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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 03132007 - C.97 FHS #70- s_ �.s_,___..•A Contra TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS - Costa FROM: County Administrator's Office o DATE: March 13, 2007 •CO,`'4'COUL1C o u n t SUBJECT: County Policy on Contracting with Community Based Organizations SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS APPROVE the attached draft policy on contracting practices with community based organizations, and DIRECT staff to implement the new policy. FISCAL IMPACT: Minimal fiscal impact. Departmental contract staff will have an unknown amount of increased workload for processing the required Requests for Interest or Requests for Proposal under the new policy. BACKGROUND: On March 1, 2005, the Board of Supervisors considered approving a recommended policy requiring the periodic competitive recruitment for County services contracts. The Board took two actions on this issue. First it amended page three of the draft Administrative Bulletin to include notification of the Board when a waiver of the policy is approved. Second, at the request of the Contractors'Alliance and to provide time for more public input on the recommended policy, it referred the issue to the Family and Human Services Committee. On October 17, 2005, the Family and Human Services Committee considered a recommended policy on County contracts for services provided by community based organizations (CBOs). At the meeting discussion took place regarding several aspects of the County's contracting relationship with community-based CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES XX NO SIG ATURE RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S) Federal Glover,Chair \\ ,,,�,,�� usan Bonilla,Member ACTION OF BOARD ON Put Likd APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS: —4UNANIMOUS (ABSENT_ / ) I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND AYES: NOES: ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF ABSENT: ABSTAIN: SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. Contact: Dorothy Sansoe,5-1009 ATTESTED l JOHN CULLEN,CLERK OF THE BQARD OF cc: County Administrator SUPERV SOBS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Health Services Department Employment and Human Services Department BY: t DEPUTY Page 2 of 2 . organizations. The Committee requested that staff return with a plan for a workshop to discuss the proposed policy and other contracting concerns. On March 13, 2006, the Family and Human Services Committee conducted, with the assistance of Grace Boda, a consultant specializing in meeting facilitation, a discussion between County department staff and CBO staff. This discussion focused on principles surrounding contracting issues between the parties. The discussion was not meant to reach agreement on specific issues, but rather to provide an opportunity for give and take on both sides and for thoughtful expression of ideas to improve the process and procedures involved. On April 3, 2006, the Family and Human Services Committee again met to discuss the draft of the proposed policy. The Committee provided direction to staff to work with the Executive Director of the Contractors' Alliance to prepare a final version of the draft. In January 2007, staff met with representatives from Local One and SEIU Local 535 to discuss their concerns with the policy. Also, County Council reviewed the legal aspects of the policy. On February 12, 2007, the Family and Human Services Committee reviewed and discussed the final version of the policy and approved forwarding it to the Board of Supervisor for final adoption. February 27, 2007 the Board of Supervisors reviewed the proposed policy, directed staff to make clarifying revisions, and to return to the Board of Supervisors for final approval within two weeks. Attached to this Board Order is the revised draft of the Administrative Bulletin, as directed by the Board. DRAFT CONTRA COSTA COUNTY Office of the County Administrator ADMINISTRATIVE BULLETIN Number: 611 Effective Date: to be determined Section: Purchasing SUBJECT: Contracting with Community-Based Organizations Authority for this Policy. State law provides that the Board of Supervisors may appropriate and expend money from the general fund of the county to establish county programs or to fund other programs deemed by the Board to be necessary to meet the social needs of the population of the county, including, but not limited to, the areas of health, law enforcement, public safety, rehabilitation, welfare, education, legal services, and the needs of physically, mentally, and financially handicapped persons and aged persons. The Board may contract with other public agencies or private agencies or individuals to operate those programs which the Board determines will serve public purposes. The Board frequently contracts with nonprofit community-based organizations to operate and provide such programs and services. Purpose of this Policy. The County and the organizations with which they contract share a common goal of wanting to ensure that the people who need the services provided receive those services. Further, the County and its contractors are committed to providing the highest quality services and to reaching the greatest number of people in need. Services contracted with CBOs are generally of very good quality. However, as with any service sector, business practices and model approaches are continually being developed and/or refined. The County wishes to ensure that the people who need the services receive the best services available on the market. An RFP process helps