SR 05-14-2019 3D
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: May 14, 2019
Agenda Item: 3.D
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Karen Ginsberg, Director, Community & Cultural Services
Subject: Award RFP for Consulting Services for the City's Homeless Management
Information System (HMIS)
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that City Council:
1. Award RFP #214 to Pathways Community Network, dba Pathways MISI, a
Georgia-based company, for Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)
administration and technical support for the Community and Cultural Services
Department;
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with
Pathways MISI, in an amount not to exceed $85,000 for one year, with four
additional one-year renewal options in the amount of $85,000, on the same terms
and conditions, for a total amount not to exceed $425,000 over a five-year
period, with future funding contingent on Council budget approval.
Summary
The Federal government requires all agencies receiving homelessness funding to
participate in a standardized client management system. In compliance with those
rules, the City maintains a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), which
captures information about people enrolled in local social service programs. Data on
demographics, service delivery, and participant o utcomes is tracked through the HMIS
and used to improve coordination of care across various agencies and programs. The
system supports the City’s Framework Priority to Reduce Homelessness and advances
the associated Action Plan goals for service coordination, system and program
evaluation, and using technology for improved interdepartmental collaboration. Staff
recommends awarding RFP #214 to Pathways MISI and executing a contract for a total
amount not to exceed $425,000 over a five-year period for HMIS administration and
technical support to users.
Discussion
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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires all HUD -
funded homeless programs to collect standardized data elements through the use of an
HMIS. The City’s HMIS, ServicePoint, has over 250 licensed users, both City staff and
non-profit staff. ServicePoint is a data management software that stores data for human
services programs. ServicePoint is a collection of customizable assessments that
collect a variety of demographic, social, financial, behavioral, health and hou sing history
about each individual and household served by participating social service programs.
ServicePoint also stores information on specific services provided, case notes and
outcomes. The data collected can then be reported on using dozens of pre-programmed
reports as well as customized reports created by the users. This centralized data is
shared across all ServicePoint participating agencies, providing users a holistic view of
an individual’s history, needs, accomplishments and challenges, regardle ss of which
agency they visit over time. Analyzing the data in ServicePoint offers a “map” of a
participant’s service history, and can be aggregated to identify emerging needs, gaps in
services and effective programs. ServicePoint allows staff to recommend policy
changes and funding levels based on actual data of real program participants.
The operation of the HMIS requires day-to-day system administration and technical
support as well as technical expertise to extract and migrate local HMIS data to the Los
Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA)’s HMIS. This function was assigned to a
staff position until 2014; however, the scope of work and necessary expertise was not
suited to the level of the budgeted position, which resulted in frequent turnover.
Relegating this function to a consultant has proven to be more cost-effective.
The continued operation and management of HMIS supports and helps quantify the
City’s efforts to address homelessness as described in the Reduce Homelessness
Action Plan, including interdepartmental collaboration driven by the SaMoStat process.
HMIS data supports the strategic deployment of outreach and services; development of
individualized service plans; is used to evaluate the effectiveness of programs and is an
example of using technology to improve information sharing and coordination of care.
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HMIS data is also used to identify trends in service utilization and provide aggregated
demographic and outcome information that informs policy decisions.
Consultant Selection
RFP Data
RFP Posting Date RFP Posted
On RFP Advertised In # of Vendors
Downloaded
# of
Submittals
Received
Date Publicly
Opened
1/9/2019 Planet Bids Santa Monica
Daily Press 62 4 3/14/2019
Proposals Received Selection Criteria
Pathways
MISI
MIB
Innovations
Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.073
Alexandria
Consulting ValarPro Evaluation Criteria Price, previous experience,
capacity and skill, ability to deliver,
quality of product, and compliance
with City specifications and scope
of work.
Best Qualified
Firm Pathways MISI
Justification to Award
Pathways MISI has over 40 years of experience in database solutions. For the past 20
years, Pathways MISI has focused on HMIS implementation and management, and is
currently supporting HMIS systems in six U.S states. Pathways MISI is a contracted
HMIS technical assistance subcontractor for HUD, with extensive experience providing
consulting services to local governments and communities to improve and maintain
compliance with HUD HMIS requirements and use data to analyze homeless system
performance. In addition to traditional help desk call-in, Pathways MISI offers innovative
and diverse ways for HMIS users to access system support, such as on -line Learning
Management Systems for on-demand training and helpdesk support via social media.
As the lowest bidder, Pathways MISI offers these services at the most cost effective
rate.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to award a contract to Pathways MISI for Homeless Management
Information System (HMIS) administration and technical support, for one year with four
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one-year options to renew.
Contract/Agreement Request
Request Amount FY 2019-20 Proposed Budget
CCS Account # Total Contract Amount
$85,000 01400009.525260 $425,000
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Chris Pecaut, Data Science Administrator
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Oaks Form-Pathways MISI
REFERENCE:
AGREEMENT NO. 10840 (CCS)