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Chief Administrative Office, Procurement and Contracts Division, recommending award of Request for Proposal 08-918-020 to Lilliput Children's Services of Sacramento, CA for the provision of the Kinship Support Services Program for the Department of Human Services; and Chairman be authorized to execute retroactive agreement for same in the amount of $162,000 upon County Counsel and Risk Management review and approval.
FUNDING: General Fund and Non-General Fund (Title IV-E).
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REASON FOR RECOMMENDATION: At the request of the Department of Human Services, the Procurement and Contracts Division issued a Request for Proposals for the purpose of hiring a professional consulting firm to conduct a Kinship Support Services Program (KSSP).
The purpose and goals of the KSSP are to:
A. Establish a family support program of services for the target population:
· Relative caregivers and the children/teens placed in their homes by the juvenile court.
· Relative caregivers and the children/teens that are living with them who are at risk of dependency or delinquency.
· Relative caregivers who are the legal guardian or adoptive parent of formerly dependent children/teens.
· Relative caregivers with children/teens in voluntary placements.
B. These services should:
· Result in improved outcomes related to safety, permanence and well-being for the children receiving services.
· Reduce or eliminate the need for juvenile court jurisdiction.
· Ensure caregivers understand options for permanency, such as guardianship or adoption, and the resources available to support permanency such as the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP) Program, Kin-GAP Plus and the Adoption Assistance Program.
· Ensure that children/teens receive necessary services to transition to adulthood, i.e., Independent Living Program (ILP) services.
· Ensure that family ties are maintained by:
Maintaining children in the home of relatives when they cannot live safely with their parents.
Supporting placement of siblings together.
Placing American Indian children with caregivers prioritized by the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).
· Increase a relative caregiver's capacity to obtain and maintain employment by the provision of supportive services.
C. Create incentives for blended funding and increased collaboration among service providers, stakeholders, and the County's Child Welfare Agency that result in:
· Testing the feasibility of new financing and reimbursement mechanisms.
· Reduced foster care caseloads.
· Reduced public funding for such services.
D. Collect and report data regarding the provision of KSSP services that achieve improved outcome goals related to safety, permanence, and well being.
Forty-three (43) Requests for Proposals (RFP) were mailed, one (1) response was received.
An evaluation committee comprised of panelists from the Department of Human Services and the El Dorado County Child Abuse Prevention Council reviewed the response on the basis of financial viability, collaboration, services & staffing, relative caregivers, program improvement goals, and community & target populations.
After careful review of the response, the evaluation committee determined that Lilliput Children's Services response would meet the needs of the County as outlined in the RFP. A letter of intent to award the RFP was issued on September 25, 2007. The contract and Board item were drafted for the November 6, 2007 Board meeting with a contract term beginning November 10, 2007 for a period of 7 months to coincide with the availability of State funding for the program. The item was not submitted for that meeting date therefore making the contract retroactive to November 10.
The Board is being asked to make findings that it is more economical and feasible to contract out the needed work in accordance with County Ordinance Chapter 3.13 as the Department of Human Services does not possess the trained personnel to conduct the Kinship Support Services Program.
The County Officer or employee with responsibility for administering this Agreement is Lynda Webb, Chief Financial Officer, Department of Humans Services, or successor.
CONCURRENCES: Not Applicable
CONTACT: Bonnie H. Rich, Purchasing Agent x5940