AGENDA STAFF REPORT

Agenda Item AGENDA STAFF REPORT ASR Control 20-000300
MEETING DATE:	05/05/20
legal entity taking action:	Board of Supervisors
board of supervisors district(s):	All Districts
SUBMITTING Agency/Department:	Social Services Agency (Approved)
Department contact person(s):	Christine Snapper (714) 541-7810
	John Bunnett (714) 541-7408

Subject: Agreement for Welfare-to-Work Assessment Services

ceo CONCUR

County Counsel Review

Clerk of the Board

Concur

Approved Agreement to Form

Discussion

3 Votes Board Majority

Budgeted: N/A

Current Year Cost: N/A

Annual Cost: FY 2020-21 $599,000
FY 2021-22 $599,000
FY 2022-23 $599,000

Staffing Impact:

# of Positions:

Sole Source: No

Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A

Funding Source: FED 98% (CalWORKs), State 2% (CalWORKs)	County Audit in last 3 years: No

Prior Board Action: 5/19/2015 #59

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

Approve Agreement with Foster Assessment Center & Testing Services, Inc. for Welfare-to-Work Assessment Services for a maximum obligation of $1,797,000 for the term of July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2023, renewable for two additional one-year terms.

Pursuant to Contract Policy Manual Section 3.4-114, authorize the Social Services Agency Director or designee to exercise a contingency contract cost increase, not to exceed a total of 10 percent of the contract amount for the first year of the contract, for the entire term of the contract, including renewals, and within the scope of work set forth in the contract. The use of this contingency contract cost increase is subject to approval requirements established by the County Procurement Officer.

SUMMARY:

Approval of the Agreement for Welfare-to-Work Assessment Services will continue California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Welfare-To-Work support that assists participants in assessing job readiness and obtaining and/or maintaining stable employment to achieve the goal of self-sufficiency

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The Social Services Agency (SSA) is requesting the Board of Supervisors' (Board) approval of the Agreement with Foster Assessment Center & Testing Service, Inc. (FACTS) for California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) Welfare-to-Work (WTW) Assessment Services for the term of July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2023, with a maximum obligation of $1,797,000. The current agreement expires June 30, 2020. SSA is requesting a 10 percent contingency cost increase in the event the job market creates a greater need for these services in the future.

WTW Assessment Services has been in place for the past 20 years and provides essential job readiness information about SSA CalWORKs WTW clients. On May 19, 2015, the Board approved a five-year Agreement for the term of July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2020, with a maximum obligation of $2,995,000 with FACTS.

Assessment Services are mandated under the CalWORKs WTW Program. WTW participants that do not obtain employment during the Job Search Readiness phase of the WTW Plan are required to attend Assessment Services. The assessment results are essential in determining realistic and achievable long-term goals, which facilitates WTW staff in building a career ladder for the participant. The results identify the following: barriers to employment, learning disabilities, career goals, basic education needs, job training needs and physical limitations. These services assist CalWORKs participants in obtaining and/or retaining stable employment with the goal of achieving self-sufficiency. Contractor’s staff refer participants for an Assessment unless the participant chooses to take a Learning Disability (LD) assessment. If, in the course of a standard assessment, the contractor notices potential learning disability deficiency, the assessment will stop and the participant will be referred for an LD assessment. Assessment results provide WTW staff with the information necessary to support the CalWORKs participant in career guidance and planning for family self-sufficiency.

On September 19, 2019, SSA released a Request for Proposals (RFP) in BidSync for WTW Assessment Services. SSA received three proposals by the deadline of October 15, 2019. A five-member panel reviewed, evaluated and ranked the proposals.

A Notice of Proposed Contract Award was posted on BidSync on February 24, 2020. No protests were received.

The proposals were rated using the following evaluation criteria with a maximum score of 100 points:

Evaluation Criteria	Points
Related Direct Service Experience	10
Prior Program Management Experience	10
Planned Program Management of Direct Services to be Provided	20
Direct Services to be Provided	20
Assessment Instruments	20
Unit Price of Assessments	20
Total Score	100

Rating Results:

Name of Organization	Average Score
FACTS	80.84
Managed Career Solutions	65.30
JVS So Cal	62.40

The evaluation panel deemed the proposal submitted by FACTS to be the most responsive based upon their experience, services to be provided and cost. FACTS' has been the Assessment Services provider for 20 years and their proposal demonstrated the following strengths:

Extensive experience in seven counties offering services directly related to the proposal, including 20-years in Orange County.

