Agenda Item   

AGENDA STAFF REPORT

 

                                                                                                                        ASR Control  21-000330

 

MEETING DATE:

06/22/21

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):

Laura Turtzer (714) 541-7734 

 

 

John Parr (714) 245-6103

 

 

Subject:  Approve Agreements for Home Visiting Program 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 2021-22: $4,000,000
FY 2022-23: $4,000,000
FY 2023-24: $4,000,000

 

 

 

    Staffing Impact:

No

# of Positions:            

Sole Source:   N/A

    Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A

  Funding Source:      FED: 93% (TANF), State: 7% (Home Visiting Program and CalWORKs)

County Audit in last 3 years: No

 

 

    Prior Board Action:         3/23/2021 #36, 3/26/2019 #33

 

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

 

 

1.

Approve Agreements with Children and Families Commission of Orange County and Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies for California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Home Visiting Program Services for an aggregate total maximum obligation of $12,000,000, for the term of July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2024.

 

2.

Pursuant to County 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 amounts for the first year of the Agreements, for the entire term of the Agreements, including renewals, and within the scope of work set forth in the Agreements.  The use of this contingency contract cost increase is subject to approval requirements established by the County Procurement Officer.

 


 

 

 

SUMMARY:

 

Approval of the Agreements with Children and Families Commission of Orange County and the Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies will allow the Social Services Agency to continue providing services and increase the number of California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids eligible families served through the Home Visiting Program, which aims to support health, development and well-being outcomes for families and children.

 

 

 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

 

The Social Services Agency (SSA) is requesting the Board of Supervisors’ (Board) approval of Home Visiting Program Agreements and expenditures as specified in Recommended Actions One and Two.    SSA is also requesting a 10 percent contingency cost increase in the event there is an increased need for these services and California Department of Social Services (CDSS) provides a supplement to the initial funding allocation.

 

On March 26, 2019, the Board approved a 16-month Agreement with Children and Families Commission of Orange County (CFCOC) for Home Visiting Services with a cumulative maximum obligation of $2,249,154.  The start of this Agreement was a result of the State’s rollout of the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) Home Visiting Initiative (HVI), later renamed the Home Visiting Program (HVP).  To assist counties with rollout of HVI, CDSS approved counties’ utilization of Procurement by Negotiation in place of formal solicitation with the expectation that counties would solicit for services beyond the initial term as needed.  The Board approved Amendments to the initial Agreement with CFCOC following CDSS directives to SSA to expand the eligible population and to increase the annual maximum obligations due to augmented funding availability.  On March 23, 2021, the Board approved the Third Amendment to the Agreement, which increased funding for HVP for the current fiscal year by $250,000.  The current Agreement will terminate on June 30, 2021.

 

HVP is an evidence-based, voluntary program model that pairs new parents with trained professionals who make regular visits to participants’ homes to provide guidance, coaching, access to prenatal and postnatal care and other health and social services.  HVP services may include, but are not limited to: prenatal, infant and toddler care; infant and child nutrition; child developmental screening and assessments; parent education, parent and child interaction, child development and child care; job readiness and barrier  removal; and support and referrals for domestic violence and sexual assault, mental health and substance abuse treatment, as applicable.    The pairing of HVP with CalWORKs provides an opportunity to connect parents with necessary resources, improve their parenting skills, and ensure that their children have a safe and nurturing environment that allows them to thrive and grow.  As of May 1, 2021, CFCOC was maintaining a caseload of 336 CalWORKs families participating in HVP, with another 224 families no longer participating. 

 

On October 28, 2020, SSA released a Request for Proposals, via the County’s online bidding system, to solicit HVP proposals for the new term starting July 1, 2021.  SSA received three proposals by the deadline of December 2, 2020.

 

A five-member evaluation panel reviewed, evaluated and ranked the proposals received.  Proposals were evaluated and rated based on a potential maximum score of 100 points, with the scoring breakdown as follows:

Evaluation Criteria

Points

Related Direct Service Experience

20 points

Prior Program Management Experience

20 points

Planned Program Management of Direct Services to be Provided

20 points

Direct Services to be Provided

25 points

Budget

15 points

Total Maximum Points:

100 points

 

The proposals were scored as follows:

 

Proponents

Points Awarded

CFCOC

71.91

 

Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies (MECCA)

69.88

 

Arbor E&T LLC DBA Equus Workforce Solutions

66.05

 

 

The evaluation panel deemed the proposals submitted by CFCOC and MECCA to be most responsive based on their cost, networks of service providers, related experiences and ability to reach the most amount of CalWORKs families. 

