(a) The department shall contract with, or award grants to, public agencies or private nonprofit corporations for purposes of this chapter. Those contracts or grants shall be competitively bid pursuant to a request for proposals or applications, either statewide or by specific region or regions. Each contract or grant shall have a term not to exceed five years. Before the end of each contract or grant term, the department shall conduct a timely competitive request for proposals or applications that allows sufficient time for execution of a subsequent contract or grant to avoid a lapse in services.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, contracts necessary pursuant to this section shall be exempt from the personal services contracting requirements of Article 4 (commencing with Section 19130) of Chapter 5 of Part 2 of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(c) A private nonprofit corporation shall submit a complete financial statement for its most recent fiscal year as prepared by a certified public accountant prior to a renewal or new award of a contract or grant.