REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
May 21, 2024
FROM
LUTHER SNOKE, Chief Executive Officer, County Administrative Office
SUBJECT
Title
Contract with Inland Juvenile Panel Attorneys, Inc. for Appointed Legal Representation Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Contract with Inland Juvenile Panel Attorneys, Inc. to provide court appointed delinquency legal representation services for a total not to exceed amount of $2,869,000, for a period of July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2029.
(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.
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 total cost of the contract will be funded with existing Discretionary General Funding allocated for this service and will not exceed $555,000 per year for the first three fiscal years (2024-25 through 2026-27) and $602,000 for the last two fiscal years (2027-28 through 2028-29). Adequate appropriation will be included in the 2024-25 Recommended Budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 634 authorizes the Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino (Superior Court) to appoint counsel for minors and/or their parents, in Juvenile Court delinquency proceedings where the Public Defender is unable to provide representation and specifies that the costs for such appointments are an obligation of San Bernardino County (County). The County Indigent Defense Program administers appointed representation service contracts, and services of other court appointed attorneys, experts, and investigators for the County’s indigent defendants. This contract will provide representation for such clients. The contractor will be paid a flat fee per appointed case and court calendar appearance days, for the term of the contract as provided in the table below.
|
Delinquency Case Appointments |
$788.00 per case Year 1-3 |
|
|
$867.00 per case Year 4-5 |
|
Drug Court/Mental Court Attorney Half-Day Appearances |
$225.00 per Attorney Half Day Court Appearance |
|
241 Dual Status or Single Status In-person Attorney Half-Day Court Appearances |
$225.00 per Attorney Half Day Court Appearance |
The contractor may be paid special fees under the terms of the contract for extraordinarily complex cases upon application to and written approval by the Superior Court. The contract authorized amount allows for such special fees.
The County, after consultation with the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court (Presiding Judge) may terminate the contract in whole or in part upon 30 days written notice. Following consultation with the Presiding Judge, the contract may be terminated immediately by the County for cause.
The recommended contract authorizes Inland Juvenile Panel Attorneys, Inc. (IJPA) to provide legal representation services for juvenile dependency and delinquency cases appointed by the Superior Court for the period of July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2029.
PROCUREMENT
On February 14, 2024, the County Administrative Office-Finance and Administration approved the release of Request for Proposal (RFP) No. CAO123-CAO5-5199 for court appointed juvenile delinquency legal representation service providers. The RFP was released in accordance with County policy and procedures, announced through the Purchasing Department (Purchasing) procurement system (ePro), Superior Court website and Western San Bernardino County BAR Association newsletter. One proposal was submitted in response to the RFP, from the incumbent IJPA, and the proposal was found to be responsive. Based on the current satisfactory performance and concurrence of the Superior Court, IJPA is being recommended for award. Purchasing supports this competitive procurement based on the formal solicitation above.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Julie Surber, Principal Assistant County Counsel, 387-5455) on April 11, 2024, Purchasing (Ariel Gill, Supervising Buyer, 387-2070) on April 11, 2024; Finance (Kathleen Gonzalez, Administrative Analyst, 387-5412) on April 18, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Valerie Clay, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on April 19, 2024.