REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
December 19, 2023
FROM
GILBERT RAMOS, Director, Transitional Assistance Department
SUBJECT
Title
Contract with eXemplar Human Services LLC for Reporting Tools and Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve contract with eXemplar Human Services LLC, for customized Reporting Tools and Services, in a total amount not to exceed $3,877,299, for the period of February 1, 2024 through January 31, 2027.
(Presenter: Gilbert Ramos, Director, 388-0245)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item will not require additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The $1,292,433 annual cost will be funded with 94% ($1,214,887) state and federal funds made available through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs), Medi-Cal and CalFresh allocations, and 6% ($77,546) Net County Cost. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Human Services Administrative 2024-25 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Under the terms of the recommended contract, eXemplar Human Services LLC (eXemplar) will provide the Transitional Assistance Department (TAD) with more than 30 customized reporting tools and services on a daily, weekly, and/or monthly basis directly to staff, supervision and management through their proprietary software, through January 31, 2027. TAD will also have the opportunity to enhance or modify these reports, as well as create additional reports as workloads shift or new requirements need to be monitored as part of the terms of the contract. TAD has partnered with eXemplar for customized reporting since 2010.
TAD is responsible for administering the CalWORKs, Welfare-to-Work (WTW), CalFresh, Medi-Cal, Childcare, and Foster Care programs. In an effort to meet mandated performance standards, TAD must have a reliable system to effectively monitor caseload activity and productivity, and administration of the various programs offered through TAD.
eXemplar specializes in providing analytical services to public assistance, WTW, and human services agencies to monitor and analyze key elements of client engagement and performance, eligibility caseload activities, and the design of performance management enhancement recommendations for integrating data trend analysis into regular agency performance management processes.
The reports received from eXemplar will provide TAD with the necessary tools to enhance overall performance to meet mandated program requirements and improve service delivery and accuracy of benefits provided to eligible residents of San Bernardino County. The reports provide work lists for specific categories, caseload activities, and statistics that show key ratios related to specific operations at all levels of the organization. This information allows executive staff, managers, supervisors, and line staff to monitor performance and manage daily caseload tasks.
Currently, the California Statewide Automated System (CalSAWS) (formerly C-IV) system utilized by TAD and other California counties does not provide these robust analytical reports. It is unknown at this time if CalSAWS will be able to provide the same level of reports provided by eXemplar in the future. Use of eXemplar’s reports and services has provided TAD with the necessary tools to effectively monitor performance and outcomes regarding eligibility and other program mandates. Failure to receive these reports would significantly impact TAD’s current business practice and will deny management and workers ready access to key engagement data such as case/individual identifiers, activity history and activity profiles used to create and provide engagement status reports by unit, district, and county.
eXemplar is currently contracted with 15 other counties to provide performance management design and analytical services and will be compatible with the CalSAWS system used by the state, ensuring consistency of the performance outcome data San Bernardino County must track and report to the state.
PROCUREMENT
Approval is being sought for a non-competitive contract with eXemplar pursuant to County policy 11-04. eXemplar is the only vendor currently providing these analytical services for public assistance and human services agencies through a proprietary software program. The Purchasing Department recognizes sole-source and proprietary procurements as justified non-competitive purchases and has determined that the non-competitive nature of the contract was justified.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Human Services Contracts (Patty Steven, Contracts Manager, 388-0241) on November 9, 2023; County Counsel (Adam Ebright, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on November 20, 2023; Purchasing (Jessica Barajas, Supervising Buyer, 387-2065) on December 1, 2023; Finance (John Hallen, Administrative Analyst, 388-0208) on November 28, 2023; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0238) on December 4, 2023.