Discussion and possible action to approve the submission of a grant application as prepared, written, coordinated, and submitted by the Webb County Sheriff’s Office to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for FY 2019 Community Outdoor Outreach Program (CO-OP) Grant in an amount estimated at $50,000.00 to provide low-income, at-risk youth of Webb County outdoor recreational opportunities at Texas State Parks; and designating the Webb County Judge as the authorized official in all matters related to this grant; and any other matters incident thereto. This grant requires an estimated $40,000.00 match, which the Webb County Sheriff's Office and its community partners will provide as in-kind match. Thus, this proposed grant will have no impact on the general fund. All required documents were sent to the Economic Development Department and were found in compliance with the Single Point of Contact (SPOC) policy. [Requested by Martin Cuellar, Webb County Sheriff] [Co-sponsored by Hon. Commissioner Jesse Gonzalez, Pct. 1]
Issue: The U.S. Census Bureau data released during October 2016 showed that the 2015 poverty rate for Laredo, Webb County, (listed at 32% in comparison to 16% for the State of Texas and 15% for the United States), ranked the second highest of all the metropolitan areas in the entire United States. Poverty, along with poor social skills and association with deviant peers, is among the most significant factors for mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders in youth. Important protective factors to counter these risk factors include positive physical development; developing problem-solving skills/self-agency; engagement and connections with peers and athletics; presence of mentors and support for development of skills and interests; positive social norms; and opportunities for engagement within the community.
Solution: The Webb County Sheriff's Office grant application for a 2019 Community Outdoor Outreach Program (CO-OP) Grant will provide at-risk youth in Laredo/Webb County the opportunity to participate in outdoor recreational activities and visit Texas State Parks in order to facilitate their abilities to development pro-social skills, increase self-esteem/self-agency, engage in positive physical development, connect with positive peers, partake in outdoor athletics skills, receive mentorship and support for development of outdoor skills and interests, participate in positive social norms, and enjoy outdoor recreational opportunities that provide constructive engagement with role models/community members, including parents/chaperones, deputies and other employees of the Webb County Sheriff's Office, representatives of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and other civic leaders.
Result: At-risk youth in Laredo/Webb County will be able to participate in outdoor recreational activities at Texas State Parks, which will provide healthy lifestyle-related, fitness-correlated, pro-social, and safe alternatives to often sedentary, unhealthy, risky, and anti-social activities which many of these at-risk youth are more likely to engage in without the structured provision of such alternative outdoor recreational activities. |
| This CO-OP grant helps to introduce under-served population to the services, programs, and sites of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in order to build relationships with these non-traditional constituencies, such as inner-city, rural, low-income, minority, female, physically/mentally challenged, and youth-at-risk citizens. |