Title
a. Approve and authorize the Director of the Department of Social Services to sign an agreement with Solutions West, Inc. for $647,960 to provide temporary eligibility case workers for the Department of Social Services for the period July 1, 2016 through June, 30, 2017; and
b. Authorize the Director of the Department of Social Services to sign up to three (3) amendments to the Agreement where the total amendments do not exceed 10% ($64,796) of the original contract amount, and do not significantly change the scope of work.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Approve and authorize the Director of the Department of Social Services to sign an agreement with Solutions West, Inc. for $647,960 to provide temporary eligibility case workers for the Department of Social Services for the period July 1, 2016 through June, 30, 2017; and
b. Authorize the Director of the Department of Social Services to sign up to three (3) amendments to the Agreement where the total amendments do not exceed 10% ($64,796) of the original contract amount, and do not significantly change the scope of work.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
As a result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)/Health Care Reform (HCR) the county has experienced an 83% increase in the Medi-Cal caseload going from 35,491 cases pre-ACA (September 2013) to 71,960 cases as of March 2016. DSS continues to face a backlog of Medi-Cal actions with current permanent staffing unable to meet the workload demand. Solutions West, Inc. provides temporary specialized staff to the Monterey County Department of Social Services (DSS).
While DSS continues to hire and train eligibility workers to manage the workload, the process to recruit and train staff cannot keep pace with the rapid growth in the number of residents requiring assistance. Solutions West has demonstrated the necessary experience to provide temporary local eligibility case workers who understand eligibility rules for the ACA, and has developed and provided training on the functionality of the CalHEERS automated system.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The Auditor-Controller and Purchasing have reviewed and approved this agreement. County Counsel has approved the agreement as to form.
FINANCING:
This agreement is funded by the Medi-Cal and CalFresh allocation. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues for SOC005 are included in the FY 2016-17 Adopted Budget. Approval of this action has no impact on the County General Fund contributions.
Prepared by: Becky Cromer, Finance Manager II, x4404
Approved by: Elliott Robinson, Director of Social Services, x4430
Attachments: Solutions West Agreement 2016/17
Proposed agreement is on file with Clerk of the Board as an attachment to this Board Report