To: Board of Supervisors
From: Esa Ehmen-Krause, County Probation Officer
Report Title: AB 109 Community Program Contract Award Recommendations for FY 2025/26 through FY 2027/2028
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the County Probation Officer, or designee, to execute a contract with Bay Area Legal Aid, in the amount not to exceed $600,000 for a three (3) year period of July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028, to provide civil legal services, and
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the County Probation Officer, or designee, to execute a contract with HealthRIGHT 360, in an amount not to exceed $3,600,000 for a three (3) year period of July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028, to provide services for the management and operation of the Central-East County Reentry Network System of Services, and
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the County Probation Officer, or designee, to execute a contract with Rubicon Programs Inc., in an amount not to exceed $9,000,000 for a three (3) year period of July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028, to provide evidence-based Employment Support and Placement Services countywide, and
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the County Probation Officer, or designee, to execute a contract with LAO Family Community Development, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $4,499,904 for a three (3) year period of July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028, to provide Reentry Housing Services, and
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the County Probation Officer, or designee, to execute a contract with Men and Women of Purpose, in an amount not to exceed $600,000 for a three (3) year period of July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028, to provide Mentoring Services in West County, and
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the County Probation Officer, or designee, to execute a contract with Rubicon Programs Inc., in an amount not to exceed $2,400,000 for a three (3) year period of July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028, to provide a West County Reentry Resource Center.
FISCAL IMPACT:
These contracts are funded 100% with Assembly Bill 109 Public Safety Realignment revenue.
BACKGROUND:
On December 20, 2024, the Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) Executive Committee adopted a FY 2025-26 AB 109 Public Safety Realignment Budget for recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. The Recommended Budget included the following allocations for
Community Programs:
• Family Reunification Services - $100,000
• Peer Mentoring Services for West County - $200,000
• Civil Legal Aid Services - $200,000
• Management of a Network of System of Services for Central and East County - $1,200,000
• Evidence-Based Employment Services - $3,000,000
• Evidence-Based Housing Services - $1,500,000
• Management of the Reentry Success Center for West County - $800,000
At the December meeting, the CCP Executive Committee also accepted the Community Advisory Board’s recommendation to solicit proposals from qualified organizations to provide the above-mentioned services for a duration of a three-year contract cycle with projected total amounts per fiscal year.
The Public Protection Committee (PPC) of the Board of Supervisors considered and approved recommended budget during its February 18, 2025 meeting.
Procurement Process:
The Office of Reentry & Justice (ORJ) of the Probation Department manages the contracts for AB 109 Community Programs and oversees the procurement process through the department’s new online procurement portal, known as OpenGov. During the development of this solicitation process, and in alignment with the Probation Department’s initiative to formalize performance-based contracting standards, respondents are required to implement a data-driven approach to service delivery; develop a systematic process for program planning utilizing logic models; and support evidence-based programming across all service areas for justice-involved populations.
Solicitation Timeline:
The following timeline delineates a process that spans approximately two months from the issuance of the solicitation to the notification of award recommendations, utilizing the new OpenGov platform.
|
RFP / RFQ released |
Friday, January 31, 2025 |
|
Bidders’ Conferences |
Service Hubs and the Center (optional attendance) 2:00 p.m., Friday, February 7, 2025 Housing, Employment, Mentoring, Family Reunification, Service Navigation (mandatory attendance) 10:00 a.m., Friday, February 7, 2025 |
|
Written Questions |
Due 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 12, 2025 |
|
Addendum Issued |
Friday, February 14, 2025 |
|
Response Submission Deadline |
5:00 p.m., Friday, March 14, 2025 |
|
Response Withdrawal |
12:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 19, 2025 |
|
Response Review Process |
March 19 - 28, 2025 |
|
Notification of Recommendations |
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 |
|
RFI released |
Friday, January 31, 2025 |
|
Written Questions Due |
5:00 p.m., Monday, February 10, 2025 |
|
Addendum Issued |
Friday, February 14, 2025 |
|
Response Submission Deadline |
5:00 p.m., Friday, March 7, 2025 |
|
Notification of Recommendations |
Friday, March 14, 2025 |
Solicitations were published on the Department's official website, providing detailed instructions on how to register with OpenGov, a new web-based portal used by the Department for procurement opportunities. Additionally, these solicitations were directly disseminated via e-newsletter distribution to contacts established by the Office of Reentry & Justice.
RFP & RFQ Review Process
Three review panels were convened by the ORJ over a period of three days during the week of March 24, 2025, each comprising three to four representatives. These panels consisted of subject matter experts, representatives from organizations directly engaged with justice-involved populations both within and outside Contra Costa County, and individuals with lived experience of the justice system's impacts. The ORJ Director, Patrice Guillory, and the ORJ Program Manager, Jennifer Bruggeman, facilitated the panel sessions. Additionally, staff members from ORJ and other Probation divisions participated as panelists. A Kick-Off Meeting for the Review Panel was held on March 21, 2025, to orient participants regarding the solicitation review and scoring procedures.
Panel sessions utilized a “Consensus Scoring Methodology” for proposal evaluation and rating, and all panel members submitted the required Impartiality Statements and Conflict of Interest forms prior to receiving the proposals for review and scoring. Each panel independently determined whether to invite any proposers for an interview before finalizing its recommendations. The Housing review panel resolved to invite the two highest scoring applicants to submit written responses to five follow-up questions.
The Review Panels consisted of the following stakeholder representatives:
• Probation Department’s Field Services and ORJ Units
• Community Advisory Board for AB 109 Realignment (3 members)
• Contra Costa Health Services - Health, Housing and Homeless Services
• Office of Racial Equity & Social Justice
• Contra Costa County Workforce Development Board
Solicitation Responses
A total of 13 responses were received for the seven AB 109 Community Program Areas (employment, housing, civil legal aid, family reunification, peer mentoring (West County), East-Central County Networked System of Services, and West County Reentry Resource Center), of which 10 responses met the solicitation qualifications. All compliant responses were reviewed and scored by the review panels and the panels recommended the following selections:
• Rubicon Programs (Reentry Success Center) - West County Reentry Resource Center - 97.7
• Healthright 360 (Contra Costa Reentry Network) - Central-East Networked System of Services - 94.3
• Lao Family Community Development (Housing for Strong Reentry) - Round 1: 93.66; Round 2: 23.75 out of 25
• Men & Women of Purpose - Peer Mentoring Services (West County) - 74.64
• Bay Area Legal Aid was selected following a Request for Interest (RFI) process issued on January 31, 2025. Two statements of interest were received on March 7, 2025, one of which was incomplete.
Update on AB 109 Family Reunification
Since there were no responses to the January 2025 RFP for Family Reunification Services, the ORJ/Probation Department decided to re-release the solicitation as an RFI on June 2, 2025. Five statements of interest were received on June 23, 2025. A second, modified RFP was released on July 2, 2025. Submission deadline is July 30, 2025.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The contracts awarded through the RFP process will remain unawarded, and the AB109 clients will not obtain the services vital to their reentry into the community as healthy, productive, members of that community.