To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Human Services
Staff Name and Phone Number: Angela Struckmann, 707-565-5800 and Cristin Tuider, 707-565-8504
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Human Services Department Contracts for Fiscal Years 2025-26 and 2026-27
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Authorize the Director of the Human Services Department, or designee, to execute 25 contracts to deliver services to the community for a total amount of $14,405,300.
B) Authorize the Director of the Human Services Department, or designee, to execute six contract amendments for a total amount of $580,471.
C) Authorize the Director of the Human Services Department, or designee, to amend and execute contracts included in this item to adjust for revenue changes that do not increase the amount of the contract by more than $150,000 from the original amount and do not significantly change the scopes of service.
D) Authorize the Human Services Department to utilize Counsel-approved mutual indemnification language in contracts with other public agencies and public or private universities.
E) Authorize the Director of the Human Services Department to execute no cost Memoranda of Understanding that exceed three-year terms.
end
Executive Summary:
The Human Services Department (HSD) requests authority to execute contracts for services with community-based organizations as listed on Attachment A. Depending on the funding amount, HSD procures for client services every three to four years, either through a competitive Request for Proposal process or under the authority of the department head or purchasing agent, to provide a broad range of safety net services to the community. HSD is requesting approval to utilize indemnification provisions, including mutual indemnification language, in contracts with other public agencies including cities, federal or state entities, and public and private universities, that require the County to indemnify the other entity, as well as the ability to enter into Memoranda of Understanding with partner agencies for longer than three years when there is no exchange of funds.
Contracts are executed in the standard Counsel-approved template (Attachment E), include language that obligates the County only to the extent funding is available, and allow for amendments to reduce or terminate the contract in the event that any anticipated funding is reduced or eliminated. The 25 contracts total $14.4 million with 39% being financed from state sales tax 2011 Realignment and 35% from federal programs.
Discussion:
The Human Services Department (HSD) will execute a total of 31 contracts that require Board approval, including 25 agreements and 6 amendments, for a total of $14,985,771. Funding amounts were determined prior to the Governor’s revised budget in May. Once the state legislature passes the budget bill by June 15, 2025, HSD will determine if revisions need to be made.
The contracts range from $95,343 for legal assistance and referral services (Legal Aid) to $2.1 million for wraparound program services for 80-100 families per year (Seneca Family of Agencies).
|
Current Year Amendments |
|
|
|
|
Contractor |
Services |
Additional Funding |
End Date |
New Total |
|
Council on Aging (Amendment No 3) |
Services for Seniors |
$154,335 |
6/30/25 |
$1,902,510 |
|
EverDriven Technologies, LLC (Amendment No 1) |
Youth Transportation Services |
$120,000 |
6/30/27 |
$414,000 |
|
First Student, Inc. (Amendment No 1) |
Youth Transportation Services |
$120,000 |
6/30/27 |
$351,000 |
|
Petaluma People Services Center (Amendment No 3) |
Services for Seniors |
$38,459 |
6/30/25 |
$894,494 |
|
Senior Advocacy Services (Amendment No 3) |
Services for Seniors |
$21,677 |
6/30/25 |
$984,115 |
|
TLC Child & Family Services (Amendment No 1) |
Transitional Housing Program for 22 former foster care and probation youth ages 18 to 25 at any given time. |
$126,000 |
6/30/26 |
$2,126,000 |
All funding for contracted services is in support of state and federal mandates and is consistent with County and HSD objectives to protect vulnerable children and adults and to promote maximum independence and well-being for county residents. Contracts are executed in the standard Counsel-approved template (Attachment E), include language that obligates the County only to the extent funding is available, and allow for amendments to reduce or terminate the contract in the event that any anticipated funding is reduced or eliminated.
