AGENDA STAFF REPORT

Agenda Item AGENDA STAFF REPORT ASR Control 21-000674
MEETING DATE:	08/24/21
legal entity taking action:	Board of Supervisors
board of supervisors district(s):	All Districts
SUBMITTING Agency/Department:	Social Services Agency (Approved)
Department contact person(s):	Laura Turtzer (714) 541-7734
	Gregory Manning (714) 673-2544

Subject: Approve Memorandum of Understanding for Trauma-Informed System-of-Care

ceo CONCUR

County Counsel Review

Clerk of the Board

Concur

Approved Agreement to Form

Discussion

3 Votes Board Majority

Budgeted: N/A

Current Year Cost: N/A

Annual Cost: N/A

Staffing Impact:

# of Positions:

Sole Source: N/A

Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A

Funding Source: N/A	County Audit in last 3 years: No

Prior Board Action: N/A

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

Approve the non-financial Memorandum of Understanding between the Social Services Agency, Health Care Agency, Probation Department, Orange County Department of Education and Regional Center of Orange County to establish expectations for a Trauma-Informed System-of-Care, led by an Interagency Leadership Team, for the term of October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2026.

Authorize the Department Heads or designees of the Social Services Agency, Health Care Agency and Probation Department to execute the Memorandum of Understanding for the five-year term of October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2026.

Authorize the Interagency Leadership Team, or designee, to make minor modifications to the Memorandum of Understanding to allow for the designation of agencies not currently identified in the Memorandum of Understanding as members of the Trauma-Informed System-of-Care; to establish data sharing and integration agreements and mechanisms as applicable; and to integrate language related to subsequent changes to state laws and regulations as applicable.

SUMMARY:

Approval of the non-financial Memorandum of Understanding between the Social Services Agency, Health Care Agency, Probation Department, Orange County Superintendent of Schools and Regional Center of Orange County will allow for the design, delivery and management of services to children, youth, non-minor dependents and families in Orange County navigating public-serving agencies through a Trauma-Informed System-of-Care led by an Interagency Leadership Team.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Assembly Bill 2083 (Chapter 815, Statutes of 2018), added section 16521.6 to the Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC), mandating each county to create a coordinated, timely and Trauma-Informed System-of-Care and associated Interagency Leadership Team (ILT) to address systemic barriers to the traditional provision of interagency services for children and youth in foster care who have experienced severe trauma, and to develop and implement a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) setting forth the roles and responsibilities of agencies involved.

The ILT includes leaders from Social Services Agency (SSA), Health Care Agency (HCA), Probation Department (Probation), Orange County Department of Education and Regional Center of Orange County. This membership enables the ILT to exercise collaborative authority over the interrelated child welfare, behavioral health, juvenile justice, education and developmental services provided to children and families in Orange County. This MOU builds upon the current California Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) that established a new statewide vision to improve child welfare services through use of comprehensive child assessments; increased utilization of home-based family care; reduced reliance on congregate care; and creating faster paths to permanency for youth involved in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems. The ILT will serve to coordinate the delivery of public programs and services that support caregivers and providers in meeting the educational, developmental, physical, emotional and behavioral health needs of children, youth, non-minor dependents (NMDs) and families involved in the foster care system.

Children in foster care are served by multiple systems and programs including, at a minimum, the placing agency (SSA or Probation), public education, county behavioral health and the local regional center. Navigating these various systems can lead to service gaps, placement instability and compounded trauma for the child and family. Implementation of this MOU will provide for the development of a coordinated, timely and culturally responsive Trauma-Informed System-of-Care approach for children and families in the foster care system. This MOU will further the interests of the County to meet the individual and collective objectives of the participating agencies as outlined in WIC, Section 16521.6. The ability to share client-specific information, to the extent permitted by law, will facilitate and expedite the achievement of CCR’s goals. The MOU will also help to identify, develop and maintain public community-based service systems that can intervene early and/or prevent trauma-experienced by at-risk children, youth, NMDs and families. This MOU supports the County’s efforts to provide services to children, youth, NMDs and families in community-based settings that are least restrictive and that minimize stigma. This collaborative effort will enable the County to address barriers to cost sharing and to promote use of creative fiscal strategies that responsibly leverage available financial resources in order to provide children, youth, NMDs and families with timely access to an array of quality services.

This MOU does not contain the standard insurance, mutual indemnification and additional insured language. County Executive Office-Risk Management denied the request for a waiver on these provisions. The MOU does contain mutual hold harmless language. SSA, HCA and Probation have made a business decision to proceed with the execution of this MOU based on the following factors: participation by the County in this MOU is mandated by WIC, Section 16521.6 and the MOU provides critical services for a vulnerable population who will benefit from the formalization of the Trauma-Informed System-of-Care; the County had recent similar MOUs between the agencies participating in this MOU that did not contain the above noted insurance and indemnification language and no issues arose out of these MOUs.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

This non-financial MOU involves the utilization of County resources. The proposed non-financial MOU includes provisions that the MOU is contingent upon the availability of funds and inclusion of sufficient funds in the budget approved by the Board for each fiscal year the MOU remains in effect or operation. In the event such funding is terminated or reduced, the County may terminate or modify the MOU, without penalty.

STAFFING IMPACT:

N/A

REVIEWING AGENCIES:

Health Care Agency
Probation Department

ATTACHMENT(S):

Attachment A - Memorandum of Understanding for the Trauma-Informed System-of-Care, #CGM0419
Attachment B - Cited Codes, Regulations and/or Statutes