Item D03Louis LaTorre, Senior Director
Social Services/tabt
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
MEETING DATE: 2/19-20/2003 DIVISION: COMMUNITY SERVICES
BULK ITEM: YES X NO
DEPARTMENT: SOCIAL SERVICES
EiliL' 1\1JA 11 r lvl W UK I N u: 1 he approval of the County Administrator's action of termination of said
Contract #KG-036as agreed to by Monroe County and The Department of Children & Families.
ITEM BACKGROUND: This contract is
mutually agreed upon by all parties.
terminated due to incorrect unit rates.
has
rKh VIUUa RELEVANT BOCC ACTION: Approval of Contract #KG-036 July 1, 2002.
CONTRACT/AGREE NT CHANGES: Request for Termination of Contract KG736
�� • MIN 11 VIM
TOTAL COST: $91,713.00
COST TO COUNTY: $10,190.00
REVENUE PRODUCING: YES_ NO X AMT.PER MONTH
APPROVED BY: COUNTY ATTY. X
DIVISION DIRECTOR APPROVAL:
DOCUMENTATION:
DISPOSITION:
Revised 1103
BUDGETED: YES X NO
SOURCE OF FUNDS: CCDA
Contract #KG-036
YEAR
_ OMB/Purchasing X RISK MANAGEMENT X
INCLUDED X TO FOLLOW NOT REQUIRED
AGENDA ITEM#:
— e /DC?
CNTY SonNROE
WESTDA 33040
(305) 294.4641
Social Services Department
Gato Building, Room 1-204
1100 Simonton Street
Key West, FL 33040
(305) 292-4573 - Phone
(305) 292-4517 — Fax
VIA CERTIFIED MAIL
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Ms. Theresa Phelan
Department of Children & Families
1111-12th Street #301
Key West, FL 33040
Dear Ms. Phelan:
January 23, 2003
RE: Contract KG036; CCDA
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
MAYOR Dixie Spehar, District I
Mayor Pro Tern Murray E. Nelson, District 5
George Neugent. District
Charles •'Sonny" McCoy, District 3
David P. Rice, District 3
This letter is a notice of termination of the County's CCDA contract #KG036, to be effective February 28,
2003, in accordance with paragraph III.B.I of said contract, which will give you more than thirty days
notice.
As you are probably aware, the existing contract includes rates at about half the amount being provided
for the rest of the State, notwithstanding Monroe County having the highest cost of living in the State.
There is no doubt that miscommunication resulted in such inappropriate rates placed in our contract and
to the rates not coming to the attention of our respective administrations until recently. It is my
understanding that the Department is willing to re -negotiate the rates for the future and that the
Department is willing to consider a settlement agreement to address the rates through the date of
termination of this contract.
The February 28" termination of the existing contract will require the new contract to be approved
effective March 1, 2003 through June 30, 2003. We expect this to be approved at the next Commission
meeting, February 19th, based on the new rates.
Please contact Mr. LaTorre at 292-4573 or Ms. Hutton at 292-3470 to facilitate the creation and approval
of the new contract.
Sincerely,
James L. Roberts
County Administrator
Cc: Jerry Regler, Secretary DCF
Hon. Ken Sorensen
Lucy Hadi, Deputy Secretary, DCF ;
Dr. Samara Navarro, Director Adult Services, DCF
Louis LaTorre, Monroe County In -Home Services
JAB! 2 4 2003
Dept. o'r C:hildron and Families
1111 12'h S�rejt, Suite 304
Key West, FL
Jeb Bush
Governor
it f
Florida Department of Children and Families
Office of the Secretary
January 17, 2003
The Honorable Ken Sorensen
US House of Representatives
303 House Office Building
402 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1300
Dear Representative Sorensen:
Jerry Regier
Secretary
3w 24 2003
Monroe ,,ounty�
S �
O �nC SER�G
Monroe County In -Home Services is the Community Care for Disabled Adults
(CCDA) provider for the Department in Monroe County. They have raised two
issues for the Department's consideration.
