Description

Multnomah County seeks responses from suppliers interested in providing the services described below.  The purpose of this Notice of Intent (NOI) is to determine whether there are multiple parties interested in providing these services who have the qualifications to do so.  If multiple qualified parties are available the County intends to issue a Request for Proposals to select a provider. BACKGROUND Multnomah County is in a severe housing crisis and many low-income residents lack housing and/or economic stability. Legal barriers and debt are roadblocks to overall stability and prevent access to housing, employment, education and community involvement. People of color and people with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by debt and legal barriers because of disparate treatment in the justice system, discrimination, and systemic racism. The two legal service areas described in this NOI, Community Legal Clinic Services and Legal Services Days, facilitate and provide direct legal representation for County program participants to remove barriers to opportunity and address systemic racism and allow for greater access to housing and opportunity. Community Legal Clinic attorneys shall use all available legal tools to identify and remove barriers to success for individuals in housing, employment, education, and economic stabilization programs. The goal is to clear legal barriers for people who are trying to move forward to a better life. Clients referred for screening shall receive a personalized and thorough evaluation of all available records and a consultation with an attorney to make sure the client understands their legal barriers and the available options. Together, the attorney and the client shall devise a plan to remove barriers. After consulting with the attorney, the client will receive a suggested action plan with all the options and recommendations that can be used by the client and Assertive Engagement (AE) agency staff to determine the most appropriate life goals and tools. Community Legal Clinic providers will be expected to develop effective working relationships with referring program staff, develop a referral process and communication strategy, promote good relationships with referring providers, and work collaboratively with clients.  A second area of service for the selected supplier will be developing and holding what are called Legal Service Days (LSD). These are large events where attorneys, a District Attorney, and a Judge work with members of the community, to have their eligible fines and fees waived. Supplier is required to work collaboratively with the Court system, DA and other vested parties in order to create an effective process for LSD, in order to reduce these barriers for Multnomah County (“County”) residents, Supplier shall hold a minimum of six four-hour Legal Services Days every other month in East Multnomah County and one Legal Services Day in another high poverty neighborhood in the County.  At each Legal Services Day, Supplier will provide legal services to approximately 120 low-income residents of the County.  Multnomah County District Attorneys and Judges will be present to assist clients in resolving legal issues.   Supplier will also perform outreach about Legal Services Days to communities of color disproportionately affected by the justice system, including but not limited to outreach to culturally specific providers of County programs. Supplier will be working directly with Multnomah County Youth and Family Services Division programs, Multnomah Stability Initiative (MSI) and Family Unification Project (FUP), at a minimum. A non exhaustive list of potential services for both Community Legal Clinics and Legal Services Days are provided on Buyer Attachment A - List of Potential Services. Supplier will be asked to attend regular meetings for AE Case Management, FUP Meetings, and FUP Screening Committee meetings.  Hosting Agency Support: There are funds are set aside for needs related to hosting Legal Services Days. Funding The County has budgeted approximately $225,000 annually for these services. Funding of the work described in this NOI is not guaranteed. Fluctuations in funding year to year should be expected. The County cannot assure that any particular level of work will be assigned and the contract will permit the County to add or remove work as necessary depending on availability of funding. The awarded supplier must have the capability to implement services beginning January 1, 2021. The purpose of this Notice of Intent is to provide services for a two (2) year period, ending December 31, 2022. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS Interested suppliers must demonstrate how they meet the minimum qualifications listed below in a written submission of four (4) pages or less. Proposal must be uploaded to Question 2.1.1 in Proposal Questions & Evaluation Criteria section. In your response, please answer the following four (4) questions in detail. Please refer to Buyer Attachment A for a non-exhaustive list of potential services. Describe your experience and capacity to provide legal advice, counsel and legal representation as stated in the service descriptions above. Please demonstrate your agency’s ability to work with racial and ethnic populations disproportionately represented in poverty, and youth and survivors of child commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking. Please describe how your agency can provide Community Legal Clinics in a way that aligns with County values for Leading with Race and equity and inclusion. Please describe how your agency can provide services in a manner that addresses and removes barriers for clients.  Please describe how your agency can provide Legal Services Days in a way that aligns with County values for Leading with Race and equity and inclusion. Please describe how your agency can provide services in a manner that addresses and removes barriers for clients. Describe your experience and ability to accept referrals for legal services within a system of human services contracted by Multnomah County, and to participate in regularly scheduled case management and partnership alignment meetings. Please describe your experience building collaborative relationships with non-profit staff and effective referrals and case consultation. These questions for response are provided on Buyer Attachment B for your convenience.

Attachments

This project has the following solicitation documents. You will need to visit the agency's original website to download these documents.

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