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Agenda Item
ASR
Control 21-000193 |
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MEETING DATE: |
06/22/21 |
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legal entity taking action: |
Board of Supervisors |
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board of supervisors
district(s): |
All Districts |
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SUBMITTING
Agency/Department: |
Social Services Agency (Approved) |
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Department contact
person(s): |
Laura Turtzer (714)541-7734 |
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Miriam Rubino (714)245-6028 |
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Subject: Agreement for Social
Security Administration Client Advocacy Services
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ceo CONCUR |
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Clerk of the Board |
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Concur |
Approved Agreement to Form |
Discussion |
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3 Votes Board Majority |
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Budgeted: N/A |
Current Year Cost:
N/A |
Annual Cost:
FY 2021-22: $250,000 |
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Staffing Impact: |
No |
# of Positions:
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Sole Source:
No |
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Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A
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Prior Board Action: 6/5/2018
#22 |
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RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
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1. |
Approve Agreement with Public Consulting Group LLC for Social Security Administration Client Advocacy Services with a maximum obligation of $750,000 for the term of July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2024, renewable for two additional one-year terms. |
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2. |
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 Agreement amount for the first year of the Agreement, for the entire term of the Agreement, including renewals, and within the scope of work set forth in the Agreement. The use of this contingency contract cost increase is subject to approval requirements established by the County Procurement Officer. |
SUMMARY:
Approval of the Agreement with Public Consulting Group LLC will assist individuals with medical and/or mental health issues, who may qualify for federal and state benefits, in applying for and obtaining Social Security Administration benefits such as Supplemental Security Income, State Supplementary Payments and/or Social Security Disability Insurance.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Social Services Agency (SSA) is requesting the Board of Supervisors’ (Board) approval of the Agreement with Public Consulting Group LLC (PCG) for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), State Supplementary Payments (SSP) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Client Advocacy Services with a maximum obligation of $750,000 for the term of July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2024, renewable for two additional one-year terms. SSA is requesting a 10 percent contingency cost increase in the event there is an increased need for these services.
PCG will assist potentially eligible General Relief (GR)/California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) clients with the application process for SSI, SSP and/or SSDI benefits, including application completion and obtaining and performing a review of medical and/or mental health records. PCG may also act as the client’s authorized or legal representative or obtain legal representation for clients in the hearing process when an appeal is filed with the Social Security Administration, at no additional cost to the County.
SSA’s Assistance Programs and Family Self-Sufficiency and Adult Services Divisions administer the GR and CalWORKs programs, respectively. The GR and CalWORKs programs provide cash assistance and supportive services to eligible adults and children and promote employment opportunities to achieve self-sufficiency. However, there are many situations in which clients receiving CalWORKs or GR may be eligible for SSI, SSP and/or SSDI benefits, which are processed through the Social Security Administration. The SSI, SSP and/or SSDI benefits are significantly higher than their current GR or CalWORKs grant amounts, providing individuals and families greater financial support and stability. When GR clients successfully obtains SSI, SSP and/or SSDI benefits, their monthly income exceeds the GR cash assistance amounts and they no longer require GR cash assistance to meet their basic needs. GR expenditures are funded 100 percent with County General Funds. For CalWORKs clients, the family member approved for SSI, SSP and/or SSDI benefits is removed from the CalWORKs grant. The reduced CalWORKs amount varies depending on family size and countable income. However, the SSI, SSP and/or SSDI amount approved will be a net increase to the family’s monthly income.
On June 5, 2018, the Board approved an agreement with PCG to provide SSI/SSP/SSDI Client Advocacy Services for a three-year term from July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2021, with a maximum obligation of $750,000.
SSA issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) on November 5, 2020, to solicit proposals from private and public organizations to provide SSI, SSP and/or SSDI Client Advocacy Services. Three proposals were received by the deadline on December 7, 2020:
· PCG
· Families Together of Orange County
· Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies
A three-member evaluation panel reviewed, evaluated and ranked the proposals received. The proposals were rated using the following evaluation criteria with a potential maximum score of 100 points:
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Related Direct Services Experience |
15 points |
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Prior Program Management Experience |
25 points |
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Planned Program Management of Direct Services to be Provided |
30 points |
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Direct Services to be Provided |
30 points |
Rating Results:
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Proponent |
Points Awarded |
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PCG |
76.80 |
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Families Together of Orange County |
74.96 |
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Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies |
57.54 |
The evaluation panel deemed the proposal submitted by PCG to be the most responsive based upon their experience and services to be provided.
