To: Board of Supervisors
From: Esa Ehmen-Krause, County Probation Officer
Report Title: Contract with Guardian Alliance Technologies Inc. for background investigations software
?Recommendation of the County Administrator ? Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Purchasing Agent to execute on behalf of the Probation Department, a contract with Guardian Alliance Technologies, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $9,938 for the purchase of background investigations software for the period January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This contract will be 100% funded by the General Fund.
BACKGROUND:
The Probation Department is making the move to bring Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training background investigations for prospective sworn employees in-house, creating a unit dedicated to completing these background investigations. The purpose of this is twofold: 1) to expedite the hiring process by not relying on outside contracting agencies to complete these background investigations and 2) for compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), as codified in 15 U.S.C. Section 1681 et seq., and the California Investigative Consumers Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA), as codified in California Civil Code Sections 1786.10-1786.40. Using contracted services of an "investigative consumer reporting agency" (ICRA) to conduct investigations and prepare an "investigative consumer report" (which includes a background investigation report prepared for employment purposes on a law enforcement applicant) as opposed to conducting such investigations and preparing reports in-house without using an ICRA may result in compliance with FCRA and ICRAA to provide a copy of the report to the applicant.
In moving such investigations in-house, the Department researched two background investigation software solutions which assist in expediting background investigations, including reference checks, social media checks, and credit...
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