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COUNTY~ F :; ~

~ Placer --------TO: Board of Supervisors

MEMORANDUM COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICE

Procurement Services Division County of Placer

DATE:

FROM: Todd Leopold, County Executive Officer By: Brett Wood, Purchasing Manager

Jeff Brown, Director of Health & Human Services

March 24, 2020

SUBJECT: Independent Living Program Services - Placer County Office of Education

ACTION REQUESTED Cancel Request for Proposals No. 100041 for Independent Living Program services consistent with section 6.1 H of the Procurement Policy.

Approve the award of competitive Request for Proposals No. 20011 for Independent Living Program services to the Placer County Office of Education in the amount of $735,690 for a two-year period and authorize the Director of Health and Human Services to determine the start date. The contract is funded entirely by a dedicated state allocation, and other realignment funds, with no County General Funds required.

Approve the option to renew the resulting contract for two (2) additional two-year renewal periods by the Director of Health and Human Services.

Authorize the Director of Health and Human Services to sign the agreement with Risk Management and County Counsel concurrence, and to sign subsequent amendments up to a total of $73,500, consistent with the current agreement's subject matter and scope of work with Risk Management and County Counsel concurrence.

BACKGROUND Placer County Health & Human Services, Children's System of Care Division (CSOC), is responsible for administering an Independent Living Program (ILP) for youth, including extended foster youth, who are making the transition from foster care to independence. These services include workshops for employment and college readiness, budgeting, hygiene and health, case management, housing, and incentives to participate in the program. These services may come from a variety of sources including the county, a contractor, care providers, group homes, Resource Family Agencies , Court Appointed Special Advocates and other organizations that are geared to youth success in adulthood.

In 2008, the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) awarded a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) for the ILP program to Unity Care Group. The contract has been renewed annually since that time. It is the County's standard practice to solicit new proposals for contracted services on a periodic basis, to assure that the County has access to the most effective services available in the area. In February 2019, CSOC worked with the Procurement Services Division to develop Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 100041. It was the intent of the RFP to attract proposals which would provide a broad spectrum of ILP services with cutting edge technological and interactive practices and services which will enhance the program services for the youth.

Notices announcing the availability of the RFP were distributed via Procurement's web-based solicitation platform to 59 agencies. Although at least 32 entities expressed some interest, only one response was received, from the incumbent agency Unity Care Group. Despite the lack of a larger number of responses the County elected to proceed into the RFP review and interview phase with Unity Care.

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A panel of subject matter experts from HHS, Probation, and one of the County's community partners evaluated the Unity Care proposal. Based on an evaluation of Unity Care's experience, the qualifications of the staff that Unity Care proposed to serve the County, and the services offered in the proposal, the evaluation panel recommended the award of a new contract to Unity Care. Very shortly after this decision was made, one of Unity Care's key staff (the Regional Director who was the Placer County on-site program manager, and Unity Care's primary point of contact since 2013) left the agency and it was announced that she would be replaced by another person on an interim basis. Procurement, with the concurrence of HHS, determined that the on-,site program manager's experience and qualifications were integral to the overall value of the services offered in Unity Care's proposal. Specifically the program manager was leaving the agency and would not be available to train the ILP staff members, all of whom had been with Unity Care for less than six months, and a new manager was only being promised on an interim basis, that RFP No. 100041 should not be awarded at that time.

Every RFP the County issues has a provision referred to as "Assurance of Designated Staff'. This provision is designed to protect the County from changes in key staff. The County often exercises this clause after an RFP has been awarded to prevent a firm from switching designated staff post-proposal, but prior to beginning work. It is uncommon, but not impossible, for a situation like this to occur during the review of the RFP or during contract negotiations. In this case the County felt it was in the best interest of the County to not pursue award of RFP 100041 and issue a new RFP.

Unity Care was informed of the decision to issue a new RFP and the existing contract was also extended. Unity Care did not file a protest challenging this decision as required by Section 5 of the Procurement Policy.

In September 2019 Procurement, in consultation with HHS, developed RFP No. 20011 to solicit new proposals for the ILP services. The RFP explained that it was resoliciting the same services described in the previous RFP. The RFP No 20011 was published on Procurement's web-based solicitation platform. A total of 103 notices were distributed, and 5 proposals were received.

A panel consisting of subject matter experts from HHS, Probation, a mental health advocacy agency, a youth advocate, and community partner evaluated the proposals. Four of the respondents were invited to interview with the panel. The panel rated each agency in accordance with the criteria published in the RFP. Each of the firms invited for interviews met the basic requirements of the RFP. As a result, the panel determined that the Placer County Office of Education (PCOE) offers the best combination of experience, qualifications, and proposed services with respect to the County's needs for this program .

PCOE is bringing the following elements to the ILP services that are not being currently provided under the current contract:

• PCOE is partnering with Child Advocates of Placer County that establishes the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) who will provide mentors for every youth

• Mentors will have an expanded role, and will provide transportation for youth to appointments, college explorations, job interviews, and structured ILP activities.

• The collaboration with Child Advocates of Placer County also allows for a drop-in center where youth can come for assistance at any time, use computers to search for jobs or complete college applications, or meet with their mentors

• PCOE will offer many more groups with youth , targeting specific goals or challenges

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• PCOE, as the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) education and training provider, will be able to provide specialized CSEC services for ILP youth. At the current time many youth who have been trafficked may not be identified and get lost to the legal system after age 18.

• PCOE is committed to serving difficult to serve youth and will ensure consistent attempts at engagement for those who are more resistant.

• PCOE will develop a Curriculum Committee for life skills workshops to include former foster youth • There will be group field trips to local colleges, trade schools, and cultural landmarks. These

enhancements to the current program, including mentors, the drop-in center, and the additional groups will create a larger "ILP culture" and opportunities for extended foster youth to engage, support, and create connections beyond individual connections with their ILP case manager.

The organizational purpose of Children's System of Care is to provide every single eligible foster youth with Independent Living skills training opportunities to assist in the transition to a successful, independent adulthood. The recommendation of an award to PCOE supports this purpose. The award to PCOE, at this time, coupled with the existing contract extension with Unity Care through June 30, 2020 will allow for a smooth transition for the youth in the ILP program as the PCOE team will be able to coordinate and work with Unity Care and the clients in the program during this time.

Therefore, it is requested that your Board approve the cancellation of RFP No. 10041 for ILP services, approve the award of RFP No. 20011 to PCOE for ILP services in the maximum amount of $735,690 for a two-year period, and authorize the Director of Health & Human Services to determine the start date, sign all required documents and sign subsequent amendments up to a total of $73,500 consistent with the subject matter and scope of work with Risk Management and County Counsel concurrence.

FISCAL IMPACT The proposed contract is entirely funded by the dedicated state allocation. No County General Funds are required.

This contract is on file with Clerk of the Board for review.

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