REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
June 8, 2021
FROM
MARLENE HAGEN, Director, Children and Family Services
SUBJECT
Title
Contract with Victor Community Support Services, Inc. for Child and Family Team Facilitator Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Contract with Victor Community Support Services, Inc. to provide Child and Family Team Facilitator services for Child and Family Team meetings, in an amount not to exceed $2,715,102, for the contract period of July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022.
(Presenter: Marlene Hagen, 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.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The total cost of Child and Family Team (CFT) Facilitator services will not exceed $2,715,102 and is funded by 45% ($1,221,796) federal funding and 55% ($1,493,306) state funding. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Human Services Administration Claim recommended 2021-22 budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The recommended contract with Victor Community Support Services, Inc. (Victor) will provide Children and Family Services (CFS) facilitator services for approximately 14,000 CFT meetings for the period of July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022. CFS completes approximately 14,000 CFT meetings each year (an estimated 1,200 per month) for children not currently receiving Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) services. CFT meetings are required every six months and are currently facilitated, in-house, by CFS and DBH staff. CFTs are groups that form to meet the needs of children. A CFT meeting brings the family and anyone else that is important in the child’s life together to help make decisions and set up a CFT individualized service plan (plan) to support that child. The CFT members include the child; parents; caregivers; relatives; anyone else the family identifies as a member; and a CFS Social Worker, Probation Officer, or DBH Clinician. To ensure family voice, choice, and ownership of the plan, every effort is made to ensure family members and family representatives constitute a minimum of 50% of the CFT.
CFT facilitator services to be provided by Victor include, but are not limited to, scheduling the CFT meeting including locating a site convenient to family participation, coordinating and scheduling the meeting, inviting and informing all participants of the meeting location and time, completing a pre-meeting discussion with the family, preparing all CFT members for participating in the CFT meeting, developing meeting agendas, taking notes, keeping track of and assigning action items, ensuring absent members are provided meeting updates, and working collaboratively with all CFT members to meet the needs of the child.
The mission of CFS is to protect endangered children, preserve and strengthen their families, and develop alternative family settings. Services mandated by law and regulation will be 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. CFS serves youth with emotional and behavioral challenges, substance abuse issues, and histories of sexual abuse and running away. The goal is ensure youth are provided a safe environment free from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
Contractor performance will be monitored by review of monthly reports and an annual monitoring visit by County staff to ensure compliance with the administrative, program, and fiscal terms and conditions of the recommended contract.
PROCUREMENT
The County Administrative Office approved and authorized the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) on October 23, 2020 (RFP HS 20-09/ePro Bid # HSSA21-HSSA-3903) to solicit proposals from interested and qualified agencies to provide CFT Facilitator services countywide for a period of one year. The RFP was publically advertised through direct mailings to more than 400 community-based organizations, faith-based agencies, service providers, and other interested parties and posted on the County’s Electronic Procurement Network (ePro).
Twenty-six agencies attended one of the two mandatory proposals conferences on November 10, 2020 and November 18, 2020. The following agencies submitted proposals in response to the RFP by the established deadline, met the minimum requirements, and continued in the evaluation process:
|
Agency Name |
Proposed Number of CFT Meetings |
Proposed Budget |
|
ASANTE Family Agency |
2,400 |
$1,389,161.00 |
|
Aspiranet |
14,000 |
$3,811,844.43 |
|
Bridge Vision, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Inc. |
1,200 |
$171,852.50 |
|
Christian Counseling Service |
1,340 |
$707,572.31 |
|
A Greater Hope Foundation for Children, Inc. dba A Greater Hope |
1,800 |
$593,229.00 |
|
Hillsides |
2,640 |
$1,280,888.00 |
|
A New Beginning Foster Family Agency (FFA) |
3,166 |
$590,049.00 |
|
A New Beginning Therapeutic Solutions Counseling Center |
1,200 |
$249,079.00 |
|
On The Rise, Inc. |
416 |
$303,803.00 |
|
Parents Anonymous® Inc. |
14,000 |
$5,140,928.00 |
|
PCS Family Services Inc |
1,120 |
$384,868.00 |
|
Victor Community Support Services |
14,000 |
$2,715,102.00 |
The evaluation committee, comprised of five individuals with representation from CFS, Human Services (HS) Auditing Division, and HS Program Development Division, reviewed and evaluated the proposals based on the criteria referenced in the RFP. The criteria included: Cost, Experience and Qualifications, Administrative Capability, and Technical Capability.
Although cost was a consideration in the evaluation process, it was not the primary consideration. Based on the evaluation criteria, the evaluation committed determined Victor best met the needs of the County. Based on the evaluation and resulting contract negotiations, Victor is recommended for contract award as its proposal best meets the needs of the County with respect to CFT Facilitator services. Victor’s proposal indicated they would provide the most adequate and appropriate services.
Agencies not recommended for contract award were notified by mail and advised they were able to submit a formal written protest to the HS Contracts Unit based on the criteria in the RFP. No written protests were received.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Human Services Contracts (Jennifer Mulhall-Daudel, Contracts Manager, 388-0241) on May 14, 2021; County Counsel (Julie Surber, Principal Assistant County Counsel, 387-5455) on May 17, 2021; Purchasing (Bruce Cole, Supervising Buyer, 387-2148) on May 19, 2021; Finance (John Hallen, Administrative Analyst, 388-0208) on May 24, 2021; and County Finance and Administration (Tanya Bratton, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0332) on May 24, 2021.