Contracts in the Future:

Supporting Partnerships &
Promoting Consistency and Accountability

This resource guide is designed to provide county human service agencies with information related to best practices in the development of county contracts for human service delivery.

 

Caveats/Disclaimers

The following information is for purposes of discussion only and does not constitute legal advice.  If you have questions regarding specific contract language, contracting authority, or contracting processes, contact your county attorney’s office.

 

Desired Outcomes

The purpose of this guide is to:

  • Provide county human service personnel with guidelines, tools and templates to assist in the development, management, monitoring and evaluation of county contracted services.

  • Create more consistent contractor performance across county lines.

  • Help both concentrated metro and rural counties with needs for geographic coverage.

  • Improve and simplify outcome measurement (centralized standards of performance).

  • Provide boiler plates that could accommodate flexible partnerships depending on counties’ needs (marketed for efficiency regionally).

 

Work Team

MACSSA/DHS Best Practices Service Delivery Committee
 

County Members:

Phil Claussen, Blue Earth (Co-chair)

Mary Block, Nicollet

Mary Fischer, Pipestone

Laurie Hestness, Ramsey

Cindy Rupp, Washington

Dee Skeens, Dakota

Brad Vold, Ottertail 

 

DHS Members:
Ralph McQuarter (Co-Chair)

Jay Brunner

Introduction & Background

This resource guide is designed to provide human service agencies with information related to best practices in development of contracts for human services.  The guide is divided into five sections that support successful contracting efforts.  It can be found on the MACSSA Best Practices website. 

You will find tools and resources that have been used by one or more human service agencies in Minnesota, as well as state and national resources, to help in the development of human service contracts.

 

Background

Beyond reviewing your own county practices, policies and materials on contracting, we suggest as background for new directors and staff that you familiarize yourself with the:

State Auditor’s Reports

·      Other resources listed later in this guide. 

In addition, you may want to review the contract templates and supporting materials the work team developed which are linked to this document or contact the project team members who have been involved in contracting processes.

Contract Process

Contract processes can range from simple to elaborate but there are essential elements necessary for successful contract activity.  Contracts are written documents that establish the rights and responsibilities of two or more parties. Contracts are governed by both common law principles and statutory law provision. Common law principles require all contracts to contain four elements: offer, acceptance, consideration and performance. Federal laws and regulations and state statutes and rules contain additional legal requirements for contracts entered into by state and local county agencies. All common law, statutory, and regulatory provisions must be complied with for a contract to be legally enforceable.

  • “Offer” - As a general common law principle, an 'offer' to contract must be sufficiently definite to set the terms of the contract, including the parties to the contract, the subject matter of the contract, the price or value of the contract, and the time for performance under the contract. The 'acceptance' of an offer is valid when the party that is accepting an offer agrees to the terms specified in the offer. 

  •  “Consideration” - The common meaning of 'consideration' is the interest or payment that one party to a contract receives from the other party to a contract in exchange for goods or services provided by the first party. A contract is not legally enforceable if it is not supported by 'consideration.' Amendments to contracts must also be supported by consideration. This means that the county agency can agree to pay a contractor more money only if the contractor agrees to provide services the contractor is not already obligated to provide under the original contract. 

  • “Acceptance” - When a county agency publishes a Request for Proposals (RFP), it is inviting individuals to make an 'offer' to contract with the entity. The RFP must specify all essential terms of the contract and all other statutory requirements. This will assure that the entity has the legal authority to 'accept' a submitted proposal and that the proposal will meet the objectives of the RFP. 

  • “Performance” - The 'performance' under a contract occurs when the parties do what they have agreed to do under the terms of the contract. In general, a Contractor will receive payment from the county agency after acceptable performance has been determined. To determine if a contractor's performance is complete and acceptable, the terms of the contract must establish unambiguous quantities and specific standards for the goods or services being purchased under the contract. The contract must also specify a date for completion of performance or delivery of goods in cases where the time of performance is important to the county agency. 

