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Adoption of Resolution Authorizing the City Attorney to Negotiate and Execute a Grant Agreement Between the Board of State and Community Corrections and the City of Alameda by and Through the Alameda City Attorney’s Office to Accept $486,465 in Grant Funds to Hire a Victim Service Advocate; and Amendment of the Fiscal Year 2025-27 Police Grants Fund (Fund 22131100) Estimated Revenue and Expenditures Budget and Amendment of the General Fund (Fund 10023043) Transfers in Revenue Budget in the Amount of $486,465 for the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program Grant. (City Attorney)
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To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Yibin Shen, City Attorney
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City Attorney’s Office (CAO) has been awarded a Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program grant in the amount of $486,465 for Fiscal Years 2025-2027 to fund a full-time Victim Service Advocate position aimed at reducing gun violence in the City of Alameda (City). Staff seeks City Council approval to accept the grant funds and adopt the associated resolution.
BACKGROUND
The Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program (Byrne SCIP) provides federal funding to implement state gun crisis intervention programs or initiatives. The goal of BSCC’s Byrne SCIP program is a multipronged approach to decreasing gun violence in California, supporting local jurisdictions in their efforts to improve firearms relinquishment procedures and supporting the enhancement of collaborative court programs that address behavioral health issues, with a focus on people who are at higher risk for gun violence. BSCC will implement this plan by way of two sets of subawards. Byrne SCIP is authorized by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022 (Pub. L. No. 117-159, 136 Stat. 1313, 1339); 28 U.S.C. 530C. <https://www.bscc.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/PLAW-117publ159.pdf>
In April 2025, the City Attorney’s Office submitted an application for a two-year Byrne SCIP grant to help offset the costs of hiring a Victim Service Advocate. The application outlined a four-part strategy to address gun violence, with a focus on training, outreach, and victim advocacy-particularly in cases involving domestic violence and firearms. An implementation plan and proposed budget were also included.
In June 2025, City Council adopted the 2025-2027 Biennial Budget, which included an annual allocation of $200,000 from the General Fund to fund a full-time Victim Service Advocate position within the City Attorney’ Office’s Prosecution and Public Rights Unit.
In July 2025, the City Attorney’s Office was notified that the Byrne SCIP grant was awarded in the amount of $486, 465 (Exhibit 1).
DISCUSSION
Alameda is uniquely positioned to address instances of gun violence within the community as it is the only city in Northern California with a dedicated Prosecution and Public Rights Unit within the City Attorney’s Office (CAO). Since its inception, the Unit has grown significantly, from handling 220 case referrals and reviews in 2020 to 800 cases in 2024.
A significant gap within CAO has been the absence of dedicated victim advocate services. Such services would connect victims with state and local support programs, develop personalized safety plans, assist with victim impact statements, document financial losses to support restitution claims, prepare victims for court appearances, coordinate transportation, and provide emotional and procedural support during testimony, provide training to law enforcement on best practices for working with vulnerable community members, and conduct community outreach and education on Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVROs). Specifically, in relation to gun violence, the victim advocate(s) would play a crucial role in raising public awareness about GVROs and assisting victims and law enforcement in pursuing these orders when appropriate. By offering these services, the victim advocate(s) will strengthen trust between victims and law enforcement, support vulnerable members of the community in their times of need and ultimately enhance case and real world outcomes.
The CAO’s grant proposal included four key programmatic components, three focusing on training and community outreach, and one dedicated to victim advocacy in cases related to domestic violence and firearm-related incidents. With the award of this external funding, the CAO anticipates the majority of the grant will be used to cover the salary and benefits of the full-time advocate. Because the City had already allocated funding for this position in the General Fund, the CAO expects significant savings from that allocation.
Given programmatic commitments to the Board of State and Community Corrections and because the Grant funds do not fully cover the cost of a full time advocate, the CAO expects to spend some portion of the existing budgeted General Fund allocation to cover the remaining costs of a full-time advocate and to hire a part-time advocate to support non-grant-funded victim services so that the City’s victim services work will meet the full expectations of the City Council and the community. The part-time advocate also serves as a precautionary measure in preparation for federal prohibitions against the use of grant funds to support legal services for undocumented immigrants ensuring that the City can provide critical support and safety measures to all victims of crime in Alameda, regardless of immigration status.
The grant will be used for the following expenses:
1) CAO personnel costs: $368,213
2) Services and Supplies: $16,200
3) Professional Services/Independent Contractors: $28,200
4) Training/travel expenses: $10,400
5) Indirect Costs: $63,452
ALTERNATIVES
• Approve and accept the grant award, which will enable the CAO to significantly reduce the amount of General Fund funds necessary to hire a Victim Service Advocate.
• Decline the grant award, which will result in the need for the City of Alameda to use General Fund dollars to hire a Victim Service Advocate.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Acceptance of the grant will help offset the cost of City Attorney personnel and pay for supplies and training expenses, resulting in significant net savings to the General Fund - Prosecution and Public Rights Unit. The grant funding will be accepted into Police Grants Fund (ORG 22131100) and transferred to General Fund - City Attorney Prosecution Unit (ORG 10023043) as eligible expenditures are paid or by each fiscal year end. The resolution seeks both the acceptance of the $486,465 into the Police Grants Fund and subsequent transfer to the General Fund.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
The proposed action is consistent with the Alameda Municipal Code.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action does not constitute a “project” as defined in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378 and therefore no further CEQA analysis is required.
CLIMATE IMPACT
There are no identifiable climate impacts or climate action opportunities associated with the subject of this report.
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Attorney to Negotiate and Execute a Grant Agreement between the Board of State and Community Corrections and the City of Alameda by and through the Alameda City Attorney’s Office to accept $486,465 in Grant Funds to hire a victim service advocate; and amendment of the Fiscal Year 2025-27 Police Grants Fund (Fund 22131100) Estimated Revenue and Expenditures Budget and Amendment of the General Fund (Fund 10023043) transfers in Revenue Budget in the amount of $486,465 for the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program Grant.
Respectfully submitted,
Julia Gonzales, Chief Assistant City Prosecutor
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Ross McCarthy, Finance Director
Exhibit:
1. Byrne SCIP Cohort 2 Agreement