Agenda Item # ___
Columbus Consolidated Government
Council Meeting
6/23/2015
Agenda Report # ____
TO: Mayor and Council
SUBJECT: Chattahoochee Valley Jail Ministry, Inc.
INITIATED BY: Columbus Office of Crime Prevention
Recommendation: Approval is requested to enter into a one-year contract with
Chattahoochee Valley Jail Ministry, Inc. to award funding for Crime Prevention
initiatives.
Background: Columbus Office of Crime Prevention has agreed to recommend the
funding of $38,000.00 to Chattahoochee Valley Jail Ministry, Inc. effort to
educate and prepare inmates for graduation of the GED program.
Analysis: Funds will be used to pay for quality programming as well as
mentoring for inmates within the Muscogee County Jail.
Financial Considerations: These funds are appropriated from the Other Local
Option Sales Tax, Crime Prevention Program and do not require a match.
Recommendations/ Actions: Approve the resolution authorizing the City Manager
to enter into a one-year contract with Chattahoochee Valley Jail Ministry, Inc.
to provide funding for quality programming as well as mentoring for inmates
within the Muscogee County Jail.
A RESOLUTION
NO. _____
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF A ONE-YEAR CONTRACT WITH
CHATTAHOOCHEE VALLEY JAIL MINISTRY, INC. FOR $38,000.00 FOR THE PURPOSE OF
FUNDING THE INITIATIVES OF CHATTAHOOCHEE VALLEY JAIL MINISTRY, INC.
WHEREAS, Chattahoochee Valley Jail Ministry, Inc. has the GED Preparation
Program to impact the lives of Muscogee County inmates to reduce the rate of
recidivism and substance abuse and,
WHEREAS, the Columbus Office of Crime Prevention has authorized funding under
the Crime Prevention Program for this project in the amount of $38,000.00 to
the Chattahoochee Valley Jail Ministry, Inc.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA, HEREBY RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
The Mayor is hereby authorized to enter into a one-year contract
through the Columbus Office of Crime Prevention with Chattahoochee Valley Jail
Ministry, Inc. for $38,000.00 for funding the GED Preparation Program. Funds
are budgeted in the FY16 budget: Other Local Option Sales Tax, Crime
Prevention Program.
___________
Introduced at a regular meeting of the Council of Columbus, Georgia, held
the 23rd day of June, 2015 and adopted at said meeting by the affirmative vote
of ____________ members of said Council.
Councilor Allen voting________________.
Councilor Baker voting________________.
Councilor Barnes voting_______________.
Councilor Buck voting_____________.
Councilor Davis voting________________.
Councilor Henderson voting____________.
Councilor Huff voting_________________.
Councilor Pugh voting_________________.
Councilor Thomas voting______________.
Councilor Woodson voting_____________.
__________________________________ ______________________________________
TINY B. WASHINGTON TERESA
PIKE TOMLINSON
CLERK
MAYOR
4
Local Assistance Grant Agreement
Grant Program Name: Columbus Office of Crime Prevention
Fiscal Agent: Muscogee County
Administering Agency: Columbus Office of Crime Prevention
Grant Recipient: Chattahoochee Valley Jail Ministry, Inc.
Amount: $38,000.00
Budget: Personnel ? $20,000.00
Professional Fees - $16,000.00
Supplies - $2,000.00
Total - $38,000.00
Program Contact Information
Name: Neil Richardson Title: Director
Address: 2305 15th St. #3, Columbus, Georgia 31906
Phone #: 706-575-1483
Project Description
Chattahoochee Valley Jail Ministry, Inc. has been in operation since 2009
within the Muscogee County Jail. The program works to reduce the recidivism
rate by helping the inmates receive their GED. The program will have active
involvement of 115 inmates per year and help 55 inmates receive their GED.