Example of a mid-size county contract management workflow:

  1. County program staff: identifies the need to purchase a service, determines the funding sources, and meets with the county contract coordinator to discuss the necessary steps toward contract development, solicitation process and appropriate board action.

  2. County contract coordinator: schedules meetings with proposed contractor to begin contract negotiations and record agreements; determines if a Request for Board Action is needed and, if so, writes the Request for Board Action; determines appropriate boilerplate for contract; and updates contract tracking system and forwards to contract specialist/assistant.

  3. County contract specialist/assistant: enters contract information in contract tracking system; generates contract using templates and boilerplate provisions; generates contract sign off and review form; notifies contract coordinator that contract is ready to be completed.

  4. County contract coordinator: consults as necessary regarding insurance issues, business associate assessment, background study checks and reference checks; completes contract document and exhibits; obtains approval from program staff; reviews contract for – proper board authority, proper boilerplate provisions, insurance terms, contractor report requirements, and formatting; completes Attorney Routing form if contract is a custom, incoming, or written on a modified template.

  5. County human services director: reviews contract and recommends changes as necessary; signs contract sign off/review form when ready.

  6. County contract specialist/assistant: routes contract through the signature process; updates contract tracking system as contract is mailed out and returned by each party; completes execution process once all signatures have been obtained and all insurance requirements are in place.

  7. County program staff and appropriate county contract staff monitor and evaluate the contracted services and requirements of the contract.

  8. Contract and related materials are closed out at conclusion of contract and retained per record retention schedule.

Templates, Samples and Tools

Other

Office of the State Auditor

Minnesota Department of Administration

Materials Management Division, 112 Administration Building, St. Paul, MN 55155

State Contracting Policy & Procedures for::

  • Professional/Technical Services Contracts

  • Joint Powers Agreements

  • Interagency Agreements

  • Software Licenses

  • Income Contracts

  • Grants
     

 

 

TOP / Contracting Process / Contract Content / Monitoring of Contracts / Evaluating Contracts / Additional Resources

 

Contract Content

Templates, Samples and Tools

DHS

[See templates for state-operated and non-state-operated contracts as well as frequently-asked questions at bottom of web page.]

Dakota County

Clay County (Multi-state contract example)

Rock County (Multi-county contract example)

The following items are actual contract documents that you can review by clicking on them.  They provide examples of contract structure and content.  Please understand that all of these documents are time-sensitive and most likely require review and updating to meet the most current laws and best practices.  They were made available as a reference only.

TOP / Contracting Process / Contract Content / Monitoring of Contracts / Evaluating Contracts / Additional Resources

 

Monitoring of Contracts

Templates and Tools

 

The ability to monitor the performance of a contractor is closely tied to the degree of detail provided in the contract itself, especially the work plan. The work plan must be specific and complete. A schedule should be included in the work plan to communicate expectations and to monitor progress toward the goals of the contract.

Language should be included in the contract to cover monitoring and performance expectations. Include quantifiable goals or outcomes for grants/contracts. Reporting will be matched to the goals defined in the contract work plan.

Specifically write into the contract the performance measures used to evaluate the project. A professional/technical contract will specify an end product or products including periodic updates on progress to ensure progress is on time and in the right direction. A grant contract will specify the number of people to be served, accomplishments expected, outcomes achieved, evaluation measures, reporting (financial and program) requirements, and time for meetings and site visits.

Methods for monitoring include requirements for periodic reports–oral, written or both. Meetings between the staff liaison and the contractor could be weekly, monthly, or quarterly depending on the nature of the project. More frequent meetings could be needed at the beginning of the project and fewer meetings may be needed toward the end of the project.

Many federal funding sources require a formal annual site visit to grantees. Most site visits are scheduled meetings between program staff and grantee staff. These visits often include the program accountant to review expenditure reporting with the grantee’s accountant. A site visit form should be completed during the course of the meeting or partially completed by the grantee prior to the visit. Although required documentation must be reviewed, the site visit should focus on the programmatic goals and outcomes of the grant. The site visit is not meant to be a punitive interaction between the county and the grantee, but a time of programmatic or technical assistance. If a grantee is not performing the duties specified under a grant contract, do not wait for the annual site visit to take action.

