REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
August 8, 2023
FROM
TRACY REECE, Chief Probation Officer, Probation Department
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Contract with Mary’s Mercy Center, Inc. for Housing Services for Adult Offenders
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 1 to Contract No. 22-427 with Mary’s Mercy Center, Inc. to expand housing services for adult offenders to include adult pregnant females and adult females with children, with no change to the aggregate contract amount of $16,000,000, or the contract period of July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2027.
(Presenter: Tracy Reece, Chief Probation Officer, 387-5692)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Create, Maintain and Grow Jobs and Economic Value in the County.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). Cost for the provision of housing services to adult offenders over the five-year period will be fully funded by the State Realignment funding received under Assembly Bill (AB) 109. There will be no change to the original contract aggregate amount of $16,000,000 for housing services. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Probation Department’s (Department) 2023-24 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On April 4, 2011, the Governor of California signed AB 109, the Public Safety Realignment Act (Realignment). The bill created a provision for the adjudication of parole violations at the local level, rather than returning these offenders to the state prison system. Essentially, Realignment displaced responsibility for supervision of these offenders from the state to the local level.
Parolees are titled "Post Release Community Supervision" or PRCS offenders, after their current offense is determined to be non-serious, non-violent, and non-sexual abuse related. Realignment dictates that these individuals be released for supervision to the local county where they were originally sentenced. The legislation also requires that best practices be utilized for treatment and rehabilitation.
On June 14, 2022 (Item No. 44), the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved 17 contracts with 17 different agencies to provide emergency shelters and transitional housing services (Services) to adult offenders, under supervision of the Department, in the total aggregate amount of $16,000,000 effective July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2027. At the time these contracts were executed, Mary’s Mercy Center, Inc. (Contract No. 22-427) was only able to provide Services for male offenders. In 2023, Mary’s Mercy Center, Inc. notified the Department that it has established a new facility to extend Services to adult pregnant females and adult females with children. Approval of this item will allow Mary’s Mercy Center, Inc. to provide such Services to adult pregnant females and adult females with children 12 years old and under, enhancing the number of housing opportunities.
The Department continues to demonstrate its commitment to provide Services to adult offenders having a need for this assistance. The recommended contract amendment will enhance the number of housing opportunities to the reentry population with overnight emergency housing and transitional housing assistance during their grants of supervision, and will allow these clients to stabilize, receive resources, and eventually exit transitional housing and remain law abiding. Providing these Services helps offenders reintegrate into the community with the objective of reducing recidivism.
PROCUREMENT
The Department released a Request for Proposals (RFP No. PROB22-PROB-4436) on January 14, 2022, and a second Request for Proposals (RFP No. PROB22-PROB-4490) on March 15, 2022. As a result of these formal procurements, on June 14, 2022 (Item No. 44), the Board approved contracts with 17 agencies to provide emergency shelter and transitional housing services to adult offenders in an aggregate amount not to exceed $16,000,000 for a five-year period of July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2027.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Jamie Ryan, Supervising Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on July 17, 2023; Purchasing Department (Michelle Churchill, Supervising Buyer, 387-2070) on July 14, 2023; Finance (Kathleen Gonzalez, Administrative Analyst, 387-5214) on July 18, 2023; and County Finance and Administration (Robert Saldana, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on July 24, 2023.