ensure that this occurs. It is strongly recommended that departmental staff work with community-based organizations (CBO) during both the bidding process and contracting process and that regular, frequent communication take place between program staff and CBO staff. Notification should be provided to current providers early in the process to allow as much notice as possible. This policy pertains exclusively to contracts with community-based organizations for social and human services, and does not amend or replace Administrative Bulletins Nos. 605 and 608-610 pertaining to contracting for special services. Revised February 27, 2007 Administrative Bulletin No. 611 'Contracting with Community-Based Organizations Page 2 POLICY 1. New Funding and Open Bidding Unless a waiver is granted under Section 7 of this policy, the County will solicit services through a competitive bid process anytime a new dedicated funding stream designed for health or social services is available, eligible, and appropriate to be used for contracting. Where feasible, County departments may compete through the competitive bid process to provide the services. This section does not preclude the ability of a department to use new funding for case management or oversight and monitoring of contracted services. 2. Requests for Interest Prior to proceeding to a formal or informal competitive bid process, a Request for Interest will be issued to determine if there is interest on the part of more than one contractor, whether or not they are currently providing services. if there is no new interest or if interest is limited to only one contractor, the competitive bidding process may be waived as provided for in Section 7 of this policy. 3. Notification of Funding/Contract Availability Notifications of the availability of funding and/or contractoring opportunities should be widely dispersed in an effort to inform as many potential bidders as possible. Notices, included but not limited to, advertisements in newspapers, internet, radio, professional journals, and professional associations should all be considered. 4. Competitive Biddinq It is highly recommended, that all contracts, regardless of dollar amount, be competitively bid. For contracts with community-based organizations in excess of$50,000 bidding is required. In addition: a. The contract award will be based on a competitive bidding process which considers the most responsive and responsible proposal in addition to cost. b. A contract with a one-year term may not be renewed more than two times, for a total of three years, without a competitive bidding process. Revised February 27, 2007 Administrative Bulletin No. 611 Contracting with Community-Based Organizations Page 3 c. Contracts with a term exceeding one year may not exceed three years in length and may not be renewed or extended without a competitive bidding process. 5. Contract Award For contracts with community-based organizations in excess of $250,000: a. Consideration will be given to the fiscal and managerial capability and the professional capacity of the agency before contracts are entered into with community-based organizations. b. Strong consideration will be given to contractors with an established and stable financial history. c. Follow-on or renewal contracts will not be approved unless and until any audit exceptions and deficiencies have been remedied. 6. Contract Requirements a. All contracts shall identify specific performance outputs and/or outcomes. Contracting departments shall review performance of contracts periodically to ensure compliance with output/outcome requirements. . b. Failure to achieve contracted performance output or outcome requirements maybe grounds for contract termination. c. Contracts with contractors that fail to achieve performance outputs or outcome requirements may not be automatically renewed. Such contracts must be reviewed to ensure that the desired outputs or outcomes are achievable. A new contract may be established, if appropriate, following a competitive bid process. d. Contracts will contain a provision for termination at the convenience of the County upon thirty-day advance written notice, or immediate termination by written mutual consent. e. Once per contract period, contracts will be monitored by the County to ensure service quality and progress toward outputs and outcomes is being achieved. Revised February 27, 2007 Administrative Bulletin No. 611 Contracting with Community-Based Organizations Page 4 7. Board of Supervisors Approval Requests to the Board of Supervisors to establish, renew, or continue a contract will be in the form of a Board Order that includes the following information: a. the name of the agency b. the term of new contract or contract amendment/ renewal c. the new or increased payment limit d. the services to be provided in consideration for the payment e. a summary of the history of the contractual relationship for the services requested, to include the term of the original contract authority and the number and duration of any prior renewals f. a brief summary of the competitive recruitment process, if any, that led to the contractor's selection g. for contracts in excess of$250,000, a supportable statement that any problems or deficiencies identified in the selected agency's most recent audit have been remedied to the department's satisfaction h. if applicable, justification for waiver of all or any portion of this policy (see the following section) i. any and all other information routinely required on a Board Order (such as the Children's Impact Statement). s. Policy Waiver Prior to entering into any contractual agreement under this policy, a department may apply to the County Administrator for waiver of all or any portion of this policy. Such application will demonstrate the extenuating circumstances that render the policy inapplicable. The County Administrator or authorized designee will evaluate all such applications, including the applicability of State and federal statutes, and make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors via the agenda process for approval or denial of the waiver request. GUIDELINES FOR COMPETITIVE BIDDING The following are guidelines to assist department contract personnel in the development and solicitation of proposals. Departments may develop internal policy to strengthen these guidelines, if deemed desirable. 