HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 4/6/2021 - Memorandum From Jc Ward And Leo Escalante Re: March 23, 2021 Work Session Summary - Municipal Immigration Legal Fund281 North College Avenue
P.O. Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580
970.221.6376
970.224.6134 - fax
Planning, Development & Transportation
MEMORANDUM
DATE: March 26, 2021
TO: Mayor Troxell and City Councilmembers
THRU: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Kyle Stannert, Deputy City Manager
Caryn Champine, Director of Planning, Development & Transportation
FROM: JC Ward, Senior City Planner
Leo Escalante, Community Engagement Specialist
RE: March 23, 2021 Work Session Summary Municipal Immigration Legal Fund
At the March 23rd City Council Virtual Work Session, JC Ward and Leo Escalante provided
information on municipal immigration legal fund implementation and funding models, local
demographic data and unmet needs assessment, and service delivery models for providing
assistance to undocumented residents of Fort Collins. All councilmembers were present for the
discussion via video conferencing. Funding immigration legal services for Fort Collins residents
would advance Council priorities to improve safety, community trust, equity, and livability.
General discussion and direction from the work session included:
Local Unmet Need
Federal context of the immigration system and the intersection of federal, state, and local
interests; t
as a convener, catalyst, or funder.
Challenges of accessing local data on Fort Collins residents in need of immigration legal
services due to the different reporting levels and standards at the federal level and from
private detention facilities as well as available data released monthly by county but not
broken out by city until 12-24 months later.
Barriers to receiving community input from impacted residents include lack of trust or fear
of government entities and the importance of community partners to engage in this
space due to those barriers to community engagement by City Staff.
Discussion on gaining greater clarity on the experience of Fort Collins community
members and their circumstances through data and additional community engagement.
Program Comparisons
Discussion of different models and methodology of funding levels and delivery models for
existing municipally funded immigration legal services; comparison to demographics in
Fort Collins and request for additional analysis of cities with total population sizes closer
to that in Fort Collins.
March 23, 2021 Council Work Session Summary Page 2
Municipal Immigration Legal Fund
Potential Fort Collins Models for Funding and Implementation
Additional community engagement for the general public related to the need and desire
for a City-funded immigration legal fund is requested. As COVID-19 public gathering
restrictions are lifted and more community members have vaccine access, Staff
anticipates in-person engagement opportunities for this program to occur in late
Spring/early Summer 2021.
Establishing program metrics that measure outputs, outcomes, and effectiveness are an
important part of concurrent evaluation and iterative improvement. Measuring case or
participant numbers will not provide the full picture of program outcomes such as equity
or livability.
Exploration of partnerships with Larimer County, nonprofit community partners, and
grantor organizations to fund or expand a City-sponsored immigration legal fund was
supported. Partnerships with Larimer County will need to be balanced with the policy of
using City funds to benefit City residents, particularly if Larimer County opted to assist with
funding, but committed a lower funding amount than the City.
Discussion of logistics details to understand what services would be offered, who would
be eligible for the services, and how that directly supports the local unmet need and City
Strategic Outcomes.
Next Steps & Follow-up
Staff will bring an off-cycle appropriation request for City Council discussion and First
Reading on April 20, 2021. The funding level will reflect the guidance to focus on the lower
end of the options provided and will be a one-time, pilot program through the end of 2021.
As part of the off-cycle appropriation request supporting materials, Staff will respond to
follow up questions related to unmet needs within Fort Collins (to the extent data is
available), peer city comparisons, and a preliminary concept of the service delivery model.
For the April 20th Council meeting, Staff will provide information on the universal
representation-based service levels for deportation cases and affirmative cases that
accompany the budget request so Council priorities may be built into the overall program
delivery structure.
There was interest from multiple Councilmembers for additional research on other types
of legal aid for civil cases and a potential role for the City to provide resources for those
legal service providers. Service providers, funding sources, and funding models for
general civil legal aid are different from those analyzed for this immigration legal fund
program. Staff will prepare a memo summarizing the work and timeline involved to explore