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PROPOSED CONTRACT AMENDMENT
Department(s): Office of the Chief Judge, Circuit Court of Cook County
Vendor: Center for Divorce Education, Athens, Ohio
Request: Authorization for the Chief Procurement Officer to increase contract
Good(s) or Service(s): Online Parenting Education Course
Original Contract Period: 11/1/2012 - 10/31/2015, with two (2), one (1)-year renewal options
Proposed Contract Period Extension: N/A
Total Current Contract Amount Authority: $0, no-cost contract
Original Approval (Board or Procurement): 11/1/2012
Previous Board Increase(s) or Extension(s): 10/7/2015, 11/1/2015-10/31/2016; 6/29/2016, 11/1/2016 - 10/31/2017
Previous Chief Procurement Officer Increase(s) or Extension(s): N/A
This Increase Requested: N/A
Potential Fiscal Impact: For both years, the effect of the amendments is to increase program cost reimbursements to Cook County: FY 2016: $2,000.00; and FY 2017 $22,000.00
Accounts: 3000846.501865
Contract Number(s): 12-23-288
Concurrences:
The contract-specific goal set on this contract was zero.
The Chief Procurement Officer concurs.
Summary: Effective 9/16/2016, the enrollment fee for the court’s online parent education program, “Children In Between Online,” was raised to $50 per participant pursuant to General Order No. 2016 D 5. The online program is managed for the court by the Center for Divorce Education under Cook County Contract #12-23-228. One of two proposed changes would allow for the enrollment fee to increase from $39.95 to $50.00 to reflect the change authorized by General Order No. D 5. A second change would increase the court’s percentage share of the fee from 10 percent, or $3.99, to 20 percent, or $10.00.
As a result of these changes, the amount of cost reimbursements from the court’s percentage share of the fee that will be realized by Cook County are expected to increase from about $16,000 to $40,000 during the final year of the contract.
The contract was originally approved for the three year period 11/1/2012 - 10/31/2015. Two renewal options were subsequently exercised, extending the contract date to 10/31/2017. The proposed amendments would be effective 11/1/2016, and for the remaining year of the contract.
CDE operates the online parenting education course for parents with children appearing in the Circuit Court’s Domestic Relations Division, pursuant to section 404.1 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act and Illinois Supreme Court Rule 924. Participants are ordered by the court to complete either this online course or the court’s Focus On Children classroom course. Either option generally requires four to five hours to complete. In calendar year 2015, more than 4,000 parents completed the online course. Classes are available 24 hours, 7 days a week, in order to provide more flexibility in attendance to the litigants.
This contract was awarded through the Request for Proposal (RFP) process in accordance with the Cook County Procurement Code. Center for Divorce Education was selected based on established evaluation criteria.
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