COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Human Services Agency

DATE:

January 25, 2006

BOARD MEETING DATE:

February 7, 2006

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Glen H. Brooks Jr., Interim Director, Human Services Agency

Mark Lane, Director, Children and Family Services

SUBJECT:

Differential Response Agreements with the City of Daly City and the City of Redwood City

RECOMMENDATION:

Adopt a Resolution:

1. Authorizing the execution of an Agreement with the City of Daly City in the amount of $995,210, and an Agreement with the City of Redwood City in the amount of $907,537 for the provision of Differential Response services. The term of the Agreements is January 1, 2006 through June 30, 2008; and

2. Waiving the Request for Proposal (RFP) process.

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitment: : Ensure basic health and safety for all.

Goal (6): Children grow up healthy in safe and supportive homes and neighborhoods. These Agreements support this goal by providing prevention and early intervention services to families in San Mateo County.

Performance Measure(s):

Measure

FY 2005-06

Estimate

FY 2006-07

Projected

FY 2007-08

Projected

Percent of referrals of families with completed service plans and/or referral services.

N/A. Baseline data being collected beginning FY 2005-06

50%

60%

Percent of families who demonstrate an increase in family functioning as indicated by an increase in Family Assessment Screening Tool (FAST) scores.

N/A. Baseline data being collected beginning FY 2005-06

70%

75%

BACKGROUND:

In 2004, San Mateo County developed a System Improvement Plan (SIP) with the following priority areas: “One” - Safety and Service Array: First and foremost, protect children from abuse and neglect; “Two” - Permanence and Stability: Reduce re-entry into foster care; and “Three” - Stability: Preserve family relationships as appropriate.

Part of Priority Area “One” is the implementation of Differential Response (DR). DR is a three-tiered response to allegations of child abuse. Depending on the level of risk, cases will be referred to the community, the social worker or both. With support from the community, families will be able to access preventive and support services.

On March 28, 2005, DR was successfully implemented in two pilot areas as Phase One – Redwood City zip code area 94063 and Daly City zip code area 94014.

DISCUSSION:.

The Human Services Agency (HSA) would like to enter into Agreements with the City of Daly City and the City of Redwood City as fiscal agent for Redwood City 2020, to expand DR services to their entire zip code areas. These Contractors are the two providers who participated in Phase One and have DR knowledge and experience. This expansion will help more families who are in need of preventive and supportive services and will help prevent their involvement with the Child Welfare System in the future. These services will also reduce the number of multiple referrals for individual families.

The RFP waiver is being requested based on the Contractors’ participation in the pilot program. The City Councils of the City of Daly City and the City of Redwood City will meet on January 23, 2006 and will review and approve the Agreements at that time. These Agreements were delayed due to extended negotiations on program and contract deliverables. These Agreements have been reviewed and approved as to form by County Counsel. Risk Management has reviewed and approved the Contractors’ insurance coverage.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The term of these Agreements is January 1, 2006 through June 30, 2008 and involves an expenditure of $196,801 in FY 2005-06, $390,378 in FY 2006-07 and $408,031 in FY 2007-08, for Daly City for a total expenditure of $995,210, and involves expenditures of $190,705 in FY 2005-06, $352,392 in FY 2006-07 and $364,440 in FY 2007-08, for Redwood City, for a total expenditure of $907,537.

As negotiations with the contractor had not yet been finalized at the time the Agency's FY 2005-06 budget was adopted, the $196,801 for the City of Daly City and $190,705 for the City of Redwood City for the period January 1, 2006 to June 30, 2006 were not appropriated in the Agency's FY 2005-06 Adopted Budget. A separate Appropriation Transfer Request (ATR) will be submitted shortly for Board authorization to increase the Agency's appropriations to the extent necessary to fully fund Differential Response for FY 2005-06.

The FY 2005-06 expenditures will be fully funded with state revenue available for use for Differential Response. Appropriations and full funding from federal and state revenue is anticipated for FY 2006-07 and FY 2007-08 will be included as part of the budget process for those respective fiscal years. There will be no Net County Cost associated with the approval of this Agreement.