 as a governor's proviso grant to create a community-based framework and pilot program to address youth gang involvement, interest and violence, with a goal of using that framework to obtain future grants. As part of that proviso grant and work, a Steering Committee was formed which consisted of three City Councilmembers, as well as other stakeholders. Additionally, the Gang Reduction and Intervention Taskforce Village was created to provide a forum for collaboration, networking and aiding youth involved, or at risk of involvement in gangs. During the first year the City applied for and obtained a OJJDP Youth Gang Suppression Implementation Grant in the amount of$230,000 for a three-year program in the Yakima School District's middle schools. The City partnered with ESD 105 to provide education advocates to the program, called the Yakima Youth Leadership Program, who provided additional advocacy and support for the participants. The program was successful, and after the federal grant money ended, ESD 105 weaved the program into its services that it provides for middle school students. During this time the City continued to support the Gang Reduction and Intervention Taskforce by facilitating the Steering Committee and Village meetings. Since COVID the Village meetings have been successfully facilitated by OIC of Yakima, while the City has continued to facilitate the Steering Committee meetings. The goal was to create a community organization to address youth gang involvement, interest and violence. The Steering Committee has added a number of stakeholders to its group, and the group recently elected a Chair and Vice-Chair to run the meetings, and a Secretary to take notes. City Councilmembers are still involved in the Steering Committee. Because the City was the initial creator of the Steering Committee, the City Council is the authorized body that can amend the Charter of the Gang Reduction and Intervention Taskforce. The current Charter has significant City involvement as the entity that oversees and runs the Village and the Steering Committee. However, with new Steering Committee members, and a focus on community-wide issues, impacts and programming (throughout Yakima County), the Steering Committee requests that the City Council approve the Charter changes proposed. These changes do the following: 176 1. Add a number of stakeholder members to the Steering Committee to provide a broad and diverse perspective. 2. Changes the meeting requirement for the Steering Committee from every two months to quarterly. 3. Provides that the Chair or Vice-Chair shall call the meetings rather than the City of Yakima, transferring facilitation to the Steering Committee and its members. 4. Emphasizes the need for community-wide evaluation of the issues. 5. Provides for an annual report which will be sent to agencies, governments and stakeholders from the Steering Committee. 6. Allows the Steering Committee to have oversight of the Village. 7. Allows the Steering Committee to amend the Charter and terminate GRIT if necessary. The redlined version of the Charter is provided as well for your reference. These changes have been approved by the Steering Committee after review and comment. The changes can be done by motion: I move to amend the Gang Reduction and Intervention Taskforce Charter as provided. ITEM BUDGETED: N/A STRATEGIC PRIORITY 24-25: A Safe and Healthy Yakima RECOMMENDATION: Amend the Gang Reduction and Intervention Taskforce (GRIT) Charter. ATTACHMENTS: Charter_GRIT_Amendment_redline.pdf Charter GRIT Amendment Final.docx 177 CHARTER OF THE GANG REDUCTION AND INTERVENTION TASK FORCE I. PURPOSE AND GOALS The purpose of the Gang Reduction and Intervention Task Force (GRIT) is to provide ongoing direction to a partnership of agencies working together towards achieving better outcomes for youth,with a special emphasis on youth empowerment and engagement, and avoiding gang influence and membership. Goals and objectives of the GRIT program are to develop and support a network of partner agencies and programs; repair, strengthen and restore our youth,families, community and service providers; and coordinate additional resources for agencies through cross-sector collaboration. II. OVERVIEW GRIT seeks to leverage existing and yet-to-be-identified resources and to increase the capacity of partnership agencies and community non-profit organizations. Initially,thanks to a grant from the Governor's Office,the City will bc of Yakima was assigned the role of convener and capacity builder. GRIT will startstarted as a pilot program that to develop:, connect and support a network of local, regional and statewide partners that have proven records of reducing gang involvement. GRIT builds directly from the Gang Reduction Initiative of Denver program in its structure and operational model, but may expand or deviate from that model over time to meet the specific needs of our community. GRIT also supported the Yakima Youth Leadership Program, which was transitioned from GRIT to be included in ESD 105 programming. GRIT continues the legacy of its beginnings while evolving to meet the needs of the entire Yakima Valley. GRIT is an independent community-based organization made up of stakeholders and interested parties seeking to work towards change, cooperation and understanding of the issues facing youth today. Through partnerships, strategic planning, and programming for youth, GRIT seeks to make the entire Yakima Valley a safe place, with reduced gang and gun violence, and