2 protest youth services contract
‘ Robbed’ of fair shot, current operator’s letter to state says
Two nonprofits running seven Arkansas juvenile treatment and detention centers say state officials failed to document why a for- profit, out- of- state company will replace them, even though the new company’s bid was more expensive.
The nearly $ 160 million contract is scheduled to go to Youth Opportunity Investments LLC of Carmel, Ind., after the company earned the highest score from evaluators. Under the new contract, the state would increase the per- bed rate from $ 147 a day to almost $ 232.
Both Consolidated Youth Services Inc. and South Arkansas Youth Services, which have operated the centers for more than a decade, are challenging the decision.
The operators are mostly concerned with how their proposals and Youth Opportunity’s were reviewed and the quality of the new company’s youth services program.
“They robbed the entire bidding process of equity,” state Rep. Jeremy Hutchinson, R- Little Rock, wrote
in a protest letter on behalf of South Arkansas Youth Services. The letter was delivered to the directors of the Office of State Procurement and the Youth Services Division on Friday.
The director of the Department of Human Services is currently drafting a “formal written response” to both organizations, Amy Webb, a department spokesman, said Monday.
“Because of the sensitivity of this issue, we feel this is the best approach,” Webb said.
Youth Opportunity Investments officials did not respond to voice- mail and email requests for comments on Monday. It runs youth facilities in its home state, Michigan, Florida, Texas and Tennessee.
In its protest letter, Consolidated Youth Services stated it held “no assurances” that the selection process was consistent.
The state agencies did not provide individual score sheets used by evaluators to show how they weighed the proposals in each technical category and only a cumulative score was available, according to both nonprofits’ letters.
Evaluators appeared to have little experience in the youth services field, and there was no proof they attended training beforehand, the letters said.
Consolidated Youth Services’ letter, written by attorney Debby Thetford Nye, called for a new evaluation — one “untainted by significant procedural deficiencies and bias.”
Both nonprofits said that Youth Services Division officials held post- bid discussions with Youth Opportunities Investments, even though post- bid conversations can disqualify vendors competing for a contract.
The new company was also permitted to change its proposal and circumvent the criteria laid out in the state’s request for services, the current contractors said.
Leaders of the Arkansasbased organizations say their programs cost less, strengthen communities and do not slash services.
Youth Opportunities Investments plans to hire subcontractors from Louisiana and Nashville, Tenn., to carry out services, according to its proposal.
“We are a community program,”
said Jerry Walsh, chief executive officer of Magnoliabased South Arkansas Youth Services. His organization runs the Dermott Juvenile Correctional Facility and juvenile treatment centers in Dermott and Mansfield.
“We know how to approach the community and how to work with them and to get them to support the program.”
The Youth Opportunities plan appears to dedicate fewer staff members to special education, GED and technical- vocational coursework and relies more on online learning, Walsh said.
“There is nothing in their proposal to suggest they would enhance the program,” said Bonnie Boon, executive director of Jonesboro- based Consolidated Youth Services.
Boon also said that she found the state’s ability to find the extra dollars for the increase under the new company “curious.”
Youth- services advocates have asked for additional funds for years, which Boon and Walsh said has been frustrating.
“It says a lot about their financial management and not funding youth services. Now all of a sudden you’re throwing tons of money in this? Unbelievable,” Walsh said.
Webb would not comment on how the savings were made specifically, but said that the agency has been undergoing a “major reorganization review” since March.