Two years after receiving nearly $3 million in Prop. 64 grant money, Del Norte’s probation chief will enlist the County Office of Education to help figure out how to use those dollars to benefit local youth.
Del Norte County Chief Probation Officer Lonnie Reyman said he hopes to develop programs centered around youth,substance abuse prevention and early intervention as well as treatment and rehabilitation.
Since the grant dollars come from the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act approved by California voters in 2016 as Proposition 64, the programs will focus on marijuana, he said.
“Our goal is to get at least two programs up and running, one to do with prevention and one to do with intervention of some kind,” Reyman told Redwood Voice Community News “We can do more, and it’s very possible we might depending on what programs are selected and what the cost is. Our goal is to stand up two, get them piloted and see what kind of response we’re getting and figure out where we go from there.”
Reyman said he hopes the advisory board, which will consist of the already-existing Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee and the Youth Advisory Board, will have decided on the programs by the time the 2025-26 school year starts. That depends on how long it takes for the County Office of Education to hire someone to run the programs.
Four members of the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors last week approved a contract between the probation department and the County Office of Education with one elected official, Dean Wilson, saying that marijuana “is a serious problem for our youth today.”
District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard was absent.
The Prop. 64 grant comes from the Board of State and Community Corrections, which was looking to fund programs that address public health risks associated with cannabis. Local grant writer, Alison Ramsey, submitted an application on Del Norte County’s behalf and in 2023 the probation department received $2.99 million.
Unlike the case with a CalAIM PATH 3 grant the Del Norte County Department of Probation received to ensure youth in their care can access or re-access Medi-Cal, the prevention and intervention programs associated with its Prop. 64 award are voluntary, Reyman said.
Since his department lacks the capacity, Reyman said he was looking for partnerships, hence the agreement with the County Office of Education. The probation chief noted that some jurisdictions have used their Prop. 64 grant dollars for code enforcement and other programs aimed at kids. He said the current grant is the BSCC’s third round of funding offered through marijuana legalization.
“If we can get our feet under us, it’s very possible we’d be able to continue, at least for another [grant] cycle to pull down some funding once [the programs are] up and running,” Reyman said.
According to Reyman, his office worked with a consultant from College of the Redwoods, which prepared a report that included recommendations that social workers and substance abuse prevention workers be paid more money, that county data be accessible and transparent and that the county should work on holding a bi-yearly youth summit for Del Norte and tribal communities.
“This was a challenging conclusion for me as it really puts us in a box of where we would be required to go at least as far as our consultant was concerned,” he told county supervisors on May 27. “What I’m looking for, and hope the Board approves today, is for the County Office of Education to come in and partner with us and act to fill that program manager piece, that would facilitate the advisory committee and those groups to come together to select at least two programs and then be in that primary seat to drive those.”
The report also recommended establishing a youth center, family needs stipends with wraparound services, a legally-mandated health curriculum at Del Norte schools and parenting support, education and resources that have childcare and stipends provided.
Teen court, cooling beds, or short-term stays for youth, as well as after-school programs that focus on arts, sports and technology were also recommended.
Following Reyman’s presentation last week, District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey, who is a retired probation officer from Sonoma County, said though the advisory group’s task is to determine which two programs to implement, some of the consultant’s recommendations weren’t realistic.
“Sometimes when we have consultants come in, they’re going to make suggestions that are unattainable,” she said. “Pay higher salaries and you do all these things, however we know the realistic part of that and I think our community stakeholders know that as well.”
Starkey said she felt the Del Norte County Office of Education will be able to determine an appropriate approach for implementing the Prop. 64 grant-funded programs.
“I’ve been pushing for this and I’m very grateful that we’re moving forward in this direction,” she said.