increased services and opportunities for youth. An initial GRIT Coordinator will bc chosen to serve as a connector between community and faith based partners so that target populations can access services and activities already provided by community partners. The Coordinator will also work on the GRIT Pilot Program, coordinate communication, policies and MOUs for said program, and generally coordinate activities associated with GRIT. III. THEORY OF CHANGE GRIT is based on the theory that young people who are connected and are a part of an accepting village of community services, providers, and mentors, will build stronger protective attributes that will keep them away from gang involvement or will enable them to resist recidivism into gang activities and violence. IV. STEERING COMMITTEE a. PURPOSE 178 The purpose of the Steering Committee is to provide oversight and accountability, as well as to look at matters involving gang reduction and intervention strategically. Further,the Steering Committee should create and maintain interagency and community relationships that facilitate the development of the GRIT program. The Steering Committee shall also serve as the-a body to support community grant applications to other agencies,approvc various rcqucsts of thc City, as thc convcncr;to creatc and initiatc thc proposcd pilot program; as well as create the structure, goals and strategies for the ongoing GRIT program(s). b. MEMBERSHIP There shall initially be a minimum of nine (9) members of the Steering Committee falling into the following groups: i. 24 City of Yakima elected officials or designees. These seats are filled by the Yakima City Council. ii. 1 Representative of the Yakima School District, chosen by the Yakima School District. iii. 1 Representative from the juvenile justice system. iv. 1 Representative from Yakima County, preferably its prosecuting attorney or a judge. v. 1 Representative with mental health treatment or public health experience. vi. 1 Representative from the Yakima Police Department who is familiar with gang activity,violence, intervention and/or prevention. vii. 1 person who is a former gang member or was formerly affiliated with a gang. viii. 1 County of Yakima Commissioner or designee.This seat is filled by the Yakima County Board of County Commissioners. ix. 1 Representative of ESD 105, chosen by ESD 105. x. 1 Representative of the Yakama Nation, chosen by the Yakama Nation. xi. 1 Representative from OIC of Washington, chosen by OIC of Washington. xii. 3 Youth representatives chosen by the youth participating in OIC Village programming. xiii. 1 City/Elected representative from anywhere in Yakima County(other than the City of Yakima or Board of County Commissioners). xiv. 1 Second Chance Employer. xv. 1 Community Service Partner working in the area of support for gang-involved or gang-affiliated youth. xvi. 1 Parent/Family Representative. 1 Law Enforcement Officer from a jurisdiction east of Union Gap. Positions that are not chosen by their entities, as outlined above, are chosen through application to the Steering Committee. Additional mcmbcrs may be addcd by conscnsus votc of thc Stccring Committcc. The Steering Committee should be made up of members with relevant sectors, including, but not limited to:family support and case management; mental health and public health; independent living skills; employment training and retention; school district and education; probation and police; and faith and youth development. 179 Members should be committed to the cause, have a strong ability to communicate with others about the topic areas under consideration, have a desire to develop and lead others in improvement opportunities, have knowledge of barriers associated with keeping youth away from gang involvement, be interested in the topic and be able to bring creative solutions to challenging issues. c. MEETINGS The Steering Committee should meet at least once every two monthscalendar quarter. Meetings will be called by the City of YakimaChair,Vice-Chair, or upon request of any two Steering Committee members. d. BYLAWS The Steering Committee may adopt Bylaws, policies or procedures. e. CHAIR, VICE-CHAIR AND BASIC PROCEDURE The GRIT Steering Committee will be led by thc City of Yakima staff dcsigncc for thc program and the GRIT Coordinator. its Chair,who will be chosen for a 1 year term at the first meeting of each calendar year. If thoThe Steering Committee chooscs, it may should also appoint a Chair and Vice-Chair and Secretary from its membership. The Secretary will be responsible for sending out meeting invitations, reminders, agendas and minutes. Meetings are meant to be collaborative, but will generally follow Robert's Rules of Order with regards to decision-making. Decisions of the Steering Committee shall be by the majority vote of the members present. A majority of the seated members of the Steering Committee shall constitute a quorum. f. PRIORITIES The following items are priorities for the Steering Committee. The list is not exclusive, and represents some core concepts that to guide the Steering Committee . It is anticipated that there will be other issues that may arise that are either short-term or long- term issues. 1. Raise our awareness of the barriers and challenges to reducing gang violence in Yakimaour community. Since Steering Committee members are involved in various aspects of the community which encounter the effects of gang involvement,the Steering Committee will serve, in part, as an opportunity to raise awareness among its members and member agencies as to barriers and challenges to reducing gang violence in Yakimathroughout the Yakima Valley. 