PCG is the current provider for SSI, SSP and/or SSDI Client Advocacy Services and 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. Department staff have conducted due diligence on the vendor. Reference checks were satisfactory and completed with the San Mateo County and Commonwealth of Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services regarding similar projects.
Outcomes
Outcomes for FY 2018-19, FY 2019-20 and FY 2020-21:
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Outcome Objective |
FY 2018-21* |
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Contractor shall complete and submit SSI/SSP/SSDI application(s) and information necessary to establish a claim with SSI, SSP and/or SSDI for a minimum of 45 percent of Clients referred to the Contractor, on a cumulative basis for the period of July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2021. |
49% |
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Outcome Objective |
FY 2018-19 |
FY 2019-20 |
FY 2020-21* |
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Contractor shall achieve a monthly approval rate of a minimum of 70 percent, of all final decisions, for each fiscal year for the period of July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2021. |
58% |
52% |
47% |
* Data through April 30, 2021.
In assessing PCG’s performance over the course of the Agreement, SSA recognized several challenges associated with achieving the outcomes specified in the current Agreement. As a result, SSA has evaluated the structure of the Agreement and the performance of the current Contractor and determined that changes to the outcomes are needed to measure the success of the Agreement. Changes to the outcomes were necessary as the Contractor’s approval rate is dependent on the Social Security Administration completing benefit application reviews and hearings. For additional information on the new outcome measures refer to Attachment F. The new outcome measures reflect higher accountability standards.
Real Estate License
New License Agreements with Public Consulting Group (Licensee) will be executed under delegated authority by County Executive Office Real Estate Services at the following SSA Regional Offices (SSA Offices): 6100 Chip Avenue, Cypress; 1928 S. Grand Street, Santa Ana; 2020 W. Walnut Street; Santa Ana; 3320 E. La Palma Avenue, Anaheim; 12912 Brookhurst Street, Garden Grove; and 23330 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills. The License Agreements allows Licensee rent-free use of certain parts of SSA Offices as Licensee's office space for Licensee to provide services. The term will commence on July 1, 2021, and will terminate on June 30, 2024. The License Agreements are revocable by either the County or Licensee at any time; however, as a courtesy the terminating Party will attempt to give 30 days’ written notice to the other Party prior to the termination date.
Subcontracts
This Agreement, due to the nature of the services, could require the addition of subcontractors for representation of clients at no additional cost to the County. In order to add subcontractor(s) to the Agreement, the Contractor must seek express consent from SSA. See Attachment C for Contract Summary Form.
Due to protracted Agreement negotiations, SSA is submitting this item for Board approval less than 30 days prior to the effective date of the Agreement.
The Orange County Preference Policy is not applicable to this contract award.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Appropriations for this Agreement will be included in Budget Control 063, Social Services Agency FY 2021-22 Budget and will be included in the budget process for future years.
This Agreement is funded with federal eight percent (CalWORKs), state two percent (CalWORKs) and County General Funds 90 percent, the latter of which are required to support the services provided to General Relief clients. General Relief is a state-mandated program but receives no funds from federal or state sources.
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Program |
Projected Usage |
Federal |
State |
County |
Total |
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General Relief |
90% |
$0 |
$0 |
$225,000 |
$225,000 |
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CalWORKs |
10% |
$20,000 |
$5,000 |
$0 |
$25,000 |
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Total |
100% |
$20,000 |
$5,000 |
$225,000 |
$250,000 |
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Funding |
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8.00% |
2.00% |
90.00% |
100.00% |
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 Public Consulting Group LLC,
#AMR0121
Attachment B - Agreement with Public Consulting Group LLC, #AMR0121 Redline
Attachment C - Contract Summary Form
Attachment D - Summarized Score Sheet
Attachment E - Individual Score Sheet with RFP Questions
Attachment F - New Outcome Measures