Agenda

Return

C.119

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	David Twa, County Administrator
Date:	October 17, 2017

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Contract Award for Program Evaluation Services for Prop. 47 "CoCo LEAD+"

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 10/17/2017

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: October 17, 2017
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Health Services Director, or designee, to execute a contract subject to approval to form by County Counsel with Urban Institute, in an amount not to exceed $320,592 to provide program evaluation services for the County's Proposition 47-funded "CoCo LEAD+" project for the period October 16, 2017 through September 30, 2020.

FISCAL IMPACT:

$320,592 in anticipated expenditures; 100% funded by Proposition 47 funds. Appropriations budgeted.

BACKGROUND:

On June 8, 2017, Contra Costa County's Health Services Department was awarded $5,984,000 in Proposition 47 funding for its "CoCo LEAD+" project. Funded by the statewide savings generated from Proposition 47, a voter-approved initiative passed in November 2014, CoCo LEAD+ is a partnership of Contra Costa County’s Behavioral Health Services, County Probation Department, the Antioch Police Department, the Contra Costa Housing Authority, the County’s Health, Housing, and Homeless Services, and community-based organizations.

BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)

In collaboration with the Antioch Police Department, the program will implement new arrest-diversion protocols and intensive, coordinated services for people with behavioral health issues who have been repeatedly arrested for a broad array of low-level, non-violent charges. Start-up activities have commenced, with services anticipated to begin by the end of 2017. CoCo LEAD+ will provide pre-arrest “social contact,” post-arrest, pre-booking, and post-booking diversion opportunities and services for adults with behavioral health issues who have been arrested by the Antioch Police Department (“APD”) more than once in twelve months for eligible misdemeanors or “wobblers.” Probationers arrested on divertible charges in Antioch or cited for technical violations will also be eligible. CoCo LEAD+ is expected to divert and enroll 200 unduplicated adult individuals in 38 months.

Lead agencies, including Contra Costa County, whose projects (such as CoCo LEAD+) were selected for Proposition 47 funding by the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) are required to submit a Local Evaluation Plan to the BSCC by November 15, 2017; a Two-Year Preliminary Evaluation Report by August 15, 2019; and a Final Local Evaluation Report by September 30, 2020 to the BSCC.
In addition, the contracted evaluator will be expected to deliver internal evaluation reports offering findings and recommendations for quality improvement, additional data collection, and ongoing or modified evaluation activities.

As specified in the Prop. 47 RFP, plans to measure the effectiveness of a project should include the use of both qualitative and quantitative research. While quantitative research is based on numbers and mathematical calculations, qualitative research is based on written or spoken narratives. The purpose of quantitative research is to explain, predict and/or control events through focused collection of numerical data, while the purpose of qualitative research is to explain and gain insight and understanding of events through intensive collection of narrative data.

CoCo LEAD+ will be led by a management team coordinated by the Behavioral Health Division, under the supervision of the Forensic Mental Health Director. Consistent with the LEAD model and to foster collective systems change while advancing operational efficiencies, certain aspects of the work of CoCo LEAD+ will be stewarded by two multisector, multi-disciplinary, data-driven work groups (a Policy Team and an Operations Team/Diversion Panel), which will include project staff from CCHS, justice partners (APD, Probation, Sheriff’s Office, District Attorney, and Public Defender), the County Housing Authority, the CoCo LEAD+ Manager, and various service partners. The project is further informed by a Local Advisory Committee (LAC), a diverse 13-member body that includes both institutional and individual representatives. The contracted evaluator will be expected to support the data-related work of these bodies; this may include making presentations, conducting interviews or focus groups, and receiving input on direction and focus of the work.

To assist with project launch activities, the Office of Reentry & Justice (ORJ) in the County Administrator's Office assumed responsibility for the procurement process for program evaluation services. A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was issued by the ORJ on August 28, 2017. Responses were due by noon on September 21, 2017. The ORJ distributed the RFQ to over 45 known evaluation organizations, and the opportunity was also posted on the County's BidSync platform. Three responses were received by the deadline. A Review Panel was convened on September 26, 2017 to rate the proposals. The top scoring proposal was submitted by Urban Institute, Justice Policy Center.

“Established in 1968, Urban Institute is a non-profit, nonpartisan research organization based in Washington, D.C., staffed by 400 researchers whose work focuses on a range of domestic policy issues. Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center, comprised of 50 researchers, is nationally recognized for conducting high-quality research and evaluation on issues at the intersection of criminal justice and behavioral health, reentry, criminal justice reform, juvenile justice, and victimization.”

The Review Panel was comprised of (in alphabetic order):

Kenneth Gallagher, Research and Evaluation Manager, Contra Costa County Health Services
Patrice Guillory, Reentry Network Manager, HealthRIGHT 360
Stephanie Medley, RYSE Center, Youth Justice Director
Marie Scannell, Mental Health Program Manager, Contra Costa County Health Services
Lesha Roth, Assistant Chief Probation Officer
John VanderKlugt, Antioch Police Department (Lieutenant, ret.)

No appeal of the decision was received by the County Administrator's Office.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

If the Board does not authorize the execution of this contract, the County will not have a program evaluator for the project.