2-Attachment 3A_MethodOfApproach.pdf

Offer Forms Request for Proposal Solicitation

No. BPM006769 Parenting Time

Services

State of Arizona

Department of Child Safety

Office of Procurement & Contracts

3003 N. Central Avenue, 20th Floor

Phoenix, AZ 85012

Attachment 3-A Method of Approach

The offeror is cautioned that it is the offeror's sole responsibility to submit information related to the evaluation categories and that the State of Arizona is under no obligation to solicit such information if it is not included with the offeror's proposal. Failure of the offeror to submit such information may cause an adverse impact on the evaluation of the Offeror's proposal. It is strongly discouraged for you to copy the Scope of Work in lieu of providing unique responses below.

OFFER MAY BE DETERMINED AS NON-RESPONSIVE IF ALL QUESTIONS ARE NOT ANSWERED

FULLY.

Question 1: Describe the steps that you will take to ensure you are meeting the staffing requirements and maintaining staff capacity. Include how you plan to ensure ongoing responsiveness to the requirements of the

Contract and to the needs of the State in case of staff turnover for designated Key Personnel.

▪ Include staff turnover rate for the last year;

▪ Detail Entity’s recruitment process including average time to hire staff, and efforts to recruit and maintain staff.

Offeror Response:

As all may know, staffing is the most important component of social service delivery. EverGrow has never struggled with talent acquisition or placement within the Supervised Visitation or Parenting Time service provision. EverGrow continues to grow and evolve its current well qualified candidate and employee pool within this department year over year. EverGrow has an entire department of Human Resource personnel, Hiring Manager, Recruiter, and administrative support team devoted to ensuring quality staff meet the requirements as outlined within the SOW. These are full-time, nonproduction employees that EverGrow invests in that produce a variety of positive outcomes for the Department. Some of these outcomes include having the ability to reallocate staff members where necessary to meet the needs of the Department when waitlists grow as

EverGrow employs staff members that are diverse and can be versatile among multiple contracts. This department is devoted to ensuring employee files are impeccably kept, ready for audit at any time, and up to date as outlined in the SOW. The investment in EverGrow’s staffing and development department is key to

EverGrow’s functionality. EverGrow utilizes proven methods of recruitment and corporate industrial organizational psychology to ensure high levels of retention, motivation and employee development. EverGrow will continue to utilize these methods and support its staff during the transition into Parenting Time services.

EverGrow is extremely proud of its long-term employees and team members. While EverGrow is always looking to strengthen and grow its team for the benefit of its clients and contractual partners, EverGrow is not solely focused on bringing in new employees but keeping the ones they already have. EverGrow has been asked by

AZDCS contract managers and higher-ups on more than one occasion, “how do you do it?” The answer is simple yet complex, it is our culture. EverGrow hopes that those reviewing this proposal can gain a glimmer into the strong team camaraderie and relationships that are held within this organization. EverGrow shares birthdays, marriages, births of team member’s children, graduations, and even funerals together. The heart of

EverGrow is support and above all else, the belief that when one person rises, we all rise.

Turnover:

No. BPM006769 Parenting Time

Services

State of Arizona

Department of Child Safety

Office of Procurement & Contracts

Since 2016 EverGrow can honestly say that only six management level key personnel have left their positions.

One supervisor unfortunately passed away in 2019, which brought the team even closer together and strengthened EverGrow’s resolve. Another was forced to leave temporarily in 2020 along with a long-time director in 2023 in order to receive lifesaving cancer treatment. The complex portion of the simple answer of how EverGrow does it, is the genuinely indescribable bond and synergy EverGrow’s team has been blessed with.

EverGrow is an organization yet, called EverGrow Family Services rightfully so.

The field team of individuals who will be providing Parenting Time services have a retention rate for the last year of 82%. EverGrow’s field personnel turnover rate is less than 20% in the last year ranging from July 2022

– July 2023. With 21 key personnel positions and only 2 individuals in key personnel positions having left

EverGrow in the last year, this provides the official key personnel turnover rate for EverGrow in the last year at

9.5% and a 90.5% retention rate of key personnel. This team of individuals exceeds the minimum requirements for qualified staff members as outlined in the scope of work. Each team member who will be working this contract at the onset of contract award will also have a minimum of six months employment with EverGrow.

While EverGrow prides itself on its team and strong long-term working relationships, there are always instances in which individuals must leave that are outside of the control of EverGrow. EverGrow plans on these instances and utilizes the expertise of Paul Harrison and EverGrow’s Human Resource Department to ensure a constant flow of qualified personnel that are able to effectively backfill any employment openings. EverGrow has two training groups that last five days per month that vary in size depending on what the needs are of the

Department and EverGrow clientele. Should the waiting list grow, EverGrow increases the openings to meet the need. Should the waiting list decrease or reach a plateau, EverGrow is able to fill staff workloads by diversification of workload. Thus, EverGrow has never been forced to postpone services due to staffing issues nor hand back cases to the Department once requested. A part of this success is a result of effective coordination and request of case openings utilizing EverGrow’s formula for operation.