Employs management and non-management supervisory staff that is highly educated with vocational assessment experience ranging between 12 to 40 years, including a bilingual learning disability diagnostician.

Is certified by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities.

Demonstrates knowledge of CalWORKs 2.0 and new state and county initiatives.

Utilizes over 50 assessment instruments with varying delivery methods, some of which are available in both English and Spanish, and offers interpretation services to translate assessment instruments into additional languages. These assessment instruments include a broad range of literacy proficiency tools up to college-level.

Offer follow-up consultation services within 12-months after the initial assessment without charge.

Detailed quality control plan that demonstrates how they will utilize the results to meet objectives and improve services.

Reference Checks

Department staff have conducted due diligence on the vendor. Reference checks were at least satisfactory and completed with Los Angeles County Office of Education, Kern County Department of Human Services and County of Fresno Department of Social Services regarding similar projects.

Outcomes

The following table shows the percentage of referred clients that completed the Employment Readiness (ER) and LD Assessments and the number of Assessments completed for Fiscal Years (FY) 15-16 through FY 19-20:

FY	Goal	Outcome	Assessments Completed
FY2019-20*	85 percent of participants referred for ER and LD Assessments will complete assessment	ER Assessments – 96.93% LD Assessments – 100%	725 41
FY2018-19	85 percent of participants referred for ER and LD Assessments will complete assessment	ER Assessments – 88.73% LD Assessments – 97.57%	998 58
FY2017-18	85 percent of participants referred for ER and LD Assessments will complete assessment	ER Assessments – 88.83% LD Assessments – 92.56%	1,256 62
FY2016-17	80 percent of participants referred for ER and LD Assessments will complete assessment	ER Assessments – 77.78% LD Assessments – 72.03%	1,495 52
FY2015-16	75 percent of participants referred for ER and LD Assessments will complete assessment	ER Assessments – 80% LD Assessments – 75%	N/A

* Outcome results are through February 29, 2020

Outcomes for the new Agreement include the following:

For the period of July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021.

Contractor shall attempt to contact 100 percent of referred clients to confirm an initial assessment within three business days of referral receipt.
A minimum of 85 percent of completed assessment reports will be submitted to SSA within three business days.

For the period of July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2023.

Contractor shall attempt to contact 100 percent of referred clients to confirm an initial assessment within three business days of referral receipt.
A minimum of 90 percent of completed assessment reports will be submitted to SSA within three business days.

Rates

The County will pay the Contractor the following rate for each completed assessment:

Employment Readiness Assessment	$386
Learning Disability Evaluation	$650

Contractor performance under the current Agreement has been confirmed as at least satisfactory. SSA has verified there are no concerns that must be addressed with respect to Contractor’s ownership/name, litigation status or conflicts with County interests.

Subcontracts

This Agreement does not currently include subcontractors or pass through to other providers. See Attachment C for Contract Summary Form.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

Appropriations for this Agreement are included in the proposed FY 2020-21 Budget and will be included in the budgeting process for future years.

This Agreement is funded by 98 percent federal and 2 percent state funds. Federal and state dollars are comprised of CalWORKs funding.

Contingency of Funds

The proposed Agreement includes provisions that the Agreement is contingent upon the availability of funds and inclusion of sufficient funds in the budget approved by the Board for each fiscal year the Agreement remains in effect or operation. In the event such funding is terminated or reduced, the County may terminate the Agreement, reduce the County’s maximum obligation or modify the Agreement, without penalty.

STAFFING IMPACT:

N/A

ATTACHMENT(S):

Attachment A - Agreement with Foster Assessment Services & Testing Center, #WJB0519
Attachment B - Agreement with Foster Assessment Services & Testing Center, #WJB0519 Redline
Attachment C - Contract Summary Form
Attachment D - Summarized Score Sheet
Attachment E - Individual Score Sheets with RFP Questions