I, Neil Richardson the duly authorized representative of the above named Grant
Recipient, do hereby agree to the following terms that outline the requirements
of Columbus, Georgia for organizations/agencies receiving funds from the
Columbus Office of Crime Prevention. I have been given the opportunity to ask
questions regarding these terms and fully understand my organization?s
obligations incurred by accepting this grant. I understand that prior to the
disbursements of any funds the following criteria must be met:
1. The above named Grant Recipient represents the beneficiaries of the Grant
and the above named individual is authorized to act in the name of
Chattahoochee Valley Jail Ministry, Inc. as the Grant Recipient.
2. The subject matter of this Agreement is primarily the provision of services
in the form of individualized tutoring and teaching to help inmates receive
their GED.
3. The Grant Recipient shall immediately notify the Agency if any of their
service providers are arrested. At the time Grant Recipient learns that one of
its service providers has been arrested, then Grant Recipient shall cease to
use such service provider in connection with programs funded by this Grant.
4. In the initial report submitted to the Administering Agency, Grant Recipient
shall provide: (a) the name of the chairman and the secretary of the advisory
committee; (b) the times and dates that the Grant programs are available ?
essentially a schedule of services; (c) the number of participants in the
program; (d) Description of the process used to identify individuals for which
services will be provided; (e) provide specifics on the evaluation process
that addresses how the process will work, how the statistical data will be
gathered, how it will be analyzed.
5. Grant Recipient shall provide an accounting system that shall separate Grant
Funds from other funds. The accounting system shall also separate Grant
related expenses from other expenses.
6. Grant Recipient shall submit to Agency a monthly report on the progress of
the programs. The monthly report shall provide statistical data that supports
the projects goals of reducing the recidivism rates of the participants within
the program.
7. Grant Recipient shall use Grant Funds strictly for the purposes outlined in
the Grant. Any changes to the programs must be submitted in writing to
Columbus Office of Crime Prevention for approval or the funding may be
jeopardized.
8. Grant Recipient shall identify the members of its Board of Directors which
will assume liability if the CCG determines the funds have been misused.
9. Monthly report must be submitted to Seth Brown electronically by the 10th
day of the month. Once the report is approved it will be submitted to the
Office of Crime Prevention Board for evaluation.
10. The Grant Recipient shall use generally accepted accounting principles
(?GAAP?) to account for all financial transactions used to substantiate the
fulfillment of this Grant.
11. The Grant Recipient shall maintain all records of Grant-related financial
transactions for a minimum of three years after the completion of the Grant and
to make all records available for inspection and fully cooperate with any audit
or investigation requested or undertaken by the CCG, the State Auditor, the
Internal Auditor for Columbus, Georgia, or any other officials of the state or
federal government who have the authority to conduct audits.
12. The Grant Recipient shall comply at all times with the provisions of
Article I, Section II, and Paragraph VII of the Georgia Constitution regarding
the prohibition against Sectarian Aid.
13. The Grant Recipient hereby releases Columbus, Georgia from any liability
whatsoever and Grant Recipient hereby agrees to indemnify Columbus, Georgia
against any and all claims for damages, bodily injury or death arising from any
of the activities contemplated by this Agreement raised by any person. Grant
Recipient shall provide to Columbus, Georgia a certificate of insurance that
shows general liability coverage in the amount of at least $1,000,000 per
occurrence and which shows that Columbus, Georgia is named as an additional
insured.
14. All services must be provided by properly certified or licensed personal.
15. In the event there is any discrepancy in the language of the project
description and these numbered paragraphs, the language in the numbered
paragraphs shall control.
________________________________________________________________________
Signature of City Manager, Isaiah
Hugley Date
________________________________________________________________________
Approved as to form by City
Attorney
Date
________________________________________________________________________
Signature of Director of Finance, Pam
Hodge
Date
________________________________________________________________________
Signature of Grant Recipient Representative, Neil
Richardson Date
Application for Columbus Office of Crime Prevention Grant
A. Applicant
Name of Organization: Chattahoochee Valley Jail Ministry, Inc
Address: 2305 15 St #3, Columbus, GA 31906
CEO/Executive Director: Neil Richardson
Contact Person/ Title: Neil Richardson, Executive Director
Telephone and email: 706-575-1483 Email
Address:nrichardson@columbusga.org
Has the applicant organization ever received a grant from COCP? XX Yes
_____No
If yes, when was the grant made? Each of the last 3 years. Was a final
report submitted?
