REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
April 9, 2024
FROM
LUTHER SNOKE, Chief Executive Officer, County Administrative Office
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Contract with Chung & Ignacio, LLP for Legal Representation Services.
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 1 to Contract No. 23-332 with Chung & Ignacio, LLP, to provide continued legal representation services for child support contempt and paternity cases and increase the contract’s not to exceed amount by $500,000, from $843,000 to $1,343,300, with no change to the contract term of July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2028.
(Presenter: Matthew Erickson, County Chief Financial Officer, 387-5423)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Improve County Government Operations.
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Ensure Development of a Well-Planned, Balanced, and Sustainable County.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The increase of $500,000 to Contract No. 23-332 with Chung & Ignacio LLP will not exceed $268,660 per year. Adequate appropriation is included in 2023-24 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Superior Court of California is authorized to appoint attorneys to represent persons against whom actions relating to paternity and child support have been brought pursuant to Family Code sections 17402 and 17404, and persons against whom child support contempt actions have been brought by the Department of Child Support Services (DCSS), but who do not have sufficient financial means or are otherwise unable to provide legal representation. The costs for such appointments are an obligation of the County. This contract will provide representation for such clients.
The recommended amendment will accommodate the increase in monthly court appointments due to various factors, including changing economic conditions for these clients, additional case filings by DCSS, and the loss of federal grant funds that supported these services. The federal grant is not renewable as it was a five-year demonstration project funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
On May 9, 2023 (Item No. 22), following the completion of a competitive procurement process, the Board of Supervisors approved Contract No. 23-332 for the provision of legal representation services for paternity and child support cases to Chung & Ignacia, LLP., for the period of July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2028.
PROCUREMENT
Purchasing continues to support this competitive procurement based on Request for Proposals (RFP) No. CAO123-CA05-4876 for court appointed child support contempt and paternity legal representations service providers.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Julie Surber, Principal Assistant County Counsel, 387-5455) on March 6, 2024 Purchasing (Ariel Gill, Supervising Buyer, 387-2070) on March 8, 2024; Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector (Charlene Huang, General Accounting Manager, 909-382-7022) on March 11, 2024; Finance (Kathleen Gonzalez, Administrative Analyst, 387-5412) on March 20, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Valerie Clay, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on March 22, 2024.