National Capacity Building Center for Public Child Welfare Agencies
Added: Apr 24, 2014 5:57 pm
THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP). THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY. A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS WILL BE ISSUED VIA FEDBIZOPPS ON OR ABOUT May 6, 2014.The Program Support Center on behalf of The Children's Bureau (CB) in the Administration for Children and Families intends to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the services of a qualified Contractor to establish the National Capacity Building Center for Public Child Welfare Agencies (the Center). The Center will serve as a focal point for national child welfare expertise and evidence-informed training and technical assistance services for State and Territorial public child welfare agencies, including those participating in title IV-E waiver demonstration projects.The Center will provide nationally-informed, expert consultation to the federal government and deliver a comprehensive array of "training and technical assistance" services designed to build the capacities of State and Territorial child welfare agencies to meet federal requirements, to participate in federal monitoring and related program improvement planning activities, to implement national child welfare policies and programs, to improve practice and service delivery, and to achieve safety, permanency, and well-being outcomes for children, youth, and families. States and Territories will rely on the Center for expert-level subject matter expertise in child maltreatment and the full continuum of child welfare practices; extensive knowledge of practice and administration in State public child welfare agencies across the country; and an in-depth understanding of federal laws, funding, monitoring and requirements related to child welfare, including the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) process.With this Center, CB will consolidate and centralize services previously provided by twelve national and regional child welfare training and technical assistance centers, and it will add a new service delivery component for title IV-E waiver demonstrations projects. The Center will subscribe to a single, coherent model of service provision based on its knowledge of research-informed frameworks and models for capacity building as well as evidence-based approaches to training, consultation, adult education, and distance learning. The Center must be capable of simultaneously executing national dissemination strategies, designing and delivering multiple comprehensive learning programs, providing individualized consultation to more than 52 jurisdictions, and conducting up to 35 intensive capacity building projects to support program improvement and title IV-E waiver demonstration implementation. The Contractor must also be prepared to be immediately responsive (within the first three months of the contract) to the complex needs of the eight States that will participate in the third round of the Child and Family Services Review.The Center will employ innovative and proven strategies to:• Collect, organize, synthesize, and manage large volumes of resources and literature; distill complex information into key ideas and concepts; and make information easily accessible to child welfare professionals for the purpose of program improvement and systems change;• Design and produce high quality, Section 508 compliant publications, curricula, tools, and innovative resources based on strategic goals and plans for national dissemination;• Design and deliver state-of-the-art, self-directed and group-based learning experiences, that use web-based e-learning platforms and components such as audio recordings, videos, automated training modules, interactive applications and/or instructional games to engage participants and achieve measurable gains in participant knowledge and skills;• Deliver credible, expert-level training and coaching on child welfare topics and practice issues to groups of senior child welfare professionals in management and leadership positions to build their knowledge, skills, and peer networking;• Synthesize information from a variety of sources, including but not limited to the Child and Family Services Plan and/or Annual Progress and Services Report, Child and Family Services Review-related documents and reports, materials related to other Federal reviews, CB-generated data profiles, title IV-E waiver demonstration plans and related materials, formula grant plans, discretionary grant work plans and reports, CBCAP applications, Court Improvement Program plans and other sources to systematically assess the needs of public child welfare agencies in up to 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico;• Develop assessment-driven, State-specific technical assistance work plans with clear outcomes and rationales for service delivery, and deliver individualized training, coaching, and consultation to every State, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico;• Deliver training, coaching, and expert consultation necessary to help jurisdictions prepare for and complete Round 3 of the CFSR process• Deliver training, coaching, and expert consultation to help jurisdictions implement title IV-E waiver demonstrations• Engage up to 35 public child welfare agencies concurrently, in intensive capacity building projects that each requires full-time effort to support building organization readiness, selecting and developing interventions, implementing changes, assessing progress and performance, and sustaining changes.Anticipated Period of Performance:The anticipated Period of Performance (PoP) will be from September 2014 through August 2019 with one base year and four (4) one year option periods.The RFP (14-233-SOL-00240) will be made available on or about May 6, 2014. The RFP may be accessed electronically only via the FedBizOpps website (http://www.fbo.gov). Offerors are responsible for routinely checking the FedBizOpps website for any possible solicitation amendments that may be issued.
14-233-SOL-00340 Department of Health and Human Services Program Support Center
4/24/14, 5:57 PM