Department: County Library
Department Head/Elected Official: Edward Melton, Library Director
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Supplemental RCA
Type of Request: Grant
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): Houston Endowment, Inc.
MWDBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by the County Library for approval to accept from Houston Endowment, Inc. grant funds in the amount of $3,567,100, with no required match, for the FY 2024 Expand Citizenship Services Program.
end
Background and Discussion: Harris County Public Library (HCPL) offers classes to Harris County residents, including a citizenship series that prepares individuals for the United States Naturalization test, and a series of English as a Second Language (ESL) classes that help to support non-native English speakers to learn, read, write and speak in English. These classes are offered free of charge, throughout HCPL's 26 branches, utilizing both library staff and trained volunteers as instructors. Through funding this project, HCPL will be able to expand the capacity of our service to reach eligible participants in all areas of Harris County. Working in concert with the FUSE Corps fellowship, this expansion will be guided to engage with eligible residents in immigrant dense communities and offer education and support throughout the process. This priority aligns with the Houston Endowment's priority supporting work that enables effective civic integration of immigrants in Greater Houston.
Expected Impact: This grant allows the capacity for services with eight dedicated Immigration Project Specialists and an additional two Immigration Program Coordinators who provide curriculum support and outreach, and project coordination in close collaboration with the FUSE Corps fellow and the Harris County Public Library Executive team.
This model allows for expanding the amount of citizenship classes serving additional immigrants every year. The project will also include coordinating free legal services and ESL classes or combination of both depending on need. HCPL currently provides approximately 500 citizenship classes per year so adding an additional 100 classes would expand the reach of our program by 20 percent.
Alternative Options: We could not accept the grant, leaving HCPL unable to expand Citizenship Services in Harris County without requesting monies from the General Fund.
Alignment with Goal(s):
_ Justice and Safety
X Economic Opportunity
_ Housing
_ Public Health
_ Transportation
_ Flooding
_ Environment
X Governance and Customer Service
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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Location: Harris County
Address (if applicable):
Precinct(s): Countywide
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Service Name |
Library Literacy Programs |
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FY 24 |
FY 25 |
Next 3 FYs |
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Incremental Expenditures (do NOT write values in thousands or millions) |
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Labor Expenditures |
$770,000 |
$847,000 |
$931,700 |
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Non-Labor Expenditures |
$372,800 |
$322,800 |
$322,800 |
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Total Incremental Expenditures |
$1,142,800 |
$1,169,800 |
$1,254,500 |
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Funding Sources (do NOT write values in thousands or millions) |
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Existing Budget |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Current Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Additional Budget Requested |
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Grant |
$1,142,800 |
$1,169,800 |
$1,254,500 |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Additional Budget Requested |
$1,142,800 |
$1,169,800 |
$1,254,500 |
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Total Funding Sources |
$1,142,800 |
$1,169,800 |
$1,254,500 |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
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Additional Positions Requested |
- |
- |
- |
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Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Court Date: 10.31.2023
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 11.15.2023
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Ashley Phillips, Executive Assistant, County Library
Attachments (if applicable): 23GEN3116_Harris_County_Public_Library_Houston Endowment