Consistent with the direction from this Committee, the ORJ invited a representative from Probation, the District Attorney, Public Defender, and CCP Community Advisory Board (CAB) to participate on a workgroup that would develop a two-stage solicitation process. This workgroup met in person and by phone during the development phase of all solicitation documents, and multiple opportunities to review and comment on document drafts were provided. Based on recommendations from the CAB, housing and employment services were ultimately integrated into a single solicitation.
Stage 1 of the solicitation process consisted of four Request for Interest (RFI) that sought responses from agencies with interest in providing the services to the County with the following funding amounts over for three fiscal years (a three-year total of $16,004,000):
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Employment and Housing Services - $10,715,000
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Family Reunification and Mentoring - $1,881,000
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Central-East Network - $2,937,000
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Civil Legal Services - $471,000
Stage 2 began when ORJ announced the beginning of the RFP process to eligible agencies on April 3, 2019. One RFP was distributed for Housing and Employment Services, and a second for Mentoring and Family Reunification Services. A mandatory bidder’s conference was held April 9, 2019, and all eligible responders attended. A required Notice of Intent was due on April 19, 2019, and only one eligible agency did not submit a timely notice. All but three of the eligible agencies submitted a timely response package by the due date of May 1, 2019, with two agencies submitting a joint response. There were a total of seven proposals received for Housing and Employment Services (with two proposals for both service areas), and four proposals received for Mentoring and Family Reunification Services (with one proposal for both services). Review Panels were constructed for each RFP with proposal evaluations and interviews occurring the week of May 13, 2019. Panel recommendations for Employment Support and Placement Services were announced on May 15, 2019, and all other Panel recommendations were announced May 17, 2019.
RFP Review Panels
The RFP Review Panels were convened by the ORJ and included subject matter experts, formerly incarcerated individuals, and representatives of organizations that either work with the reentry population directly or support agencies that provide services to the reentry population. Donté Blue, ORJ Deputy Director, facilitated the work of each review panel. The Review Panels utilized a “Consensus Scoring Methodology” for proposal evaluation and rating, and all members were required to return an Impartiality Statement before serving in order to ensure there were no individuals with conflicts of interest. Each panel made an independent determination of whether to invite any proposers for an interview prior to making its recommendation. The review panels invited the top two scoring agencies for interviews in each of the RFP services areas, except for the Employment Support and Placement Services award recommendation that the panel made without an interview.
The Review Panel for the Housing and Employment Services RFP responses was as follows:
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Charles Brown III, Business Services Representative, County Workforce Development Board
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Katie Kramer, Chief Executive Officer, The Bridging Group
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Lonnie Tuck, Regional Director, Center for Employment Opportunities
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Joseph Villarreal, Executive Director, Contra Costa County Housing Authority
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Denise Zabkiewicz, Research and Evaluation Manager, Office of Reentry and Justice
The Panel scored the proposals as follows [countywide services proposed unless otherwise noted]:
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Short- and Long-Term Housing Access
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Lao Family Community Development (77.5 pts.)
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Shelter Inc. (70 pts.)
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Employment Support and Placement Services
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Rubicon Programs (97.5 pts.)
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Richmond Workforce Development Board (86.5 pts.) [West County services proposed]
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Contra Costa County Office of Education (84.5 pts.)
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Goodwill Industries (83.5 pts.)
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Fast Community Development (81 pts.) [East or Central County services proposed]
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Lao Family Community Development (77.5 pts.) [West County services proposed]
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Shelter Inc. (57 pts.)
The Review Panel for the Mentoring and Family Reunification Services RFP responses was as follows:
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Dieudonné Brou, Managing Associate, Alameda County Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership
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Lara DeLaney, Director, Office of Reentry and Justice
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Oscar Flores, All of Us or None National Organizer, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
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DeVonn Powers, Chief Executive Officer, Humanity Way (Community Advisory Board Member)
The Panel scored the proposals as follows:
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Mentoring Services in West County
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Rubicon Programs (71.5 pts.)
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Men and Women of Purpose (68.5 pts.)
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Countywide Family Reunification Services
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Centerforce (74.5 pts.)
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Center for Human Development (61.5 pts.)
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Men and Women of Purpose (54 pts.)
Summaries of Recommended Proposals and Panel Comments
MENTORING AND FAMILY REUNIFICATION SERVICES
Family Reunification Services
Centerforce
Panel recommends an award of up to $282,000 for Countywide Family Reunification Services [$282,000 requested]
Centerforce has been in operation for over 40 years and provides direct services to more than 400 clients annually to support, educate, and advocate for individuals, families and communities impacted by incarceration. For the past 15 years, Centerforce has provided family reunification services that include parenting classes and case management. In conjunction with Rubicon Programs, Centerforce currently operates a Back to Family program focused on supporting the efforts of parents to reunite with their children and partners. Centerforce staff includes individuals and family members of individuals who are formerly incarcerated, men and women of color, and that speak both English and Spanish. The program will be staffed by a Program Manager and three Parenting Coaches/Case Managers totaling .8 FTE, and will include the administrative support of the ED at .1 FTE. Services will be provide in space provided by Rubicon Programs in each of the County’s three regions.
