REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
May 9, 2023
FROM
Tracy Reece, Chief Probation Officer, Probation Department
SUBJECT
Title
Contract with Community Solutions, Incorporated for Program Administrator Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve contract with Community Solutions, Incorporated, for Program Administrator Services, which include providing case management through rehabilitative programs and interventions that prevent or reduce recidivism among justice-involved individuals, in the total not to exceed amount of $15,000,000 for the three-year period of July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026.
(Presenter: Tracy Reece, Chief Probation Officer, 387-5692)
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 will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The total cost of the contracted services will not exceed $15,000,000 over the three-year period from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2026, with an anticipated annual cost of $5,000,000. Costs under the recommended contract include funding for sub-contracted services, program materials, staffing, operating and administrative expenses. Community Solutions, Incorporated (CSI) may request an advance payment of up to 25% of the annual budget for start-up costs including furniture and program supplies. The contract will be funded 80% by State Realignment allocations (Assembly Bill 109) and 20% by Community Correction Performance Incentive Grant (Senate Bill 678). Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Probation Department’s (Probation) 2023-24 recommended budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Probation Day Reporting and Reentry Services Centers (DRRSCs) serve clients and assure the delivery of Evidence-Based Programming that includes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy utilizing Probation-approved curricula, with an emphasis on addressing criminogenic behavior, and providing other wraparound service needs. Services are delivered in coordination with local community partners, allowing the DRRSCs to target continuum of resource delivery to clients most in need through partnerships with local service providers, and thereby ensuring the opportunities for continuity of resource availability following completion of the Probation-administered program.
DRRSCs provide clients with access to multi-agency partners including the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH), Transitional Assistance Department (TAD), Department of Public Health (DPH), and Workforce Development Department (WDD) for specific resources. During 2021-2022, 17,825 clients were seen at Probation’s Adult DRRSCs. Approximately 12% (2,139) of those clients were referred to the DBH for screenings; 7.8% (1,383) were referred to TAD for CalFresh and Medi-Cal services; 7% (1,247) were referred to WDD for employment services; 1.6% (285) were referred to DPH; and 16 students completed their High School education.
Additionally, DRRSCs offer clients life skills and reentry support classes, as well as vocational activities. Classes include, but are not limited to, anger management, employment readiness, healthy life choices, parenting, cognitive journaling, food handler’s training, and computer skills training. Each DRRSC also has a dedicated Probation Homeless Services Coordinator, a repository of basic living essentials including a clothing closet, hygiene kits, and other necessities.
However, existing DRRSC infrastructure and design combine the service environment with enforcement operations, which may deter clients from seeking services. Additionally, although branded a one-stop shop, the DRRSCs must balance on-site service provision with needs-based referrals, given not all essential services can be co-located in the existing environment. To address these identified gaps, Probation released a Request for Proposal (RFP) and is recommending a contract be awarded to CSI, a non-profit organization with more than 61 years of experience in the advancement of social and justice reform, managing treatment, rehabilitative, educational and vocational programs to support justice involve individuals transition successfully back into the community. Probation intends to lease three facilities, one in 2023-24, one in 2024-25, and one in 2025-26, for the provision of these services by CSI.
Approval of this contract will allow Probation to reach its goal of accurately assessing the risk and needs of clients and determining the extent of interventions necessary to effect positive change. CSI will provide oversight of the development, management, and administration of a non-residential day program at County-leased facilities, designed to provide enhanced treatment and rehabilitative services, cognitive behavioral modification, education and vocational programs under the purview of Probation’s Program Manager. The Probation Program Manager will develop outcome measurement, quality assurance, and audit guidelines for internal and external service providers to ensure the efficacy of current and future programming. The implementation of a non-residential program in an environment detached from enforcement operations will aid in optimizing the effectiveness of services for the justice-involved populations and promote community safety. This contract provides for CSI to manage three facilities over the term of the contract, with a new facility opening each fiscal year.
PROCUREMENT
Probation released RFP No. PROB23-PROB-4770 on October 21, 2022, requesting interested and qualified agencies to provide Program Administrator Services for the three-year period of July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2026. The RFP was publicly advertised through direct mailings to 267 agencies with related experience and posted on the County’s Electronic Procurement Network (ePro). Three proposals were received by the established deadline.
|
Proposer |
Total Proposed Administrative Costs |
|
Community Solutions, Inc. |
$3,430,658 |
|
GEO Reentry Services, LLC |
$4,094,735 |
|
My Sisters’ Keeper, LLC |
$3,822,588 |
All three proposals met the minimum requirements and were evaluated by a team of representatives from Probation, DBH, Sheriff and Public Defender departments. Evaluations were made based on the selection criteria listed in the RFP, which included qualifications and experience, financial and technical review, cost and references. CSI received the highest scoring and is being recommended for contract award. No written protests were received.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Jamie Ryan, Supervising Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on March 16, 2023; Purchasing (Bruce Cole, Supervising Buyer, 387-2148) on March 28, 2023; Behavioral Health (Christopher Lange, Administrative Analyst III, 386-8393) on April 11, 2023; Workforce Development (Carl Lofton, Administrative Analyst III, 387-5404) on April 11, 2023; Transitional Assistance (John Hallen, Administrative Analyst III, 386-8392) on April 12, 2023; Public Health (Paul Garcia, Administrative Analyst III, 386-8392) on April 16, 2023; Finance (Kathleen Gonzalez, Administrative Analyst III, 387-5412) on April 24, 2023; and County Finance and Administration (Robert Saldana, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-4342) on April 24, 2023.