To: Board of Supervisors
From: Dr. Ori Tzvieli, Interim Health Services Director
Report Title: Amendment/Extension #25-120-1 with Focus Strategies
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Interim Health Services Director, or designee, to execute on behalf of the County Contract Amendment/Extension Agreement #25-120-1 with Focus Strategies, a corporation, effective February 1, 2025, to amend Contract #25-120, to increase the payment limit by $149,000, from $150,000 to a new payment limit of $299,000 and extend the termination date from June 30, 2025 to February 28, 2026 for additional consultation and technical assistance to the Health Housing and Homeless Services Division with regard to implementation of a data integration workflow analysis for the Coordinated Entry (CE) Housing Needs Assessment Replacement Project.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of this Amendment will result in additional expenditures of up to $149,000 and is funded 100% by Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Grant funds. (Additional rates)
BACKGROUND:
Focus Strategies has provided technical assistance for the CE Housing Needs Assessment Replacement Project to prioritize eligible homeless individuals, transition-age youth, and families for available housing since July 1, 2024. Currently, Contra Costa County utilizes the Vulnerability Index - Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT) as the CE Housing Assessment Tool. The VI-SPDAT prioritizes individuals, transition-age youth, and families for available housing through the CE System based on acuity and chronicity. With support of local evaluation and the creators of the tool, the VI-SPDAT has since been identified as a tool to be replaced due to concerns around objectivity and racial bias. Determining a more equitable replacement tool or process to the VI-SPDAT is a community priority this project aims to address.
This Contract is entered into under and subject to the following legal authorities: California Government Code § 26227 and 31000. This Contract was approved by Health Services Personnel to ensure there is no conflict with labor relations. The Health, Housing and Homeless Services Division Contract Monitoring staff meet on a regular basis to ensure monitoring of performance measures set forth in the contract are upheld. This Contractor was selected through the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process for Technical Assistance on February 29, 2024.
In July 2024, the Purchasing Services Manager executed Contract #25-120 with Focus Strategies in an amount not to exceed $150,000 for the provision of consultation and technical assistance services to the Health Housing and Homeless Services Division regarding the CE Housing Needs Assessment Replacement Project for the period from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025.
Approval of Amendment/Extension Agreement #25-120-1 will allow the Contractor to provide additional consultation and technical assistance services through February 28, 2026. This Amendment/Extension is late due to prolonged language and budget negotiations between the Division and Contractor.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this Amendment/Extension is not approved, County will not have the expertise to implement a new CE Housing Needs Assessment tool.