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sAgenda Item
ASR
Control 20-001200 |
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MEETING DATE: |
05/11/21 |
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legal entity taking action: |
Board of Supervisors |
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board of supervisors
district(s): |
All Districts |
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SUBMITTING
Agency/Department: |
Social Services Agency (Approved) |
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Department contact
person(s): |
Laura Turtzer (714) 541-7734 |
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Dang Vu (714) 541-7440 |
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Subject: Approve Master Agreements
for Counseling and Parent Education Services
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ceo CONCUR |
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Clerk of the Board |
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Concur |
Approved Agreement to Form |
Discussion |
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3 Votes Board Majority |
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Budgeted: N/A |
Current Year Cost:
N/A |
Annual Cost:
FY2021-22 $1,483,996 |
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Staffing Impact: |
No |
# of Positions:
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Sole Source:
No |
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Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A
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Prior Board Action: 5/22/2018
#53 |
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RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
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1. |
Approve Master Agreement for Counseling and Parent Education Services for the term of July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2024. |
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2. |
Authorize the Social Services Agency Director, or designee, to execute Subordinate Agreements with qualified organizations to provide Counseling and Parent Education Services for the term of July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2024. |
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3. |
Authorize the Social Services Agency Director, or designee, to execute Subordinate Agreements with additional qualified providers for Counseling and Parent Education Services as needed throughout the term of the Master Agreement. |
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4. |
Approve Master Agreement for Licensed and Specialized Counseling Providers Services for the term of July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2024. |
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5. |
Authorize the Social Services Agency Director, or designee, to execute Subordinate Agreements with qualified providers for Licensed and Specialized Counseling Services for the term of July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2024. |
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6. |
Authorize the Social Services Agency Director, or designee, to execute Subordinate Agreements with additional qualified providers for Licensed and Specialized Counseling Services as needed throughout the term of the Master Agreement. |
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7. |
Approve expenditures for services provided under Subordinate Agreements, executed by the Social Services Agency Director under the Master Agreements, referenced in Recommended Actions Numbers Two, Three, Five and Six, for an aggregate total maximum obligation of $4,451,988, for the term of July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2024. |
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8. |
Pursuant to Contract Policy Manual Section 3.4-114, authorize the Social Services Agency Director or designee to exercise a contingency contract cost increase, not to exceed a total of 10 percent of the contract amount for the first year of the Agreements, listed in Recommended Actions One through Six for the entire term of the Agreements, including renewals, and within the scope of work set forth in the Agreements. The use of this contingency contract cost increase is subject to approval requirements established by the County Procurement Officer. |
SUMMARY:
Approval of both Master Agreements will allow continued service delivery of court-ordered or recommended counseling and/or parent education services that provide families at risk of, or with a history of child abuse and/or neglect, to strengthen their relationships and support successful family maintenance or reunification.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Social Services Agency (SSA) is requesting the Board of Supervisors (Board) approval of both Master Agreements, authorization for SSAs Director, or designee, to execute subordinate Agreements with qualified providers, as well as additional providers without returning to the Board for approval, as specified in Recommended Actions One through Seven. SSA is also requesting a 10 percent contingency cost increase in the event there is an increased need for these services.
SSA is requesting Board approval to continue to combine funding for both Master Agreements in order to allow for fiscal efficiency and flexibility for incurred expenditures. This flexibility has helped SSA manage expenditure fluctuations on these Agreements due to varied demand that is based on court orders and client needs. There continues to be a need for both types of counseling services for various reasons including types of service provided, continuity of care and accessibility for clients. Although there is no maximum obligation for individual Subordinate Agreements, SSA will monitor expenditures to ensure the aggregate total maximum obligation is not exceeded.