Subsequently, EverGrow has been known not only for providing quality services as evidenced by positive results on quarterly reports and site visits but is also well known for assisting the Department in minimizing and even clearing waiting lists for services successfully.

Time to Hire:

Current Employees:

EverGrow has 65 Case Aides and all necessary Parenting Time management and support personnel necessary for immediate launch of the Parenting Time contract at go-live date who are currently working the SVO contract. EverGrow has planned accordingly to commit to a contracted capacity for Parenting Time as stated in

Attachment 4 – Statewide Coverage, that can be accepted upon contract award and transition as SVO cases close out. This capacity will be able to continue to be maintained and expanded upon as EverGrow has demonstrated to do so for the Department in all contracts awarded to EverGrow by AZDCS in the past to meet the Departments need for service administration.

EverGrow’s current qualified staff have already been processed through Central Registry, verified and awaiting contract award to begin next steps.

No. BPM006769 Parenting Time

Services

State of Arizona

Department of Child Safety

Office of Procurement & Contracts

New Employees:

EverGrow has proven to have a successful staffing and onboarding process. EverGrow understands that in order to assist the Department with the waiting list for services, staffing up is often requested and EverGrow has never had issues in answering this call to action.

The average time to hire new employees is between 3 and 16 days depending on whether the candidate is currently within EverGrow’s candidate pool and whether they must put in a two-week notice at their current place of employment.

On average, EverGrow performs one training cycle per contract per month that varies in size dependent upon the waiting list needs. This allows for onboarded employees to provide a two week notice to previous employers, pass necessary background checks and verifications, and complete training requirements before servicing clientele. With this continued process, EverGrow can confidently commit to maintaining its current staffing support for the Department and its families.

In the event that unanticipated fall off as a result of candidate barriers, EverGrow has considered this potential variable for onboarding new employees and has limited its contracted capacity in such a way that EverGrow possesses more qualified employees than the potential for staff falloff. Additionally, EverGrow does not max out caseloads so that its assets can be reallocated as necessary to ensure no family has a disruption in service administration. EverGrow is interested in working collaboratively with the Department’s Training Department to ensure there is a seamless balance between EverGrow’s ability to onboard as necessary and also meet the necessary training requirements as outlined in the SOW.

How EverGrow Hires and Fills its Positions

New Employees

When a job opening becomes available EverGrow will take the following steps in order to ensure timely, yet qualified individuals are placed into the appropriate positions:

• First, EverGrow creates a job board on several employment and hiring related sites. The job description is tailored to fit the current position opening to begin the application process for applicants. The job board has limiting criteria in which will filter the applicants as they submit their applications in order to streamline the volume of qualified candidates. The limiting criteria is made utilizing the SOW employee requirements to ensure all candidates meet the employment requirements within the Scope. EverGrow also utilizes external recruiting tactics as necessary in order to locate resumes of candidates that qualify but may not have applied on the job board as of yet.

• Second, EverGrow’s recruiting and hiring management team reviews applicants’ resumes to determine whether the applicant fits not only the criteria for the position within the SOW but also the needs of

EverGrow and its team. Once candidate applications are reviewed and narrowed, the selected candidates are contacted for the next step.

• The next step is an initial prescreen performed by a member of EverGrow’s hiring team to determine the limiting criteria within the job board are true and verifiable. For example, should a candidate indicate on their application that they have never had a license revocation, the prescreen will reiterate the qualifications of the position and disqualifying variables to award the candidate the opportunity to recant their application if necessary. Additionally, the prescreen allows the hiring team to obtain an

No. BPM006769 Parenting Time

Services

State of Arizona

Department of Child Safety

Office of Procurement & Contracts idea of the candidate’s understanding of the position, their level of interest, experience and education.

At this time, should the candidate meet all necessary criteria EverGrow is seeking they proceed to the next step.

• After prescreen is successfully completed, the applicant is scheduled for an in person interview with the Hiring Manager for that department. The applicant is asked to bring all necessary documentation confirming their qualifications including all certificates, fingerprint clearance card, forms of ID, license, MVD record, diplomas of education, etc. Upon arrival for the in person interview the candidate must complete initial application paperwork necessary in the office including consent to run a background check and CRCF paperwork. After all necessary paperwork has been completed and copies of necessary documentation to support qualifications have been made, the candidate is clear to meet with the Hiring Manager. Should the candidate not be able to produce all necessary materials, the candidate will be asked to obtain these items to ensure qualification of the position and be asked to return at a later date.