The site visit should review program administration and record keeping, personnel (especially staffing changes), key program areas, financial management, program goals and client outcomes, and problems or issues and how they were resolved. At the annual site visit, compare one of the monthly expenditure reports to the financial records of the grantee. The grantee should have purchase orders, receipts and time sheets to back up expenditures reported for reimbursement.

Grants are the only type of contract to allow a cash advance. Professional/technical contracts pay according to a defined schedule of deliverables or an hourly compensation rate. For a grant, monthly or quarterly expenditure reports are submitted to the county. These expenditure reports or invoices must be matched against the budget detail or the schedule of payments in the contract. For professional/technical contracts invoices will be submitted according to the invoice schedule outlined in the contract. The county must accept receipt of deliverables before paying an invoice. An invoice should not be paid if the deliverable is unacceptable.

TOP / Contracting Process / Contract Content / Monitoring of Contracts / Evaluating Contracts / Additional Resources

 

Evaluating Contracts

Discussion Papers and Tools

This paper discusses issues that can help you think about strategies for contract oversight/evaluation.  It is not a guide to do an evaluation but includes ideas and suggestions that address problems and opportunities that counties face in tracking the results of services. 

It addresses issues in evaluating the quality and effectiveness of contracts at the county.   Counties are responsible for the services provided by direct service staff and through contracts.  The focus is on producing information that can be used by counties to make decisions.

Contents of the paper include:

Evaluation/reporting the big picture:

  1. Categories of Information

  2. Level of Analysis

  3. Setting Priorities

  4. Decision making

Identifying outcomes:

  1. Build Information system capacity

  2. Data Sources

  3. Basic Evaluation Questions

  4. Logic of outcome

This paper discusses expectations for performance planning.

Samples

Ramsey County

 Washington County

When a contract is completed or terminated, counties need to formally evaluate the work performed or services provided. The written evaluations should be kept on file with the agency’s file of the contract so that others may refer to them when considering future contracts with the same contractor. The evaluations should provide a summary of the contractor’s or grantee’s performance and an assessment of the product or outcomes. In general four major questions should be answered: 

  • Were the objectives of the contract accomplished in the specified time? 

  • Did the work involve recommendations for future actions? 

  • Were the contractor’s services and documents satisfactory? and 

  • Would you engage the contractor’s services again? 

Submit a copy of the completed evaluation form to the Contracts Section. The Contracts Section will keep the evaluation form with the original contract. If you have questions about a particular contractor, your Contract Coordinator will be able to provide you with copies of previous evaluations and staff contacts who worked with the contractor.

 

CORRECTIVE ACTION

On occasion, a county agency will find that a contractor’s performance is not meeting expectations. Depending on the situation, the county agency may choose to work with the contractor to improve services. The action taken may include placing contractors on probationary status, including monthly reporting, setting out specific action steps required, etc. until the problem is resolved. Sometimes payments are withheld until services are improved. If improvements are not made, the contract may be canceled.

 

CANCELING A CONTRACT

All contracts contain a clause regarding cancellation. This clause states that a contract may be canceled by the county or the contractor at any time, with or without cause, upon 30 days notice to the other party. Reimbursement will be prorated for work performed up to the date of cancellation.

On-line Evaluation Resources

Robert Woods Johnson Foundation

 American Statistical Associations Guide

  • Survey research can be a powerful tool. This document, prepared by Diane Colasanto, Ph.D., of Princeton Survey Research Associates (PSRA), is intended for a general audience. If you want advice on designing your survey or hiring a survey expert, start here.

University of Wisconsin Extension

W. K. Kellogg Foundation

The Evaluation Center, Western Michigan University

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Science Foundation

Urban Institute

TOP / Contracting Process / Contract Content / Monitoring of Contracts / Evaluating Contracts / Additional Resources

 

Additional Resources

Resources for consideration in developing contracts:

TOP / Contracting Process / Contract Content / Monitoring of Contracts / Evaluating Contracts / Additional Resources