The Morgan Hill Police Department recently received a grant award from the California Department of Justice for the Proposition 56 - Tobacco Law Enforcement Grant Program. The intent of this grant is to reduce and prevent the use of tobacco products among youth and teens. These includes cigarettes, vape pens, and electronic cigarettes using flavored tobacco products. The grant total is $561,649, to be expended over three fiscal years from FY 2018-19 through FY 2020-21. This grant is extremely competitive, and the City of Morgan Hill was one of the very few agencies in the state to receive full funding for our grant request. The Department of Justice indicated they received grant requests for twice the amount allocated for this grant.

Grant funding for the Morgan Hill Police Department includes salary and benefits to hire an additional School Resource Officer whose responsibilities will include trainings for students, faculty, and parents in both middle and high school on the dangers of tobacco use, tobacco related enforcement on school campuses and city-wide; conduct trainings for sworn personnel on tobacco-related issues occurring within our community and conduct retailer education sessions. Grant funds also include over-time hours for Police Officers and Multi-Service Officers to conduct city-wide enforcement activities at parks, events, and festivals. In addition to activities conducted by the Police Department, the grant includes funding for signage at City parks and facilities as well as a unique Peer-to-Peer education and outreach program. The Peer-to-Peer program will be designed and implemented by the City's Youth Action Council (YAC) with messaging that will reach both middle and high school students. Peer-to-Peer programs have proven successful in that educational campaigns of healthy choices and behaviors resonate more with youth rather than well-meaning adults.

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