Request for Qualifications Process for Grant Writing Services Related to Justice System
Submitted For:
PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE,
Department:
County Administrator
Referral No.:
2019-14
Referral Name:
RFQ for Grant Writing Services
Presenter:
L. DeLaney and D. Blue
Contact:
L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097
Referral History:
The Public Protection Committee has provided input to the contractor procurement process for AB 109-funded contracts since 2013.
Referral Update:
The Office of Reentry & Justice is in the process of developing a Request for Qualifications to identify qualified contractors to provide grant writing services to the County for justice-related grants. Over the past several years, the State and Federal governments have made and continue to make funding opportunities available to counties to support justice related initiatives. The County has applied successfully for a number of these grants including:
the federal Second Chance Act grant (2013)
the federal Smart Reentry grant (2016)
the federal Byrne JAG grant (2015)--applied for funding in 2019 as well
the federal Smart Defense Initiative grant (2016),
the state's Prop. 47 Grant (2017)-- applied for Round 2 funding in 2019
The County has also submitted applications for the BSCC's Youth Reinvestment Grant (2019), through the District Attorney's Office. In addition, County staff continues to review and consider applications for other funding opportunities including:
1. Department of Justice's "Improving Reentry for Adults with Co-occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Illness"
2. Department of Justice's "Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program"
Responding quickly and effectively to these grant opportunities often requires the assistance of grant writing professionals. Therefore, the ORJ is embarking on a process to develop a list of qualified grant writers from which it can draw to support grant opportunities as they arise. Funding for any ensuing contracts related to specific grants would be provided by the AB 109 Planning and Implementation funds, as available.
The proposed timeline for this process is as follows:
Timeline for the RFQ for Grant Writing Services
Event
Date
RFQ Draft & Timeline to Review Cmte.
June 3-June 14
PPC Designates Evaluators
June 3, 2019
RFQ Issued
June 17, 2019
Written Questions Due from bidders
noon, June 26
Addendum Issued
June 27, 2019
Responses Due
July 10, 2019
Evaluation Period
July 11-Jul. 26
Vendor Interviews
July 22- July 26
Results Letter Issued
July 26, 2019
Appeal Period
July 26-August 2
Public Protection Reviews Results
August 5, 2019
Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):
CONSIDER providing direction to staff on the development of the procurement process for grant writing services for justice-related grants, including recommendations related to Review Panel members, timeline of the process, and outreach activities.