Counseling services provided under both Master Agreements include individual, conjoint and family counseling to assist clients needing prevention and intervention services, while identifying and understanding problems related to child abuse and neglect. These services assist clients in achieving treatment goals, modifying behavior and obtaining resources to assist them with successful family maintenance and/or reunification with their children under a time-limited case plan with the Orange County Juvenile Court. Under the Counseling and Parent Education Services Agreement, group counseling will address issues that include, but are not limited to, safety, boundaries and how to effectively deal with feelings of anger. Parent Education will teach clients appropriate parenting strategies that include positive disciplinary mechanisms, communication skills and basic knowledge of child development and growth.
Services under these Agreements will be provided to clients from birth to 17 years of age, non-minor dependents, biological parents and/or caregivers referred by SSA. These Agreements support the responsibilities of the County, pursuant to California Welfare and Institutions Codes, Sections 16100, 16501, 16507.7, 18961 and 18967, pertaining to child welfare services to be available to children and families.
SSA analyzed providing these services in-house, as opposed to contracting them out, and it was determined that to maximize services in a cost-effective manner, contracting out these services was the most beneficial option.
The Board approved the most recent Master Agreements on May 22, 2018, for the three-year term of July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2021, for an annual amount of $1,483,996, for a cumulative total maximum obligation of $4,451,988.
Master
Agreement for Counseling and Parent Education Services
SSA has contracted for Counseling and Parent Education Services under a Master Agreement since 2009.
The new Agreement includes compensation for counseling sessions at an unchanged rate of $75 per hour. The median market rate ranges from $75 to $150 per hour. In addition to licensed therapists, the providers under this Master Agreement utilize registered interns/Associates who are under the supervision of a licensed professional and are completing the hours required to obtain their license to provide counseling services.
Request For
Application (RFA) Results for Counseling and Parent Education Services
On October 9, 2020, SSA issued an RFA to solicit applications from private and public organizations to provide Counseling and Parent Education Services. Eight applications were received by the deadline of November 10, 2020.
Members of the Evaluation Panel independently scored each application using the following criteria, for a potential maximum score of 100 points:
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Agency Qualifications |
10 points |
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Capacity for Counseling and Parent Education Services |
25 points |
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Administration of Counseling and Parent Education Services |
20 points |
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Staffing for Counseling and Parent Education Services |
25 points |
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Schedule
and Locations for Counseling and Parent Education Services |
20 points |
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Total
Maximum Points: |
100 points |
The scores were then compiled for an average score. The Evaluation Panel recommended contract award for the applicants who scored 70 points or higher. See Attachment D for the Summarized Scoring Sheet and RFA Questions.
The Evaluation Panel ranked the applicants as follows:
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Applicants |
Points Awarded |
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National Council on Alcoholism Drug Dependence-Orange County (NCADD OC) |
89.00 |
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Casa de la Familia |
83.83 |
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Korean Community Services (KCS) |
84.00 |
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Boys and Girls Club of Garden Grove (BGCGG) |
83.67 |
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Chances Counseling Centers |
82.33 |
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Family Assessment, Counseling, & Education Services Inc. (F.A.C.E.S.) |
76.67 |
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Associates in Counseling and Mediation, Inc. (ACM) |
73.67 |
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New Horizons Community Wellness Center |
73.00 |
A Notice of Proposed Contract Award was posted in the Countys online bidding system on February 11, 2021. No protests were received.
Six of the eight applicants are current contractors for the Counseling and Parent Education Services Master Agreement. The current contractors are Casa de La Familia, F.A.C.E.S., KCS, BGCGG, Guardians of Life Foundation (also known as Chances Counseling Centers) and ACM. All six contractors' performance have been confirmed as at least satisfactory. SSA has verified there are no concerns that must be addressed with respect to the contractors ownership/name, litigation status or conflict with County interests. SSA has conducted due diligence on the two new vendors, NCADD OC and New Horizons Community Wellness Center, with whom the department has not had prior experience. Reference checks were satisfactory and completed with the companies listed below regarding similar projects.
