To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Human Services Department, Department of Health Services, Probation Department, Child Support Services and Sonoma Community Development Commission
Staff Name and Phone Number: Oscar Chavez (565-3812), Karen Fies, Barbie Robinson, David Koch and Jennifer Traumann
Vote Requirement: Informational Only
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Update on Contracting Principles for Safety Net Services Programs and Results-Based Accountability (RBA)
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Accept update and approve utilizing Results-Based Accountability as the approach to implement the Contracting Principles. (Informational Only)
end
Executive Summary:
On April 2, 2019, the Board of Supervisors adopted a set of Contracting Principles for safety net service programs. The purpose of the item is to update the Board on the implementation of the Contracting Principles for safety net service programs adopted on April 2, 2019, and to provide an overview of how the departments are utilizing Results-Based Accountability (RBA) as an approach to operationalize the Contracting Principles. In addition, this board item includes an outline of the RBA implementation plan and timeline.
RBA will be used for planning, reporting, and monitoring of performance measures of County programs and contracts. An online dashboard will be developed to transparently communicate to the Board about program performance and successes. By incorporating RBA into programs and contracted services, the County will more effectively evaluate program performance and participant outcomes.
Discussion:
The goals of the adopted Contracting Principles are to:
- Ensure that policy priorities are addressed in a coordinated and strategic manner
- Ensure that resources and services are distributed equitably and fairly across regions
- Promote a fair, open, and competitive process for vendor selection
- Reduce confusion among vendors as to how to obtain funding from the county
In order to reach these goals, RBA will be used to effectively monitor and report out on the performance of contracts with community-based organizations (attachment 1 - crosswalk of Contracting Principles and RBA). RBA will also be utilized to map where the greatest needs are for services broken out by policy priority, region and other subgroupings of interest to the extent available.
Results-Based Accountability Background
RBA will be used for planning, reporting, and monitoring performance measures of County contracts. An online dashboard will be developed to transparently communicate to the Board about program performance. By incorporating RBA into programs and contracted services, the County will more effectively evaluate program performance and participant outcomes.
Results-Based Accountability (RBA) is a disciplined way of thinking and acting to improve entrenched and complex social problems. RBA starts with ends and works backward, step by step, towards means. For communities, the ends are conditions of well-being for children, families and the community as a whole. For example: “Residents with good jobs,” “Children ready for school,” or “A safe and clean neighborhood” or even more specific conditions such as “Public spaces without graffiti,” or “A place where neighbors know each other.” For programs, the ends are how customers are better off when the program works the way it should. For example: The percentage of people in the job training program who get and keep good paying jobs.
A number of our neighboring counties and others nationally are using RBA to shift to a data-driven, decision making process within their grant making and contracting process. RBA is used by these communities to improve quality of life and by organizations to improve program performance.
RBA will help the County evaluate the effectiveness of its investments, and allow grantees to sharpen their focus in three key performance areas:
- How much did we do?
- How well did we do it?
- Is anyone better off?
In addition, RBA provides a process and tools for transparency and accountability. RBA uses an online dashboard that can be utilized by all partners to capture the population level and program level impact. This process places contractors alongside County departments to develop performance measures together to build better engagement in the contracting process.
Implementation Plan
The safety net departments have been working together to develop and implement a plan for applying RBA for County administered programs as well as county contracts with community-based organizations in alignment with the adopted Contracting Principles. The Human Services Department, via Upstream Investments, is the managing partner for the RBA implementation plan. A cross-department Contracting Principles workgroup representing the Human Services Department, Department of Health Services, Probation Department, Community Development Commission, and Child Support Services has been convened to support implementation, and to provide an avenue for feedback.
Phase I implementation will be completed by the end of the fiscal year, and then RBA will be scaled over a number of years to eventually include all County contracts with community-based organizations (Attachment 2 - Phase I Theory of Change). For phase I, each department was asked to apply RBA to at least one contract. Contracts are listed below:
|
Department |
Funded Organization |
Funded Program |
Total Funding |
Contract Term |
|
Department of Health Services |
On the Move |
VOICES Sonoma - Sonoma County Services to Support Transition Age Youth |
$295,314 |
07/01/2020 -06/30/2021 |
|
Department of Child Support Services |
Sonoma County Workforce Investment Board (MOU) |
Workforce Referral Program |
N/A |
10/15/2019 -06/30/2022 |
|
Community Development Commission |
COTS |
Mary Isaak Center Emergency Shelter Homeless Services |
$250,000 |
07/01/2020 -06/30/2021 |
|
Probation Department |
Child Parent Institute |
Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) |
$50,000 |
9/9/2019 -6/30/2022 |
|
Human Services Department |
On the Move |
CalFresh Outreach Services |
$9,000 |
07/01/2020 -06/30/2021 |
|
Human Services Department |
Goodwill Industries of the Redwood Empire |
SonomaWORKS |
$1,263,500 |
07/01/2020 -06/30/2021 |
|
Human Services Department |
California Parenting Institute |
Client Support Services |
$643,261 |
7/1/2020 -6/30/2021 |
|
Human Services Department |
Petaluma People Services Center |
Services for Seniors (Adult Day Care) |
$28,508 |
7/1/2020 - 6/30/2021 |
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At the end of Phase I, a report will be developed that outlines the next steps for complete adoption across all contracts. The report will also include a description of any resources (training and staff time) needed for successful implementation. Based on research with other counties complete adoption has been most successful when implementing a phased approach based on contract renewals and workflows.
Implementation Timeline
November 2019:
- Launched communication and outreach strategy
- Identified departments for phase I
- Identified contracts for phase I
December 2019:
- Developed performance measures for contracts
- Launched initial trainings with departments and community-based organizations
January 2020:
- Finalized result statements and indicators (population) for each department
- Developed common scope of work template
- Developed online dashboard to support monitoring and transparency
February 2020:
- Trained departments and community-based organizations on RBA contract monitoring process
- Launched listening sessions to gather feedback
March 2020:
- Plan for Phase II scaling (start of 20-21 fiscal year)
- Prepare contracts for Board
April 2020:
- Launch online dashboard to support monitoring and transparency
May/June 2020:
- Phase I contracts approved by board
- Contract monitoring process initiated (phased approach)
- Contracts for next fiscal year identified
Prior Board Actions:
April 2, 2019: Board approved proposed principles to inform how the Board and Departments contract and fund safety net services.
Fiscal Summary
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Expenditures |
FY 19-20 Adopted |
FY20-21 Projected |
FY 21-22 Projected |
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Budgeted Expenses |
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Additional Appropriation Requested |
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Total Expenditures |
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0 |
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General Fund/WA GF |
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State/Federal |
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Fees/Other |
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Use of Fund Balance |
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Contingencies |
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Total Sources |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this Item. Phase I contracts listed in this item will be presented to the Board of Supervisors for approval in June 2020.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
- Att 1: Crosswalk of Contracting Principles and RBA
- Att 2: Phase I Theory of Change
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None