County approves contracts and amendments for language services, children and youth placements, public safety and health programs

The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners approved a package of contracts and contract amendments March 13 covering interpretation services, child-placement providers, a victims-services grant, GIS maintenance, mental-health and intellectual/developmental disability provider amendments, and several public-safety initiatives.

Court administration sought approval to add Propio as an additional vendor for language interpretation services. Alyssa Calvonelli said the service is approved by the state for language services and “their charges are actually lower per minute than the vendor we are currently using,” and that Propio provides video and some in-person interpretation options. The board approved the contract; staff said the vendor will be used alongside existing language-service contracts.

Children and Youth reported two contract actions: an addendum with Children’s Home of York Inc. to add an enhanced specialized foster care level at $180.30 per day, and a new contract with Pieces 2 Fit, a residential provider in Philadelphia, at $553.80 per day. Jamie Scribe noted the $553.80 daily rate is comparable to other residential facilities; the board approved both items.

The District Attorney’s Office presented a victim-services grant described in the meeting as the “Grama Bojo Grant” with an amount stated as $191,563 and an effective start date of Jan. 1, 2025. The board approved acceptance of the grant at the amount presented.

A drug-and-alcohol contract addendum was approved to bring back a former staff member to assist with the county’s prevention plan required by the state. Ryan Simon said the addendum was requested because of staffing changes and the need for experienced assistance with the state submission.

GIS staff presented the annual Esri maintenance renewal covering GIS, planning, tax administration, public safety and vector control. Blake Wolford said the total cost is $37,513, compared with $30,818 last year — an increase of about 8 percent — and that departments continue to pay for their own software except GIS will assume cost for property assessment software following last year’s restructuring. The board approved the renewal.

An addendum to an existing vendor for polygraph services was described as a roughly $20-per-polygraph increase; Andrew Benner said the change applies to polygraph evaluations when ordered by the court for youth under supervision. The board approved the amendment.

Mental health and intellectual/developmental-disability contract amendments were approved: an increase of $4,481 for Barbara Weaver (early intervention speech therapy), $4,000 for Heather Kaskastor (psychological evaluations for IDD eligibility), $6,000 for Riverside Associates (psychological evaluations), and $75,215 for NHS Stevens Center to expand assertive community treatment capacity for the remainder of the fiscal year, according to Mark Evans.

Public safety contracts approved included a Center for Living Forward LLC agreement, not to exceed $15,000, to provide biannual individual wellness visits and two two-hour group training sessions for public-safety staff; Bob Shaklee said the program stems from a pilot last fall and is part of staff retention and wellness work. The board also authorized a $15,560 contract with MCM Consulting Group to complete a commodity-flow study of hazardous materials movements through the county; $8,000 of that contract comes from a Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness grant and $7,560 from the general fund. Commissioners also authorized submission of the state fiscal-year 2025–26 hazardous materials response fund grant; staff said the award amount will be determined by the state agency that administers the program after applications are reviewed.

Each contract or amendment was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote at the meeting.