• Once the candidate is in front of the Hiring Manager for the interview, the Hiring Manager utilizes industrial organizational and proven recruiting strategies to dive deeper into the candidate’s experience, fit for the position, fit within EverGrow’s culture and business structure. While utilizing these unique and custom strategies within the interview, EverGrow is able to gain knowledge of the candidate and transferrable experience and skills that the candidate may qualify in addition to the position in which they applied. EverGrow is constantly seeking candidates that have the ability and willingness to be versatile within the organization and be adaptable such is necessary in social service environments.

• After the in-person interview of the candidate is completed, the candidate is sent home while the hiring team meets with executive personnel to discuss the applicant and whether they are a good fit to be offered the position. All candidate barriers, potential red flags, and positive attributes are discussed in great detail.

• Should the candidate successfully be selected for hire, the candidate is offered a formal job offer within

24 hours of in person interview. The offer requests that the candidate both verbally and in writing accept the terms of their job offer, start date, their training schedule and details.

• As the candidate came prepared with all necessary pre-hire documentation and completed the CRCF, the CRCF is immediately submitted to the Central Registry Department within AZDCS to be processed.

These typically come back positive within 10 business days which is ready in time for their start date.

• EverGrow’s Human Resource Manager then takes over communication and coordination of the new hire’s employee packet ensuring all documentation is completed in its entirety and personnel file is created. This is also uploaded electronically for AZDCS compliance personnel.

• The HR Manager completes all onboarding documents with the employee prior to the new hire’s start date including all Federal and State mandated employee checks and paperwork. The HR Manager ensures during this time the new hire is administered the necessary drug test.

• Once the new hire has completed all necessary paperwork and is ready for their start date, the SOW and training regimen for the position as outlined in the SOW begins. The new hire is registered for

TraCorp trainings and all necessary trainings consistent with the offered position.

Promotions

• EverGrow has the unique ability to provide growth opportunity for its current employees for multiple reasons. First, EverGrow begins its process of promotion worthy employees at the first step of the onboarding process. EverGrow does not hire candidates who do not qualify for other positions within its organization to ensure EverGrow has the ability to pull from individuals who have the desire to

No. BPM006769 Parenting Time

Services

State of Arizona

Department of Child Safety

Office of Procurement & Contracts provide assistance where necessary to meet the needs of the Department. Second, because EverGrow has such a large team, EverGrow is able to reallocate resources much easier than others may have the ability to do so.

• Once a position within EverGrow becomes available either due to a departure or due to the

Department having a waiting list that must be serviced, EverGrow runs internal performance evaluations to see if an employee is better suited for a different department based on their talent.

• Once an internal performance review be completed and promotional candidates be identified, the employee is internally interviewed by the new department’s Director and Hiring Manager.

• Should the employee be deemed a good fit for the position and is offered the promotion, the transition period takes 10-14 days as stated and outlined above in “Time to Hire.”

EverGrow is able to continue to meet and maintain staffing and client capacity by utilizing the hiring and promotion strategies outlined above. EverGrow has never in its history of being an AZDCS Supervised

Visitation provider partner failed to meet its contracted capacity for any reason, including staffing even in the wake of COVID-19. EverGrow will continue to invest the funds, time, manpower and resources to ensure that staff are adequately sourced, trained, supervised and retained to ensure the needs of the families serviced and

AZDCS waiting list needs are met.

Maintaining Employees

EverGrow is able to ensure a strong employee retention rate due to the above-mentioned culture, colleague support system, growth orientation, and livable compensation that ensures EverGrow employees can care for their own families while also caring for Arizona families. The majority of EverGrow employees are also parents themselves which aids in the successful service provision of Parenting Time. While lived experience is not necessary, it is an added benefit to quality service delivery. This however, requires that employees have the ability to provide childcare for their own families while Parenting Time is rendered to families outside of school hours to accommodate AZDCS child schedules which typically falls on evenings and weekends. Additionally, EverGrow provides benefits for flexible PTO and sick leave policies, health insurance, dental, retirement, salary benefits, provided technology, reimbursements, and ongoing continued education in order to ensure employees are set up for long-term success. While disciplinary action is sometimes warranted, EverGrow utilizes coaching centered approaches to employment improvement plans, recognizing that staff development is in the best interest of all parties. EverGrow utilizes a Learning Management System (LMS) in which all trainings are stored and additional trainings are added. These training modules are interactive and able to be tracked in regard to successful understanding and practice. This has aided in ongoing retention as well. Additionally, EverGrow schedules team building activities within departments and companywide, quality assurance surveys for the field to complete for management and the company as a whole, and committees for projects and events are formed throughout the year. The employees are given surveys and polls to identify topics they wish to learn more about, events they want to engage in, and guest speakers they wish to hear. Group involvement is important to

EverGrow and its overall ability to engage in teamwork. Supporting one another has been key to EverGrow’s retention.

