Board of State and Community Corrections

Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) Grant Program First Report to the Legislature December 2023 Page | 1 Background The Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) Grant Program was established in the Budget Act of 2022 (Senate Bill 154, Chapter 43, Statutes of 2022). Per the Budget Act, the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) made funding available to federally recognized Indian tribes in California to support efforts to identify, collect case-level data, publicize, investigate, and solve cases involving missing and murdered indigenous people. Senate Bill 154 also requires that the BSCC submit this initial report and a final report by December 1, 2025, summarizing the grant recipients, allocation of funds, and outcomes of the program. Grants must focus on activities including, but not limited to, developing culturally based prevention strategies, strengthening responses to human trafficking, and improving cooperation and communication on jurisdictional issues between state, local, federal, and tribal law enforcement to investigate and solve cases involving missing and murdered indigenous people. In July 2022, the BSCC convened an Executive Steering Committee (ESC) composed of statewide subject matter experts to develop the MMIP Request for Proposals (RFP). The MMIP ESC included representation from native organizations, community-based organizations, legal services, and state and local law enforcement agencies. Key Components of the Cohort 1 MMIP RFP The ESC developed an RFP that was released in April 2023. The RFP made $11.4 million available for a four-year grant period, from October 1, 2023, to June 1, 2028, and required applicants to propose activities, strategies, or programs that addressed at minimum one of the following Program Purpose Areas (PPAs): 1) Culturally Based Prevention Strategies 2) Strengthening Responses to Human Trafficking 3) Improving Cooperation and Communication on Jurisdictional Issues Applicants could apply for funding in a Small Scope Category, for up to $440,000, or a Large Scope Category, for up to $1,000,000. Cohort 1 Awards Applications were due to BSCC by June 23, 2023, and by August 2023, the ESC had completed its task of reading and rating the proposals and making funding recommendations. As a part of this first round of funding (Cohort 1), BSCC awarded funding to four tribes listed in Table 1. $8.52 million remained unallocated after the four tribes were funded. page | 2 Table 1. MMIP Cohort 1 Awards Tribe Grant Award Yurok Tribe $1,000,000 The primary goal of the Yurok Tribe is to build tribe-centered systems of response and more substantial circles of protection so that criminally related deaths and disappearances of Indigenous people will be accounted for and someday prevented entirely. The proposed project will hire a full-time MMIP Coordinator position to develop culturally based prevention strategies and strengthen the responses to human trafficking. The Tribe will also work to create an internal database system to identify, collect, and begin to publicize MMIP cases in Northern California. The Yurok rescue drone project will increase its capabilities to rapidly respond to incidents involving MMIP. Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation $440,000 The Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation (Tribe or TDN) will use BSCC funding over five years to establish its first comprehensive plan for community prevention and awareness of Human Trafficking. This plan will provide a framework to raise community awareness and prevention education and for working with multiple agencies, families of victims, other Tribal governments, and or Indian organizations that provide support and services for victims. The Tribe Community and Family Wellness Center currently run a Victim Services program that addresses Domestic Violence/Substance Abuse (DV/SA) issues. The program has a gap when addressing awareness and prevention of MMIP and Human Trafficking. Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians $1,000,000 The Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians Tribal Youth Program proposes a multi-faceted cultural mentoring program that includes the intergenerational exchange of traditional and contemporary knowledge to strengthen protective factors and reduce individual risk factors. This program will include one-on-one mentoring, and group talking circles for youth, families, and Tribal elders. Youth and their mentors will learn communication skills, and complete projects together that include MMIP awareness campaigns. Education, outreach, and collaboration will be made between Tribal and nontribal organizations, agencies, and law enforcement. Trinidad Rancheria * $436,003 Trinidad Rancheria Social Services will develop an MMIP program that will serve Trinidad Rancheria Tribal members and their families who are victims/survivors of missing and murdered indigenous peoples. This tribe will create policies and procedures that will be approved by the Tribal Council to help guide how and when funding will be utilized. They will locate and contract with a private investigator who is knowledgeable about local indigenous people and the MMIP movement. The private investigator will conduct independent investigations into identified MMIP Trinidad Rancheria cases. The estimated individual cases that will be investigated is 4-5 which will serve approximately 45 individual Trinidad Rancheria members. Local law enforcement often has no substantial progress on cases and lines of communication are poor. The goal is to find answers and communicate to families to provide closure to families who continued to be traumatized by the lack of response and follow- through from law enforcement. Total Funding (Cohort 1) $2,876,003 page | 3 MMIP Cohort 2 The State Budget Act of 2023 (Senate Bill 101, Chapter 12, Statutes of 2023) appropriated a one-time augmentation of $12 million to the MMIP Grant Program. With the unallocated $8.52 million from the first round of funding and the one-time augmentation, approximately $19.92 million was made available for a second round of grant funding (Cohort 2). In an effort to increase awareness for the MMIP Cohort 2 Grant, BSCC representatives spoke with state and local tribal leaders and attended several tribal events throughout the state, soliciting feedback from the tribal community and encouraging participation in the next RFP. These events included: September 22, 2023 California Native American Day at the State Capitol Hosted by: California Native American Heritage Association September 25, 2023 MMIP Virtual Round Table Meeting for Tribal Leaders and Advocates Hosted by: Yurok Tribe September 26, 2023 AB 1314 Feather Alert Implementation Roundtable Co-hosted by: California Legislative Native American Caucus and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors in partnership with the L.A. City/County Native American Indian Commission and the California Native Vote Project September 28, 2023 Roundtable Policy Discussion: MMIP grant funding & AB 1574 (Waldron) Hosted by: Pala Band of Mission Indians in partnership with California Tribal Business Alliance September 30, 2023 Missing in California Indian Country, Southern California Region Hosted by: Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians in partnership with Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and the California Department of Justice-Office of Native American Affairs Key Components of the Cohort 2 MMIP RFP In October 2023, the MMIP ESC reconvened and agreed to several non-substantive revisions to the Cohort 2 RFP. Revisions included the addition of language to highlight the flexibility afforded by authorizing legislation in the types of activities that can be implemented and to encourage collaborative applications among one or more tribes. The following language was added to the Cohort 2 RFP: Funds can be used for activities such as: • Culturally based outreach and awareness campaigns • Mental health services • Substance use disorder treatment • Reunification of indigenous foster youth or runaways with their families page | 4 • Community healing activities • Activities to prevent human trafficking • Services for the families of missing or murdered indigenous people • Promoting coordination between tribal police and their non-tribal counterparts • Legal clinics that offer training on the development of formal agreements between tribes and state and local governments • Funding law enforcement partnerships with local law enforcement agencies At the urging of tribal representatives, BSCC also increased the application period from two months to four months. Tribes that were successful in the first round of funding are eligible to apply for Cohort 2 funding but will be awarded only if there are funds remaining after all eligible first-time applicants have been funded. On November 17, 2023, BSCC released the MMIP Cohort 2 RFP. The RFP was posted to the BSCC website and a Notice of Funding Availability was distributed via email to various tribal organizations and tribal associations. BSCC has committed to continuous outreach efforts throughout the RFP period, which concludes on March 15, 2024. BSCC staff will host two virtual Grant Information Sessions, one in December 2023 and one in January 2024. At these information sessions, BSCC staff will review application submission instructions, funding information, eligible grant activities, and the rating process. For those unable to attend, the Grant Information Sessions will be recorded and posted to the BSCC Website. BSCC also plans to speak in person before tribal associations and meet with tribal leaders to increase awareness of the MMIP Grant. In June 2024, BSCC anticipates making additional awards to several California tribes, with a grant start date of August 1, 2024. page | 5