Discussion and possible action to approve the acceptance of a Fiscal Year 2019 Community Outdoor Outreach Program (CO-OP) grant award in the amount of $50,000 from the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife and as developed, coordinated, written, and submitted by the Webb County Sheriff's Office to provide educational outdoor recreational trips to Texas State Parks for the children of Laredo/Webb County; 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 a $40,020 in-kind match, which will be provided by the Webb County Sheriff's Office, its Community Affairs Division, its volunteers, and its community partners. All required documents were sent for review through the Economic Development Department and the solicitation is compliant with the Webb County Single Point of Contact (SPOC) procedures. [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 award for a 2019 Community Outdoor Outreach Program (CO-OP) 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. |