Question 2: Provide a written narrative response that demonstrates the method or manner in which the offeror proposes to satisfy the requirements of the

Scope of Work. The language of the narrative should be straightforward and limited to facts, solutions to problems, and plans of proposed action.

The response shall at a minimum describe and provide a response for each of the following bullet points listed below:

No. BPM006769 Parenting Time

Services

State of Arizona

Department of Child Safety

Office of Procurement & Contracts

▪ What are your processes to document visits, track case progress and manage referrals?

▪ How will you ensure accurate and timely communication and collaboration with the ADCS and/or other involved parties for visit schedules, progress and concerns?

Offeror Response:

A.) EverGrow’s process to ensure timely services within alignment of the scope of work, and effective documentation and case progress management are as follows:

Referral Assignment

At the onset of referral assignment to EverGrow from AZDCS via Guardian, EverGrow’s referral coordination team is required to gather all necessary demographic information that will later be used for coordination, data collation, and effective case assignment. This is required to take place within the same business day of the assignment to EverGrow per EverGrow policy. This allows for the Case Aide to review necessary information and begin making contact within 24 hours of EverGrow receiving the case. Directors of service and direct supervisors are CC’d on case assignments as well as the administrative team who then que the family in a project management pipeline for status follow up that follows a 72-hour rule. The 72-hour rule indicates that multiple checkpoints for contact, in-person contact attempts, and case manager updates would be performed at each 24-hour increment over the course of at least 72 hours.

Initial Outreach

At the time of Case Aide assignment, the Case Aide will be notified by the assignment and begin the initial outreach procedures which include introduction to the DCS Case Manager and Unit Supervisor, the placement/s and the individual receiving visitation. EverGrow policy is in support of the SOW in contact needing to be made to all necessary individuals within 24 hours of case assignment. Should it be the Case Aide’s regularly scheduled day off, the direct supervisor, directors, and referral team take over contact attempts in order to remain in compliance. Once initial contact attempts are made the

Case Aide or assisting individual makes and updated notification within the task management process to indicate the task has been completed. Should management and referral team not witness such update, the Case Aide is contacted for an update and management is able to step in to assist as well.

This ensures the metric is able to be accomplished.

Conduct first visitation within five (5) business days or receipt of referral

EverGrow makes all due diligent efforts to have the first visitation within the first five (5) business days of the referral being received by EverGrow from the Department. Coordination and communication take a front seat and expeditious coordination efforts are made. Solving barriers to communication and coordination becomes top priority and EverGrow follows the identified escalation procedures established by AZDCS. First, a call is made to the CM and a voicemail is left should they not answer, then this is followed up in writing via email with all supervisors and the EverGrow referral unit CC’d.

Second, this process is followed again should EverGrow be unable to establish a successful visitation schedule within 24 hours as well as the DCS Unit Supervisor receiving a call as well. Should this not result in successful outcome, the process is followed again in another 24 hours with escalation leading to the DCS Program Manager. Should this too not result in a successful outcome, the DCS Statewide

Coordinator is involved in order to assist EverGrow in obtaining necessary information for coordination of the first visitation. While efforts are being made to involve DCS in successful coordination efforts with the family, EverGrow Case Aides are going to the home and contacting the family via any contact information that has been made available to EverGrow. Letters are posted and

No. BPM006769 Parenting Time

Services

State of Arizona

Department of Child Safety

Office of Procurement & Contracts sent in the mail as well as online research is conducted to identify additional means in which the family may be contacted. Should cancellation of a scheduled initial visitation be attempted, EverGrow has a

“Problem / Solution Game” policy in which Case Aides are required to provide a potential solution for every cancellation barrier until it is demanded by the cancelling party that visitation will not take place.

Before concluding a cancellation discussion, the Case Aide is required to identify a potential makeup visitation time within the next 24-48 hours in which the ongoing Case Aide or another EverGrow team member may render the makeup visitation. Then, and only then, should the Case Aide notify their direct supervisor that a cancellation has been made. There are instances in which families may need to cancel or successful contact has not been established even after these attempts which result in visitation not taking place within the first five (5) business days. However, the majority of instances result in the successful and timely completion of this performance measure.

