COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Department of Child Support Services

 

DATE:

April 15, 2008

BOARD MEETING DATE:

May 20, 2008

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

 

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Iliana Rodriguez, Director

SUBJECT:

Agreement with Informatix Inc. for document preparation services in support of imaging case files for the Department of Child Support Services

 

RECOMMENDATION:

A. Adopt a Resolution:

    1. Waiving the Request for Proposal process

    2. Authorizing the execution of an agreement with Informatix Inc. to provide document preparation services for submission to the statewide child support imaging system, for the term of June 1, 2008 through November 30, 2008, in the amount of $240,000, No Net County Cost

    3. Authorizing the Director of the Department of Child Support Services or the Director’s designee to execute contract amendments which modify the County’s maximum fiscal obligation by no more than $25,000 (in aggregate), and/or modify the contract term and/or services so long as the modified term or services is/are within the current or revised fiscal provisions.

 

B. Approve an Appropriation Transfer Request in the amount of $240,000 to transfer funds from Salaries and Benefits to Services and Supplies for payment of the agreement.

 

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitment: Preserve and provide people access to our natural environment.

Goal 14: Important natural resources are preserved and enhanced through environmental stewardship.

 

Commitment: Responsive, Effective and Collaborative Government

Goal 22: County and local governments effectively communicate, collaborate and develop strategic approaches to issues affecting the entire county.

 

This Agreement contributes to these goals by allowing the San Mateo County Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) to leverage the existing statewide imaging solution currently in place for all local county child support offices. The solution is part of the state’s new California Child Support Automated System (CCSAS), which the San Mateo County Department of Child Support Services converted to on December 1, 2007. The imaging of the Department’s 16,000 case files allows for easy and efficient access to confidential case information while eliminating continued dependence on paper documents in case files. Child support staff can provide better customer service as they gain the abilities to open cases with ease and transfer cases between California counties without the cumbersome steps of paper documents and transfer packets. In October 2007, the Board of Supervisors adopted the Cool Counties Declaration which focused on reducing carbon emissions. One component of this reduction in carbon emissions is waste reduction. The move towards document imaging supports waste reduction and promotes environmental conservation. The use of electronic document imaging increases case management efficiencies for child support staff and reduces operational costs for the organization. This agreement will contribute directly to one of the Department’s Quality and Outcome measures regarding the cost per child served.

 

Performance Measure(s):

Measure

FY 2006-07
Actual

FY 2007-08
Target

Cost per child served

$584

$585

 

BACKGROUND:

The San Mateo County Department of Child Support Services has approximately 16,000 physical case files. The case files consist of: legal documents, financial information on case participants, correspondence, case notes, and other confidential information related to the establishment and enforcement of court ordered child support obligations. With the development and implementation of the new statewide automated child support system and the Department’s subsequent conversion, DCSS is in position to leverage the state’s child support document imaging solution. The California Department of Child Support Services provides document imaging services to the Department primarily for documents generated from the new automated system. The Department will use the state’s current infrastructure to image all historical documents from existing case files.

 

DISCUSSION:

The process to prepare a child support case file for imaging includes file disassembly, document identification, sorting, labeling, indexing through the current statewide automated system, and preparation for shipping to the state’s centralized imaging center. The child support specific knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform and manage this process are unique. Individuals performing this work must have casework experience and the ability to identify and distinguish between varied complex child support documents and regulations governing file management.

 

The Department is requesting a waiver of the RFP process for this agreement. Informatix Inc. is uniquely qualified as a sole source vendor to perform this work for the Department. Informatix directly managed, operated, and supported one of two legacy child support automated systems, called CASES, for 55 California county child support offices. Informatix also has supported the San Mateo County Department of Child Support Services directly since 2003 through our conversion to the CASES system and up to our recent conversion to the new statewide system. Informatix has provided conversion, implementation support, maintenance and operations for their CASES database and imaging services through their web application known as CoSTARS. The Department’s legacy imaging system was managed and operated by Informatix. Informatix has provided similar case file preparation activities for child support imaging projects for the counties of Merced and Glenn. Informatix staff is uniquely qualified in terms of child support knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience to perform the case file preparation work necessary to image historical documents through the state’s new imaging solution. This includes being trained and proficient in the state’s new automated system, sorting through complex child support documents, identifying them, and properly indexing them for ease of retrieval, while abiding by federal, state, and local regulations and policies for file management and compliance.

 

The contractor has assured compliance with the County's Contractor Employee Jury Service Ordinance, as well as all other contract provisions that are required by County ordinance and administrative memoranda, including but not limited to insurance, hold harmless, non-discrimination and equal benefits. The agreement has been reviewed by the Information Services Department, County Counsel, and Risk Management.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

The recommended agreement with Informatix Inc. is for a six-month period commencing on June 1, 2008 through November 30, 2008, and a maximum amount not to exceed $240,000. The cost of the agreement will be paid from the Department of Child Support Services FY 2007-08 Adopted Budget. The agreement is being funded through current year salary savings and an Appropriation Transfer Request to transfer funds from Salaries and Benefits to Services and Supplies is included with the agreement. The Department is fully funded by state and federal subventions and receives no County General Fund support. The agreement has no Net County Cost impact.