Memorandum
Date: August 3, 2022
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Susan Krones, District Attorney
Subject: Adopt Resolution Authorizing the 2023-2024 Grant Project-Lake County Child Advocacy Center Program and Authorize the Chair to Sign the Grant Subaward Certification of Assurance of Compliance
Executive Summary:
The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) created this grant in 2018 for the purpose of funding affiliate, developing, and accredited Child Advocacy Centers in California which work with child abuse victims to reduce trauma to the children and their families by using a multidisciplinary-team approach. The Victim Witness Division of the District Attorney's Office has had its own Multi-Disciplinary Interview Center (MDIC) called "Hope House" for over 15 years. Hope House uses specialized audio/video equipment to conduct children's interviews in a less intimidating setting. Due to the nature of these situations, interviews must be conducted by a specially trained, trauma-informed professional who can build a rapport with the child, while conducting a meaningful and productive interview - this professional is also known as a Forensic Interviewer.
The project cost of $110,000 will fund a full-time Forensic Interviewer, the Interviewer's training, a portion of the Victim Witness Program Administrator's salary and benefits, transcription services for the forensic interviews, maintenance of the audio/visual equipment, as well as the upkeep and improvements to Hope House. A waiver for the match on federal funds of $22,000 will be requested.
Adoption of this resolution will allow the Lake County District Attorney's Office to submit an application for the Lake County Child Advocacy Center Program and also requires the Board, after review and consideration, to authorize the Chair to sign the Grant Subaward Certification of Assurance of Compliance attached to the resolution.
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