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Agenda Item
ASR
Control 12-001674 |
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MEETING DATE: |
01/15/13 |
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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: |
Probation
(Approved) |
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Department contact
person(s): |
Ed Harrison (714) 569-2166 |
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Bryan Prieto (714) 937-4703 |
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Subject:
Performance Agreement with Boys
Republic
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ceo Concur |
County
Counsel Review |
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: Yes |
Current Year Cost:
$86,436 |
Annual Cost: |
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Staffing Impact: No |
# of Positions:
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Sole Source:
N/A |
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Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A |
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Funding Source: GF:
30% or 60%, FED: 50% or 0%, State: 20% or 40% |
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Prior Board Action: 06/05/2007
#64; 03/30/2010 #49 |
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RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
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1. |
Find that the subject activity is not a project within the meaning of CEQA Guidelines Section 13578 and is therefore not subject to review under CEQA. |
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2. |
Approve the Performance Agreement between the County of Orange and Boys Republic for Children's Services Program Development for Probation-Supervised Youth placed at the Boys Republic Chino-Pomona Program RCL 10, effective April 2, 2013 through April 1, 2016. |
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3. |
Authorize the Chief Probation Officer or designee to execute the Orange County Probation Placement Waiver Extension Request (SB 1319) and endorsement of the Performance Outcome Update Report of the Boys Republic Waiver Demonstration Project, on behalf of the County of Orange. |
SUMMARY:
The Probation Department requests Board approval of the proposed Performance Agreement between the County of Orange and Boys Republic, for innovative foster care services for Probation-supervised youth placed at the Boys Republic Chino-Pomona Program, effective April 2, 2013 through April 1, 2016, and authorization for the Chief Probation Officer or designee to execute the Orange County Probation Placement Waiver Extension Request and endorsement of the Performance Outcome Update Report.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) is responsible for setting group home rates pursuant to Section 11200 et seq. of the Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC), and CDSS Manual of Policies and Procedures Section 11-405.2.24. CDSS establishes the Rate Classification Level (RCL) for State-appropriated payments by counties to individual group home providers. RCLs are linked to "point ranges" which represent the level of care and services provided to wards in group home placement.
The current California RCL system was designed for a six-bed group home model, which cannot support the staffing structure and costs for school grounds, athletic facilities, food service, and transportation incurred by large group home programs. Boys Republic applied for and was approved for an RCL increase by CDSS under a proposed rate waiver pilot project, effective April 2, 2007 through April 1, 2010. The approved waiver authorized a group home rate increase from RCL 5 to RCL 10, which more closely approximates the level of care provided. Eight separate Performance Agreements were executed between Boys Republic and the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, and San Francisco. The multi-county project allowed the State to test the rate-adjusted approach in the eight participating counties using specific outcome measures approved by CDSS. Your Honorable Board approved the first Performance Agreement with Boys Republic on June 5, 2007, for Probation-supervised youth placed at their Chino-Pomona Program.
On October 11, 2009, the State Legislature approved Assembly Bill 488 (AB 488), which amended Welfare and Institutions (WIC) Code sections 18987.61 and 18987.62 to provide a mechanism to extend existing rate waiver programs by an additional three years pursuant to a request by a County and upon the submittal of a report to the California Director of Social Services (Director) detailing the results achieved during the initial rate waiver program period and analysis of the program applicability to a wider population. The Director then makes a determination whether or not to grant the requested rate waiver extension.
Upon receipt of the above mentioned requirements, the Director determined the Boys Republic Rate Waiver Program to be successful and granted the request for a rate waiver extension. Following this decision, Probation returned to your Board on March 30, 2010, requesting approval of a three-year extension to the Performance Agreement and ratification of the Chief Probation Officer’s signature on the Rate Waiver Extension Request. Your Board approved these recommended actions which allowed for an additional three-year term of the Performance Agreement, effective April 2, 2010 through April 1, 2013.
