TITLE
Recommendation to adopt Specifications No. RFP HE-22-099 and award a contract to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles, Inc., of Los Angeles, CA, to facilitate the City of Long Beach (City) Employees Youth Mentorship Program connecting middle school students with City employees, in a total amount not to exceed $200,000, for a period of one year, with the option to renew for two additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager; and authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to enter into the contract, including any necessary subsequent amendments;
Adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with TouchPhrase Development, LLC, dba Julota, of Colorado Springs, CO, for development and maintenance of a case management and coordinated care technology platform designed for use in crisis community care, in an annual amount not to exceed $75,000 for a period of one year, with the option to renew for three additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager; and
Adopt Specifications No. RFP HE-22-105 and award contracts to April Parker Foundation, of Long Beach, CA, California Aquatic Therapy & Wellness Center, dba Pools of Hope, of Long Beach, CA, Cambodian Association of America, of Long Beach, CA, Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion, of Long Beach, CA, Mind-1-1, of Long Beach, CA, and The Heart of Ida, of Long Beach, CA, for expansion of Promotoras/Community Health Champion (P/CHC) programs, in a total aggregate amount not to exceed $1,000,000, for a period of one year with the option to renew for one additional one-year period, at the discretion of the City Manager; and authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to enter into the contract, including any necessary subsequent amendments. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
Long Beach Recovery Act
On March 16, 2021, the City Council adopted the Long Beach Recovery Act (LB Recovery Act), becoming one of the first major cities to approve COVID-19 recovery programs made possible through the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and other federal and State funding sources. Additional funding adjustments to the LB Recovery Act were made as part of the Adopted Fiscal Year 2022 (FY 22) Budget and periodic adjustments have been brought to the City Council as needed. The LB Recovery Act funding and program details were originally outlined in Attachment A to the March 16, 2021 City Council staff report and in subsequent updates brought to the City Council. Since then, over 80 programs have been developed with collective impact and equity in mind, focused on the three main funding categories: Healthy and Safe Community, Economic Recovery, and Securing Our City’s Future. Additional information can be found on the LB Recovery Act website: <https://longbeach.gov/recovery>. As part of the LB Recovery Act, under the Healthy and Safe Community category, funding has been set aside for various programs as described in the sections below.
City of Long Beach Employees Youth Mentorship Program
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles, Inc., will facilitate a Citywide Mentoring Program to connect middle school students with City employees to receive mentorship. The selected organization creates and supports one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth.
The Request for Proposals (RFP) was advertised in the Long Beach Press-Telegram on August 24, 2022, and 50 potential proposers specializing in providing training and technical assistance to community organizations were notified of the RFP opportunity. Of those potential proposers 17 downloaded the RFP via the City's electronic bid system. The RFP document was made available from the Purchasing Division, located at City Hall, and the Division's website at <https://longbeach.gov/finance/business-info/purchasing-division/>.
An RFP announcement was also included in the Purchasing Division's weekly update of Open Bid Opportunities, which was sent to 130 local, minority-owned, and women-owned business groups. Additionally, the City engaged in additional outreach via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Outreach materials were translated into Spanish, Khmer, and Tagalog. The opportunity was also advertised in the Go Long Beach Newsletter, City of Long Beach Equity Newsletter, and Economic Development Newsletter.
The City’s Purchasing Division also assists businesses with registering on the Long Beach Buys database to download RFP specifications. Through outreach, 27 Long Beach vendors were notified to submit proposals, 14 downloaded and 2 submitted a proposal. Three proposals were received by October 28, 2022, and of those, one was a Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE), one was a Women-owned Business Enterprise (WBE), one was a certified Small Business Enterprises (SBEs), and two were Long Beach vendors (Local). To align with the City’s local procurement, Long Beach businesses are encouraged to submit proposals for City contracts. The Purchasing Division also assists businesses with registering on the Long Beach Buys database to download RFP specifications. The Purchasing Division is committed to continuing to perform outreach to local vendors to expand the bidder pool.