Yes. 2 of the 3 have been submitted and the current year report due
this summer
B. Project
Project period (full life of project) The project is ongoing and the budget is
an annual budget presented to and approved by the Board.
Where, specifically, will it occur? 700 10th Street, Columbus, GA 31901
Approximately how many people will benefit from the project? It is anticipated
that 120 inmates will participate in the GED program in a year. 60 people test
in a year. Of that at least 30 will earn their G.E.D.
How did you arrive at the above numbers? The Muscogee County Jail provides one
20 man dorm for male G.E.D. programming and 10 beds in the female Program
Dorm. We pre-test inmates and work with those advanced enough to be able to
test while incarcerated. Average turnover within the dorms is four times a
year; 30 beds equal 120 students per year. We expect that half the inmates
enrolled will be ready to take the test or 60 men/women. We have consistently
averaged over 50% of those testing or 30 will earn their G.E.D.
When will funds be needed? This program is currently operational and funds
would be needed within the next quarter.
Grant amount requested (must be no more than 90% of total project expense)
$37,700.00
We are asking for less money this year because we have secured additional
sources of revenue and have been successful lowering our expenses.
Total project revenue and support (from line 3, pg. 6) $45,700.00
Total project expenses (from line 13, pg. 7) $45,700.00
C. Project Budget
Project Revenue and Support
1. Revenue
Admission/Ticket income
Other Revenue
2. Support (indicate with * if already committed)
Corporate support
Other private support $8,000.00
Government support (COCP Grant) $37,700.00
Federal
State
Other County agency
Organizations cash applied to project
3. TOTAL PROJECT REVENUE AND SUPPORT $45,700.00
Project expenses
4. Personnel (give as much detail as possible)
We provide 55 hours of instruction for men and 55 hours of instruction for
women per month at $20.00 per hour. Our instructors teach math, reading,
science, social studies and writing. 110 hours at $20.00 equals $2,200.00 per
month or $26,400 per year
Subtotal, Personnel $ 26,400
5. Consultants and professional fees
G.E.D. testing is provided through the Technical College System of Georgia
under the direction of the State of Georgia G.E.D. Program Office. We were
able to renegotiate our testing agreement since we provide much of the clerical
support and lowered our annual testing fees by 5,700.00 per year.
Subtotal, Consultants and professional fees $16,300.00
6. Supplies and equipment Educational materials $3,000.00
We were able to get over half of our annual educational materials donated
lowering our annual cost by 3,504.00
Office Supplies 0
We have secured donors for all our office supply needs
Equipment 0
The new testing system required updating our computer lab. We were able to
secure 10 new laptops with Windows 7 installed for free and have upgraded to
the new testing requirements
In order to teach computer use in the dorms, we needed laptops with typing
software. We were able to get these computers donated as well and have the
ability to take practice laptops into the dorms so inmates are familiar with
the computers and ready to test.
Subtotal, Supplies and equipment $3,000.00
7. Travel (Itemize) 0
Subtotal, Travel 0
8. Printing and copying $0
Subtotal, Printing and copying $0
9. Marketing and publicity 0
10. Mailing/postage 0
11. Telephone/fax 0
12. Other 0
13. TOTAL PROJECT EXPENSE $45,700.00
D. PROJECT SUMMARY/NARRATIVE
1. Organization: Briefly state the primary purpose of the organization
We exist to serve and equip ex-offenders, homeless men or women and recovering
people as they transition back into our community. We offer a ministerial
presence in and out of the jail to anyone in need. Our purpose is to share the
love of God and meet the spiritual and physical needs of those seeking a
victorious life. As a result, we help make our community better and safer, one
life at a time.
