DATE: April 13, 2021
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Delfino E. Neira, Director, Department of Social Services
SUBJECT: Revenue Agreement with The Mockingbird Society to expand the Mockingbird Family Model
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a Revenue Agreement with The Mockingbird Society to support expansion of the Mockingbird Family Model to include Spanish-speaking foster families, effective upon execution, not to exceed two years ($127,000).
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will allow the Department of Social Services to expand the Mockingbird Family Model (MFM) to Spanish-speaking foster families. Funding will provide foster families with linguistically appropriate supportive services to increase recruitment and retention and will also support placement stability and improved outcomes for foster youth, with no increase in Net County Cost. The item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If your Board does not approve the recommended action the planned expansion of the MFM would not occur and Spanish-speaking families would not receive enhanced support.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. If approved, the recommended agreement will provide a maximum of $63,500 in the first year; $127,000 over two years to offset the costs associated with expansion of the MFM. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Department’s Org 5610 FY 2020-21 Adopted Budget and will be included in subsequent budget requests.
DISCUSSION:
Since 2016, the Department has contracted with The Mockingbird Society (TMS) for consultation, training and technical assistance to implement and sustain the MFM. The MFM is a unique model developed in the state of Washington, designed to support foster youth and their resource parents (formally referred to as foster parents and relative care providers) by building a network of support. This network, referred to as a Constellation, has shown to increase recruitment and retention of resource parents, and to improve outcomes for foster youth, such as placement stability, sibling contacts and parental relationships. At the center of the Constellation is the Hub home provider, an experienced resource parent who provides supportive services to six to ten resource families in their surrounding geographic area.
Through partnership with TMS, the Department has successfully developed one MFM Constellation. Given the Department’s collaboration and success in model implementation, in 2020, TMS selected the Department as the recipient of funding to expand the MFM. The expansion is targeted to the development of a Constellation for Spanish-speaking resource families. The new Constellation will provide tailored, linguistically appropriate supportive services to resource parents and the foster youth in their care, through a Hub home provider.
Approval of the recommended agreement will offset the annual cost of a newly selected Spanish-speaking Hub home provider and any needed translations. The recommended agreement will also provide the Department with support and technical assistance from TMS, and conversely, the Department will provide TMS with consultation and feedback regarding pilot implementation of the new bilingual program.
The recommended agreement was drafted by TMS and deviates from the County’s model contract as it stipulates the venue for any action arising out of the agreement shall be instituted in Federal Court of the United States in the Western District of Washington, or the court of the State of Washington, rather than in Fresno County, California. The agreement will be effective upon execution and will remain in effect for two years. TMS requires that the County sign the agreement first. A fully executed copy of the agreement will be forwarded to the Fresno County Clerk of the Board once TMS signs.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Revenue Agreement with TMS
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa