REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
August 6, 2024
FROM
JEANY ZEPEDA, Director, Children and Family Services
SUBJECT
Title
Non-Financial Contract with Child and Family Policy Institute of California to Participate in the Youth Engagement Project
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve non-financial contract with Child and Family Policy Institute of California to participate in the Youth Engagement Project, for the period of August 6, 2024 through July 5, 2025.
(Presenter: Jeany Zepeda, Director, 387-2792)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost) as this contract with Child and Family Policy Institute of California (CFPIC) is non-financial in nature.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The mission of Children and Family Services (CFS) is to protect endangered children, preserve and strengthen their families, and develop alternative family settings. Services, as mandated by law and regulations, are provided in the least intrusive manner with a family centered focus. This mission is accomplished in collaboration with the family, a wide variety of public and private agencies, and members of the community.
CFPIC and the California Department of Social Services have partnered to create the Youth Engagement Project (YEP) to connect current and former foster youth (Youth Ambassadors) who have been a participant in county child welfare systems. The goal of the YEP program is to utilize the lived experience of current and former foster youth on local projects designed to improve child welfare policies, programs, and practices.
CFPIC is responsible for recruiting Youth Ambassadors and matching them to counties based on skill set, project, description and county need. CFS is responsible for designating a project which would benefit from a Youth Ambassador’s perspective, as well as providing guidance and support to the Youth Ambassador while engaged in the project. The overall goal is to solicit the Youth Ambassador’s perspective on child welfare issues with the aim of improving outcomes. A Youth Ambassador might assist in reviewing and providing feedback on county policies that directly impact youth in care, help improve a website for current and former foster youth or participate in Independent Learning Program (ILP) meetings to provide perspective on developing and expanding ILP resources.
Through collaboration with YEP, CFS will have the opportunity to engage a subsection of the community with direct experience in the child welfare system and utilize their perspective to ascertain areas wherein CFS can develop and improve programs and practices to be more in line with the mission.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Human Services Contracts (Patty Steven, Contracts Manager, 388-0241) on June 6, 2024; County Counsel (Kaleigh Ragon, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on June 26, 2024; Finance (John Hallen, Administrative Analyst, 388-0208) on July 22, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0238) on July 22, 2024.