1. Request for Interest Conduct a Request for Interest (RFI) and take necessary steps to identify potential contractors (reference County Outreach Program), including contacting other public agencies. If only one party is interested in providing Revised February 27, 2007 Administrative Bulletin No. 611 Contracting with Community-Based Organizations Page 5 services, the competitive bidding process may be waived as outlined in Section 7 above. 2. Suggested Formal Competitive Recruitment Process a. Develop a comprehensive description of the services being sought, the location of work to be performed, the timeframe, and any special licenses, qualifications, or other requirements. b. Advertise the services being sought and instruct vendors as to whom to notify if they can and are qualified to provide such services. This step may be skipped if a diverse list of qualified vendors is already available for the services being sought. C. Revise the services description, if needed, and develop a recruitment outline and schedule. d. Prepare a Request for Proposals (RFP) describing, as applicable, the: ♦ Services to be pt-ovided by the contractor, including specific tasks. ♦ Population to be served. ♦ Specific eligibility criteria for each category of service. ♦ Name and address of each facility at which service is to be provided. ♦ Time each service is to be provided at every service location, including hours of services, days of the week, and whether services will be provided on weekends and/or holidays. ♦ Goals and objectives of each category of service, including performance records and reports Contractor will be required to maintain and/or submit. ♦ Definition of service unit for each category of services and the number of service units Contractor will be required to deliver during the period, e.g., one unit of service = one 8-hour day. ♦ State and/or federal statutes and regulations with which the Contractor will be required to comply in performing each category of service. Revised February 27, 2007 Administrative Bulletin No. 611 Contracting with Community-Based Organizations Page 6 ♦ Criteria against which proposals will be evaluated. e. Issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) - Advertise the services being sought and request vendors to submit by a specified deadline (typically 3-6 weeks) a detailed proposal meeting all of the RFP requirements, including a copy of the service provider's most recent audit. Advertising may include newspaper, Internet, professional journals, and mailings to vendors on a distribution list. f. Mail a copy of the RFP to all vendors who request a mailed copy. g. Conduct a Bidders' Conference, if warranted, shortly after the RFP issuance to better describe the services required and to respond to questions of potential contractors. Send a summary of questions and answers emanating from the Bidders' Conference to all vendors who were sent a copy of the RFP. h. Evaluate the proposals in accordance with the predefined qualifications, eliminate bidders that are not qualified, and send notification letters. i. Determine selection method based upon number of qualified applicants. Selection method may be an in-depth screening and ranking of proposals, interview of bidders, or a combination of both. j. Convene an impartial selection panel including at least one representative from the CBO community, and, in one or more .rounds, evaluate and rank proposals in accordance with predefined criteria. k. Conduct reference checks to verify past performance of finalists. I. Select the preferred service provider and, for contracts in excess of $250,000, request the County Auditor-Controller's office or another qualified official to review the most recent audit of the finalist and express an opinion as to the finalist's financial position / management controls. M. Finalize selection, send notification letters, and respond to appeals as necessary. 2. Suggested Informal Competitive Recruitment Process a. Take necessary steps to identify a diverse group of potential contractors, including contacting other public agencies. Revised February 27, 2007 Administrative Bulletin No. 611 Contracting with Community-Based Organizations Page 7 b. Conduct outreach to potential contractors by notifying those firms by facsimile, telephone, email, web advertisement, or any other practical and economically feasible method. C. Evaluate and rank proposals, check references, and select preferred vendor. d. For contracts in excess of$250,000, request the County Auditor- Controller's office or another qualified official to review the most recent audit of the finalist and express an opinion as to the finalist's financial position / management controls. e. Notify all bidders. Orig. Dept: County Administrator References: California Government Code section 26227 Board Order dated August 17, 1982 from the Internal Operations Committee /s/ JOHN CULLEN, County Administrator Revised February 27, 2007