Documentation upload into Guardian

EverGrow requires that Case Aides provide a completed visitation summary to a centralized visitation document inbox within 24 hours of the completion of a visitation. This ensures that the administrative team members are able to review the report for quality completion, provide any necessary feedback, and upload the document into Guardian. 24-hour completion tracking is made possible by the centralized calendar made viewable by all management and referral coordination personnel and is followed up on regarding completion the day following the anticipated visitation. Visitation summaries that are not received within the necessary timeframe are completed during individual supervision time as necessary and carved out administrative time is scheduled for the Case Aide as necessary in order to obtain the report. Visitation summaries are able to be uploaded into Guardian in a timely manner as

EverGrow has 7-day per week administrative personnel that work on review of visitation summary documentation and submission. There is always an administrative team member each day following up on necessary documentation in order to meet this metric. Should there be an instance in which a Case

Aide needs assistance in the completion of a report, EverGrow will even provide coverage for visitation in order to free up time for the Case Aide or dictate the report on behalf of the Case Aide for assistance.

Any form of reasonable accommodation and teamwork necessary to achieve this metric is utilized. In regard to discharges, these are uploaded in real time of the service discharge encounter by the referral department and logged within the quarterly report. This allows for the official discharge to be uploaded on the same date of discharge.

Referral Extension Requests

This metric of requesting referral extensions has historically been an easy one for EverGrow to achieve.

EverGrow has a policy in which the referral department sends out a notification of pending expiration for all services the first week preceding the month in which a service approval is set to expire. For example, should a service approval be scheduled to expire on August 29th, EverGrow’s referral team sends out the notification to the AZDCS CM and Unit Supervisor by the first week of July, between the

1st and the 5th. This method ensures that no matter when a service approval is set to expire, the CM will receive a minimum of a 30-day notice however, many instances provide an additional courtesy reminder as another reminder is sent the first week of the expiring month as well, and a third one the week of the expiration. Additionally, the assigned Case Aide also provides a reminder at the 30th day preceding the expiration as well to the caregivers and the participants.

Invoicing and Quarterly Reports

The field team members are required to provide all supporting documentation to the administrative team for documentation within 24 hours of the visitation taking place as well as additional supporting documentation on the 15th and last day of each month. This allows for ongoing data collection, logging

No. BPM006769 Parenting Time

Services

State of Arizona

Department of Child Safety

Office of Procurement & Contracts and monitoring throughout the month. Additionally, this allows for the administrative personnel to submit quality reports and invoicing early for verification and no later than on time in the event modifications are needed to be made.

Incident Reports: When an incident has occurred during service provision, EverGrow policy outlines the requirement for the Case Aide to notify a supervisor, director, or executive personnel of the incident immediately. This prompts the management team to provide real-time directives as well as begin the process of putting together the IR for timely submission. An interview is conducted with the management team member and the Case Aide so the IR may be completed accurately and fully.

Then, the IR is submitted to appropriate top leadership to review and provide additional directive as needed then to be forwarded to the contracts department and all necessary individuals. This process is speedy and given top priority over all tasks as necessary.

B) EverGrow requires that all Case Aides, referral coordination team members, and management individuals who have any contact with families keep a communication log of all contact and coordination attempts. This information should be logged within the visitation summary log as necessary and always placed in writing. When coordination follow up is conducted via prompting from the task management guidelines, this documentation is reviewed. Should any areas be identified for additional communication with any party, including AZDCS the communication is completed with management and the referral team in real time. This allows for the task to be completed and expectations to be mirrored in front of the Case Aide for professional development. The Case aide is routinely coached through their task management guidelines and receives notifications and prompts as necessary. Additionally, all placements and participants are provided a survey and communication link that allows for expedited one-on-one communication to occur outside of that associated with the Case

Aide for added integrity and oversight. All EverGrow employees are provided an Iphone that has unlimited data and service which is also able to be monitored for all forms of communication for added verification and prompting for management involvement as needed. EverGrow encourages team members to follow all available expectations and utilize all available resources for successful communication and coordination, however, management is ever vigilant in stepping in when necessary.

Question 3: Describe your process for communication with the State specific to contract administration, including but not limited to, personnel changes, updated agency information, VPR related issues and general communications. Identify any key roles or points of contact.

Offeror Response:

EverGrow Child Advocates has historically proven to maintain an open line of communication with the

Department when contract related items are needed to be relayed. For example, when key personnel changes and turnover is present, AZDCS statewide coordinators are notified via email with an updated directory and all necessary paperwork is filed when agency information has been updated, such as address changes, is updated in order to avoid any payment delays or other barriers. Vendor Performance Reports are typically communicated with EverGrow via the AZDCS statewide coordinator or directly from the AZDCS procurement officer. An investigation is then conducted within EverGrow by EverGrow’s management and human resource team. The identified statements of necessary individuals and all supporting documentation is provided directly to both the AZDCS Statewide Coordinator and the AZDCS Procurement Officer for review. EverGrow requests any areas of feedback for improvement and identified improvement measures are disseminated to the team for continued education and professional development opportunities. When it is identified that a potential VPR could result from a known mistake made on behalf of EverGrow staff, EverGrow has proven to practice integrity

No. BPM006769 Parenting Time

Services

State of Arizona

Department of Child Safety

Office of Procurement & Contracts and ethical behavior in contacting the statewide coordinator themselves of the possible complaint and provide actions taken thus far to rectify the known issue. This proves to be beneficial for all involved and has allowed

EverGrow to demonstrate its value system.