The selection committee determined that Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles, Inc., was the most qualified firm to provide services. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles has a long history of experience implementing large mentoring programs through a partnership with school districts. The selected vendor demonstrated its capacity and had a clear plan of scaling its existing practices to meet the needs of this program and their approach was evaluated as the best fit to manage the large number of mentoring connections while maintaining a quality mentoring match for the success of the program.
Community Crisis Response Program
Housed within the Health and Human Services Department’s (Health Department) Collective Impact Bureau, the Community Crisis Response Team (CCR) Pilot Program, formerly known as the Alternative Crisis Response Team (ACR), is one piece of Long Beach’s effort to improve overall community health and safety through programs and services that meet residents’ needs through health-based approaches. The CCR pilot is part of the City’s Racial Equity and Reconciliation Initiative grounded in a vision where race and ethnicity alone do not determine social and economic outcomes for those who live and work in Long Beach. A memorandum issued on September 21, 2022, to the Mayor and City Council provides further detail on this program.
The Community Crisis Response pilot is part of a nationwide technical assistance cohort which is led by Harvard’s Government Performance Lab. This cohort has shared valuable learning to jurisdictions like Long Beach who are entering into their implementation stage of pilot programs. This learning has led to identifying the need for a case management software.
City Council approval is requested to enter into a contract with TouchPhrase Development, LLC dba Julota (Julota), a Colorado limited liability corporation, for a case management system that is built for community crisis intervention teams. The CCR team requires a technology system to host behavioral health case notes, capture call for service and outcome data, and to collect electronic consent forms (i.e., consent to be transported), that is outfitted for use for crisis interventions. The CCR team represents a pilot into alternative crisis response and requires an infrastructure that is built to capture specialized data such as call response time, on-scene treatment and care, and after-call outcomes.
The Health Department determined after thorough research with other cities implementing similar scopes of work that Julota best fits the needs of the CCR. Julota owns proprietary technology not found with other similar technology platforms that allows for data to be HIPAA, 42 CFR Part 2, CJIS-compliant with State and Federal requirements. Julota is the only company with such compliance per the extensive procurement research conducted and shared with the Health Department by the City of Durham North Carolina. The CCR Team needs the data to meet the HIPAA, 42 CFR Part 2, and CJIS-compliance with State and Federal requirements to ensure sensitive patient records receive the highest level of protection when accessing services for treatment use. Accordingly, Julota is the only company with the necessary technology to implement the CCR Pilot Program’s case management system.
City Charter Section 1801 requires that contracts for City purchases be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder after a competitive bid process but allows for awards without a competitive bid process when authorized by a Resolution adopted by the City Council.
Addressing Health Disparities Program
City Council approval is requested to enter into contracts to launch or expand Promotoras/Community Health Champion (P/CHC) programs that promote education and wellness opportunities across Long Beach communities. The selected organizations focus on increasing access to health screenings, health education, mental health resources, and well-being resources, in addition to connecting communities to these resources.
The Request for Proposals (RFP) was advertised in the Long Beach Press-Telegram on August 24, 2022, and 149 potential proposers specializing in providing training and technical assistance to community organizations were notified of the RFP opportunity with an option to renew. Of those potential proposers, 25 downloaded the RFP via the City's electronic bid system. The RFP document was made available from the Purchasing Division, located on the sixth floor of City Hall, and the Division's website at <https://longbeach.gov/finance/business-info/purchasing-division/>.
An RFP announcement was also included in the Purchasing Division's weekly update of Open Bid Opportunities, which was sent to 130 local, minority-owned, and women-owned business groups. Additionally, the City engaged in additional outreach via Facebook, Twitter and lnstagram. Outreach materials were translated into Spanish, Khmer, and Tagalog. The opportunity was also advertised in the Go Long Beach Newsletter, City of Long Beach Equity Newsletter, and Economic Development Newsletter.
