MEETING DATE: 11/6/2018
DEPARTMENT: HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY
DEPT HEAD/DIRECTOR: James Rydingsword
AGENDA ITEM PREPARER: Cynthia Larca
SBC DEPT FILE NUMBER: 130
SUBJECT:
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY - J. RYDINGSWORD
Approve contract with Seneca Family of Agencies for Resource Family Approval and associated services for the period of July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019, not to exceed amount of $90,000.00.
SBC FILE NUMBER: 130
AGENDA SECTION:
CONSENT AGENDA
BACKGROUND/SUMMARY:
The contract with Seneca Family of Agencies (Seneca) is to provide the County Health and Human Services Agency, Child Welfare Department (CWS), with services that support the the Resource Family Approval (RFA) program throughout San Benito County.
RFA was authorized through Senate Bill 1013 (Chapter 35, Statues of 2012) and requires the State Department of Social Services, in consultation with the county welfare agencies, foster parent associations, and other interested community parties, to provide a unified, family-friendly and child-centered resource family approval process. RFA upgrades and unifies approval standards for all caregivers by replacing the existing multiple processes for licensing foster family homes, approving relative and non-relative extended family members as foster care providers, and approving adoptive homes. RFA prepares families to better meet the needs of vulnerable children in the foster care system and allows seamless transition to permanency. RFA implementation is required of all counties and took effect on January 1, 2017 as part of the larger statutory framework of Continuum of Care Reform (CCR). Stated goals of CCR include placing dependent youth with resource families rather than in congregate care, and making concerted efforts to place youth within their communities.
The RFA is a complex process, requiring significant effort to recruit, train, and assess resource families that can meet immediate and long-term needs of youth. Such efforts require tremendous expertise and time, and pose a challenge on limited CWS staff.
To that end, a Request for Proposals (RFP) was developed by CWS management to identify qualified agencies or individuals who could provide the following program components:
1. Resource Family Recruitment, Retention, and Support
2. Preapproval Training for Resource Families
3. Post-approval and Ongoing Training for Resource Families
4. Psychosocial Assessments of Resource Families
The RFP, issued in mid-December 2016, received one response, from Seneca. Seneca is presently providing the program components listed above for Monterey County; they offer a level of expertise that meets the Department’s and community’s needs. Seneca has qualified, experienced staff dedicated to each of the program components.
The scope of services for this fiscal year does not include the recruitment component, but does expand the family training sessions to include Spanish speaking classes. This contract has a not to exceed amount of $90,000. CWS receives State and Federal funding for RFA services and has included those funding allocations in the current fiscal year’s budget.
BUDGETED:
Yes