For City Council Meeting July 25, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
APPROVAL: Arron Brown, Acting City Manager
FROM: Mark P. Kling, Chief of Police
Title
Request City Council to: (1) Approve a one-year Agreement for Professional Services with Social Work Action Group; (2) Approve a Purchase Order for $708,712 for Fiscal Year 2023/2024; (3) Authorize the Acting City Manager, or his Designee, to Execute All Documents.
(ACTION)
Body
BACKGROUND
City Council approved contract services with Social Work Action Group (SWAG) on May 20, 2020, and the Rialto Police Department deployed SWAG into our community on June 1, 2020. SWAG has made a considerable amount of progress in providing quality services to our homeless population. Since SWAG's deployment their personnel have served a total of 390 clients, connected 157 homeless individuals to substance abuse treatment, 341 to mental health services, and have had 178 street exits, of which 77 were placed into permanent housing plans. See the attached slide presentation for additional detail for in-depth understanding of SWAG's services to the City.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
SWAG began their services by deploying 4 homeless outreach specialists Monday through Friday. In Fiscal Year 2022/2023 the need arose for homeless outreach specialists to be on duty seven days a week. Staff recommended and Council approved to increase staffing and fund 2 new positions, to make a total of 6 homeless outreach specialists in Rialto. These specialists currently provide outreach services 7-days a week.
SWAG's successful outreach approach has not only assisted homeless individuals find treatments and housing, but also helped reduce the amount of time police officers spend on calls related to homelessness. This successful approach resulted in officers having more time to respond to priority calls and conduct proactive enforcement. The City of Rialto's efforts were recently recognized in "The Public Administrator's Companion," A Pra...
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