The Public Protection Committee has provided input on the solicitation process for AB 109 Community Program reentry service providers, undertaken by the County Administrator's Office (and, now, the Office of Reentry & Justice) since 2013. The funding for the AB 109 Community Programs is developed through recommendations by the Community Advisory Board (CAB) to the Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) and the Public Protection Committee, and ultimately approved by the Board of Supervisors and included in the County's adopted Budget.
On November 2, 2018, the CCP received an update on the CAB's proposed policy & budget recommendations for FY 19/20. CAB's proposal to CCP is inlcuded as Attachment B.
On December 7, 2018, the CCP Executive Committee voted on FY 2019-2020 AB 109 Public Safety Realignment funding recommendations that included allocations of the following to the AB 109 Community Programs:
Employment Support and Placement Services: $2,283,000
Reentry Network System of Services: $979,000
Reentry Success Center: $546,335
Short and Long-term Housing Access: $1,272,000
Legal Services: $157,000
Mentoring and Family Reunification Services: $209,000
Connections to Resources: $15,000
CAB Support $3,031
Salesforce Licensing: $17,000
Total: $5,481,366
At their January 28, 2019 meeting, the PPC discussed the possibility of increasing the AB 109 Community Programs support. They requested staff provide information about the unmet service needs of the returning residents. ORJ staff notes that housing access is the greatest unmet need that is most frequently identified, followed by additional civil legal services. In addition, post-placement employment services to ensure clients are finding and keeping the "better job" after initial successful placement are also in need of enhancement. Staff requests direction on the utilization of FY 2018-19 funds in the amount of $50,000 that were allocated to Reach Fellowship International for housing services for women and children; Reach declined to enter into contract for these services. In addition, staff notes that the amount requested by the CAB for support of the Salesforce licenses required for data reporting was not sufficient to cover the full-year cost of licenses; an additional $17,000 is required.
At their December 7, 2018 meeting, the CCP also voted to recommend, upon a recommendation from the CAB and the Quality Assurance Committee (QAC) of the CCP, that contracts for these services be issued as 5-year contracts rather than 3-year contracts, as has been the practice to this point. Following Administrative Bulletin 613 (attached), the AB 109 Community Programs contracts have been offered/noticed in the RFP process as one-year contracts with two (2) one-year renewals upon determination of successful performance.
Administrative Bulletin 613 provides:
Contract Term - A contract with a one-year term may not be renewed more than two times, for a total of three years, without a competitive bidding process. Contracts with a term exceeding one year may not exceed three years in length and may not be renewed or extended without a competitive bidding process.
However, the Bulletin also provides a waiver to the policy:
IV. Waivers. Prior to entering into any contractual agreement under this bulletin, a department may apply to the County Administrator for waiver of the competitive bidding process. Waiver requests must clearly explain the extenuating circumstances that justify the waiver. The County Administrator or authorized designee will evaluate waiver requests, including the applicability of State and Federal statutes. The Administrator will either deny the request or, if appropriate, recommend approval by the Board of Supervisors.
(Note that the current 3-year contract period for the Reentry Success Center will not expire until June 30, 2020.) |
At their January 28, 2019 meeting, the Public Protection Committee requested that staff provide information about the proposed 2019 contractor solicitation process for the implementation of the AB 109 Community Programs. Based on input received from the Community Advisory Board (CAB), the Quality Assurance Committee (QAC), and the Community Corrections Partnership (CCP), and following the protocol and requirements of prior solicitations for reentry service providers, the Office of Reentry & Justice (ORJ) proposes the following process and terms for the 2019 solicitation and requests input from the Public Protection Committee at its Feb. 4, 2019 meeting.
Contract Opportunity
The ORJ proposes to utilize both an RFI (Request For Interest) and an RFP (Request For Proposals) process to solicit proposals from qualified contractors to provide the AB 109 Community Programs reentry services for a period of up to 5 years.
The RFI/RFP would specify that the term of agreement resultant of the solicitation would be a three (3) year contract (July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2022) with an expectation of two (2) annual renewals (contract amendments) upon successful contract performance and based on the availability of funding. Therefore, a solicitation process would not be conducted again for these services for another five years unless contractor performance required the termination of the contract and the solicitation of a new contractor.
(With regard to contractor performance, the ORJ is now staffed with a Research and Evaluation Manager, who is administering the Salesforce data system ("SAFE") and monitoring the contractor data reports to ensure better data quality, moving forward.)
Extending the contract period to five years offers the contractors more financial certainty and stability, an opportunity to provide follow-up services to clients over a longer period of time and the opportunity to track outcomes for longer periods; it reduces administrative costs and provides opportunity for better program evaluation as well.
The RFI process is a written solicitation process prepared and issued for the purpose of seeking information about interested contractors and potential proposers. The RFI would precede the issuance of an RFP.
