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Meeting Date:	01/22/2024
Approval for the Development and Grant Application submission to the Office of the Governor Criminal Justice Division
Submitted for:	Mary Serna	Submitted By:	Mary Serna
Department:	Justice Of The Peace Pct 2 Pl 1

Subject:

Discussion and possible action to authorize the development and submission of a grant application and resolution to the Office of the Governor Criminal Justice Division for the FY25 Juvenile Justice & Truancy Prevention Grant Program in an amount not to exceed $70,000 for grant-funded salary fringe benefits, training, travel and supplies of the Truancy Juvenile Case Manager; and authorizing the Webb County Judge to execute all relevant documents; and any other matters incident thereto. This grant does not require a cash match and thus will have no impact to the general fund. All required documents were reviewed by the Economic Development Department and the solicitation is compliant with the Webb County Single Point of Contact (SPOC) procedures. [Requested by Judge Roberto “Bobby” Quintana, Webb County Justice of Peace Pct. 2, Place 1; Grant fund #5022201]

Issue: Our Office does not currently have a Truancy prevention program nor a Truancy Juvenile Case manager to manage it, in South Laredo and through this grant, we can attempt to reduce the rising Truancy cases held in our court, which will benefit our families and the at-risk youth in the community standing at the edge of juvenile delinquency.

Solution: A grant application opportunity is an intervention strategy to provide a Truancy prevention program for South Laredo run by a grant-funded truancy case manager to deter Truancy behavior in our community.

Result: Webb County Justice of the Peace Pct.2, Pl.1 will be able to provide the community of South Laredo with a Juvenile Case Manager to focus on diversion strategies to steer at-risk youth away from the juvenile and criminal justice system through this grant.

Background:

When Judge Bobby Quintana took office in 2019 we had a Truancy caseload of 89 that school year. We currently oversee 25 UISD schools which had an approximate population of 20,257 in the 2022-2023 school year. At present, at the end of the School Year 2022-2023 we have a caseload of 220 cases. This is too much for the one person assigned to us by UISD to help process these cases, we do not have funding to provide staff to focus on this growing community challenge. We are sounding the alarm. It is time for a community truant intervention program specifically for South Laredo. We have witnessed the distress and tears of many parents in Truancy Court. This grant opportunity is a parent’s answered prayer for the court to provide a Truancy Juvenile Case Manager who can focus on diversion strategies to divert at-risk truant youth behavior from entering into the criminal justice system. If we do nothing, there will be a negative public impact on the family and an increase in delinquency in this community, so we have chosen to step up and act. This grant opportunity is a good place to start.

Previous Court Action:

Fiscal Impact

Budget Account Number:	N/A
Funding Source:	N/A
Balance:	N/A
Financial Impact:
No impact. This grant does not have a cash match.

Attachments
Letterof.Intent
Resolution