2. SS25 Support and Stabilization Services RFR~1.docx

Request for Response (RFR)

RFR Title: DCF Support and Stabilization Services

RFR Number: DCF S&S25

May 10, 2024

Brief Description: The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF or the Department) seeks providers that will deliver a variety of Support & Stabilization (S&S) services tailored to match the individual strengths and needs of children and families served by the Department and designed to achieve safety, permanency, and well-being for children. This RFR describes six characteristics of services that are intentionally designed for flexible and effective delivery to the child welfare population and seeks providers with the capacity and expertise to deliver services with these characteristics: Cultural Humility and Linguistic Competency; Intentional Strategies for Engaging and Retaining Children and Families; Trauma-Informed Service Delivery; Flexibility Regarding Type of Cases Served; Collaboration When Multiple Providers Involved; and Continuous Quality Improvement and Evaluation. Through this RFR, the Department intends to establish two Master Agreements of contacted providers: one Master Agreement will be comprised of Provider Organizations, and one will be of Individual Providers. Provider Organizations are eligible to bid on any service within this RFR. Individual Providers are eligible to bid on the Assessments and Other Child Welfare Services categories.

It is the responsibility of the prospective Bidder and awarded Contractor to maintain an active registration in COMMBUYS and to keep current the email address of the Bidder’s contact person and prospective contract manager, if awarded a contract, and to monitor that email inbox for communications from the Purchasing Department, including requests for clarification. The Purchasing Department and the Commonwealth assume no responsibility if a prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s designated email address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with the prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s computer, network or internet service provider (ISP) cause email communications sent to/from the prospective Bidder/Awarded contractor and the Purchasing Department to be lost or rejected by any means including email or spam filtering. To register go to www.COMMBUYS.com.

DCF Support & Stabilization Services RFR 2025

RFR Re-Bid 10-1-13 May 2024 Page 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION 1 PURPOSE OF PROCUREMENT AND BACKGROUND DESCRIPTION

Procurement Vision Statement The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF or the Department) seeks providers to deliver Support & Stabilization (S&S) services. Children have the greatest chance for safety, permanency, and well-being when the children, their parents, and other caregivers have access to services that are tailored to match their individualized strengths and needs.

Some children and families served by the Department face challenges related to a single issue such as substance use or domestic violence. More often, however, children and families served by the Department face complex and interrelated problems such as poverty, unemployment, domestic violence, substance use, and mental health issues that increase family stressors, impair family functioning, and put children at risk of abuse and neglect. These interrelated challenges also pose barriers to accessing and completing services. Therefore, the Department is seeking providers with capacity and expertise for assessing individualized circumstances, delivering S&S services matched to unique strengths and needs, and assisting children and families with accessing resources and services that will continue to be available beyond the termination of an S&S service.

Children and caregivers served by the Department are eligible for and receive services from multiple state agencies as well as from private community-based providers. Internally at DCF, this S&S RFR is one of many RFRs that the Department uses to procure needed services for children, families, and other caregivers. The services described in this RFR may complement the services provided through other sources but are not intended to replace those services. When services from sources other than the Department’s S&S service array are available and match the needs of children and families served by the Department, the intention is to connect families with those services.

However, services available from other sources rarely focus directly on child protection, caregiving capacity, or family functioning. The vision that differentiates the services described in this RFR from services available through other sources is that they be intentionally designed to improve caregiving capacity that promotes safety, permanency, and well-being for children and be flexibly delivered to meet the unique needs of children, families, and other caregivers involved with the Department.

This RFR describes six characteristics of services that are intentionally designed for flexible and effective delivery to the child welfare population and seeks providers with the capacity and expertise to deliver services with these characteristics:

· Cultural Humility and Linguistic Competency,

· Intentional Strategies for Engaging and Retaining Children and Families,

· Trauma-Informed Service Delivery,

· Flexibility Regarding Type of Cases Served,

· Collaboration When Multiple Providers Involved, and

· Continuous Quality Improvement and Evaluation Cultural Humility and Linguistic Competency The Department serves families of diverse and intersecting identities and needs. Some of these families may face challenges in connecting with available services due to past experiences with racism, discrimination, language barriers, cultural values about obtaining assistance, fear of government agencies, or a combination of these factors. This makes it essential that providers of the services obtained through this procurement deliver services informed by a set of aligned behaviors and attitudes that enable them to communicate and work effectively with individuals and families from diverse backgrounds, including, but not limited to:

· Race,

· Culture,

· National origin,

· Language, inclusive of American Sign Language (ASL),

· Religion,

· Age,

· Sexual orientation and gender identification,

· Physical or mental disability and developmental needs,

· Family history, including veteran status,

· Medical/psychiatric history and functioning, and

· Level of education.