For 2019, the ORJ proposes the following solicitations:
1. 1 (one) RFI/RFP for Employment($2,283,000/ year) and Housingservices ($1,272,000/year) : Proposers should indicate whether they would intend to propose services for one or both service areas (employment, housing services), and if only for one, indicate how they would collaborate with other type of service providers. Proposers should also indicate the regions of the County (East, Central, West) in which they propose to operate.
In previous solicitations, the PPC provided input on the proportion of funding allocated to each region for Employment services, with West County receiving 30% of the total available funding, Central County receiving 30% of the funding, and East County receiving 40%.
Note that for FY 2018-19, the contractor providing housing support for women and children, Reach Fellowship International, declined a contract in the amount of $50,000; this contract was issued as a result of the 2016 RFP process and represented the third year of the contract period. The PPC may wish to provide direction on the utilization of this funding.
2. 1 (one) RFI/RFP for the Reentry Network Management and Services ($979,000/year); Proposers should indicate their interest in providing the Central and East County Reentry Network management functions and Reentry Network Services, consistent with the adopted plan for the "East & Central Networked System of Services" and the "Network System Manual & Operations Plan." Proposals that diverge from these plans would be expected to describe the reason for such differences.
The FY 18-19 contract ($972,290) provides $623,890 for Network Management services, and $348,400 for Network Services. These "Network" services include:
-
$156,000 for Transitional Housing (Mz. Shirliz, subcontractor)
-
$67,600 for Specialized Vocational Training (Fast Eddie's, subcontractor)
-
$62,400 for Employment and Education Liaison Services (Men and Women of Purpose, subcontractor)
-
$62,400 for Pre/Post-Release Women's Case Management services (Centerforce, subcontractor)
3. 1 RFI/RFP for Family Reunification ($94,000/year) and MentoringServices ($115,000): Proposers can indicate whether they would intend to propose services for one or both service areas, but each service would need to be provided on a countywide basis;
4. 1 RFI/RFP for Legal Services ($157,000/year) to be provided countywide to clients for civil legal matters.
Process
The ORJ has initiated the AB 109 Community Programs solicitation process with the convening of a stakeholders meeting on January 28, 2019 which included representatives of the CAB; Probation; Health, Housing and Homeless Services; Public Defender's Office; the Sheriff's Office, and the ORJ. The purpose of the meeting was to consider the development of a solicitation timeline, discuss the CAB input on the integration of housing and employment services, and provide input on the solicitation process. The next meeting was scheduled for February 11, 2019.
The RFP/Qs that have been developed for prior solicitations will be reviewed and revised, as needed. Staff will research RFPs utilized in other jurisdictions for reentry services. Final draft RFPs can be provided to the PPC at its March 4, 2019 meeting. Staff will seek to broaden its notification and outreach process to ensure that as many potential providers are notified about the opportunities. For the establishment of Review Panels, the PPC may wish to provide input on Panel composition. For prior solicitations, Review Panels have generally been comprised of:
-
Probation representation
-
County Administrator's Office representation
-
A member of the CAB
-
Someone who has been justice-involved (or family member)
-
A subject-matter expert in the service area
-
Staff of a neighboring county working in reentry
The Review Panels are facilitated by staff of the ORJ, who do not participate in scoring. A Consensus Scoring process has been utilized for all prior solicitations.
Timeline
In light of the 2019 PPC and CCP meeting schedules, staff proposes the following schedule for the AB 109 Community Programs solicitation.
|
AB 109 Community Programs Solicitation 2019 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Event |
Date |
|
RFI Development |
Feb. 4-12 |
|
RFIs issued |
Feb. 13, 2019 |
|
RFIs Due |
Feb. 22, 109 |
|
Final Draft RFPs to PPC |
March 4, 2019 |
|
RFPs Issued |
March 5, 2019 |
|
Bidders Conference #1: East County |
Week of March 18 |
|
Bidders Conference #2: Central County |
Week of March 18 |
|
Bidders Conference #3: West County |
Week of March 18 |
|
Addendum Issued |
Week of March 18 |
|
Responses Due |
April 3, 2019 |
|
Evaluation Period |
April 4-19 |
|
Vendor Interviews |
April 15-17 |
|
Results Letter Issued |
April 19, 2019 |
|
Appeal Period |
April 22-25 |
|
Public Protection Review |
May 6, 2019 |
|
CCP Review |
June 7, 2019 |
|
Board Award Date |
June 11, 2019 |
|
Contract Start Date |
July 1, 2019 |
Note that this process only addresses the solicitation of the AB 109 Community Programs contractors and does not address the AB 109 Innovation funding. Staff anticipates undertaking the solicitation process for the AB 109 Innovation funding at a later date |