Each contract was procured using county and funder requirements in support of the County Safety Net Contracting Principles <https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/contracting-principles-letter-from-the-safety-net-departments> by providing essential services in every community across the county and serving some of the county’s most vulnerable residents. Additionally, each scope of work describes the services to be delivered, required data collection, and funder-required outcome measures. HSD implemented the Results-Based Accountability (RBA) framework for planning, reporting, and monitoring of performance measures in each service procured in Fiscal Year 2025-26 and will include the RBA framework for all upcoming procurements. HSD is committed to providing services that lead to healthy and safe communities, racial equity, and social justice in support of the County’s strategic plan.
More funds may be allocated at any time from the state or federal government throughout the fiscal year, and HSD may need to reallocate funding due to over/under spending by contractors. Therefore, it is imperative that there is flexibility to modify contract funding to assure continuity of services. HSD requests authorization for the Director of Human Services, or designee, to amend and execute the contracts listed in this item that do not significantly change the scope of services or increase the amount of the contracts by more than $150,000 from the original contract amount.
A summary of the contracts requiring Board approval is listed in Attachment A; this list also indicates which contracts incorporate RBA plans. The procurement method for each is listed in Attachment B. Attachment C organizes contract totals by provider, since a provider may have multiple contracts with HSD, and Attachment D includes a breakdown by specific funding source.
Mutual Indemnification Language
To ensure the ability to accept funding and to provide services quickly to meet the needs of vulnerable clients, HSD is requesting approval to use Counsel-approved indemnification and mutual indemnification language only in contracts with other public agencies, such as cities, federal and state entities, and public or private educational institutions. Often these agreements, which may include grant funding for client services or university internship agreements, come to HSD with mutual indemnification language included. The process of continually negotiating indemnification language and getting Board approval delays the timely execution of agreements, potentially threatening the funding and service delivery.
No Term Limit for No-Cost Memoranda of Understanding
HSD has a number of no-cost Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with partner agencies that exceed three years, some dating back to the 1990’s. These are typically cooperative agreements to define roles and responsibilities in working together to serve HSD clients or to put in place internship agreements with universities. These MOUs are not brought to the Board for approval because there is no impact to the County budget and no revenue is exchanged. HSD is requesting approval to continue entering into long-term no-cost MOU’s with partner agencies. HSD has an effective document management process in place through our Contracts Tracking Online Management system to ensure that all long-term agreements are reviewed by program and partner agencies every five years.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Healthy and Safe Communities
Goal: Goal 1: Expand integrated system of care to address gaps in services to the County’s most vulnerable.
Objective: Objective 2: Identify gaps in the Safety Net system of services and identify areas where departments can address those gaps directly, and seek guidance from the Board when additional resources and/or policy direction is needed.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
The Board has annually approved funding and service contracts for the programs included in this item.
06-04-2024 - Approved $13,526,635 in funding for Human Services Department contracts.
06-06-2023 - Approved $21,653,818 in funding for Human Services Department contracts.
06-13-2022 - Approved $13,950,080 in funding for Human Services Department contracts.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY24-25 Adopted |
FY25-26 Projected |
FY26-27 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
|
$13,033,657 |
$1,952,114 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
|
$13,033,657 |
$1,952,114 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
$250,000 |
|
|
State/Federal |
|
$12,152,479 |
$1,952,114 |
|
Fees/Other |
|
$631,178 |
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
|
$13,033,657 |
$1,952,114 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The Human Services Department’s FY 2025-26 proposed budget includes funding for the requested contracts totaling $13,033,657. An additional $1,952,114 will be included in the FY 2026-27 budget, for an overall total of $14,985,771 across the two fiscal years. See Attachment A for full details including a breakdown of funding by fiscal year. The funding sources used to finance these contracts are summarized in Attachment D.
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None.
Attachments:
A - Human Services Department Contracts
B - Human Services Department Procurement Method by Contract
C - Human Services Department Contracts by Contractor
D - Human Services Department Contracts by Funding Source
E - Human Services Department Contract Template
1 through 31 - Service Provider Contracts/Amendments
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
N/A