2. Background of the organization: Briefly describe when the organization was
started, number of members and any other helpful information.
We began as the chaplaincy office of the Muscogee County Jail in October of
2009. We determined that meeting the spiritual needs of the inmates wasn?t
enough to ensure their success upon release and began developing a re-entry
program to assist inmates to successfully transition back into the community.
The program was chaired by the Chaplain of the Muscogee County Jail at the
direction of the Sheriff, and was initially an effort to involve the faith
community in assisting inmates as they reentered the community, reducing their
return rate. Area churches led the effort to form the Chattahoochee Valley
Jail Ministry, Inc. This corporation began raising money and identifying
resources necessary to assist ex-offenders. We operate a comprehensive
Re-Entry program including G.E.D. classes and testing, literacy tutoring, drug
and alcohol programming and several specialized dorms designed to prepare
inmates to successfully transition out of jail. November 1, 2010, we opened
the SafeHouse across the street from the Muscogee County Jail. This is a
resource center to assist transitioning ex-offenders. Our mission expanded to
include recovering people and homeless men and women. We quickly recognized a
serious lack of transitional housing available and in November of 2011 we
opened Trinity House, a 24 bed facility for disadvantaged women and children.
We opened Grace House, a 48 bed transitional facility for disadvantaged men in
December of 2014, modeled after our successful Trinity House. Ministry growth
caused us to move the SafeHouse into Rose Hill Methodist church in February of
2014 to expand our service capability.
3. Project description and objectives: Clearly state the project and objectives.
Within the jail we have a 20 bed men's dorm and 14 beds in the women's program
dorm set aside for GED inmates. Instructors provide 12 hours of GED
instruction each week in each dorm. South Georgia Technical College provides
supervised testing monthly in our 10 computer testing lab. We average 90% of
the beds used during the year for an inmate population of over 120 per year.
Our goal is to test half of our inmates, estimating that half of those (30)
will earn their GED. To accomplish this, paid instructors and volunteer tutors
work with the inmates. Strengths and weaknesses are identified; inmates are
encouraged to share their strengths with fellow inmates. Our tutors focus on
the weaknesses in one-on-one tutoring sessions. Additionally, we take laptops
in the dorms to provide computer basic training and keyboard practice. We
provide educational materials and workbooks for the inmates to study in the
dorms, and homework is given nightly.
These are behavior based dorms and inmates maintain the right to be in the dorm
by being respectful of themselves, each other, the facility, jail staff and
program staff/volunteers. In order to apply for any programs in the jail an
inmate must sign a Behavior contract acknowledging that a clean behavior record
is required to be considered for a program and participate in any jail classes
or dorms. Behavior and respect of others is not just obeying rules, but is a
life style choice that we encourage. Being a good citizen, respecting others
and participating as a member of a community helps build self-worth and affords
options to the street mentality of aggression and selfishness. This coupled
with life skills classes and weekly house meetings encourage community
participation and life style options that aid in adjusting to a life free of
crime and breaks the cycle of incarceration. Our goal is to provide the
opportunity for men and women to not come back to jail. To be successful we
believe that our participants should have a 50% less recidivism rate than
general population. Our goal is an overall recidivism rate of 35% or less.
Additionally, we provide the paperwork and counseling for our inmates to take
advantage of Federal and state programs designed to assist them finding
employment upon release. The US Dept of Justice provides a free $5000
employment bond for any ex-felon in America looking for work and the State of
Georgia will give any Georgia employer that hires an ex-felon up to $2400 back
on their state taxes. These are provided to give our inmates all the tools to
be successful in their transition.
4. Target group: Identify target groups for the project and how they will be
selected.
The target group for this project is inmates who have enrolled in the Re-Entry
program and have passed the TABE test (pre test). Our focus is on inmates that
will be released back into our community. Inmates that will be going to prison
from the jail will be able to take their G.E.D. classes and tests in the state
prison they are assigned.