2. Create an ongoing dialogue with leadership. It is anticipated that Steering Committee members will be leaders in their fields. As such, membership and Committee meetings will create an ongoing dialogue about gangs,gang influence, gang violence and keeping youth away from gangs, among community leaders. 3. Set strategies and action plans;measure and report results. The GRIT program involves collaboration among service providers, local non-profit agencies,the schools and medical professionals. The Steering Committee is tasked with setting strategies for how best to coordinate approaches to lessening gang involvement and violence in the parameters of the current grant award. One of those strategies is to convene a Village of interested parties to community-wide conversation, about services for youth. 180 „th i ,r hip .,hi h. ill .,ithi w i r l h i ,oith thc goal of getting youth and thcir families thc services thcy nccd to help avoid gang involvement. The Steering Committee will be charged with evaluating those strategies and reporting the results to their respective organizations, and the community as appropriate. The GRIT Steering Committee will,with the help of the Village and ad hoc committee members if desired, create and periodically update a community-wide strategic plan to address gangs, gang violence, and associated matters,which can be accessed by the community. 4. Determine the best way forward. The GRIT pilot program is funded through June 30, 2019, and the program in the middle schools funded through the grant creating the GRIT pilot program will bc completed at that time. The Steering Committee will bois tasked with forward- thinking about the programaddressing gang membership, violence, and affiliation throughout the Yakima Valley, as well as how to continue the conversation and programming at the Village and with the community as a whole in the future. This strategic thinking about the future of a community-wide effort will be important in determining the logistics and responsibility of the program moving forward. This includes an evaluation of the geographic execution of effective strategies, other agencies and groups that should be directly involved, and determining t structure of the post pilot program. g. REPORTING The Steering Committee will report to the City Council. Such reporting will bc done through the City Council members of the Committee, or,when requested, a report from the entire Steering Committee to the City Councilcreate an annual report which may be forwarded to agencies,governments, or other stakeholders as the Steering Committee deems appropriate. It may also be posted on a GRIT website for community review. V. THE VILLAGE a. PURPOSE The purpose of the Village is to bring together a wide range of sectors, agencies and organizations that can provide services to youth and their families, with the ultimate hope that such services will steer youth away from gang involvement. The Village should raise awareness of the barriers and challenges to reducing gang violence, collaborate on community-wide activities and programming for youth with the goal of keeping youth out of gangs, and to educate its members, and the community on the services and opportunities available to youth and families in Yakima as well as other matters related to gangs or gang violence in the Yakima Valley. b. MEMBERSHIP Any agency, non-profit corporation,faith-based organization, community group, or other interested party or organization may participate in the Village meetings. There is no official "membership” in the Village, but it is limited to those who can provide useful feedback, can collaborate to provide services, can provide educational information to members of the Village regarding youth programming or gang affiliation or violence prevention, or want to learn more about the issues. c. MEETINGS 181 The Village may meet quarterly, or however often it is deemed appropriate by the GRIT CoordinatorSteering Committee. The GRIT Coordinator Steering Committee shall determine the time, date and location of each meeting, as well as the agenda and program, or designate a willing local organization to conduct and organize the Village programming. The GRIT Coordinator Steering Committee, or its designee, should reach out to interested parties and seek advice as to what topics are of general interest to Village members prior to the agenda. Meetings should involve opportunities to learn, network, collaborate and share ideas. d. OVERSIGHT The GRIT Coordinator Steering Committee and its designee, if one is chosen, should oversee the Village meetings and provide reports to the Steering Committee as necessary. Further, Steering Committee members should be invited to all Village meetings. VI. AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION The Gang Reduction and Intervention Task Force Charter may be amended by a majority vote of the GRIT Steering Committee. The Gang Reduction and Intervention Task Force may be terminated by a majority 2/3 vote of the Yakima City CouncilGRIT Steering Committee. 