Key personnel for communication dissemination related to contract information should be sent to:

Candace Harrison; candace.harrison@evergrowadvocates.com; 602-503-5428

Paul Harrison; paul.harrison@ evergrowadvocates.com; 602-410-6168

Bernadette Romero; Bernadette.romero@ evergrowadvocates.com ; 602-459-3462

Brittany Romero; Brittany.romero@evergrowadvocates.com ; 602-326-8881

Case Assignments should be sent to: referrals@evergrowadvocates.com

EverGrow follows the provided AZDCS escalation of general communication process when communicating to the Department when rendering services.

Step 1: Call and leave a voicemail with the AZDCS Case Manager then, follow the voicemail up in writing in the central email chain that has the CM, CM Unit Supervisor, CA Supervisor, CA Regional

Director, and an FYI inbox that all EverGrow management and administrative personnel have access to, are CC’d. This central email chain is first created at the time of initial case assignment to the ongoing CA at the time of introduction and is utilized for all communication with the CA and the

Department throughout the case. This ensures the minimization of email correspondence chains and streamlined record keeping.

Step 2: Should the CA not receive a call or email response from the CM within twenty-four (24) hours of the initial voicemail and email, the CA is to call the CM again. Should the CM not answer, the CA leaves a voicemail then calls the Unit Supervisor. Regardless of whether the Unit Supervisor answers the call, the CA will send an email follow-up to the central email chain to ensure all parties are on the same page or, recaps the need for a CM or Unit Supervisor response. This would be day two (2) of

EverGrow’s seventy-two (72) hour rule.

Step 3: Should the CA not receive a call or email response from the CM or Unit Supervisor within another twenty-four (24) hours, the CA is to call both the CM and Unit Supervisor again on day three

(3), leave additional voicemails as necessary then, call the Program Manager. Same as the previous day, the CA is to follow up the voicemails or conversation with the Program Manager in writing via the central email chain.

Step 4: Should the CA not receive a response from the Department for another twenty-four (24) hours, which would take the communication efforts past seventy-two (72) hours, or three (3) days, the CA is to work with the supervisor to involve the AZDCS Statewide Coordinator of the program which will allow for the escalation of a needed response. EverGrow finds that steps one through three typically receive the needed response and does not typically rise the necessity to resort to step four.

In general, communication between EverGrow and all necessary individuals such as placements, participants, or other necessary personnel are performed via phone, in person, or email. EverGrow utilizes text messaging, Zoom, Teams, Google Meets, and Webex as well as needed. Additionally, EverGrow has a central social media account that can utilize messenger as needed to communicate with necessary parties that does not cross the boundaries of utilizing personnel’s personal social media accounts. EverGrow has found that this meets individuals where they are at and meets their communication needs in the digital world in instances in which they are at the mercy of technology disadvantages or experiencing homelessness. EverGrow makes it mailto:Bernadette.romero@pinnaclehelps.com mailto:Brittany.romero@evergrowadvocates.com mailto:referrals@evergrowadvocates.com

No. BPM006769 Parenting Time

Services

State of Arizona

Department of Child Safety

Office of Procurement & Contracts mandatory to drop off attempt to establish contact letters to individual’s homes before claiming that contact is unable to be made. At the time of drop off, the team member is required to take a picture of the letter and location of it’s posting, attach it to the central email chain, and provide information regarding the drop off and results. Ultimately, EverGrow does anything and everything possible to ensure general communication is able to be had with all parties. This includes but is not limited to:

• All examples of general communication efforts listed above.

• EverGrow website: EverGrowadvocates.com in which communication is sent directly to management.

• General office phone line.

• General social media accounts that accept communication.

• Multiple management avenues.

• Quality Assurance Satisfaction Survey Links.

• Quality Assurance Pop-by’s.

• Quality Assurance Calls.

General communication between EverGrow Referrals Department and AZDCS Referrals Units are had via email on most occasions and via phone call which is then followed up in email as needed.

General communication between EverGrow Invoicing Department and AZDCS Payment Processing Unit is had via email on most occasions and via phone call which is then followed up in email as needed.

Question 4: Provide a detailed response for each of the following bullet points listed below:

• How does your agency ensure service delivery practices are in line with service design and best practice? Describe any internal monitoring, quality assurance processes, or staff oversight used to maintain quality across all referrals.

• Agency's process for ensuring annual training and continued education are met? What considerations does your agency take when identifying opportunities for staff knowledge enhancement?

• What strategies does your agency use to promote positive parent-child interactions, include strategies to de-escalate challenging situations?