First, they are seeking an adjustment to the existing unit rates for five services
delivered during this fiscal year. Their request for adjustment is based on their
understanding that the Department had agreed to extend the rates paid in fiscal
year 2001-02 for these services to the current year. Second, they are seeking to
negotiate new rates for each of the five services for the remainder of the fiscal
year due to the increased cost to provide these services.
Monroe County In -Home Services has been the Department's CCDA provider
since 1985. They have consistently been a valued partner, providing quality
services that allow permanently disabled clients to live in their own homes. Their
efforts ensure that our clients can avoid more costly and restrictive institutional
placements. They are currently serving 21 Department clients and are
authorized to serve up to 40 persons through their existing $91,713 contract with
the Department.
While the CCDA program has extremely limited funding and no funding for
provider increases has been specifically appropriated, there are certain unique
factors in this situation that merit consideration of the provider's request. First,
Monroe County bears the distinction of having the highest cost of living of all
Florida counties according to the Florida Price Level Index. The cost to procure
goods and services is not only the highest in the State, it is 10.51 % higher than
the statewide average. Additionally, due to the size of the county, the distances
that must be traveled to deliver client services further contribute to higher service
delivery costs.
1517 Winewood Boulevard, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0700
The Honorable Ken Sorensen
Page Two
01 r
Second, previous procurement attempts for similar services have resulted in no
alternative provider competing to deliver these services. Either due to cost of
service delivery or for other unknown reasons, multiple attempts to date to
encourage competition have failed. It is highly unlikely that, if the current
provider is unable to continue providing services due to inadequate
compensation, an alternative provider could be readily and quickly identified.
Disruption of client services is likely which is of great concern, given the
vulnerability of the existing clients and the impact that disruption of services
would have on their ability to continue to live in their own homes.
A third matter for consideration, which relates solely to the first issue, is that both
parties acknowledge that the provider advised the Department of the inaccuracy
of the rates initially submitted by the provider for fiscal year 2002-03. It was not
the Department's intent to reduce these rates to such a level that the provider
could not cover its basic costs. Both parties negotiated in good faith, but errors
in the original submission from the provider coupled with miscommunications
between the parties resulted in a potentially undesirable contract.
Based on the three unique factors cited above and in the interest of fairness, I
am taking the following actions:
We will request that the provider submit its required 30-day notice to terminate its
existing contract with the Department. Upon receipt of the notice, District 11 staff
will enter into immediate negotiations with the provider in order to execute a new
contract within 30 days to ensure no disruption of client services. Provider and
District staff will immediately commence a joint review of each existing Monroe
County CCDA client's care plan to reassess necessary services. This review will
ensure that any adverse client impact is minimized to the extent possible and will
be used to redirect any available funds from non -essential services to essential
services. This effort will be critical to ensure that the Department and the
provider do not exceed available funding and do not create an unintended
annualization effect.
New contract rates will be entered into that are equal to those currently being
paid by the Department of Elder Affairs for its Community Care for the Elderly
Program. This is DOEA's counterpart to the CCDA program and it provides
comparable services to clients in this area, therefore, costs should be consistent.
The Department's legal counsel will assist the District in pursuing available legal
remedies to address the payment issues for services rendered to date.
The Honorable Ken Sorensen
Page Three
Specifically, we will be seeking to ensure that the provider receives payment for
all services rendered from July 1, 2002 through the termination date of this
contract at the rates prescribed in the 2001-02 contract between the parties.
I appreciate your bringing this matter to my attention and look forward to working
with you on any other issues that may arise.
Sincerely,
cc: Lucy Hadi, Deputy Secretary
Cheleene Schembera, Acting District Administrator, District 11
Dr. Samara Navarro, Director of Adult Services
Louis LaTorre, Monroe County In -Home Services, Director