REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
January 28, 2025
FROM
AMY COUGHLIN, Director, Department of Child Support Services
SUBJECT
Title
Contract with Team Legal, Inc. for Service of Process Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve contract with Team Legal, Inc. for Service of Process services on a fee for service basis, in an amount not to exceed $1,800,000, for the period of January 28, 2025 through January 31, 2028.
(Presenter: Amy Coughlin, Director, 478-7459)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
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
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The cost of the contract with Team Legal, Inc. (Team Legal) will not exceed $1,800,000 and is funded through 66% ($1,188,000) United States Department of Health and Human Services Federal Financial Participation and 34% ($612,000) State of California (State) revenue. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) 2024-25 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
DCSS is required by federal regulation to attempt to establish and enforce child support orders by legal processes and show the Service of Process has been made on the defendant in accordance with State law. Service of Process is the procedure by which a party gives an appropriate notice of legal action to another party to enable that party to respond to the proceeding before the court. In this instance, Service of Process is the personal delivery of State, Superior Court notice(s) to all prospective parents of dependent children that a lawsuit has been initiated against them or there is other pending legal action. The recommended contract with Team Legal, will assist in providing Service of Process services for these child support cases.
DCSS determines paternity, establishes and enforces child support orders, and secures payments to assist families in meeting the financial and medical needs of their children. DCSS has a caseload that includes over 86,000 cases in which legal documents or proposed court actions are necessary for the establishment and enforcement of a child support order. Team Legal will be paid based on the geographic location of the Service of Process services provided. DCSS has provided these services through contracted vendors since 1999.
On June 27, 2023 (Item No. 49), the Board of Supervisors, through a competitive procurement, approved Contract No. 23-633 with American Eagle Attorney Services, Inc. (American Eagle), in the amount $1,500,000, for a term of July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2026.
On November 18, 2024, American Eagle sent a letter of termination of services effective November 30, 2024 and has decided to shutter its business effective December 31, 2024. DCSS utilized existing Contract No. 23-636 between Children and Family Services (CFS) and Team Legal from December 1, 2024 through January 28, 2025 to avoid an interruption of services.
DCSS is seeking a contract with Team Legal as the agency was the next highest scoring proposer during the April 2023 procurement, and it was determined that they would best meet the needs of the County in this capacity.
PROCUREMENT
The County Administrative Office approved and authorized the release of Request for Proposals (RFP) No. HSSA23-HSSA-4744 with the Purchasing Department on April 4, 2023, to solicit proposals from interested and qualified agencies to provide Services of Process services for CFS and DCSS, for a period of three years. The RFP was posted to the County’s Electronic Procurement Network.
Proposals from the four agencies listed below were received by the established deadline in response to the RFP. The proposals from ABC Legal and Godfather Docs, LLC did not meet the minimum requirements and were determined nonresponsive. Proposals from American Eagle and Team Legal met the minimum requirements and continued through the evaluation process.
|
Proposer Name |
Location |
|
American Eagle Attorney Services, Inc. |
Apple Valley, CA |
|
ABC Legal |
Seattle, WA |
|
Team Legal, Inc. |
Valencia, CA |
|
Godfather Docs, LLC |
Chula Vista, CA |
The evaluation panel, with representation from DCSS and CFS, reviewed and evaluated the proposals based on the criteria listed in the RFP. The criteria included: qualifications and experience, financial review, technical review, and cost.
Based on the evaluation criteria, the evaluation panel initially determined that American Eagle best met the needs of the County, and they were awarded the contract. However, following their letter of termination, DCSS determined that Team Legal was the next best fit to provide services.
The Purchasing Department supports this competitive procurement based on the formal solicitation described above.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Human Services Contracts (Patty Steven, Contracts Manager, 388-0241) December 4, 2024; County Counsel (Ramona Verduzco, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on December 17, 2024; Purchasing (Ariel Gill, Supervising Buyer, 387-2070) on December 23, 2024; Finance (Allegra Pajot, Administrative Analyst, 388-0218) on January 3, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0238) on January 9, 2025.