182 CHARTER OF THE GANG REDUCTION AND INTERVENTION TASK FORCE I. PURPOSE AND GOALS The purpose of the Gang Reduction and Intervention Task Force (GRIT) is to provide ongoing direction to a partnership of agencies working together towards achieving better outcomes for youth, with a special emphasis on youth empowerment and engagement, and avoiding gang influence and membership. Goals and objectives of the GRIT program are to develop and support a network of partner agencies and programs; repair, strengthen and restore our youth,families, community and service providers; and coordinate additional resources for agencies through cross-sector collaboration. II. OVERVIEW GRIT seeks to leverage existing and yet-to-be-identified resources and to increase the capacity of partnership agencies and community non-profit organizations. Initially, thanks to a grant from the Governor's Office, the City of Yakima was assigned the role of convener and capacity builder. GRIT started as a pilot program to develop, connect and support a network of local, regional and statewide partners that have proven records of reducing gang involvement. GRIT builds directly from the Gang Reduction Initiative of Denver program in its structure and operational model, but may expand or deviate from that model over time to meet the specific needs of our community. GRIT also supported the Yakima Youth Leadership Program, which was transitioned from GRIT to be included in ESD 105 programming. GRIT continues the legacy of its beginnings while evolving to meet the needs of the entire Yakima Valley. GRIT is an independent community-based organization made up of stakeholders and interested parties seeking to work towards change, cooperation and understanding of the issues facing youth today. Through partnerships, strategic planning, and programming for youth, GRIT seeks to make the entire Yakima Valley a safe place, with reduced gang and gun violence, and increased services and opportunities for youth. III. THEORY OF CHANGE GRIT is based on the theory that young people who are connected and are a part of an accepting village of community services, providers, and mentors, will build stronger protective attributes that will keep them away from gang involvement or will enable them to resist recidivism into gang activities and violence. IV. STEERING COMMITTEE a. PURPOSE The purpose of the Steering Committee is to provide oversight and accountability, as well as to look at matters involving gang reduction and intervention strategically. Further, the Steering Committee should create and maintain interagency and community relationships that facilitate the 1 183 development of the GRIT program. The Steering Committee shall also serve as a body to support community grant applications to other agencies, as well as create the structure, goals and strategies for the ongoing GRIT program(s). b. MEMBERSHIP There shall initially be a minimum of nine (9) members of the Steering Committee falling into the following groups: 2 City of Yakima elected officials or designees. These seats are filled by the Yakima City Council. ii. 1 Representative of the Yakima School District, chosen by the Yakima School District. iii. 1 Representative from the juvenile justice system. iv. 1 Representative from Yakima County, preferably its prosecuting attorney or a judge. v. 1 Representative with mental health treatment or public health experience. vi. 1 Representative from the Yakima Police Department who is familiar with gang activity, violence, intervention and/or prevention. vii. 1 person who is a former gang member or was formerly affiliated with a gang. viii. 1 County of Yakima Commissioner or designee. This seat is filled by the Yakima County Board of County Commissioners. ix. 1 Representative of ESD 105, chosen by ESD 105. x. 1 Representative of the Yakama Nation, chosen by the Yakama Nation. xi. 1 Representative from OIC of Washington, chosen by OIC of Washington. xii. 3 Youth representatives chosen by the youth participating in OIC Village programming. xiii. 1 City/Elected representative from anywhere in Yakima County (other than the City of Yakima or Board of County Commissioners). xiv. 1 Second Chance Employer. xv. 1 Community Service Partner working in the area of support for gang- involved or gang-affiliated youth. xvi. 1 Parent/Family Representative. xvii. 1 Law Enforcement Officer from a jurisdiction east of Union Gap. Positions that are not chosen by their entities, as outlined above, are chosen through application to the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee should be made up of members with relevant sectors, including, but not limited to: family support and case management; mental health and public health; independent living skills; employment training and retention; school district and education; probation and police; and faith and youth development. Members should be committed to the cause, have a strong ability to communicate with others about the topic areas under consideration, have a desire to develop and lead others in improvement opportunities, have knowledge of barriers associated with keeping youth away from gang involvement, be interested in the topic and be able to bring creative solutions to challenging issues. 