The program is based on the “Parenting Inside Out” curriculum and intends to enroll at least 45 participants for services annually. Within a month of enrollment, program participants will be expected to complete a series of 10 classes dealing with parenting and relationship issues that include the management of stress in relationships, co-parenting, and discipline. Once completed, participants will begin to receive to receive intensive case management services that begin with the development of a Family Reunification Plan. The Plan will identify the need for coaching, mediation, education, and support of pro-social familial interactions. Services provided to participants may also include the provision of in-person and written support for a family court matter, advocacy with Children and Family Services if a child is in the foster care system, and other reunification support as necessary.
Centerforce intends to utilize the Level of Service/Case Management Inventory to identify the needs of participants and their risk for recidivism. This tool will be used to target resources at the highest risk participants. The program is designed to enhance the intrinsic motivation of participants to engage with children, partner/spouse, and pro-social community supports. Participants will not only be trained to develop critical communication skills, but also offered the opportunity to engage with family using tickets to local entertainment events (sports, museums, theatre, etc.) provided by the Community Access Ticket Service (CATS).
Mentoring Services in West County
Men and Women of Purpose
Panel recommends an award of up to $345,000 for West County Mentoring Services [$345,000 requested]
Men and Women of Purpose (MWP) have been in operation since 2011, and provided mentoring services to the County for the past six years. During this time, the organization has met with over 5,400 justice involved individuals 60% of whom are Black men and approximately 10% have been women. They utilize the Insight Prison Project curriculum, and work with individuals both while they are in custody, and upon their release. The program will be operated by a Mentor Manager, three paid Peer Mentors, and an Addiction Specialist for a total of 1.6 FTE. Administrative support from the agency’s CEO, COO, Administrative Assistant, and Data Clerk an additional .95 FTE assisting the program. Three volunteer Peer Mentors will also each provide 8 hrs. a week to the program.
MWP will begin working with individuals while they are still incarcerated in a local jail when possible and provide two 90 minute out of custody support groups to program participants each week. Mentoring Services will be provided to 120 program participants annually who will also have access to weekly one-on-one mentoring sessions according to their individual needs plan. Participants will participate in mentoring services for six months. Services are expected to be provided at MWP’s offices and the Reentry Success Center, both in Richmond. During program participation, MWP mentors will be expected to help connect participants to the resources needed to overcome barriers to their reintegration.
Panel Comments
The panel recognized that MWP scored less than Rubicon Programs, and usually this would suffice in recommending the County fund Rubicon Programs for these services. However, the Panel agreed to recommend the contract for Mentoring Services be awarded to MWP for the following overriding considerations.
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When looking at the financial information of Rubicon and MWP, the panel believed that terminating the contract with MWP would be a significant financial blow to the agency and could likely be fatal. Because the County indicated that MWP had satisfactorily performed on its current and previous contract for similar services, the panel did not believe that the potential incremental gain in service provision Rubicon might provide outweighed the substantial loss of potentially having one less agency providing services to the local reentry population.
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Based on the RFP language and scoring Rubric, the Panel believed the County had an express interest in investing in local organizations. While Rubicon is a local agency, the Panel recognized that there is a recommendation pending that would seek to invest more than $2.5 million in AB 109 revenue alone in the agency during FY 2019-20. MWP on the other hand could be labeled as an indigenous agency because it is not only local to Contra Costa but was also founded by County residents. The Panel believed continued investments in such indigenous organizations was consistent with the County’s interests.
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Lastly, the Panel believed Rubicon’s proposal was well written and worthy of being considered for funding under different circumstances. However, since current funding levels could only support a single award, and the Panel was convinced that recent changes in MWP leadership provided an opportunity to invest this single award in the strategic growth of MWP.
EMPLOYMENT AND HOUSING SERVICES
Employment Support and Placement Services
Rubicon Programs
Panel recommends an award of up to $6,849,000 [$6,848,999 requested]
Founded in 1973, Rubicon is a non-profit recognized for its integrated housing, mental health, relapse prevention, legal, financial education and employment services whose participant base includes a significant percentage of individuals with a history of justice involvement. Rubicon has been providing employment services as part of the AB 109 community programs since 2013 and proposes to continue providing a comprehensive suite of employment and career services through its program. Services will be provided in Rubicon service sites in East and West County, and at the Mount Diablo Adult Education Loma Vista site in Central County.
