Explanation
BACKGROUND: This legislation authorizes the City of Columbus to accept and appropriate U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women’s Improving Criminal Justice Reponses (ICJR) program funds via a sub-award from Franklin County Board of Commissioners’ Office of Justice Policy and Programs. ICJR funds support a county-wide, intra-agency effort to improve justice responses to domestic violence crimes.
Award funds support the implementation of the evidence-based Blueprint for Safety: An Inter-agency Response to Domestic Violence model in Columbus and Franklin County. Blueprint for Safety applies a collective impact approach to domestic violence. It build off local successes by linking best practice communication protocols, risk assessments and evidence collection tactics occurring at each justice phase. Through the Blueprint process, justice and victim advocacy practitioners work collaboratively to review and update current response protocols/practices and develop standard methods for proactive data sharing. The result is a single, written DV response policy with clear protocols outlining each practitioner’s role, responsibilities, specific actions, and documentation duties. Successful implementation of protocols is supported through ongoing training, reference resources and active communication between and across practitioners.
Blueprint for Safety is grounded in the experiences of victims of violence and an understanding of how the intervention of the criminal justice system affects their lives. This victim-centered approach supports authorities’ ability to intervene quickly when there are new acts of violence, intimidation or coercion; and shifts the burden of holding the offender accountable for violence or abuse from the victim to the system. Outcomes of the Blueprint for Safety include:
§ Keeping more women and children in their own home
§ Increased victim safety and perpetrator accountability
§ Reduced domestic abuse-related homicides
§ Reduced level of domestic abuse incidents. For example, St. Paul experienced a reduction of domestic abuse emergency calls from 11,000 to 5,000 between 2009 and 2016
Grant funding awarded to the City of Columbus will support hiring a project director to serve as the ICJR Blueprint for Safety grant manger.
This ordinance authorizes the appropriation of grant funds ($193,748) to the grant project fund.
EMERGENCY ACTION: This ordinance is submitted as an emergency to ensure grant dollars are immediately available to initiate swift action on grant objectives and activities.
FISCAL IMPACT: This ordinance authorizes the appropriation of $193,748 in U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women’s Improving Criminal Justice Reponses (ICJR) program funds. No cash match is required
Award Period: January 1, 2021 - September 30, 2023
Federal award: 20-ICJRP-BP = $193,748
Title
To authorize the Columbus City Attorney to accept a $193,748.00 U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women’s Improving Criminal Justice Reponses (ICJR) sub award from Franklin County Board of Commissioners’ Office of Justice Policy and Programs to address domestic violence by hiring a Project Director to serve as the ICJR Blueprint for Safety: An Inter-agency Response to Domestic Violence grant manager; to authorize appropriation of $193,748.00; and to declare an emergency. ($193,748.00)
Body
WHEREAS, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners' Office of Justice Policy and Programs has awarded the Columbus City Attorney's Office ICJR funding in the amount of $193,748.00 to hire a Project Director to serve the ICJR Blueprint for Safety: An Inter-agency Response to Domestic Violence grant manager; and
WHEREAS, the term of the grant is for the period January 1, 2021 - September 30, 2023; and
WHEREAS, the City Attorney desires to accept said grant award; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the City Attorney's Office in that it is immediately necessary to authorize the acceptance of the award, appropriate the grant funds, and transfer and appropriate the matching funds so that the services may commence, all for the preservation of the public health, peace, property, safety and welfare; now, therefore,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS, OHIO
SECTION 1. That the City Attorney is hereby authorized to accept a $193,748 U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women’s Improving Criminal Justice Reponses (ICJR) sub award from Franklin County Board of Commissioners’ Office of Justice Policy and Programs to address domestic violence by hiring a Project Director to serve as the ICJR Blueprint for Safety: An Inter-agency Response to Domestic Violence grant manager.
SECTION 2. That from the unappropriated monies in the General Government Grants Fund number 2220, and from all monies estimated to come into said Fund from any and all sources during the grant period, the sum of $193,748 is hereby appropriated to the Columbus City Attorney, Department 24 according to the attached accounting document.
SECTION 3. That funds are hereby deemed appropriated and expenditures and transfers authorized to carry out the purposes of this ordinance and the City Auditor shall establish such accounting codes as necessary.
SECTION 4. That funds appropriated shall be paid upon order of the City Attorney and that no order shall be drawn or money paid except by voucher, the form of which shall be approved by the City Auditor.
SECTION 5. That at the end of the grant period, any repayment of unencumbered balances required by the grantor is hereby authorized and any unused City match monies may be transferred back to the City fund from which they originated in accordance with all applicable grant agreements.
SECTION 6. That for the reasons stated in the preamble hereto, which is hereby made a part hereof, this ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval by the Mayor, or ten days after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same