Since 2013 Yolo County has contracted with the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) to provide re-entry services for County probationers and state parolees. These services are provided through Yolo County Day Reporting Centers (DRC), located in Woodland, West Sacramento and the Yolo County Jail, with the goal of reducing recidivism by successfully reintegrating offenders into the community.
The current contract with SCOE is set to expire on September 30, 2017. Through this contract the County benefits from a unique funding partnership with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) which allows the County to attain comparable DRC outcomes at a significantly lower cost (See Attachment B: DRC Comparison). Due to the beneficial partnership provided through the current contractual arrangement, it is the opinion of the County Administrator that the competitive procurement process be waived and a new contract established with SCOE. Such a waiver is permissible under Yolo County Contracting and Purchasing Policies when contracting with another government agency.
Day Reporting Center
The DRC serves county-level jail, probation, electronic monitoring and Prop 47 clients as well as state-level parolees. As a result, funding for the program is divided between Yolo County and CDCR. This arrangement doubles the annual budget for the program, totaling $1,409,650 annually, thus increasing the provision of services. The services include case management, job readiness, life skills, treatment, education, and other services as needed such as shuttle transportation or clothing. (See Attachment C: DRC 15-16 Budget)
Each year the DRC provides an annual report regarding program performance (Attachment D: DRC Annual Report). Since January 2013 the program has served 1,956 individuals with a 69.5% positive transition rate for in-custody clients and 46.6% for those out of custody. A positive transition refers to those who have graduated or left the program for an acceptable reason such as employment, release from custody, completed supervision, etc.
In comparing the Yolo County DRC program data to nearby Napa County DRC, the Yolo DRC appears to have similar performance outcomes but at a significantly lower cost. As shown in the comparison, (see Attachment B: DRC Comparison) the Yolo DRC and Napa DRC have a similar annual budget and provide similar programming. However, the Yolo DRC serves a higher number of clients and maintains a recidivism outcome of 26%; which is close to Napa DRC’s 29% outcome. This was done at a cost per person of $2,836 (only half of which is funded by Yolo County) compared to Napa’s $21,428 per person cost.
Contract and Leveraged Funds
The County’s current contract with SCOE was approved by the Community Corrections Partnership (CCP), following two competitive procurement processes, and approved by the Board of Supervisors on January 1, 2013. On April 29, 2014 the contract term was extended through June 30, 2016 at a cost of $685,141 per fiscal year. Since that time the DRC reduced the County’s contribution to $620,000 due to cost savings in running the program.
This agreement benefits from both leveraged funds and in-kind services. As previously mentioned the contract benefits from funds leveraged through a separate agreement between CDCR and SCOE. This arrangement was the first hybrid realignment program in the state, serving both county- and state-supervised offenders. Through this agreement CDCR provides $705,512 per year for the DRCs in Yolo County, more than doubling the annual budget of the program. Of the total number of clients served in the DRC annually, approximately 34.4% are parolees, which means that CDCR’s allocation also pays for services that local probationers/supervisees receive, thus benefiting the County. In addition, the Yolo County Office of Education provides $84,138 to the program and SCOE provides in-kind support services with three positions and a shuttle service at no cost to the County.
Community Corrections Partnership
In anticipation of the contract expiration on June 30, 2016, the CCP discussed whether to conduct a competitive selection process for Day Reporting Services or recommend that the Board waive that process and establish a new contract with the current provider SCOE. The CCP was unable to come to a majority determination. With the contract expiration approaching, the CCP voted instead to extend the current SCOE contract until September 30, 2017; thus allowing time for the Board of Supervisors to make a determination on the potential waiver, avoid any interruption in services and avoid the DRC having to provide layoff notices to staff, as would be required 60 days before the contract end date.
Those opposed to the waiver argued in favor of the value of the competitive procurement process to provide definitive proof of the best available services and cost.
Recommendation and Proposed Contract
Ultimately, due to the unique partnership with CDCR and the money CDCR brings to the contract, it is the opinion of the County Administrator that another vendor would be unable to provide a competitive agreement. The Yolo DRC currently provides a highly cost-effective service when compared to the nearby Napa DRC due in great part to the leveraged funds with CDCR. Therefore, it is recommended that the Board of Supervisors waive the competitive selection process and approve the new contract with SCOE (Attachment A). Since SCOE is a government agency, the Board of Supervisors may waive the competitive selection process under Yolo County Contracting and Purchasing Policies. The new agreement would have a five year term for a total cost of $3,100,000 ($620,000 per year) and include a 60 day termination clause. A five year term would align with the new 5 year contract between CDCR and SCOE, thus maximizing Yolo County’s ability to leverage CDCR dollars for that entire period. Board authorization for the five year term is required because Yolo County Contracting and Purchasing Policies typically limit contract duration to three years absent a competitive process.
If the Board of Supervisors elects to not waive the competitive procurement process, then the County Administrator recommends extending the current contract expiration with SCOE from September 30, 2017 to December 31, 2017 at a cost of $155,000 paid for by the CCP with AB109 funds. This would allow time for the RFP process to complete without a potential break in service to clients. It would also ensure that a vendor is chosen 60 days before the end of the contract, thus preventing the DRC from having to unnecessarily provide layoff notices to employees if they were ultimately chosen. |