REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
August 9, 2022
FROM
TRACY REECE, Chief Probation Officer, Probation Department
SUBJECT
Title
Non-Financial Agreement with Charles Brugnola for Dog Therapy Program Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve non-financial agreement with Charles Brugnola to provide dog therapy program services to juvenile and youthful offenders in custody at A Restorative Integration for Successful Engagement secure youth treatment facility, at no cost to the County, for the period of August 10, 2022 through August 9, 2025.
(Presenter: Tracy Reece, Chief Probation Officer, 387-5692)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). There are no additional costs associated with this agreement, as Charles Brugnola (Contractor) will be responsible for the cost of the program. The Probation Department (Department) will utilize existing staff to supervise program services.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Approval of this agreement will allow the Department to work with the Contractor to provide dog education and therapy programs (Program) for juvenile and youthful offenders (Youth) in custody at A Restorative Integration for Successful Engagement secure youth treatment facility (ARISE). Youth are placed into the Program based on each of their individualized treatment plan. The Program includes teaching Youth simple commands for the dog, along with petting, grooming, and interacting with the dog. This helps teach Youth to care for animals and become educated about their well being, which can assist in building their character and self-esteem.
The Department has participated in similar dog therapy programming in 2009 and 2015. The Board of Supervisors (Board) approved non-financial agreements with PAL Humane Society (June 2, 2009, Item No. 51) and Dances with Dogs (January 6, 2015, Item No. 24) for education and therapeutic programming for Youth. Both programs were successful in providing therapy and positive incentives for the Youth.
On July 13, 2021 (Item No. 30), the Board approved Agreement No. 21-528 with Charles Brugnola to provide animal education and therapy programs for youth from August 1, 2021 to July 31, 2022, as a pilot project. The Youths that were part of this program were evaluated every 30 days to monitor the progress of achieving their goals on their individualized treatment plan (Plan), which resulted in the Youths meeting the goals in their plans. As a result of this success, the Department would like to enter into a three-year agreement with Charles Brugnola.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Jamie Ryan, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on July 14, 2022; Risk Management (Victor Tordesillas, Director, 386-8623) on July 28, 2022; Finance (Kathleen Gonzalez, Administrative Analyst, 387-5412) July 19, 2022; and County Finance and Administration (Robert Saldana, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-4342) on July 20, 2022.