John Payton — Raised concern that rejecting the renewal could leave DCFS unable to continue vendor services.
John Payton — Said the state should address vendor dependency earlier because contracts are sometimes halted or voted down.
John Payton — Was thanked after his comments and questions.
John Payton — Responded to the explanation about why the contracts ended up on different cycles and acknowledged the point being made.
John Payton — Asked who the contract was for and identified it as a Department of Human Services item.
Sarah — Sarah was going to look into the annual cost question.
vendor representative — The discussion focused on the vendor contract and its cost. It was noted that Arkansas is currently paying the vendor approximately $700,000 per year, and there was no clear answer on what the total future spending would be. The speaker then clarified that the contract is for maintenance and operations, and that the vendor is not being paid more because no additional funding was added.
Evident Change vendor representative — The committee asked whether the vendor had more than 11 employees in Arkansas moving forward, but the answer was deferred to the vendor.
Heather Maitner — Heather Maitner of Evident Change testified that the organization had no new employees or services at this time, was gradually reducing its role, and had begun conversations about an off-ramp in response to prior hearing feedback.
Clarke Tucker — Representative Richardson is mentioned as having no question on this contract, though the transcript likely misidentifies the member.
Clarke Tucker — The chair invited additional questions from members before moving to non-members.
Clarke Tucker — Representative Richardson is thanked, and Representative Garner is recognized to speak on county operations.
Robin Lundstrum — Representative Lundstrum questioned how many contracts existed and what the total combined spending with Evident Change was, then followed up on the off-ramp timeline and how long the vendor relationship had lasted. She also clarified that the off-ramp discussion applied to the other contract rather than the maintenance contract.
Jim Wooten — Representative Jim Wooten questioned the contract’s lack of competitive bidding and pressed for the sole-source justification, asking whether Evident Change is the only U.S. provider of the service. The exchange concluded with a brief acknowledgment of his questions.
Jim Wooten — Representative Wooten is referenced during a brief exchange about DCFS, where members discuss the timing and prudence of the contract and raise sole-source concerns, with a follow-up question asking whether any other members will have questions on the issue.
Blake Johnson — Representative Blake Johnson questioned the sole-source nature of the contract, asking for clarification about the scope of the maintenance/operations agreement and whether any other vendor could operate and manage the system. He acknowledged why the current contract is sole-source but pressed on whether the next contract should also be treated that way.
Jimmy Hickey — Jimmy Hickey argued that the program and maintenance contracts should be run simultaneously so they can be rebid together later. He questioned why the contracts are not aligned and criticized the current arrangement as leaving the state at the vendor’s mercy, saying he did not see how the state could let a vendor hold it hostage.
Jonathan Dismang — At the close of the exchange, the chair is addressed as 'Mr. Chair,' and then dismisses the prior witness/questioning, signaling the meeting to move on.
Mary Franklin — Identified herself as Director of the Division of County Operations for the Department of Human Services.
Denise Garner — Denise Garner questioned what the real benefit to Arkansas would be and whether the proposal’s education and nutrition impacts would be measured. She then followed up by asking whether the app would include practical information on buying and cooking budget-friendly healthy foods, referencing her experience with hunger-relief work. The exchange ended with a brief thank-you from the chair.
John Payton — Representative Rose repeatedly questioned the contract’s financial impact and structure, asking whether annual spending would increase or decrease, whether the arrangement represented an expansion, what would change for the vendor’s Arkansas operations, and whether there was an actual off-ramp plan. After the questions were deferred for vendor response, he indicated he would step out of the queue for the moment.
John Payton — Representative Rose was recognized for additional questions by the chair.
John Payton — Restated concern that DCFS is too dependent on the vendor and that failure to renew could disrupt operations.