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Vendor |
Reference Company A |
Reference Company B |
Reference Company C |
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NCADD OC |
HCA (Public Health Services) |
HCA (Behavioral Health Services) |
CA Department of Public Health |
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New Horizons Community Wellness Center |
Los Angeles County Probation Department |
Los Angeles County Mental Health Department |
Institute for Multi-Cultural Counseling and Education Services |
Master Agreement
for Licensed and Specialized Counseling Provider
SSA has contracted for Licensed and Specialized Counseling Providers (formerly Individual Provider Program) under a Master Agreement since 1991. The proposed Master Agreement includes an increase in compensation for licensed clinicians from $85 to $100 per hour. The median market rate for licensed clinicians ranges from $75 to $225, with an average hourly rate of $150. Providers under this Master Agreement receive more complex referrals necessitating specialized training, certification and expertise.
This Master Agreement has non-standard insurance provisions that eliminate the requirement of Workers Compensation, Employers Liability and Sexual Misconduct Liability of any Contractor without employees; the reduction of Network Security & Privacy Liability (NS&PL) minimum limit to $25,000 per claim made; and the elimination of NS&PL primary non-contributing endorsement. County Executive Office (CEO) Risk Management has deemed the elimination of the requirement of Workers Compensation, Employers Liability and Sexual Misconduct Liability of any Contractor without employees acceptable. CEO Risk Management does not concur with the reduction of the NS&PL minimum limit to $25,000 per claim made; nor do they concur with the elimination of NS&PL primary non-contributing endorsement.
Most of the LSCP licensed therapists are insured by the same insurance company that only offers individuals NS&PL coverage at a maximum of $25,000 per claim made and does not provide a primary non-contributing endorsement for NS&PL coverage. CEO Risk Management has confirmed that it is not industry standard to have this limit on an individual policy. LSCPs provide critical counseling services for SSA clients in the Children and Family Services Division who have an open case with the Orange County Juvenile Court. Counseling services are needed to provide immediate intervention to families where children are at risk of out of the home placement or have been removed from their parents home, and require intervention services and/or resources to assist them in reunifying with their parent(s) under a time-limited case plan. SSA has made a business decision to waive these standard insurance requirements in order to continue providing counseling services through this Master Agreement and proposed Master Agreement. The current providers have been performing services under these non-standard insurance provisions since July 1, 2017, due to SSAs previous decision to waive these standard insurance requirements based upon the above-referenced information.
RFA Results for Licensed and Specialized
Counseling Providers (LSCP)
On October 8, 2020, SSA issued the RFA to solicit applications from qualified, individual licensed clinicians who possess a valid and current license issued by the State of California as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and Licensed Clinical Psychologist, to provide child abuse and neglect prevention and intervention counseling services to clients referred by SSA.
SSA received 14 applications by the deadline of November 9, 2020. On November 10, 2020, the deadline was extended to November 16, 2020, to increase the applicant pool. Two additional applications were received, for a total of 16 applications.
This non-competitive RFA consisted of three phases: a two-phase Application Review and Interview scoring process and a final Selection Panel phase.
The Application and Interview phases were scored for a potential maximum score of 100 points as follows:
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Evaluation Phase |
Maximum
Points |
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I. Application Review |
50 |
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II. Applicant Interview |
50 |
All 16 applications received a minimum of 35 out of 50 points, and were advanced to the Applicant Interview phase. Of the 16 applicants that participated in the Applicant Interview phase, six applicants scored at least 35 points and 10 applicants scored below 35 points on the interview.
All 16 applications were presented to the Selection Panel for review due to the small number of applications received. The Selection Panel reviewed the 10 applications that scored below the minimum passing interview score and recommended contract award to these applicants due to their bilingual proficiency capability, desirable geographic office location and adequately meeting essential criteria. A total of 16 applicants were recommended for contract award.
Of the 16 recommended applicants, 14 are current LSCP Contractors and two are new Contractors.
A Notice of Proposed Contract Award was posted in Countys bidding system on March 10, 2021, and no protests were received.
