Evaluation of the Private Defender Program

The County Executive’s Office is soliciting proposals from qualified contractors to evaluate the County’s Private Defender Program. Since 1969, the County has contracted with the San Mateo County Bar Association (the “SMCBA”) to provide indigent defense services through the Private Defender Program (the “PDP”). Under this agreement, the SMCBA contracts with approximately 116 attorneys to represent adult defendants and minors in criminal cases, probate and Lanterman-Petris-Short conservatees, along with children and adults in dependency court.

As detailed further below, the County seeks a qualified contractor with broad experience in evaluating indigent defense programs, including assessing how the PDP’s performance compares to applicable national and state guidelines and best practices for indigent defense programs. Ultimately, the County expects the selected contractor to prepare a written report detailing its evaluation findings, its methodology of data collection and analysis, and its recommendations for how to improve indigent defense in the County.

Background

In 1963, the United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Gideon v. Wainright established that anyone charged with a crime who cannot afford an attorney has a constitutional right to counsel at public expense. Following this decision, the County in 1969 partnered with the SMCBA to establish the PDP to provide legal representation for clients charged with crimes in San Mateo County who cannot afford an attorney.

A “managed assigned counsel” system, the PDP oversees a panel of approximately 116 private attorneys who handle assigned court cases. Since the PDP’s founding in 1969, PDP attorneys have handled cases ranging from low-level misdemeanors to capital murder. PDP attorneys also represent children who have been abused or neglected, individuals living with serious mental illness, respondents in CARE Court cases, and older adults unable to manage their own affairs. The PDP provides panel attorneys with support services, including investigators, paralegal services, criminal immigration services, and social workers.

In May 2021, the County retained the consulting firm, Harvey M. Rose Associates, LLC, to conduct an independent assessment of the provision of legal services for indigent defendants by the PDP and to provide recommendations for improving indigent defense in the County. This assessment concluded that the PDP provides sufficient representation of indigent defendants in a cost-effective manner for the County but identified six areas for improvement with a total of 37 recommendations to address these areas for improvement.

Specifically, the assessment made recommendations to improve the PDP’s (1) data systems, caseload monitoring, and reporting, (2) management oversight and quality of representation, (3) training policies and compliance with such policies, (4) staffing for attorney supervision and use of investigators, (5) fee structure to incentivize panel attorneys to provide high-quality representation, and (6) fee submission policies, data entry, and billing procedures. Following this report, the PDP began work to implement these recommendations and continues to make improvements in the identified areas for improvement.

On June 8, 2023, the County and SMCBA entered into a five-year agreement to continue providing representation through the PDP. Before this agreement expires on June 30, 2028, the County desires to conduct an evaluation of the PDP to assess its performance in key areas against applicable performance guidelines for indigent defense programs. Accordingly, the County is launching this competitive request for proposals process to identify a qualified contractor to evaluate the PDP and prepare a report with key findings and recommendations for how to improve indigent defense in the County.  

Project Details

• Reference ID: 2026-RFP-00481
• Department: County Executive's Office
• Department Head: Michael Callagy (County Executive)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z
• Answers Posted By: 2026-05-23T00:00:00.000Z

Evaluation Criteria

• Method and Approach (45 pts) —
  1. Understanding of the scope of services to be provided
  2. Appropriateness of the proposed solution/services
• Experience and Organizational Capacity (30 pts) —
  1. Qualification and experience of both the proposer and key personnel
  2. Experience with other public agencies
  3. Organizational resources and staff, apparent ability to meet any required timelines and other requirements
• Price (25 pts) —
  1. Pricing will be evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively.
  2. Evaluators will analyze the fee proposal based on the estimated cost to complete the project deliverables according to the County's key milestones

Submission Requirements

• Minimum Qualifications
• Has Proposer has been providing similar services for a minimum of five (5) years within the last seven (7) years? (required)
• Has Proposer completed at least three (3) written evaluations of indigent defense programs for counties, states, or the federal government? (required)
• Please confirm that your firm is legally authorized to do business in the State of California (required)
• Please confirm your firm is registered with System for Award Management (SAM) (required) —

