DATE: January 29, 2019
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Kirk Haynes, Chief Probation Officer
SUBJECT: Agreement with University of Cincinnati Research Institute
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Make a finding that it is in the best interest of the County to suspend the competitive bidding process consistent with Administrative Policy No. 34 for unusual or extraordinary circumstances, as the University of Cincinnati owns the copyright for the Effective Practices in Community Supervision models and the University of Cincinnati’s Core Correctional Practices manual and training program; and
2. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement with the University of Cincinnati Research Institute for technical assistance to expand and improve delivery of evidence based practices in the Probation Department effective upon execution, not to exceed three consecutive years, and total not to exceed $297,433.
REPORT
There is no additional Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. Approval of the recommended actions will provide technical assistance to expand and improve delivery of Evidence Based Practices (EBP) in the Probation Department through the development of a behavioral management system for the youth at the Juvenile Justice Campus (JJC) and the application of the Effective Practices in Community Supervision (EPICS) model in the Adult and Juvenile Services Divisions. The EPICS model will be utilized by Deputy Probation Officers in the performance of their duties in order to teach them how to apply principles of effective intervention in their interactions with offenders. The Department is requesting a suspension of competition because the University of Cincinnati owns the copyright for the Effective Practices in Community Supervision (EPICS) models and the University of Cincinnati’s Core Correctional Practices manual and training program, which will be utilized in the recommended agreement. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If the recommended actions are not approved, Probation will not have the benefits provided by the University of Cincinnati’s technical assistance, including an enhanced behavioral management system, enhanced use of core correctional practices, and enhanced development of meaningful case plans.
SUSPENSION OF COMPETITION/SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT:
The Department requests your Board suspend the competitive bidding process consistent with Administrative Policy No. 34 under the unusual or extraordinary circumstances exception, as the University of Cincinnati owns the copyright for the Effective Practices in Community Supervision (EPICS) model, the University of Cincinnati’s manual and training program, and the University of Cincinnati’s Core Correctional Practices manual and training program. Based on this, a letter of interest was not issued. The Internal Service Department, Purchasing Division concurs with the Department’s request to waive the competitive bidding process.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The maximum compensation for the three year term of the recommended agreement is $297,433, including $127,250 for JJC costs, $151,250 for Juvenile and Adult Services Division costs and $18,933 for Insurance Premiums. A total of $95,000 is appropriated in Probation’s FY 2018-19 Adopted Org 3430 Budget and is Net County Cost. The remainder of the costs for this agreement will be funded with Youthful Offender Block Grant funds. Funding for subsequent years will be included in the Department’s budget requests.
DISCUSSION:
Probation has a need to expand and improve the delivery of EBP programming for youth at the JJC and in the Adult and Juvenile Services Divisions. In December 2017, Dr. Edward Latessa, a Director and Professor at the University of Cincinnati, School of Criminal Justice, visited the Department to appraise the Department’s efforts to move towards an EBP programming approach when working with adult and juvenile offenders. Dr. Latessa and the University of Cincinnati have contracted for and completed assessments with other Probation Departments in California, determining each agency’s unique level of implementation and effectiveness when using EBP.
The recommended agreement before your Board provides for technical assistance and training to expand and improve delivery of EBPs in the Department in two sections.
Section One of the agreement will include working with staff at the JJC to develop a new Behavioral Management System (BMS) and provide training, coaching, and quality assurance for the implementation of the BMS, as well as the implementation of core correctional practices. This section of the agreement will be done in four phases as follows: Phase I - model development, Phase II - training, Phase III - implementation, and Phase IV - quality assurance.
Phase I will include designing a new BMS that will assist youth in conforming to program expectations and developing the motivation and skills needed for the continuation of pro-social behavior once released to the community. The new BMS will follow the guidelines for effective use of reinforcement and sanctions, with emphasis placed on frequent use of reinforcement for pro-social behavior. Phase II will focus on trainings that will be conducted by University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute (UCCI) staff on Core Correctional Practices. The first training session will include supervisor and administrative representatives and a cross section of Department staff. During this phase, a pilot pod(s) will be selected and trained on the new BMS. Training on UCCI’s Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions for Substance Abuse Curriculum (CBI-SA) will also occur. Phase III and IV will be tied together as components of the new BMS are rolled out, and UCCI provides a cycle of implementation, coaching, and quality assurance. During these phases, staff will receive coaching on new components that will include hands-on modeling of service delivery as well as observation with feedback on newly adopted material and current EBPs. Once implementation is underway, primary attention will be turned to the coaching of internal County coaches who will help sustain the new skills and techniques. During this time, UCCI will facilitate one Continuous Quality Improvement training, onsite meetings and onsite coaching. At the conclusion of Section One of the agreement, the Department will have developed a new BMS, implemented the BMS and core correctional practices throughout JJC, and received training that will lead to the long term sustainability of EBPs at JJC.
Section Two of the agreement will work to enhance both the use of core correctional practices and staff’s ability to develop meaningful case plans in the Adult and Juvenile Services Divisions. This will be accomplished by utilizing Multidisciplinary Implementation Teams (MIT), training, and technical assistance. MITs will be set up and will meet regularly to review current program components, update components in need of better alignment with evidence-based practices, monitor both successful and challenging components, and update implementation efforts as needed to best support practices adopted. Training for this section will be centered on the implementation of EPICS model and the development and monitoring of case plans. The purpose of the EPICS model is to teach probation officers how to apply the principles of effective intervention and core correctional practices specifically to community supervision practices. Probation officers are taught to increase supervision to higher risk offenders, stay focused on criminogenic needs, especially the thought-behavior link, and to use a social learning, cognitive behavioral approach to their interactions. The goals of the case plan training are threefold: (1) review the principles of effective intervention and how they relate to assessment and case planning; (2) discuss the importance of assessment-driven case planning; and (3) enhance staff skills and knowledge to develop case plans with individuals involved in the criminal justice system on their caseloads. Throughout this section, technical assistance will be provided by UCCI through hands-on modeling of service delivery, observation with feedback, and expert recommendation and coaching on evidence-based tools. Through the use of the tools and training provided by this section of the agreement, the Department anticipates an immediate and long term improvement in the delivery of EBPs in the Adult and Juvenile Services Divisions.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On File with the Clerk - Agreement with University of Cincinnati Research Institute
Suspension of Competition Form PD-048
CAO ANALYST:
Samantha Buck