DEPARTMENT: Social Services-Children & Family Services
FILE TYPE: Consent Action
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Authorization To Execute Contract With Alia For Consultation Services
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RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Alia is a Minnesota-based national nonprofit founded in 2015 on a mission for every child to experience an uninterrupted sense of belonging; and
WHEREAS, through short- and long-term engagements, Alia guides and supports courageous leaders on the forefront of equitable systems change in child welfare and adjacent systems; and
WHEREAS, Alia carefully gathers existing and promising new approaches to keep families safely together; and
WHEREAS, Alia will be providing consultation services for Workforce Resilience and Belonging implementation and a six-month community engagement process; and
WHEREAS, our current child protection system in Minnesota has caused racial disparities due to identified systemic racism; and
WHEREAS, children of color in Minnesota are five times more likely to be placed in out-of-home placement than white children; and
WHEREAS, Alia has proven outcomes by eliminating racial disparities in child protection and has reduced out-of-home placement costs by seventy percent; and
WHEREAS, Alia has transformed multiple child protection systems and reduced or eliminated these racial disparities in several states including Wisconsin and California as well as Ramsey County in Minnesota; and
WHEREAS, staff is requesting authorization to execute a contract with Alia in an amount not to exceed $298,000 from the date of contract execution through December 31, 2026; and
WHEREAS, Budget Incentive Program (BIP) funds have been approved for $298,000 to fund the contract with Alia; and
WHEREAS, with a track record of exceptional outcomes, Alia was selected as a sole source based on being the only organization that addresses reducing racial disparities in out of home placement by engaging communities of color in Dakota County and through employee training with a focus on employee wellbeing.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Dakota County Board of Commissioners hereby authorizes the Community Services Director to execute a contract for consultation services with Alia in an amount not to exceed $298,000 for the period from the date of contract execution through December 31, 2026, subject to approval by the County Attorney’s Office as to form; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Community Services Director is hereby authorized to amend said contract, consistent with the amount budgeted, to alter the contract amount and the contract term up to one year after initial expiration date, consistent with County contracting policies, subject to approval by the County Attorney’s Office as to form; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the contract shall contain a provision that allows the County to immediately terminate the contract in the event sufficient funds from county, state, or federal sources are not appropriated at a level sufficient to allow payment of the amounts due.
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