 

SSA has verified there are no concerns that must be addressed with respect to Contractors’ ownership/names, litigation statuses or conflicts with County interests.  MECCA listed MindOC, OC Health Care Agency and OC Sheriff’s Department as references, and reference checks were completed with satisfactory responses.  References for CFCOC included California Department of Health Care Services, First 5 California and the Orange County Community Foundation, and responses given were satisfactory.  A Notice of Intent to Award was posted on the County’s online bidding system on April 28, 2021, and no protests were received.

 

Outcomes

 

Cumulative Outcomes for CFCOC HVP Services from March 26, 2019, through May 1, 2021, are as follows:

 

Outcome Objective

Outcome Results

Attempt phone, email or written contact to a minimum of 80 percent of referred clients within 5 business days.

 

95%

Schedule face-to-face meetings with 50 percent of contacted clients within 15 business days.

 

79%

Conduct face-to-face meetings with 80 percent of scheduled clients

within 30 calendar days.

 

90%*

Identify immediate needs during the initial face-to-face intake assessments and make referrals for services within 30 calendar days.

 

100%

Attempt to survey all clients entering and exiting the program to assess the benefits of services received.

 

73%**

 

* SSA increased outreach efforts in October 2020, which resulted in referrals exceeding staff ability to meet the desired Outcome Objective.

 

** CFCOC did not have the client complete pre- and post-surveys in instances where clients received a single home visit resulting in the client declining further services.    

 

The two proposed Agreements include the first four Outcome Objectives above and a reworking of the fifth as follows in consideration of clients declining services after a single Home Visit to better evaluate the client’s experience:

 

“Proponent shall administer a written survey to participants at the initial face-to-face or virtual meeting, and another upon completion of the program or termination of involvement in HVP, to determine if their knowledge of their child’s development and their parental confidence have increased as a result of the program.”

 

Insurance provisions in both Agreements are modified to differentiate between administrative, office staff and subcontractors with direct client contact.  As the Agreements do not require the contractors to come onto County property, Workers Compensation requirements are also waived.  County Executive Office-Risk Management has deemed these modifications acceptable.

 

The Orange County Preference Policy is not applicable to these contract awards. 

 

Due to protracted Agreement negotiations, SSA is submitting this item for Board approval less than 30 days prior to the effective date of the Agreements.

 

Subcontracts

 

The two proposed Agreements include subcontractors.  See Attachments F and G for information regarding subcontractors.

 

 

 

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

 

Appropriations for these Agreements will be included in Budget Control 063, Social Services Agency FY 2021-22 Budget, and will be included in the budgeting process for future years.  These Agreements are funded 93 percent by federal funds (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) and seven percent by state funds (CalWORKs HVP and CalWORKs Single Allocation).

 

Contingency of Funds

 

These Agreements include provisions that the Agreements are contingent upon the availability of funds and inclusion of sufficient funds in the budget approved by the Board for each fiscal year the Agreements remain in effect or operation.  In the event such funding is terminated or reduced, the County may terminate either or both Agreements, reduce the County's maximum obligation or modify the Agreements, without penalty.

 


 

STAFFING IMPACT:

 

N/A

 

ATTACHMENT(S):

 

Attachment A - Agreement with Children and Families Commission of Orange
County, #WDM0321
Attachment B - Agreement with Children and Families Commission of Orange
County, #WDM0321 Redline
Attachment C - Agreement with Multi-Ethnic Collaboration of Community Agencies,  #WJP0221
Attachment D - Agreement with Multi-Ethnic Collaboration of Community Agencies, #WJP0221- Redline
Attachment E - Cited Codes, Regulations and/or Statutes
Attachment F - Contract Summary Form CFCOC
Attachment G - Contract Summary Form MECCA
Attachment H – Risk Assessment of Insurance Terms CFCOC
Attachment I – Risk Assessment of Insurance Terms MECCA
Attachment J – HVP Services Summarized Scoring Sheet
Attachment K – HVP Services Combined Individual Scoring Sheets