REPORT TO SHASTA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

BOARD MEETING DATE:  October  2, 2018
CATEGORY:  Consent - Law and Justice-11.

SUBJECT:

Subscription with Visual Computer Solutions for a Correctional Officer Scheduling System

Supervisorial District No. :  ALL

DEPARTMENT CONTACT:  Tracie Neal, Chief Probation Officer (530) 245-6200

STAFF REPORT APPROVED BY:  Tracie Neal, Chief Probation Officer

RECOMMENDATION

Approve and authorize: (1) The Chairman to sign an evergreen subscription agreement, effective upon the date the service is activated, with Visual Computer Solutions, Inc. (VCS) for the annual cost of $2,475 and a one-time training package cost of  $2,500 (for a total year one cost of $4,975) for a Correctional Officer Scheduling System; and (2) the County Executive Officer or his designee to sign future amendments, including retroactive, to the subscription agreement so long as the annual compensation to VCS does not exceed $50,000, the documents are in substantially similar form to these documents, and the documents are processed through County Counsel, Risk Management, and County Information Technology.

SUMMARY

The Shasta County Probation Department desires to obtain a computerized scheduling system for the Juvenile Rehabilitation Facility (JRF) to maximize scheduling efficiency within the JRF. This subscription agreement with Visual Computer Solutions for a Correctional Officer Scheduling System will fulfill the needs of the JRF at the lowest cost.

DISCUSSION

In the fall of 2017, the Juvenile Rehabilitation Facility (JRF) conducted its first Kaizen, a Lean 6 Sigma process for continuous improvement, to streamline the process of facility scheduling and reduce staff overtime usage. Officers working overtime and the negative effects on staff morale have been ongoing concerns to management and line staff.  Additionally, a facility supervising probation officer spends a significant amount of time per week managing the schedule of the facility due to officers calling in sick and/or utilizing prescheduled vacation leave, attending mandatory peace officer trainings, and the variable safety and security needs of the facility.

Due to these ongoing concerns, there was a desire to work cooperatively as a team to come up with a positive solution to ensure the facility could be staffed for maximum safety and security while maximizing efficiency. The Kaizen process produced three recommendations, one of which included the research, purchase and implementation of a computerized scheduling software program.

A computerized scheduling system automates the process of contacting staff to fill shifts and increases the likelihood of locating a staff member willing to cover a shift voluntarily, which will decrease the need to impose mandatory overtime. A scheduling system program will automate the scheduling process providing many benefits including: a free interactive smart phone app (iPhone and Android) allowing quick and easy access; automatic tracking of shifts; processing of time off requests; automatic swapping of shifts; easier, real-time availability submission for extra help staff; and the ability to run reports and other data measures reducing the need to manage multiple existing spread sheets and calendars. Further, the program is designed specifically for detention facilities which have assigned posts for staff like our facility so it will reduce the number of hours currently required for the assigned supervising probation officer to manage the schedule, allowing for other assignments to be completed.

The JRF Division Director researched numerous scheduling software programs. The Visual Computer Solutions, Inc. (VCS) Correctional Officer Scheduling System software offered the most features that met the specific needs of the JRF for the lowest cost. The scheduling system designed by VCS is not only designed to assist in this task, but was specifically developed with Public Safety facilities in mind.

For flexibility, due to timeliness of receiving documents from the vendor, it is requested that limited signing authority for future amendments be extended to the CEO or his designee.  

ALTERNATIVES

The Board could decide not to approve the agreement or could request changes to the terms and conditions of the agreement.

OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT

County Counsel has approved the agreement as to form. Risk Management and the Chief Information Officer have approved the agreement.  The Recommendation has been reviewed by the County Administrative Office.

FINANCING

Expenditures associated with this agreement are included in Probation’s FY 2018-19 Adopted Budget, and will be included in future budgets. There is no additional General Fund impact associated with this recommendation.