The City’s Purchasing Division also assists businesses with registering on the Long Beach Buys database to download RFP specifications. There were 13 proposals received by October 25, 2022. Of those 13 proposers, 3 were Minority-owned Business Enterprises (MBEs), 3 were Women-owned Business Enterprises (WBEs), none were certified Small Business Enterprises (SBEs), and 10 were Long Beach vendors (Local).
To align with the City’s outreach goal, Long Beach businesses are encouraged to submit proposals for City contracts. Through outreach, 130 Long Beach vendors were notified to submit proposals, of which 6 downloaded and 3 submitted a proposal. The Purchasing Division is committed to continuing to perform outreach to local vendors to expand the bidder pool.
The selection committee determined that April Parker Foundation, of Long Beach, CA (MBE, WBE, Local), California Aquatic Therapy & Wellness Center (dba Pools of Hope), of Long Beach, CA (Local), Cambodian Association of America, of Long Beach, CA (Local), Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion, of Long Beach, CA (MBE, WBE, Local), Mind-1-1, of Long Beach, CA (Local), and The Heart of Ida, of Long Beach, CA (Local), were the most qualified firms to provide services. The selected vendors have experience successfully working with communities most impacted by historical health inequities exacerbated and spotlighted by COVID-19. In addition, the selected vendors demonstrated the unique value they will derive from training and technical assistance. The selected vendors collectively ensure each major community of focus will be served.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Marsha Yasuda and Purchasing Agent Michelle Wilson on December 28, 2022, and by Recovery Budget Officer Dee Okam on December 20, 2022.
EQUITY LENS
The City has incorporated the Equity Toolkit in this recommendation, as requested by the City Council on April 21, 2020. Authorizing this request will allow for a streamlined process to efficiently disburse Long Beach Recovery Act funding intended for community recovery from the effects of the pandemic. Long Beach residents, workers, and business owners are faced with economic and social impacts that require action and assistance from the City, especially for the communities of color that were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on January 17, 2023, for contract authority for each of the vendors listed above.
FISCAL IMPACT
The LB Recovery Act has identified $389,286 for the City of Long Beach Employees Youth Mentorship Program. The total cost of the contract with Big Brothers Big Sisters Greater Los Angeles will not exceed an annual amount of $200,000, and will be funded through the City of Long Beach Employees Youth Mentorship Program of the LB Recovery Act. Sufficient funding for one year of the contract is budgeted in the General Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department. Contract extensions will only be awarded once sufficient, additional funding has been identified and any necessary appropriation changes have been approved by the City Council.
The LB Recovery Act has identified $1.75 million for the Community Crisis Response Program. The total cost of the contract with Julota will not exceed an annual amount of $75,000 and will be funded through the Community Crisis Response Pilot Program of the LB Recovery Act. Sufficient appropriation for the contract is budgeted in the General Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department.
|
|
Annual Contract Cost |
Optional Renewal Period? |
|
Year 1 |
$ 75,000 |
|
|
Year 2 |
$ 75,000 |
TBD |
|
Year 3 |
$ 75,000 |
TBD |
|
Year 4 |
$ 75,000 |
TBD |
|
Total Aggregate Contract Cost |
$ 300,000 |
|
For administration efficiency and for reporting and auditing purposes, the funding source for these two programs is the General Fund based on funds made available as a result of the City’s approach to using the majority of federal APRA funds to maintain existing City services in compliance with the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Final Rule, thereby freeing up General Fund monies for the LB Recovery Act programs.
The LB Recovery Act has identified $7.7 million for the Addressing Health Disparities Program. The total cost of the six contracts will not exceed $1,000,000 and is funded by the CDC Health Disparities Grants. Sufficient appropriation for the contract is budgeted in the Health Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department.
This recommendation has no staffing impact beyond the normal budgeted scope of duties for the Long Beach Recovery Office and Recovery-related staff and is consistent with existing City Council priorities identified in the Long Beach Recovery Act in March 2021. The local job impact associated with this recommendation is undetermined at this time.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
BODY
[Enter Body Here]
Respectfully Submitted,
THOMAS B. MODICA
CITY MANAGER