REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
September 13, 2022
FROM
EDWARD BARRY, Chair, Law and Justice Group
SUBJECT
Title
Community Based Organization Service Contracts through the California Board of State and Community Corrections - Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding Program Grant
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve contracts with the following agencies for the provision of Coronavirus Support Services in a total aggregate amount not to exceed $431,700 for the contract period effective upon execution through January 31, 2023:
a. Faith Advisory Council for Community Transformation
b. Tayba Foundation
c. Telecare Corporation
2. Authorize the Chief Executive Officer or the County Chief Financial Officer as the authorized official to approve and execute Monthly Services Projection forms under the terms of the contracts, subject to review by County Counsel, so long as the collective aggregate reimbursement amounts do not exceed $431,700 and do not extend the term of the contracts.
3. Authorize the Chief Executive Officer or the County Chief Financial Officer to execute amendments to the contracts to extend the term, if the grant or funding period is extended by the State, subject to review by County Counsel.
4. Direct the Chief Executive Officer or the County Chief Financial Officer to transmit all amendments to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors within 30 days of execution.
(Presenter: Matthew Erickson, County Chief Financial Officer, 387-5423)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Promote the Countywide Vision.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
Focus on Recovery and Resiliency Following Major Emergency Responses such as the December 2, 2015 Terrorist Attack (SB Strong) and the Global COVID-19 Pandemic.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The total cost for services will not exceed an aggregate of $431,700 and will be funded by the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) - Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding (CESF) Program. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the grant budget for 2022-23 and will be included in future budgets as required.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The San Bernardino County Law and Justice Group (L&JG) is a partnership between the District Attorney, Probation Department, Public Defender, Sheriff, and the Superior Court, in collaboration with other agencies including the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH). A goal of the group is supporting successful re-integration and reducing recidivism of individuals who have been involved with the criminal justice system. The COVID-19 pandemic created additional challenges and costs associated with the programs and services provided by the L&JG members and led the group to look for supplemental funding sources.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, authority to apply for and accept grant awards was granted by the Board of Supervisors (Board) to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on March 10, 2020 (Item No. 76), rescinded and amended on November 17, 2020 (Item No. 99), and extended on April 6, 2021 (Item No. 51) effective through May 31, 2021.
On November 20, 2020, BSCC released a solicitation for grant funding for the provision of Coronavirus Support Services, for which the L&JG applied and was notified that San Bernardino County would be awarded a contract.
On April 9, 2021, in accordance with his Board delegated authority, the CEO executed Grant Award Agreement No. 21-333 (SSCC Agreement No. 117-20) in the amount of $2,158,476.30 for coronavirus support services for the period of March 31, 2021 through January 31, 2022. On May 4, 2021 (Item No. 30), the Board ratified the CEO’s execution of Grant Award Agreement No. 21-333 and also authorized the CEO to execute any amendments to the Agreement.
On January 25, 2022, in accordance with his Board delegated authority, the CEO executed Amendment No. 1 to Grant Award Agreement No. 21-333 to extend the term of the agreement through January 31, 2023. Under the terms of the agreement, $431,700 of the total grant amount must be allocated to Community Based Organizations (CBOs) for services, supplies, staffing and equipment for the prevention, preparation, and response to COVID-19 as it relates to the re-entry population of criminal-justice involved individuals (Target Population). As the agreement requires $431,700 be fully expended, these contracts are set up as an aggregate to allow the funding to be allocated and/or redistributed to the contractors based on statements of work, titled Monthly Services Projection (MSP) forms.
Services to be provided include public outreach and community networking, education such as internet literacy, and support for in-home and field-based behavioral health treatment. The specific scope of work for each contractor will be determined by the MSPs, which will detail the services to be provided, the timetable for performance, the fee, expenses, and costs for the services, and payment milestones and amounts, all subject to the terms and conditions of the underlying contracts. Approval of Recommendation No. 2 will authorize the Chief Executive Officer or the County Chief Financial Officer to approve and execute the MSPs, subject to review by County Counsel, so long as they do not, in the aggregate exceed $431,700, and do not extend the term of the contracts.
Approval of Recommendation No. 3 will authorize the Chief Executive Officer or the County Chief Financial Officer to execute amendments to the contracts to extend the term to allow the contractors additional time to complete the services, but the amendments will only be executed if BSCC permits an extended period of time for completion of the services.
PROCUREMENT
Due to the limited timeframe for the initial grant application submission, a formal procurement for CBO partnership was not conducted, as a CBO needed to be identified in the initial grant proposal, which was due February 1, 2021. DBH, as a member of the L&JG, was tasked to identify an appropriate CBO to provide the CBO aspects of the services and selected Telecare, a current CBO contracted provider, based on having multiple programs who exclusively serve the Target Population. In June 2021, the original CBO identified in the grant proposal informed the County it would be unable to expend the full CBO allocation of funds under the grant. Because expenditure of all the allocated grant funds is required, a committee of the L&JG had to re-evaluate and search for new/additional CBO partners to provide the services contemplated under the grant.
Between June and December of 2021, potential CBOs were asked to submit a proposal via email by December 8, 2021, to utilize the grant funds and to support the objectives of the CESF grant.
On December 8, 2021, five CBOs submitted proposals for consideration as follows:
|
Agency |
Proposed Service Region(s) |
Proposed Amount |
|
Faith Advisory Council for Community Transformation |
Countywide |
$431,000 |
|
Starting New, LLC |
Countywide |
$431,700 |
|
Tayba Foundation |
Countywide |
$430,000 |
|
Telecare Corporation |
Countywide |
$129,237 |
|
Victor Valley Family Resource Center |
Countywide |
$300,000 |
The proposals were evaluated by DBH, a committee comprised of representatives from the L&JG partner departments, and the County Administrative Office. The evaluation criteria included, but were not limited to, the provision of services, meeting the terms and timeframe of the grant, and the ability to expend a significant portion of the full allocation. The CBOs listed in the recommendation, namely Faith Advisory Council for Community Transformation, Tayba Foundation, and Telecare Corporation, were selected as their proposals best demonstrated the ability to meet the stated requirements. These CBOs will be required to submit monthly expenditure plans and supporting documentation to demonstrate achievement of the milestones in the MSPs.
Two CBOs were not recommended for funding because it is estimated that the three selected CBOs will be able to fully expend the allocation within the required timeframe. All the proposers were notified of the decision.
In order to apply for this grant, the County was required to form a CESF Local Advisory Committee that includes stakeholders who have experience and expertise in the prospective programs and/or services to be implemented by the proposal. This recommendation for funding has been reviewed by the Local Advisory Committee as required by the grant.
The DBH Assistant Director and the County Chief Financial Officer will jointly pre-approve and monitor contractor performance on a regular basis to ensure programmatic and administrative compliance standards are met. If BSCC allows an extension to the grant period, the contracts with the CBOs will be resubmitted to the CEO for consideration of extension based on the delegation of authority in Recommendation No. 3.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Katherine Hardy, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455 and Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on August 24, 2022; Finance (Allegra Pajot, Administrative Analyst, 387-5005) on August 22, 2022; Department of Behavioral Health (Michael Knight, Assistant Director, 388-0808) on August 24, 2022; Purchasing (Bruce Cole, Supervising Buyer, 387-2148) on August 31, 2022; and County Finance and Administration (Valerie Clay, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on August 24, 2022.