2 184 c. MEETINGS The Steering Committee should meet at least once every calendar quarter. Meetings will be called by the Chair, Vice-Chair, or upon request of any two Steering Committee members. d. BYLAWS The Steering Committee may adopt Bylaws, policies or procedures. e. CHAIR, VICE-CHAIR AND BASIC PROCEDURE The GRIT Steering Committee will be led by its Chair, who will be chosen for a 1 year term at the first meeting of each calendar year. The Steering Committee should also appoint a Vice-Chair and Secretary from its membership. The Secretary will be responsible for sending out meeting invitations, reminders, agendas and minutes. Meetings are meant to be collaborative, but will generally follow Robert's Rules of Order with regards to decision-making. Decisions of the Steering Committee shall be by the majority vote of the members present. A majority of the seated members of the Steering Committee shall constitute a quorum. f. PRIORITIES The following items are priorities for the Steering Committee. The list is not exclusive, and represents some core concepts to guide the Steering Committee. It is anticipated that there will be other issues that may arise that are either short-term or long-term issues. 1. Raise our awareness of the barriers and challenges to reducing gang violence in our community. Since Steering Committee members are involved in various aspects of the community which encounter the effects of gang involvement, the Steering Committee will serve, in part, as an opportunity to raise awareness among its members and member agencies as to barriers and challenges to reducing gang violence throughout the Yakima Valley. 2. Create an ongoing dialogue with leadership. It is anticipated that Steering Committee members will be leaders in their fields. As such, membership and Committee meetings will create an ongoing dialogue about gangs, gang influence, gang violence and keeping youth away from gangs, among community leaders. 3. Set strategies and action plans; measure and report results. The GRIT program involves collaboration among service providers, local non-profit agencies, the schools and medical professionals. The Steering Committee is tasked with setting strategies for how best to coordinate approaches to lessening gang involvement and violence in the parameters of the current grant award. One of those strategies is to convene a Village of interested parties to have community-wide conversations about services for youth. The Steering Committee will be charged with evaluating those strategies and reporting the results to their respective organizations, and the community as appropriate. The GRIT Steering Committee will, with the help of the Village and ad hoc committee members if desired, create and periodically update a community-wide strategic plan to address gangs, gang violence, and associated matters, which can be accessed by the community. 4. Determine the best way forward. The Steering Committee is tasked with forward- thinking about addressing gang membership, violence, and affiliation throughout the Yakima Valley, as well as how to continue the conversation and programming at the 3 185 Village and with the community as a whole in the future. This strategic thinking about the future of a community-wide effort will be important in determining the logistics and responsibility of the program moving forward. This includes an evaluation of the geographic execution of effective strategies, other agencies and groups that should be directly involved. g. REPORTING The Steering Committee will create an annual report which may be forwarded to agencies, governments, or other stakeholders as the Steering Committee deems appropriate. It may also be posted on a GRIT website for community review. V. THE VILLAGE a. PURPOSE The purpose of the Village is to bring together a wide range of sectors, agencies and organizations that can provide services to youth and their families, with the ultimate hope that such services will steer youth away from gang involvement. The Village should raise awareness of the barriers and challenges to reducing gang violence, collaborate on community-wide activities and programming for youth with the goal of keeping youth out of gangs, and to educate its members, and the community on the services and opportunities available to youth and families in Yakima as well as other matters related to gangs or gang violence in the Yakima Valley. b. MEMBERSHIP Any agency, non-profit corporation, faith-based organization, community group, or other interested party or organization may participate in the Village meetings. There is no official "membership" in the Village, but it is limited to those who can provide useful feedback, can collaborate to provide services, can provide educational information to members of the Village regarding youth programming or gang affiliation or violence prevention, or want to learn more about the issues. c. MEETINGS The Village may meet quarterly, or however often it is deemed appropriate by the GRIT Steering Committee. The GRIT Steering Committee shall determine the time, date and location of each meeting, as well as the agenda and program, or designate a willing local organization to conduct and organize the Village programming. The GRIT Steering Committee, or its designee, should reach out to interested parties and seek advice as to what topics are of general interest to Village members prior to the agenda. Meetings should involve opportunities to learn, network, collaborate and share ideas. d. OVERSIGHT The GRIT Steering Committee and its designee, if one is chosen, should oversee the Village meetings and provide reports to the Steering Committee as necessary. Further, Steering Committee members should be invited to all Village meetings. 4 186 VI. AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION The Gang Reduction and Intervention Task Force Charter may be amended by a majority vote of the GRIT Steering Committee. The Gang Reduction and Intervention Task Force may be terminated by a 2/3 vote of the GRIT Steering Committee. 5 187