REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
January 5, 2021
FROM
ROBERT WICKUM, Assistant Sheriff, Chair Law and Justice Group
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Contract with Abundant Living Family Church - High Desert
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 3 to Contract No. 18-751 with Abundant Living Family Church - High Desert in the amount of $198,000, increasing the total contract from $1,683,280 to $1,881,280, to provide transportation services for the Sheriff/Coroner/Public Administrator in the High Desert Region, and extend the term through June 30, 2021, for a total contract period of October 2, 2018 through June 30, 2021, with the option to extend the contract term by an additional six-month period, through December 31, 2021.
(Presenter: Robert Wickum, Assistant Sheriff, 387-3636)
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.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the need for additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). Costs for transportation services will be funded from the Sheriff/Coroner/Public Administrator’s (Sheriff) Proposition 172 fund balance and be paid at a flat rate of $33,000 per month. Budget adjustments are not requested at this time, but will be included in a future Countywide Quarterly Budget Report presented to the Board of Supervisors (BOS) for approval.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On October 2, 2018 (Item No. 16), the Board approved a contract with Abundant Living Family Church - High Desert (ALFC) to establish the New Hope pilot program (New Hope). New Hope provides transportation services for individuals released from the High Desert Detention Center and has been seeking to link these individuals to County reentry-related services.
ALFC, located in the city of Hesperia, has been providing recidivism reduction services through Proposition 47 and other recidivism-reduction funds allocated through the Board of State and Community Corrections since 2015. In addition, they have been working in conjunction with the Sheriff to provide needed transportation services for individuals released from incarceration into the High Desert Region for 10 years. Upon establishing the New Hope program, services were expanded to include peer-navigator supportive services to connect individuals to physical and mental health services, substance use treatment services, and assistance in accessing housing, job training, job placement, and other vital resources, with a focus on the homeless population.
Since implementation of the pilot program with ALFC, opportunities for improvement were identified related to providing linkage to County services and ensuring data integrity. The County collaborated with ALFC to streamline processes and remedy gaps in service delivery, and standardized data collection efforts using ESRI’s Survey 123 tool. Even with these changes, continued linkage to service and data collection efforts have been problematic for this hard-to-serve population. At this time, the Sheriff recommends a six-month contract extension and change in scope of work to provide only transportation services. The contract extension will allow staff time to determine tangible program benefits that may produce cost savings, identify an ongoing funding source, and prepare a request for proposals (RFP) seeking qualified service providers to continue a similar but modified program on an ongoing basis.
PROCUREMENT
On October 2, 2018 (Item No. 16), the Board approved ALFC’s New Hope pilot program, supported and funded by a collaborative effort between the Sheriff and the Departments of Public Health and Behavioral Health, to expand the existing transportation services to include supportive services to help reduce jail reoccurrence in the High Desert Region. ALFC was approved for the non-competitive contract based on their specialized expertise working with the hard-to-serve target population, and because they were providing existing recidivism-related services to the High Desert Detention Center.
On July 23, 2019 (Item No. 22), the Board approved Amendment No. 1, increasing the total contract amount by $750,000 and extending the contract term through July 24, 2020. In addition, the scope of work was more clearly defined, appropriate staffing levels were determined, and data collection tools and reporting were finalized, including the required use of ESRI’s Survey 123 tool.
On July 28, 2020 (Item No. 40), the Board approved Amendment No. 2 to extend the New Hope pilot program through December 31, 2020 to allow staff to perform the requisite data analysis.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Michelle D. Blakemore, County Counsel, 387-5455) on December 17, 2020; Purchasing (Michelle Churchill, Supervising Buyer, 387-2070) on December 28, 2020; Finance (Allegra Pajot, Administrative Analyst, 387-5005) on December 28, 2020; and County Finance and Administration (Kelly Welty, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on December 2, 2020.