On September 27, 2012, the State Senate approved Senate Bill 1319 (SB 1319) which again amended WIC Sections 18987.61 and 18987.62 to allow for the Director to renew waivers in “increments of an additional three years.” The rationale for this action is that comprehensive Statewide group home reforms, incorporating the Boys Republic staffing model, have yet to be adopted, and that it did not make sense to cancel the proven benefits of the Boys Republic treatment model for Probation-placed wards. It is under this legislation that Probation is returning to your Board seeking approval for an additional three-year Performance Agreement effective April 2, 2013 through April 1, 2016, and authorization for the Chief Probation Officer or designee to execute the Orange County Probation Placement Waiver Extension Request (SB 1319) and endorsement of the outcomes presented in the Waiver Project Performance Outcome Update Report dated December 2011. In the event the Director does not approve the Rate Waiver Extension Request, the extension of the Performance Agreement will not come to pass.
If this Performance Agreement were not in place, the Probation-supervised wards housed at the Boys Republic Chino-Pomona Program under the Performance Agreement would otherwise be sent to an RCL 12 facility at the current cost of $8,309 per ward per month, which is $1,106 more per ward per month than the current RCL 10 rate of $7,203 per ward per month for the Chino-Pomona Program. Attending the Chino-Pomona Program results in a savings of $13,272 per ward for Fiscal Year (FY) 12/13. County costs are revenue offset to varying degrees depending on whether or not a case is eligible for Federal aid, as in most instances. If the case is eligible for Federal aid, the Federal share is 50%, the State share is 20% and the County share is 30% of allowable costs. For FY 11/12, the percentage of wards participating in this program that were eligible for Federal aid was 70%. If there is no Federal aid, the State share is 40% and the County share is 60% of allowable costs. The average RCL 10 population enrolled in the Chino-Pomona Program ranges from one to four wards monthly; however, it may occasionally go above or below this range. The high population range of four wards per month has been used to calculate the costs for this Performance Agreement.
CDSS Manual of Operations, Section 23-650.1.12 maintains that contracts may be negotiated without formal advertising if rates established by the State are to be used for payments, and CDSS notifies the county that formal advertising is not necessary for a particular program. That is the case with this program, as group homes are paid the State established rate when the foster child/youth is placed.
Boys Republic Chino-Pomona Program
Boys Republic operates a campus program at its Chino Hills and Pomona facilities; both facilities combined have a capacity of 153 beds. Boys Republic has created a successful "accountability" model of supervision and care that is linked to a comprehensive and integrated set of support services that can only be delivered under a more flexible rate-structured foster care model. The Boys Republic model emphasizes personal responsibility, attainment of educational goals, and acquirement of essential life and vocational skills. The overall goal of the Boys Republic project is to demonstrate that under a more flexible rate framework, Probation wards placed at Boys Republic can satisfy specific performance outcome measures related to community transition, educational achievement, and public safety.
Under the Performance Agreement with Boys Republic, Probation-supervised wards receive core services such as:
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Residential board and care |
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Testing and assessment of personal, family, educational, and vocational needs |
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Full-time education and tutoring in an accredited, on-grounds school |
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Recreational, athletic, and fitness activities |
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Religious services |
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Medical, dental, and nutritional care |
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Family, group, and individual counseling |
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Substance abuse prevention services |
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Psychological and psychiatric care |
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Participation in the youth self-government program which allows youth to run for office, elect representatives and become educated in the democratic process. |
Youth who successfully complete the program receive additional collateral services with pre-release and post-program reintegration assistance, such as:
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Pre-release planning |
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Employment search |
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Stipends for academic and vocational scholarships |
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Individual and vocational counseling |
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Housing and transitional living assistance |
Outcome Measures
Boys Republic is required to complete an eight-county final report highlighting all program activities, results achieved, and its potential applicability to a wider population. The statutory reporting mandates of the project require that all participating counties gather data for a 12-month post-program completion period, tracking recidivism and placement stability outcomes. The Boys Republic project is the first known effort in California to collect data on performance outcomes of Probation-placed wards at this level of detail.