  SAM.gov

• What is the registered Business Name and Unique Entity ID (UEI) No.? (required) —
  • UEI number can be obtained by registering your business through SAM.GOV
  • Should you be in the process of obtaining your UEI number, please enter the digits ‘123’ temporarily for your response below in order to proceed with proposal. This temporary number should be replaced with the correct registration number for submission of the proposal.
• Technical Proposal
• Introduction and Executive Summary (required) —

  Submit a letter of introduction and executive summary of the proposal.  The letter must contain:

  • Name, title and contact information (email, phone, and address) for representative of proposer that is responsible for communication related to this RFP.
  • Name, title, contact information, and signature of person authorized to obligate firm to perform the commitment contained in the proposal.

  Submission of the letter will constitute a representation by proposer that it is willing and able to perform the commitments contained in the proposal and has not violated the terms of this RFP.

• Statement of Minimum Qualifications (required) —

  Describe how the proposer meets the minimum qualifications as set forth in Minimum Qualifications of this RFP.

  Submission of the Minimum Qualifications checklist is not a substitute for providing a detailed written response.

• Project Approach (required) —

  This section should correlate to the Scope of Work .  Proposer should give a short summary describing how it will perform the relevant work

• Scope of Work Tasks/Milestones (required) —

  Proposer should describe its proposed approach to tasks/milestones, including how Proposer will carry out the duties of the evaluator and provide the project deliverables identified in the Scope of Work

• Proposed schedule (required) —

  Attach a proposed schedule which references Proposer's ability to complete the project within the County's required time frame and in accordance with the Key Milestones in the Scope of Work section.

• Innovations (required) —

  Refence any notable innovations or improvements that you expect to provide (with respect to, for example, efficiency, technology, sustainability) 

• Performance Measures (required) —

  Identify relevant performance measures and describe a plan for achieving these performance measures.

• Firm Qualifications (required) —

  Attach information regarding background and qualifications, including the following:

  • A brief description of the proposer.
  • A description of not more than three (3) projects similar in size and scope conducted by the proposer, including the client, reference and telephone numbers, primary staff members involved, budget, schedule, and project summary.  Descriptions should be limited to one (1) page for each project.
  • If subcontractors are anticipated, identify them (if known) and provide information on how they will be used.
• Team Qualifications (required) —

  Provide a chart identifying:

  5. 2. • Project team and reporting structure
        • Lead project manager
        • Role each person will play in the project

  Provide a brief description of the experience and qualifications of the project team members, including short resumes if desired.

  Written assurance that the key individuals listed and identified will be performing the work and will not be substituted or reassigned without the County’s prior approval

• References (required) —

  Provide at least three (3) references from successfully completed projects of similar nature to that described in this RFP document, including the name of the organization for which work was performed, and the name, phone number, and email address of an individual at the organization who was responsible for managing and accepting the work. Ensure that contact information is current. If the County cannot contact the reference because of incorrect information, the reference will be deemed not have been provided.

• Fee Proposal (required) —

  The Fee Proposal should be submitted as a separate PDF file from the Technical Proposals detailed in Required Documents.

  The County reserves the right to accept other than the lowest priced offer and to reject any proposals that are not responsive to this request.

• Agreement term (years) (required) —

  Update below if needed.

• Is there an extension to this agreement? (required) —

  Is there an extension to this agreement?

• Extension (required) —

  Modify the extension information below, if needed

• Will there be a Pre-Proposal Meeting and/or a Site Visit? (required)
• Include the information that will be covered in the site visit. (required)
• Require vendors to provide References? (required)
• References (required) —

  How many references are required by the vendor? (Number)

• Use Electronic Line Item Pricing? (required)
• Allow vendors to submit Confidential Information? (required) —

  In rare circumstances where there is an expectation that proposers will need to submit trade secrets or other confidential information in order to respond to an RFP. 

• Sample Agreement (required)