• Explain your approach to ensure safety during transportation, including process for vetting vehicles and mitigating potential risk.

Offeror Response:

How does your agency ensure service delivery practices are in line with service design and best practice? Describe any internal monitoring, quality assurance processes, or staff oversight used to maintain quality across all referrals.

Supervision is built into EverGrow’s contract oversight by way of compliance measures and the understanding that fidelity to the scope of work is mandatory. Thus, EverGrow spends a great deal of resources, time and investment on non-production personnel to ensure that services are

No. BPM006769 Parenting Time

Services

State of Arizona

Department of Child Safety

Office of Procurement & Contracts delivered as intended within the service design. Listed below are many instances in which each step of the coordination and service execution journey crosses paths with a checkpoint verification. For example, the referral coordination team has a checkpoint with the invoicing support team:

- EverGrow’s Referral Unit logs the initial case assignment within EverGrow’s case tracking form.

- The referral team then adds the new case assignment to the AZDCS Quarterly Report form with all initial case assignment information.

- The referral team then assigns the case to the ongoing Case Aide (CA) which in turn notifies the CA, the CA Supervisor, CA Regional Director, and administrative / invoicing personnel of the case assignment.

- The invoicing / administrative support team is triggered by this action within the task management flow with “To Dos” to obtain follow up on initial contact being made within twenty-four (24) hours to all necessary parties, a first visitation taking place within five (5) business days, and documentation of visitation being submitted to the administrative team within twenty-four (24) hours of a completed visitation for review and Guardian upload., who has a checkpoint with the administrative support team:

- The invoicing specialists work directly with the administrative support personnel to ensure that necessary hard copy and electronic copies of records are created and maintained within the client file after notification of case assignment.

- The invoicing specialists hold end of month meetings with all field staff in order to collect wet copy pages which are reviewed, copied for invoicing, and given to the administrative support personnel for filing and scanned record keeping in the event of subpoena. This process ensures compliance with contract fidelity to maintain records and documentation for the allotted period of time within the SOW., who has a checkpoint with the director of services team:

- The Directors of Service and the invoicing / administrative team managers are responsible for ensuring the checkpoints between invoicing, referrals, and administrative support are maintained.

- The Directors have communication with these departments on a weekly basis, or more often as necessary, to ensure all SOW items are followed and measured within the AZDCS Quarterly

Report. Field team members have checkpoints throughout service delivery that cross paths with all oversight departments including direct supervisors who conduct individual and group supervisions and oversight, the administrative and invoice team, the human resources department, the learning and development unit, and the referral department:

- Case Aides (CA) are given task flow notification of case assignment which triggers the next step in the flow which is making initial contact with all necessary parties within twenty-four

(24) hours.

- The CA follows EverGrow’s Seventy-two (72) hour rule which includes making contact attempts both via phone, in person, text, email, and voicemail with follow-up emails sent to the AZDCS and EverGrow team every twenty-four (24), forty-eight (48), and seventy-two (72) hours. This allows for monitoring of initial contact and coordination attempts to ensure fidelity.

- Successful or unsuccessful contact and coordination of visitation triggers the next step in the flow which would be either scheduling a staffing meeting with AZDCS and a cancellation note upon the fifth business day in which a visitation otherwise should have been conducted or, a first visitation execution. There is a check and balance for all supporting documentation and all measures are set within the task management and calendar policy system to ensure effective follow-up and completion. Successful completion of visitation fidelity flow would

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- The expectation of visitation summary, copy of signature page, communication log, mileage log, and other signature sheets such as the visitation guidelines and sign in / out logs to be submitted upon their designated due dates for review and Guardian upload.

Unsuccessful contact or engagement resulting in a staffing meeting with AZDCS would result in the following fidelity flow trigger:

- The staffing meeting would either result in a plan of action for visitation completion which would trigger the visitation and documentation flow or, the meeting would result in closure of the case.

- Closure of the case determination would trigger the closure proceedings as outlined within the SOW in which the EverGrow Referral Unit would submit a formal request for AZDCS review with all attached supporting documentation for the request or, a discharge would be submitted to AZDCS via Guardian should all parties be in agreement with the closure. There are set flows that must be followed before new flows can begin which aids in the completion of necessary fidelity measures. Weekly check-ins as well as group work is performed for added accountability and follow through.

