BE IT RESOLVED, that Agreement A199772 with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety for African American crime victim advocacy services and direct client assistance during the period October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2021 in the receivable amount of $280,000, be approved; that the Hennepin County Attorney's Office (HCAO) be authorized to continue staffing 2.0 FTEs funded by the grant award; that the Chair of the Board be authorized to sign the Agreement on behalf of the County; and the Controller be authorized to accept and disburse funds as directed; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the sponsorship and acceptance of this grant funding for this program by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners does not imply a continued funding commitment by the County for this program when grant funds are no longer available.

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office (HCAO) has been receiving the grant for African American crime victim advocacy services and direct client assistance from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety since 2016.

The Victim Services Division (VSD) of the HCAO has 32 advocates providing services to victims of crime. The demand for these services is great. Though the VSD has bilingual, bicultural staff who serve underserved populations, community relationships and victim needs are enhanced with the ability to focus advocacy services to the African American community. The grant supports these focused services and funds 2.0 Legal Services Specialists advocacy positions. The grant also has helped to support specialized training in the area of domestic violence and sexual assault to foster connections with other professionals in the field and ensure effective responses to victim needs. An additional component of the grant provides funding assistance to victims for food, safe housing, transportation, moving expenses and other personal needs.

The grant requires a match of $52,501.