Title
Sheriff’s Office recommending the Board:
1) Make findings that in accordance with Ordinance 3.13.030(b) that the services provided by the Contractor are in the best interest of the public and that there are specialty skills, qualifications, and equipment not expressly identified in County classifications involved in the performance of the work; and
2) Authorize the Chair to sign Amendment II of Agreement 7606 with KP Research Services, Inc. for performing “as-needed” background investigations for Peace Officer Standards and Training sworn and non-sworn staff positions, increasing the amount by $130,000, and replacing Article XIX, Conflict of Interest, in its entirety, with no change to the term.
FUNDING: General Fund.
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
The Sheriff’s Office and the Probation Department have had an agreement with KP Research Services Inc. (KP Research), for the past six years as a back-up to another contractor performing similar services. KP Research performs “as-needed” background investigations for Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) sworn and non-sworn staff positions. Conducting backgrounds for potential law enforcement personnel is a very labor-intensive process which involves extensive reviews on the backgrounds of potential employees to ensure El Dorado County is hiring reliable and trustworthy individuals of integrity and skill. Once KP Research is done, the background report comes back to the Sheriff's Office or Probation Department where it is assigned to investigators for further follow up and investigation. Most of the time, contacts with relatives, friends, prior employers, home visits, and Computer Voice Stress Analysis (CVSA) exams are necessary.
Background checks for law enforcement positions are critical to ensuring public safety and upholding the highest standards of integrity and trust.
The Sheriff's Office also has a contract with Frasier Group Investigations (FGI) to provide background investigations at a lower contracted rate than KP Research which lead to the Sheriff’s Office to plan on using FGI rather than KP Research. The countywide contract expired with KP Research in August 2022 and was not renewed prior to expiration. However, after several POST audits, it was determined that the quality of background investigations from KP Research met POST's expectations and standard for sworn personnel. With this new information, the Sheriff’s Office began utilizing KP Research again in January 2023 for sworn background investigations while still utilizing FGI for non-sworn background investigations.
Both the Sheriff's Office and Probation Department contract with this and one other contractor for the same service because it is necessary to share the workload and reduce the backlog when expedited services are necessary. The Amendment is needed to increase the amount due to more backgrounds being performed that originally estimated. The Sheriff’s Office is working with Procurement and Contracts to process a Request for Proposals for “as-needed” background investigations for POST sworn and non-sworn staff positions to select a vendor once this agreement expires in August 2025.
ALTERNATIVES
The Board could choose to not approve the Amendment to the Agreement; however, the Sheriff’s Office and Probation may not be able to use KP Research’s services without this Amendment.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
07/18/2023 Legistar file 23-1293
05/16/2023 Legistar file 23-0858
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
County Counsel and Risk reviewed and approved Amendment.
CAO RECOMMENDATION / COMMENTS
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
No change to Net County Cost. Funding for these services is budgeted in the Sheriff's and Probation’s operating budget each year and will continue to be budgeted in future years.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
Please return one signed original of Amendment II to Agreement 7606 to the Sheriff’s Office for distribution.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
N/A
CONTACT
Undersheriff Bryan Golmitz
Chief Probation Officer Brian Richart