SSA has conducted due diligence on the two new LSCP Contractors with whom the department has not had prior experience. Reference checks were satisfactory and completed with the companies listed below regarding similar projects.
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Contractor Name |
Reference Company A |
Reference Company B |
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Dr. Joseph Marquez, PsyD |
Inner Peace Psychotherapy |
Institute for Multicultural Counseling and Education Services |
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Dr. Daniel Nunez, PsyD |
LA County Department of Probation |
Institute for Multicultural Counseling and Education Services |
All current LSCP Contractors' performance have been confirmed as satisfactory.
SSA has verified there are no concerns that must be addressed with respect to all Contractors ownership/name, litigation status or conflicts with County interests.
Outcomes
Outcomes for Counseling services for the period of July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2020, are as follows:
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FY 2018-2019 |
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Providers * |
A minimum of 50 percent of clients who begin Counseling Services will fully complete the authorized period of counseling services. |
A minimum 50 percent of clients who complete Counseling Services will demonstrate improvement or achieve their treatment goals. |
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BGCGG |
63% |
88% |
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Cas de La Familia |
82% |
96% |
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F.A.C.E.S. |
84% |
100% |
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FY 2019-2020 |
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Providers |
A minimum of 60 percent of clients who begin Counseling Services will fully complete the authorized period of counseling services. |
A minimum 60 percent of clients who complete Counseling Services will demonstrate improvement or achieve their treatment goals. |
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ACM |
84% |
99% |
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BGCGG |
74% |
89% |
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Casa de la Familia |
84% |
99% |
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F.A.C.E.S. |
70% |
100% |
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Guardians of Life Foundation |
79% |
98% |
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KCS |
73% |
100% |
Outcomes for Parent Education services for the period of July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2020, are as follows:
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FY 2018-2019 |
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|
Providers * |
A minimum of 50 percent of clients who begin Parent Education Services will fully complete these services. |
A minimum 50 percent of clients who complete Parent Education Services will demonstrate improvement or achieve their treatment goals. |
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BGCGG |
93% |
100% |
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Casa de la Familia |
92% |
100% |
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F.A.C.E.S. |
100% |
100% |
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FY 2019-2020 |
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Providers |
A minimum of 60 percent of clients who begin Parent Education Services will fully complete these services. |
A minimum 60 percent of clients who complete Parent Education Services will demonstrate improvement or achieve their treatment goals. |
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ACM |
100% |
100% |
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BGCGG |
89% |
100% |
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Casa de la Familia |
94% |
97% |
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F.A.C.E.S. |
87% |
100% |
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Guardians of Life Foundation |
95% |
100% |
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KCS |
100% |
100% |
*These were the only three providers SSA contracted with starting FY 2018-19. The other three providers were not awarded a contract until the middle of FY 2018-19 and there is no data to provide for the whole fiscal year.
Outcomes for LSCP services for the period of July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2020, are as follows:
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Outcome
Objectives FY 2018-19 |
Performance
Outcome |
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A minimum of 50 percent of clients who begin counseling services will complete the authorized period of counseling services. |
62% |
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A minimum of 50 percent of clients who complete counseling services will demonstrate improvement or achievement of their counseling services treatment goals. |
96% |
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Outcome
Objectives FY 2019-20 |
Performance
Outcome |
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A minimum of 60 percent of clients who begin counseling services will complete the authorized period of counseling services. |
61% |
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A minimum of 60 percent of clients who complete counseling services will demonstrate improvement or achievement of their counseling services treatment goals. |
94% |
Between July 1, 2018, and June 30, 2020, there were 327 clients who completed LSCP services, with 95 percent of these clients demonstrating improvement or achievement of their counseling services treatment goals. As of December 30, 2020, there are currently 24 active licensed therapists providing services to approximately 268 SSA clients.