EverGrow finds these oversights to be unequivocally necessary in order to ensure all fidelity measures are being followed and real time assistance can be provided to not only the Case Aide but to the families. EverGrow finds that supervisions are in the best interest of both the

Department as well as EverGrow as to avoid being reactive rather than proactive in rendering service delivery to fidelity. EverGrow and the Department share the mission of providing quality services to Arizona families as well as excellent customer service to AZDCS personnel which supervisions aide in executing such shared mission. EverGrow began administering supervisions in response to mitigating VPRs in which this system has proven to be beneficial. All of these efforts are monitored through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that allow for goals and incentives to be developed. Additionally, trends are able to be gathered and monitored to identify where changes must be made without having to wait for site visit reviews or quarterly report data to be released. These KPIs include but are not limited to:

• Timeliness of engagement efforts,

• Successful communication outcomes,

• Transportation trends,

• Cancellation trends,

• No-show trends,

• Timeliness of report submission from Case Aides,

• Timeliness of report submission from administrative staff into Guardian,

• Individual Supervision trends,

• Group supervision trends,

• Visitation completion trends,

• Learning and Development trends via the LMS,

• Human Resource trends.

• Closure trends, No. BPM006769 Parenting Time

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• Extension of service approvals,

• Transportation and documentation time monitoring.

All of these monitoring efforts allow for EverGrow to identify areas of improvement as well as to pinpoint areas in which data reflects a threat to falling out of alignment with fidelity requirements.

This then allows for the management team to step in and ensure the action is completed on the Case

Aide’s behalf in order to ensure it is completed effectively.

Agency's process for ensuring annual training and continued education are met? What considerations does your agency take when identifying opportunities for staff knowledge enhancement?

EverGrow is passionate about continued education and certification. EverGrow considered training and continued education to be essential pillars of service delivery and staff well-being. EverGrow goes beyond annual compliance to ensure every team member is equipped, supported, and continually developed to meet with evolving needs of Arizona families and the requirements of the Parenting Time

Services Scope of Work (SOW).

Initial Training and Orientation

All new hires undergo a multi-day, structured onboarding program aligned with AZDCS contract expectations and agency-specific standards. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Mandated reporting and child safety protocols

• Documentation requirements and Guardian navigation

• Trauma-informed care principles and application

• De-escalation and conflict resolution techniques

• Caregiver Protective Capacity awareness and case engagement

During this period, staff are paired with seasoned supervisors and shadow experienced Case Aides to ensure theoretical learning is grounded in practical application.

Annual Training Requirements

EverGrow meets—and regularly exceeds—all annual training requirements through a combination of live instruction, e-learning modules, and in-person workshops. Training topics are selected based on

SOW language, trends in child welfare, and feedback from supervisors, AZDCS personnel, and families served.

Topics include:

• Cultural competency and bias awareness

• Domestic violence and intimate partner violence (IPV)

• Child trafficking and grooming prevention

• Disabilities and accommodations in parenting time

• Safety planning and risk recognition

• Professional ethics (including NASW Code of Ethics)

These trainings are documented and tracked via an internal Training Log System, which is monitored quarterly by EverGrow’s Administrative and Quality Assurance Departments to ensure compliance and

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Office of Procurement & Contracts identify any gaps or overdue certifications.

Ongoing Continued Education and Knowledge Enhancement

EverGrow is committed to creating a culture of lifelong learning that empowers its staff to evolve alongside best practices in child welfare.

Key initiatives include:

• EverGrow Book Club: An optional but highly popular program that selects quarterly readings based on evidence-based topics such as childhood development, behavioral science, empathy in social work, and leadership development. Participants engage in guided discussions facilitated by program leaders.

• Guest Speakers and Training Partners: EverGrow regularly invites subject-matter experts, including behavioral health clinicians, legal professionals, survivors of abuse, and DEI trainers to present during staff meetings or continuing education workshops.

• Weekly Group Supervision: These sessions include real case reviews, skill-building exercises, and rotating training topics that reflect ongoing challenges in Parenting Time, such as high-conflict cases, documentation quality, or engaging resistant caregivers.

• Individual Supervision & Growth Planning: Each staff member engages in monthly 1:1 supervision to assess not only performance but identify training interests and growth opportunities. This allows EverGrow to tailor training paths to both the employee’s needs and the agency’s strategic objectives.

• Peer-Led Co-Work Groups: These collaborative groups allow staff to share insights, troubleshoot challenges, and mentor one another through a structured, supportive environment. These groups often surface training topics we later formalize agency-wide.

Strategic Considerations in Training Selection

EverGrow selects training content based on:

• SOW alignment and AZDCS directives

• Incident trends or patterns flagged during QA audits or supervisor reports

• Family feedback and outcomes, including survey data and caregiver insights

• Field staff requests, which are welcomed and prioritized through monthly team feedback channels

• Evolving statewide needs, such as Guardian updates or shifts in community resource landscapes

This proactive, dynamic approach ensures our team is prepared, confident, and accountable in delivering Parenting Time Services with empathy, safety, and professionalism

Learning Management System & Additional Learning Tools

EverGrow has invested a great deal of resources and time in the execution of a Learning Management

System that launches modules that are interactive, quantifiable, and available at any time for the team members…