Misdemeanor Probation Services

This Request for Proposal (RFP No. 17-055-LJ) was issued by the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners and Criminal Justice Commission to procure comprehensive misdemeanor probation services for Palm Beach County, Florida. The solicitation seeks a qualified contractor to administer all aspects of supervision services for offenders sentenced to misdemeanor probation or assigned to pretrial intervention programs. Key deliverables and responsibilities include conducting pre-sentence investigations, performing intake and orientation interviews, supervising probationers according to assigned classification levels, managing restitution and court cost collections, and maintaining caseload limits across at least three office locations in West Palm Beach, Delray Beach, and Belle Glade. The contractor must maintain an Employee Theft and Fraud Fidelity Bond of $100,000 and carry commercial general liability insurance of $500,000 per occurrence, business auto liability of $500,000 per occurrence, and professional liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence. Critical dates include the question submission deadline of June 15, 2017, proposal due date of June 30, 2017 at 4:00 p.m., Selection Committee meeting on July 17, 2017, oral presentations on July 21, 2017, Notice of Intent to Award on July 24, 2017, contract award on August 21, 2017, and service commencement on September 4, 2017. Proposers were required to submit one unbound original, seven bound copies, and one electronic PDF copy of their proposals.

The RFP establishes a Small Business Enterprise (SBE) participation goal of 15% for the contract. The contract term is three years, ending September 3, 2020, with two optional one-year renewal periods at the County's sole discretion. Compensation is structured at $5,000 annually, payable in two equal installments of $2,500 at the end of each six-month period, with the contractor authorized to collect cost of supervision fees from probationers as authorized by Florida Statutes and ordered by the sentencing court; the current supervision fee is fifty dollars per month per probationer. The County assumes no liability for uncollected fees and does not guarantee a minimum or maximum number of cases. The incumbent provider (referenced as Advocate Program, Inc.) is not expected to transfer lease agreements to a new provider, though collaborative transition planning is required to ensure continuity of service. Current staffing requirements include a Regional Manager, multiple Probation Officers, administrative support, and intake personnel distributed across four service locations with court coverage requirements across five courthouse locations.