Service Provider Contracts and Rebasing
The nonprofit sector plays an essential role in the delivery of social services across Multnomah County and the State of Oregon. The County relies on their partnership to provide a wide and diverse set of those services, and requires close collaboration, coordination, and oversight. One of the most prominent ongoing needs of both non-profit providers and the County is the creation of a stable, healthy, and appropriately compensated workforce. Meeting that need has proven elusive over many decades for a variety of reasons, not the least of which includes inadequate funding at all levels of government.
As one of many funders, Multnomah County has an opportunity to help address this challenge. The County has already taken steps to assist providers in stabilizing their workforce by increasing cost of living adjustments to more accurately reflect regional economic conditions. The County is also taking steps to rebase certain legacy contracts between the Joint Office of Homeless Services and shelter providers. There are also efforts by the Nonprofit Association of Oregon and EcoNorthwest to further study this issue and provide recommendations. These are important steps, and reflect just some of the work already underway at the local, State, and nonprofit levels to improve the workforce so it can meet the needs of people we all serve.
Due to the multiple efforts underway, the Board requests a briefing from the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and staff to accomplish the following:
- Outlining current and long term plans by the County for rebasing existing provider contracts in the human services sector;
- Highlighting how those plans will account for needed capacity building, wage equity, and greater compensation parity between providers and Multnomah County for similar services and positions, as well as for currently uncovered service delivery costs; and
- Invite partner jurisdictions, elected leaders, and other advocates who are working on similar endeavors.
This briefing should take place no later than October 15th, 2024.