Proposed New
Outcome Objectives
Counseling Services Outcome Objectives
1. A minimum of 70 percent of clients who begin counseling services will complete services; and
2. A minimum of 70 percent of clients who complete counseling services will demonstrate improvement or achievement of their counseling treatment goals developed in collaboration with the Assigned Social Worker.
Parent Education Services Outcome Objective
1. A minimum of 70 percent of parents who begin Parent Education Services will complete these services.
Licensed and Specialized Counseling Provider Outcome
Objectives
1. A minimum of 70 percent of clients who begin counseling services will complete services.
2. A minimum of 80 percent of clients completing counseling services will demonstrate improvement or achievement of their counseling treatment goals as determined by the therapist.
Subcontract
Due to the nature of the services, the Counseling and Parent Education Services Agreement could require the addition of subcontractors. In order to add subcontractors(s) to the Agreement, the contractor(s) must seek express consent from SSA. Should the addition of a subcontractor impact the scope of work and/or contract amount, SSA will bring the item back to the Board for approval. In the past, subcontractors have not been used for this Agreement. See Attachment C for Contract Summary Form.
The LSCP Agreement does not include subcontractors or pass through to other providers. See Attachment G for Contract Summary Form.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Appropriations for this Agreement will be included in Budget Control 063, Social Services Agency FY 2021-22 Budget and will be included in the budgeting process for future years.
The Counseling and Parent Education Services Agreement is funded four percent federal, 90 percent state and six percent County. Federal funding is Title IV-E Child Welfare Services. State funding includes 2011 Realignment and 1991 Realignment through Child Welfare Services, Child Abuse Prevention, Intervention and Treatment (CAPIT) and Supportive Therapeutic Options Program (STOP). County General Funds will be used towards the required match to access federal and state funding.
Projected Funding by Program
|
Program |
Projected Usage |
Federal |
State |
County GF |
Total |
|
Child Welfare Services |
87.65% |
$34,312 |
$706,308 |
$30,680 |
$771,300 |
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CAPIT |
3.77% |
$0 |
$33,200 |
$0 |
$33,200 |
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STOP |
8.58% |
$0 |
$52,850 |
$22,650 |
$75,500 |
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Total |
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$34,312 |
$792,358 |
$53,330 |
$880,000 |
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Funding Ratio |
100% |
4% |
90% |
6% |
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The Licensed and Specialized Counseling Providers Agreement will be funded four percent federal, 92 percent state and four percent County. Federal funding is Title IV-E Child Welfare Services. State funding includes both 1991 Realignment and 2011 Realignment through Child Welfare Services. County General Funds will be used towards the required match for federal and state funding.
Projected Funding by Program
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Program |
Projected Usage |
Federal |
State |
County GF |
Total |
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CWS |
100% |
$26,870 |
$553,102 |
$24,024 |
$603,996 |
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Total |
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$26,870 |
$553,102 |
$24,024 |
$603,996 |
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Funding Ratio |
100% |
4% |
92% |
4% |
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Contingency of
Funds
The proposed Agreements include provisions that the Agreements are contingent upon the availability of funds and inclusion of sufficient funds in the budgets approved by the Board for each fiscal year the Agreements remain in effect or operation. In the event such funding is terminated or reduced, the County may terminate the Agreements, reduce the Countys maximum obligation or modify the Agreements, without penalty.
STAFFING IMPACT:
N/A
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment A Master Agreement Counseling and Parent
Education Services, #CDV1421-00
Attachment B Master Agreement Counseling and Parent Education Services,
#CDV1421-00 Redline
Attachment C Contract Summary Form, #CDV1421-00
Attachment D Counseling and Parent Education Services Summarized Scoring
Sheet and RFA Questions
Attachment E Master Agreement LSCP Services, #CCD1621-00
Attachment F Master Agreement LSCP Services, #CCD1621-00 Redline
Attachment G Contract Summary Form, #CCD1621-00
Attachment H LSCP Services Summarized Scoring Sheet
Attachment I Cited Codes, Regulations and/or Statutes