5. Expected outcome: List and explain the expected outcome of the project or
program.
It is anticipated that 120 inmates will enroll and attempt the program with 30
of them successfully passing the GED exam. The primary purpose of this project
is to ultimately reduce the recidivism rates. Lack of housing, unemployment and
addiction all work to create circumstances that work against the inmate once he
or she is released from the jail. Lack of a high school diploma and the lack of
a job combine to keep the offender on the fringe. The GED program will give the
offender a step up the ladder to successful re entry into society. By giving
the offender the tools necessary to ensure a more successful life, the ex
offender will now have more options than the commission of additional crimes
upon release.
6. Success: How will you assess the success of your program?
We track every participant in the G.E.D. program. Whether they tested, passed
or just participated in class. We know if they return to jail or not and
maintain these records. To date, our students have attained a 50% less return
rate than those in general population.
7. Participants: Are the participants required to do anything specific, (for
example, attend religious services/training or pay a fee), to participate? If
so, describe.
There is an optional religious component that is available to the inmate and ex
offender but it is not required. There are no fees charged to participants in
the GED program.
8. Significance: Why is your program significant to the community?
Reducing crime?especially by ex offenders?makes our community safer and more
vibrant. The GED program gives offenders and ex offenders more opportunities to
create worthwhile lives and decrease up to 140 felonies per offender (U.S. DOJ
study 2002). Giving offenders more opportunities gives our community more
opportunities. A productive, active member of the community, who can
contribute to his or her own personal growth, puts less of a burden on his or
her home, neighborhood and City.
9. Administered: How will your project be administered? How is your
organization qualified and/or qualified to carry out this project?
The GED Program has a program director on staff (resume attached). Paid
instructors (resumes attached) and trained volunteers assist program staff.
Qualified tutors will provide educational assistance to enrolled participants
and staff from The Technical College System of Georgia comes on site to
administer the GED tests.
10. References: Please include any reference letters or documents that you feel
would support your application for the grant.
Copies of support letters and references are included with this application.
E. CHECKLIST
Include one original signed copy of the application and all supplementary
materials. In addition include ten photocopies of the application and
supplementary material. Staple each copy packet together.
IRS letter certifying tax-exempt status, (exempt if a government agency of the
CCG)
Name and qualifications of people administering and/or participating in the
project
Board list, showing officers, professional titles and telephone numbers
Annual Report if available
Letters of agreement from collaborating organizations
Any other desired support material
AUTHORIZATION
All organizations receiving Columbus Funds will be required:
??To provide background checks at the expense of the applicant for those in
contact with juveniles.
??Provide reports on the progress of the program after 3 months, 6 months and
program?s end. The only exception to this will be if the program is seasonal
and then a schedule will be worked out to determine effectiveness of the
program.
By signing this application, we understand and agree to the terms included on
the application and certify that the information in the application is true and
accurate and that the undersigned is authorized to apply on behalf of the
applicant.
Signed by Neil Richardson________________________________ March 20, 2015
Signature of Authorizing Official Date
Name and Title of Authorizing Official (print/type) Rev. Neil Richardson,
Executive Director
Daytime Telephone (706 575-1483)
Signed by Roy Plummer_________________________________ March 20, 2015
Signature of Board President/Chair Date
Name and Title of Board President/Chair (print/type) Rev. Roy Plummer,
President
Daytime Telephone (706) 570-7171
Name and qualifications of people administering and/or participating in the
project.
Neil Richardson, Executive Director Responsible for overall Supervision
Chattahoochee Valley Jail Ministry, Inc of the G.E.D. program. Resume attached
Katherine Lyons, Lead Instructor Coordinator of the G.E.D. program. Resume
attached
Ann Lincoln Curtis Female Instructor. Resume attached
Anthony Pritchett Male Instructor. Resume attached
Anthony Paul Chappell Male Instructor. Resume attached
Attachments
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