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Controlling Board approves contract for interstate return of detainees after repeated failed RFPs
Summary
The board approved a contract for a vendor to return detainees from out‑of‑state after the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction said prior RFPs attracted no qualified bids; members asked about annual cost (~$1M) and whether in‑house options were feasible.
The State Controlling Board approved a contract for a vendor who returns detained individuals to Ohio from other states after department staff said repeated attempts to secure competitive bids failed.
Joe Gruber, chief legislative officer for the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, told the board the department had bid the service several times (including on a DAS contract) and received no responsive bids, so it is contracting with a provider to transport individuals who have been detained by outside law enforcement back to Ohio. Gruber said roughly "3 to 400 per year" are returned under this process and that annual costs are on the order of $1,000,000.
Members questioned why the incumbent did not participate in the RFP process and whether using in‑house staff might be more cost‑effective; Gruber said the department does use internal teams for nearby returns but contracts when distances or rural logistics make in‑house retrieval impractical. The board approved the item and requested follow‑up about procurement history.
