DATE: April 13, 2021
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Delfino E. Neira, Director,
Department of Social Services
SUBJECT: Agreements with Community-Based Organizations for the Resource Family Approval Program
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement with Transitions Children’s Services for Resource Family Approval application family evaluations and written reports, effective July 1, 2021, not to exceed five consecutive years, which includes a three-year base contract and two optional one-year extensions, total not to exceed $2,520,000; and,
2. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement with North Star Family Services for Resource Family Approval application family evaluations and written reports, effective July 1, 2021, not to exceed five consecutive years, which includes a three-year base contract and two optional one-year extensions, total not to exceed $1,680,000.
REPORT
There is no increase to Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions, which will allow the Department of Social Services to meet mandated services, pursuant to Welfare and Institution Code (W&IC), section 16519.5 et seq. and Assembly Bill (AB) 403 (Chapter 773, Statutes of 2015) Continuum of Care Reform, which requires family evaluations and written reports as part of the Resources Family Approval (RFA) program application. The selected vendors will complete the required family evaluations and written reports for applicant families to become a placement resource for children in foster care. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If the recommended actions are not approved, the Department will be required to complete all family evaluations and written reports for the County RFA applicants, which would result in delays and potential non-compliance with State mandates.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The maximum cost for the recommended five-year agreements with Transitions Children’s Services and North Star Family Services is $2,520,000 and $1,680,000, respectively. The agreements will be fully offset with 2011 Realignment funds. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues will be included the Department’s Org 5610 FY 2021-22 Recommended Budget and will be included in subsequent annual budget requests.
DISCUSSION:
Under Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) legislation, as of January 1, 2017, prospective Resource Families (including foster families, relative caregivers, non-related extended family members, adoptive families and/or legal guardians) must complete a RFA application, which combines elements of home evaluations, licensing and adoption studies into one comprehensive assessment and recommendation. Family evaluations and written reports are two portions of the RFA application requirements used to determine an applicant’s suitability to foster, adopt and/or provide legal guardianship of a child or non-minor dependent.
Family evaluations are assessments which articulate a comprehensive synopsis of an applicant family by exploring the family dynamics and characteristics, including mental, physical, and emotional health. This assessment helps to identify the family’s structure, values, discipline practices, coping strategies, strengths, and motivation to become a resource family. The written report is a summary, analysis, and recommendation of an applicant family’s suitability to foster, adopt and/or provide legal guardianship of a child or non-minor dependent based on all the information gathered through the application and comprehensive assessment processes.
On March 7, 2017, your Board authorized the Master Agreement No. A-17-073 for psychosocial assessments for the RFA program. This Master Agreement allowed the Department to use community providers to complete the required psychosocial assessments (now called family evaluations) for families to become a placement resource for children in foster care. Amendment I to the Master Agreement was approved by your Board on April 17, 2019, extending the term of the agreement for two more years and increasing the contract maximum. The current Master Agreement for RFA expires on June 30, 2021.
A Request for Proposal (RFP #21-014) was issued on November 7, 2020, seeking RFA Family Evaluations and Written Reports for up to 300 prospective RFA families per fiscal year. The Department sought to fund one and no more than two vendors. Approximately 889 potential bidders were notified through Public Purchase and eight responses to the RFP were received. A five-member review committee comprised of two Program Managers from the Department, a Division Director from the Probation Department, and two local non-profit organization executives met and provided recommendations to the Department.
The review committee reviewed the eight proposals and unanimously selected Transitions Children’s Services’ (Transitions) and North Star Family Center’s (North Star) proposals for funding. Proposals were assessed on the organization’s previous experience in providing the requested services, organizational capacity to provide the requested services, ability to meet proposed outcomes and quality of a submitted sample report. As Transitions Children’s Services was ranked the highest, the review committee recommended they receive the majority of the referrals. As such, Transitions will receive 60% of referrals and North Star will receive the remaining 40% of referrals.
If approved, the recommended agreements will be effective July 1, 2021 and includes the option to renew for two additional 12-month terms, based upon satisfactory performance with 30-day written notice by the Department Director or designee and Contractor. These agreements can be terminated at any time without cause with 30-day written notice from the County, Department Director or designee, or Contractor.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #51, April 17, 2019
BAI #48, March 7, 2017
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Agreement with Transitions Children’s Services
On file with Clerk - Agreement with North Star Family Services
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa