Civil grand jury deems CORE process unbiased

SANTA CRUZ >> The Santa Cruz County civil grand jury, acting as an investigative watchdog of local government agencies, found that a much-discussed local process for investing in communitybased nonprofits last year was done without bias and “allows all potential organizations an even playing field.”

The jurors scrutinized the Collective of Results and Evidencebased investments process, also known as “CORE,” that was established in 2015 and completed its second cycle of approving awards last summer.

In all, the program will distribute roughly $5.9 million in funding to more than 50 local award proposals in the latest three-year cycle.

But the process was somewhat marred in controversy after it was publicly criticized several times by some organizations that received funding cuts, claiming it would adversely impact their programs and the communities they serve.

“This investigation was to determine if there were any inefficiencies, waste, or abuse in the current process and if there were any areas for process improvement,” wrote jurors in the report summary. “It is the Grand Jury's belief that the CORE process is being administered with integrity, transparency, and to create equity of opportunity for all applicants.”

The report, released last week, details an investigation of the process from start to finish. The request for proposals — a process for announcing the project and soliciting applications — resulted in 128 applications representing 78 organizations across four funding tiers totaling more than $15 million in funding requests.

It also includes a demographic breakdown of the 58 individuals that participated as panelists and were responsible for reviewing applications and making award recommendations that were ultimately approved by the county Board of Supervisors and the Santa Cruz City Council as representatives of the two governing agencies that fund the program.

Tony Nunez — spokesperson for Community Bridges, which has been one of the most outspoken critics of this round of funding — said in a statement that the organization isn't concerned as much with process as it is with the “significant shift in priorities” for funding distribution and the impact on the vulnerable communities they serve.

“We had hoped that the Grand Jury would investigate CORE funding beyond determining if (a request for proposals) process was fair and/or transparent and truly evaluated, through objective and quantifiable metrics, the community impact and return on investment from the current allocations as opposed to previous funding cycles,” said Nunez in a statement. “To this date, we, as a community, do not know if we are supporting more or fewer community members, and what services and supports have been lost through the current CORE funding allocation, for instance.”

According to the jury report, the geographic distribution of funding and populations served are comparable to what is currently funded. Services targeting seniors received 32% of funding and reflects the county population of seniors under 200% of the federal poverty level. The distribution of award recommendations by race/ethnicity also closely matches the distribution of people living below 200% of the poverty line, with 50% of funding allocated to people who are Latinx, according to the report.

Additionally, more than $598,000 was distributed for three months of bridge funding in an effort to lessen the blow to organizations experiencing cuts.

County Human Services Director Randy Morris, whose agency spearheaded the effort, was pleased with the jury's results.

“We are grateful the Grand Jury validated the Board of Supervisors' and Santa Cruz City Council's decision to adopt a CORE process that is fair, transparent, accountable and puts all applicants on an equal footing. We're also grateful on behalf of the dozens of community members who scored CORE applications to help deliver a program that supports an equitable, thriving and resilient community,” said Morris in a prepared statement. “We commend members of the Grand Jury for their unbiased examination of this critically important program.”

The report came almost a month after the Board of Supervisors revisited the process itself at a meeting in late April where Morris and his Deputy Director Kimberly Petersen shared a lengthy presentation about the process, its successes and some suggested adjustments for future cycles.

Board Chair Zach Friend explained during the meeting that the new funding structure replaced the Community Programs model, which provided grants to many of the same organizations for 40 years. The new evidence-based system, he said, helped level the playing field and provide opportunity for those who previously struggled with access.

“Their approach is completely transparent, from the application process, all the way through to the funded awards,” wrote the jurors. “The equity-centered approach clearly sets Santa Cruz County apart from any other counties in the region.”

The full civil grand jury report is available at co.santa-cruz.ca.us/Departments/GrandJury.aspx.