The Agreement's performance outcome measures target six specific performance areas: program completion, education, community transition, youth satisfaction, recidivism, and placement stability. The report completed by Boys Republic includes data from eight participating counties, and produced the following results:
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Period |
Total of Referrals |
Program Completion |
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Education (High School Completion) for those completing program |
Initial Community Transition (living with family) after program completion |
Youth Satisfaction of those completing program |
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4/1/09- 3/30/10 |
303 |
176 (58%) |
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46 (26%) |
153 (87%) |
169 (96%) |
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4/1/10- 3/30/11 |
334 |
187 (56%) |
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47 (25%) |
161 (86%) |
185 (99%) |
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4/1/11- 9/1/11 (6 months) |
172 |
105 (61%) |
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23 (22%) |
93 (89%) |
103 (98%) |
Boys Republic has shown valued success in working with this difficult to handle population. The Program Completion outcomes are considered highly positive when taking into account the mandated open-campus environment in which wards are not forced to stay on the premises. Despite this factor, over half of the referred population remains and completes the program, recognizing its benefits and choosing to participate. The Education outcomes are also highly successful when taking into account that 100% of all wards in the program are enrolled in school or have completed their high school education at the time of program completion. The above outcomes reflect High School completion during program enrollment which is largely influenced by length of stay. The recent trend has shown shortened lengths of stay, determined by referring agencies, which can hinder the wards educational advancement and actual High School completion while participating in the Boys Republic program. The Community Transition outcomes reflect highly successful transitions back into the community and Youth Satisfaction is approaching 100%, based upon the survey all wards complete when they finish the program. These results collectively reflect the positive impact Boys Republic has on this delinquent population.
Recidivism and Placement Stability are based on data received from participating county Probation departments collected within one year of program completion:
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Period |
Recidivism (No youth or adult convictions) |
Placement Stability |
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4/1/08-3/31/09 (# of program completions:181) |
134 (74%) |
121 (67%) |
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4/01/09-3/31/10 |
127 (72%) |
118 (67%) |
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4/1/10-9/30/10 (6 months) |
73 (78%) |
71 (76%) |
Boys Republic conducted a 12-month post-completion follow up with 482 of 609 participants that completed the program between March 31, 2008 and September 30, 2010 to determine their success in Community Transition. Of these participants (average taken over 2.5 years): 83% of youth who completed the Boys Republic program were still living at home, 79% of youth had completed high school or were still attending school, and the percentage of youth employed ranged from 37% to 24%, declining in the later years and surmised to be due to the decline in the economy.
The proposed Performance Agreement with Boys Republic will allow the collection of additional data necessary for the State's evaluation of the applicability of this program to a wider population. Based upon the promising outcome measures to date and the need for additional outcome results information, the Probation Department recommends approval of the new, three-year Performance Agreement.
CEQA Compliance
This action is not a project within the meaning of CEQA Guidelines Section 15378 and is therefore exempt from CEQA since it will not result in any direct or indirect physical change in the environment.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The County's share of group home payments is funded from the Social Services Agency's budget as follows:
Federal aid eligible cases: FED: 50%, State: 20%, County GF: 30%.
Non Federal aid eligible cases: State: 40%, County GF: 60%
The Rate Classification Level (RCL) rates utilized to calculate the projected Agreement costs include a projected 2.97% annual increase based upon current State trend.
STAFFING IMPACT:
N/A
REVIEWING AGENCIES:
OC Public Works/Environmental Planning
Social Services Agency
EXHIBIT(S):
A. Boys Republic
Probation Placement Waiver Performance Outcome Update Report.
B. Redlined version of Attachment A
ATTACHMENT(S):
A. Performance
Agreement Between the County of Orange and Boys Republic for Children's
Services Program Development for Probation-Supervised Youth Placed at the Boys
Republic Chino-Pomona Program RCL 10.
B. Boys Republic Waiver Demonstration
Project Orange County Probation Placement Waiver Extension Request (SB1319).