When the County seeks a contractor to provide AB 109 Community Programs services for implementation of the Board of Supervisors-adopted AB 109 Public Safety Realignment Budget, the ORJ is charged with conducting the procurement process. In compliance with all known local and state regulations and laws related to contracting and confidentiality, the process that staff has followed for the past four years of AB 109 Community Programs implementation includes the steps described below.
1. RFP/Q/I Development
To begin the procurement process, ORJ staff will develop a solicitation document in the form of a Request for Proposals (RFP), a Request for Qualifications (RFQ), or a Request for Interest (RFI). The solicitation document is developed in consultation with key stakeholders, who have included (at various times) staff of the Probation Department, the District Attorney's Office, the Office of the Public Defender, the Employment & Human Services Department, and Health Services Department, in addition to representatives of the Community Advisory Board to the CCP and other subject-matter experts. The procurement documents utilized by other counties are also considered, and the Purchasing Manager is often consulted with as well.
The basic elements of the procurement document include the following:
a) The Announcement of the procurement opportunity and either a Mandatory or Discretionary Bidders’ Conference;
b) The Timeline of the procurement process;
c) The Project Description/ Statement of Work;
d) The RFP/Q/I Requirements and Instructions for Bidders/Responders;
e) Proposal/ Response Preparation Instructions;
f) Proposal Review and Selection information;
g) Evaluation Process/Rating Sheet;
h) Required Attachments, Forms and Checklist;
i) County Contract Requirements.
The selection of the procurement document type is also determined in consultation with key stakeholders, and this generally varies depending on the nature of the services sought. An RFP is typically utilized when requesting more detailed information related to a unique or specific program design or service offering that usually requires specific program element costs, and a more detailed implementation timeline. RFQs are generally used when the nature of the services is not anticipated to vary greatly by contractor, and the expertise and experience of the responder is of paramount importance. An RFI is utilized when there is an assumption that there may be a limited number of interested responders; if the RFI generates significant response, an RFP/Q then follows for a more detailed response/proposal from interested contractors. Since 2013, ORJ staff have conducted 24 solicitations. See Attachment A for a list of these solicitations. The solicitation process generally requires a minimum of four months to complete, from the directive to proceed through the establishment of a contract. The timing for the major activities of the process are:
- 1 month for solicitation document development and issuance (minimum)
- 1 month for response preparation by potential contractors (minimum)
- 1 month for response review and contract award
- 1 month for contract development
2. Outreach and Information Process
After issuance of the solicitation document, which then requires additional outreach efforts by staff to identify potential responders, staff of the ORJ will conduct a Bidders’ Conference, often in each region of the County if services are to be provided on a regional basis, and made available via webinar.
Questions and answers from the Bidders’ Conference and those received during the specified period are published in Addenda to the document, made available on the County's website, BidSync, and distributed electronically to all Bidders’ Conference attendees and other potentially interested bidders.
3. Response Review and Contract Award Recommendation Process
ORJ staff then convenes a Review Panel to evaluate responses that ORJ staff determine are compliant with technical specifications of the procurement document. A Review Panel usually consists of five to seven members who are stakeholders and participants in the reentry and justice fields. Staff requests CCP representation on each Review Panel from a minimum of two members. CCP members often delegate their participation to senior staff in their department. The RFP/Q will generally identify the categories of Review Panel membership.
Each member of a Review Panel must sign an Impartiality Statement verifying that they have no conflicts of interest with regard to the contractor(s) being reviewed. (Impartiality Statement is available on request.) Utilizing the services of a neutral and impartial Panel Facilitator, the Review Panel evaluates the responses and assigns a consensus score to each proposal element based on the Rating Sheet included in the solicitation. Interviews may be conducted as needed; the Review Panel makes the determination of the need for a formal interview, which are often held. Upon conclusion of its response review process, the Review Panel makes a contract award recommendation which is published by ORJ staff.
4. Contract Award Review and Approval Process
It has been the practice of the staff of the ORJ, as scheduled meeting time permits, to send the Review Panel recommendations to either the CCP, the Board’s Public Protection Committee (PPC), or both, for their review and recommendation prior to final consideration and contract award by the Board of Supervisors. As most contract periods are established to commence on a fiscal year basis, which is a preferable contract term for accounting purposes, this objective can be met only if staff adheres to the CCP meeting schedule, sending all contract award recommendations to the CCP at its June meeting.
There is no legal requirement that either the CCP or the PPC review a contract award recommendation, or a proposed contract between the County and an AB 109 service provider, before its presentation to the Board of Supervisors for its consideration. When either the CCP or the PPC reviews a proposed contract, it has been staff’s practice to provide these bodies with the Review Panel’s score, a summary of the procurement process, and a description of the Review Panel members. However, in compliance with the County's Better Government Ordinance, each potential contractor’s entire response has not been disclosed until after Board of Supervisors awards the contract. It has been staff’s practice to provide the Board of Supervisors with the same information provided to the CCP and/or the PPC. The decision on whether to enter into a contract with a contractor for AB 109 services is entirely within the Board’s discretion.
To date, the Board of Supervisors has not adopted a policy addressing when AB 109 Community Programs contracts should be submitted to the CCP for a recommendation, or whether RFP/Q/I responses should be part of the CCP recommendation process. If it is determined that responses should be provided to CCP and/or PPC members at any stage in the process, the responses will become public documents at that time. Contractors responding to solicitation documents should be advised of the policy as part of the application process so they will know the circumstances that will result in their responses becoming public records.
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