County to formalize contract with Washington Initiative for Supported Employment for provider training

Clallam County commissioners decided to move forward with formalizing a contract with the Washington Initiative for Supported Employment, known in the discussion as WISE, to provide training and technical assistance supporting individual supported employment and community-based learning for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The contract will cover person-centered planning, job coaching, benefits planning, individual employment planning, community assessments and job development, and will also fund facilitation and project-development support for county projects such as Project Safer and the Clallam County Transition Council.

The county’s speaker leading the explanation, identified in the record as Kelly, said the organization “supports Clallam County, our developmental disability team with project development, facilitation services, and event management, such as Project Safer and our Clallam County Transition Council.” Kelly told the board the county has used WISE “for years and years,” previously by paying per activity rather than under a formal contract.

Commissioners asked how the dollar amount for the contract was determined and how the funding relates to the number of people served. Kelly said staff had reviewed prior spending and that the contract breaks out costs by projects and trainings: “We went through and, basically, we looked at what we had been, you know, what we had been spending.” She added that WISE also acts as a broker to enlist training vendors when none submit proposals locally.

Commissioner Randy Johnson asked about performance monitoring. Kelly said evaluation forms are completed after trainings and described WISE as “an incredibly effective partner” for facilitation and leadership on projects such as Project Safer.

Commissioners also asked about procurement and whether the county had used a competitive process. Kelly said the county auditor’s office requested a formal contract with WISE; county staff explained the organization had previously billed for services without a formal standing contract. The board agreed to place the contract on the agenda for signature at the regular meeting a week later.

Board members emphasized they wanted a clear scope of work and ongoing reporting so the county can measure outcomes and track how training and facilitation dollars are spent. Staff said the contract includes a scope of work and that training evaluations are available after each event.

The board took no formal vote at the work session; staff will return with the contract for formal approval at the regular meeting.

A week-to-week step: the commissioners agreed to sign the contract at their regular meeting one week after the work session, pending final review and scope-of-work attachments.