Title
Body
MEMORANDUM
TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Rob Howe, Chief Probation Officer
DATE: October 17, 2017
SUBJECT: Consideration of proposed Agreement with Tehama County to house Lake County juvenile wards.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
For the past few years, beginning on October 1, 2015, Lake County has contracted with Mendocino County to house our juvenile ward population. The base rate Mendocino was charging Lake County during the course of that agreement was $150.00 per day, per bed with a guaranteed 12 bed minimum. Although I believed that rate was high (in comparison to what many counties in California pay or charge for similar services), because of Mendocino’s close proximity and because, at the time, our average daily population was between nine and 10, the agreement was seen as reasonable and a benefit to both neighboring counties.
Over the course of that agreement, our average daily population declined and has been at approximately six for the past twenty 20 months. Because of the 12 bed minimum, we were actually paying $300.00 per day, per bed when we only had six wards in the facility. I have spoken to numerous California Chief Probation Officers who either contract for beds, or contract them out and have reviewed several contracts other counties utilize for this service. I believe the “going rate” for this service is approximately $100.00 per day, per bed and none of the counties I contacted pay or charge a minimum bed fee. In fact, during my conversations with those Chiefs, several made offers to contract with Lake County to house our juvenile wards for daily rates ranging from $90.00 per day, per bed to $125.00 per day, per bed, with no minimum bed requirement.
When it came time to renew our contract with Mendocino County, I proposed we continue our contract at the same daily rate ($150.00), but requested the minimum bed charge be lowered to eight. Because our daily population had declined to six, I felt that was more than fair. I still believed the daily rate was high, but felt if we could lower the minimum bed charge Lake County would experience some savings and would at least be moving this agreement in a beneficial direction. Mendocino County declined that proposal and instead offered a five year agreement with a 3% increase to the daily bed rate for each of those five years and to keep the 12 bed minimum in place. Their proposal would have increased our daily bed rate to $154.50/day/bed in year one, $159.14/day/bed in year two, $163.91/day/bed in year three, $168.83/day/bed in year four and $173.90/day/bed in year five. I explained to Mendocino County Staff that with a 12 bed minimum and average daily population of six, we would actually be paying as much as $347.80/day/bed during the course of their proposed contract. I also expressed my belief that the going rate for this service throughout California is approximately $100.00/day/bed, with no minimum bed charge. At that point I informed them we would consider their offer but that a significant increase to the existing contract would be difficult to manage given Lake County’s budget challenges and that I would at least need to consider offers I had received from other counties that would represent significant savings to Lake County. Deputy County Administrative Officer Stephen Carter and I did meet with Mendocino County in a follow-up negotiation meeting but we were advised that their offer was not negotiable.
My staff and I began evaluating offers from other counties and visiting facilities to determine our best option. We were impressed with many facilities, but felt Tehama County offered the best overall facility for our wards. They currently contract with three other small counties and have a combined population of approximately twenty wards. They have a very modern facility and offer programming that we believe far exceeds what our wards have received in the past. Tehama’s rate for juvenile ward placement is $100.00 per day, per bed with no minimum bed charge. With an average daily population of six, the base rate of this agreement with Tehama would be approximately $219,000 annually. That amount would represent a savings over Mendocino County’s proposed agreement of $457,710 in year one and increasing to $542,682 over the five year term. Although we anticipate an increase in transportation costs (the Board also has before it agenda file number 17-890, consideration of a resolution amending position allocation to deal with the increased transportation needs) this agreement represents a significant savings to Lake County.
In addition to the savings, we believe the facility, programming, staff and environment at Tehama County will represent the best possible option for our wards. We understand the distance, at just over two hours one way, is an issue for some but believe the positives outweigh that inconvenience. In juvenile placement, both with the Department of Social Services and with Probation, quality of placement is the primary objective. As mentioned, our current average daily juvenile hall population is six; however, we also have six additional wards in court ordered placement throughout California, in locations such as Redding, Tahoe, Fresno, San Andreas and one out of state in Nevada. I say that simply to illustrate that, although this agreement would represent an increase in transportation, the travel involved itself is not new to Probation and is simply part of doing business.
Please consider this memorandum as my request to have the Board of Supervisors approve this Agreement and authorize the Chair to sign.
FISCAL IMPACT: __ None _X_Budgeted __Non-Budgeted
Estimated Cost: $219,000 base
Amount Budgeted:$657,000
Additional Requested:
Annual Cost (if planned for future years):
FISCAL IMPACT (Narrative):
STAFFING IMPACT (if applicable):
Recommended Action
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Request the Board of Supervisors to approve the Agreement between the County of Lake and the County of Tehama for juvenile ward placement and authorize the Chair to sign.