The program design targets 200 participants per year (125 in East County, 75 in Central County and 100 in West County). Phase 1 includes: Intake and Assessment, a 50 hour Job Readiness and Financial Literacy Training, Small Group Job Search Support and Digital Literacy Training, Benefits Screening and Application Assistance, and both Subsidized and Transitional Employment. Phase 2 incudes Vocational Assessment and Career Advising, Vocational Skills Training, and Individualized Job Placement and Retention Services. These retention services will be provided for up three years along with job advancement support. The average length of engagement with the program is 15 to 24 months.
Rubicon's employment program offers a full range of grant-funded and leveraged employment services and also offers access to other Rubicon services including domestic violence screening and counseling, as well as anger management training by STAND!, GED prep through Liberty Adult Education, and adult basic literacy support through Literacy for Every Adult Program (LEAP). In addition the staffing for the proposal included just over 22 FTEs, leveraging a number of existing staff with about ten new staff to be hired. Total FTEs dedicated to the project: 5.98 FTEs for West County, 6.85 FTEs for Central County, 7.83 FTEs for East County, and 1.55 FTEs in program adminstration roles.
Short- and Long-TermHousing Access
Shelter Inc.
Panel recommends an award of up to $2,576,000 for Housing Services [$3,866,000 requested]
Shelter Inc. (SI) has been the County’s contracted provider of AB 109 Housing services since 2013, having provided 518 clients (unduplicated) with housing assistance services. SI has at least 19 years of experience providing services requested in the RFP. SI proposes to offer intensive case management with Sober Living Environments (SLE) used to provide short term housing support, and long-term housing rental assistance. Case management will not only help individuals address their housing barriers, but also access needed behavioral health, legal, and family reunification services. The program is designed to help clients work towards self-sufficiency.
SI is proposing a step-down model of subsidized housing support where the program will target covering 100% of housing costs will be paid during the first month, 80% during the second month, 60% in month three, 40% in month four, 20% will be covered in the fifth month, and 10% in the sixth month. Participants will be expected to cover their own housing costs in month seven and beyond, but may be eligible for additional months of subsidized costs in some situations. The program will also provide support for rental assistance, security deposits, and utilities. About 75 individuals will receive housing assistance across the county at the recommended funding levels.
Lao Family Community Development
Panel recommends an award of up to $1,290,000 [$3,866,000 requested]
LFCD has provided to “hard to reach” groups for almost 40 years. They have recently began to provide Career Technical Education services to the AB 109 population in Alameda County. They are proposing a project they call the My Action Plan 2 Jobs and Housing (MAP 2 JH). This program attempts to build from a housing program they have previously utilized for resettled immigrant refugee populations. MAP 2 JH seeks to leverage Workforce Investment and Opportunities Act funding through its present relationship with America’s Job Centers of California, current and future LFCD real estate holdings, and the agency’s ongoing relationships with landlords and the San Pablo Economic Development Center.
The project will provide up to 24 months of long term housing support with beds for at least 14 individuals annually at the recommended funding levels. Initially participant needs will be assessed. This process will include a financial evaluation, health survey, and other screening as appropriate. These early assessments will be used to develop each participants individualized MAP. MAPs will include referrals to established partners to address needs, vocational interests and trainings needed, and a long-term plan to achieve the income needed to maintain independent housing. Services to provided as part of the program include cognitive behavioral training, life skills education, and support with money management and budgeting.
Once enrolled in the program, the first three months housing will be full subsidized by LFCD during which time participants will be supported in finding employment. During months 4 – 12 participants will be required to save up to a third of their income in an individual development account, and also pay up to 30% of their income towards their housing costs. Months 13-24 participants will continue to be supported and case managed, but will not have any of their housing costs subsidized. During this time they expect to ensure all residents retain employment and make progress toward the goals identified on their MAP. By month 24 the program expects participants that have adequately progressed through the goals of their MAP to have achieved placement in some form of permanent housing.
Panel Comments
The panel recognized that LFCD scored had the higher overall score. The two proposed programs are very different with SI’s program based on the utilization of SLEs and LFCD seeking to lease new properties directly. The Panel believes that SI has the greater experience in providing services to this population but seeks to provide LFCD a portion of what they requested to see if models the organization has used with other populations can be adjusted to be successful with the reentry population. Furthermore, the panel sees value in supporting the growth of experience in multiple agencies that provide housing for the reentry population. Because what LFCD is proposing has not yet been proven to be successful with the reentry population, the Panel felt it would not be prudent to award LFCD the entire funding allocation at this time. Instead, the Panel is recommending that LFCD be awarded approximately one-third of the available funding, be directed to either work with Rubicon or leverage other outside funding for employment services, and the success and value of the program be taken into consideration during future funding cycles. In the meantime, the County should award the remainder of the funding allocation to SI to provide housing access services similar to those currently provided.
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