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Extracted from Consolidated Report

This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.

Score: +11 (13/0/2)

Sonoma County Grand Jury • 2023-2024

Often Reported, Never Repaired Protecting the health and well-being of individuals and the community is the fundamental

Published: June 12, 2024 10 pages

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⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.

⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.

Findings and Recommendations 7 findings

DHS contracting practices and procedures are chaotic, inefficient, and take too long. This results in delayed execution of contracts, delays in vendor payments, and local County health services missing for extended periods.

Related Recommendations (1)

procedures, contract administration oversight and compliance with County procurement policy and publicly present said report to the Board of Supervisors. (F1, F3, F6, F7) By January 1, 2025, County Purchasing and the County Controller shall implement a system that ensures all no-bid and sole-sourced contracts are identified, accounted for as such,

DHS processes for procurement needs identification, RFP generation, and competitive sourcing take too long to execute and aren’t clearly competitive.

No recommendations for this finding

Chronic short staffing and employee turnover have led to a significant loss of institutional knowledge.

Related Recommendations (2)

than 10% of authorized non-field positions. (F3, F4) By December 31, 2025, the Board of Supervisors will request, and County Auditor will complete and publish, a comprehensive audit report on DHS procurement processes and

Inadequate delegation of authority and a toxic work culture inhibits individual decision- making and contributes to DHS’s failure to perform effectively.

Related Recommendations (1)

DHS Fiscal and County general accounting process doesn’t require or retain all information needed for post-fact analysis of who is being paid, whether the payment was the result of a no-bid contract, or whether payment documentation matches funding source requirements.

No recommendations for this finding

County Purchasing and Internal Audit failed to require that DHS follow mandated procurement policies.

Related Recommendations (1)

The BoS failed to require changes to DHS procurement procedures despite published reports that DHS has been violating County procurement policy.

Related Recommendations (1)

Additional Recommendations 2

These recommendations are not explicitly linked to specific findings.

R1

contractor), the contracts in effect, the date of execution of every contract, the contract term, and explanations for any contracts not executed prior to the effective service start date (F1,
R4

publicly reported, and have required supporting documentation and waivers on file. (F3, F4,

Conclusions 1

CL1 Page 8

The Grand Jury focused on the Department of Health Services’ procurement processes in this investigation. We found a poorly functioning process with a history of violations of County policies and ordinances. For many years, DHS often entered into no-bid and sole source contracts without filing a required sole source waiver. DHS’ RFP process is lengthy and cumbersome and often not completed in a timely manner, resulting in significant delays in service startup and vendor payments. Process issues include imprecise contract and RFP language, RFP cancellations after months of delay, and poor or misleading communication causing vendor uncertainty. Staff shortages, which have in part been blamed on a toxic work environment, aggravate the department’s problems with timely performance. The BoS and the Auditor have been notified of management and procurement issues at DHS for many years, and these types of problems continued during this Grand Jury’s investigation. An inordinate amount of DHS, Auditor, County Administrator and BoS staff time and money has been spent straightening out the tangled web of problems caused by these systemic failures, and when DHS has problems, real people suffer. The Grand Jury notes that the Homelessness Services Division may have gotten off to a better start with their FY2024-25 contracts: the contract package is scheduled to be presented to the BoS this June. However, it is our understanding that a significant number of DHS’ behavioral health contracts will not be ready for signature prior to the start of the new fiscal year. The Grand Jury hopes that the recent change of administrative structure, wherein DHS reports directly to the County Executive Officer rather than the BoS, will improve DHS operations. Further, we look forward to the County implementing the recommendations suggested by consultants Civic Initiatives, hired by the BoS to review the entire County’s current procurement practices. The Grand Jury encourages the County Executive, the Auditor, the Purchasing Agent and particularly the BoS to continue to support DHS in its efforts to build a fully staffed and highly functioning department.

Agency Responses 3

Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.

Sonoma County Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector

December 31, 2025 • 5 pages • 7 responses • Score: +7 (+7, 0, 0) View Details ▾

PDF

7 responses to findings and recommendations

Chronic short staffing and employee turnover have led to a significant loss of institutional knowledge.

Response: Agree Score: +1

agree with the findings numbered: F3 I (we)disagree wholly or partially with the findings numbered: FL,F4,F5,F6,F7 (Please see the attached statement specifying any portions of the findings that are disputed with an explanation of the reasons.

Response: Will Implement

Score: +1

Chronic short staffing and employee turnover have led to a significant loss of institutiona I knowledge. F4. lnadequate delegation of authority and a toxic work culture inhibits individual decision- making and contributes to DHS's failure to perform effectively. F5. DHS Fiscal and County general accounting process doesn't require or retain all information needed for post-fact analysis of who is being paid, whether the payment was the result of a no-bid contract, or whether payment documentation matches funding source requirements. F6. County Purchasing and lnternal Audit failed to require that...

Inadequate delegation of authority and a toxic work culture inhibits individual decision- making and contributes to DHS’s failure to perform effectively.

Response: Agree Score: +1

publicly reported, and have required supporting documentation and waivers on file. (F3, F4,

Response: Will Implement

Score: +1

R4 have not yet been implemented, but will be implemented in the future.

Response: Agree Score: +1

County Purchasing and Internal Audit failed to require that DHS follow mandated procurement policies.

Response: Agree Score: +1

The BoS failed to require changes to DHS procurement procedures despite published reports that DHS has been violating County procurement policy.

Response: Agree Score: +1

Sonoma County Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector

February 28, 2025 • 3 pages • 5 responses • Score: +5 (+5, 0, 0) View Details ▾

PDF

5 responses to findings and recommendations

Response: Agree Score: +1

agree with the findings numbered: F1-,F4 I (we)disagree wholly or partially with the findings numbered: F2,F5,F7 (Please see attached statement specifying any portions of the findings that are disputed with an explanation of the reasons.

DHS processes for procurement needs identification, RFP generation, and competitive sourcing take too long to execute and aren’t clearly competitive.

Response: Agree Score: +1

Inadequate delegation of authority and a toxic work culture inhibits individual decision- making and contributes to DHS’s failure to perform effectively.

Response: Agree Score: +1

The BoS failed to require changes to DHS procurement procedures despite published reports that DHS has been violating County procurement policy.

Response: Agree Score: +1

Sonoma County Department of Public Infrastructure-Purchasing

August 27, 2024 • 4 pages • 3 responses • Score: -1 (+1, 0, -2) View Details ▾

PDF

3 responses to findings and recommendations

Chronic short staffing and employee turnover have led to a significant loss of institutional knowledge.

Response: Disagree Score: -1

disagree wholly or partially with the findings numbered: F3.

Inadequate delegation of authority and a toxic work culture inhibits individual decision- making and contributes to DHS’s failure to perform effectively.

Response: Disagree Score: -1

lnadequate delegation of authority and a toxic work culture inhibits individual decision-making and contributes to DHS'S failure to perform effectively. We disagree wholly or partially with this finding. SPI does not track this information. F5. DHS Fiscal and County general accounting process doesn't require or retain all information needed for post-fact analysis of who is being paid, whether the payment was the result of a no-bid contract, or whether payment documentation matches funding source requirements. We disagree whollv or partiallv with this findins. This is an overly broad statement ...

publicly reported, and have required supporting documentation and waivers on file. (F3, F4,

Response: Will Implement

Score: +1

R4 have not yet been implemented but will be implemented in the future (See attached.

No Responses Found 2

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.

County of Sonoma Agency

Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Elected County Office