Providers must not discriminate against individuals with disabilities and must fully comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Under these laws, providers must provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities, including parents and caregivers who are receiving support and stabilization services under a contract awarded through this RFR. Further, providers must tailor services to make them accessible to all persons utilizing the services by performing an individualized assessment of their needs. Similarly, providers must create goals for the intervention that are responsive to the unique needs of the persons involved.

Whether a provider may deny a request for a reasonable accommodation is a question of law for the provider to resolve with its legal counsel. Should the provider determine it cannot provide a requested, reasonable accommodation, the provider must communicate this fact to DCF for review and determination of next steps.

These are some examples of reasonable accommodations a provider may be required to provide to a parent or caregiver. This is not an exhaustive list:

· Using plain and accessible language in written and oral communications;

· Being flexible with scheduling;

· Allowing additional time for assessments and other appointments; and

· Allowing for frequent breaks during appointments as required.

Cultural humility involves acknowledging the complexity and intersection of human characteristics that make individuals unique despite perceived similarities, contributing to the evolving nature of consumers’ experiences. Demonstrating linguistic competency includes talking to a family and providing written materials to a family in their preferred language; designing written materials to be accessible to individuals with low literacy skills; and, conveying information effectively to individuals with disabilities, including sensory disabilities such as blindness or deafness. Practicing cultural humility and linguistic competency includes seeking assistance when internal resources are not adequate to meet a consumer’s unique needs and making cultural learning an ongoing aspect of professional development.

Intentional Strategies to Engage and Retain Children and Families in Services The Department expects all service providers to support families in engaging with and remaining in services through their intended duration. For some families, this will require affirmative, active, persistent, and timely efforts that exceed what may be considered usual practices for working with consumers. Intentional strategies for increasing engagement and retention of services may encompass personal interactions, organizational procedures, and/or technological solutions. Services that may seem easily accessible to the Department and service providers may remain out of reach to consumers who are in crisis, are impacted by disability, have experienced trauma, or face other challenges to accessing services, including transportation or language.

Designing services for children, families, and other caregivers served by public child welfare agencies requires reaching, engaging, and retaining families who are likely to be socially isolated and face multiple challenges that interfere with accessing and completing the full course of a service. It is possible to increase connections with multi-stressed families and retain them in services. However, it requires sustained attention to children’s and families’ needs and the implementation of intentional strategies to meet those needs. It also requires that service providers help consumers understand and navigate their involvement with the child welfare system. Examples of effective strategies for engaging and retaining children and families in services include but are not limited to:

· Convenient service hours,

· Convenient locations,

· Transportation assistance,

· Use of telecommunication and technology,

· Employing staff with lived experience, and

· Policies and practices built on an unwavering commitment to outreach and retention.

Convenient service hours. One effective way to promote engagement and retention is to deliver services at times convenient to consumers. To support the goal of engaging and retaining children and families in services, requiring consumers to miss school or work to receive services is not permitted.

Convenient locations and transportation assistance. Often, the most convenient location for service delivery is in the location where a consumer is living (e.g., a family of origin’s home, a kinship home, a child’s out-of-home placement, a temporary shelter). For some services, there may be times when it is necessary to deliver services in a community-based location. Whenever accessing services will require a consumer to travel, providers will provide transportation assistance, if needed, as a way to overcome transportation as a barrier to obtaining services.

Use of telecommunications and technology. Providers will be expected to have the capacity to connect virtually with caregivers and children to supplement in-person service delivery, to reach consumers in geographically underserved areas, and to ensure that virtual capacity is available in the event of an emergency that limits in-person contact. For services that are delivered in a group format, in-person, virtual, or hybrid service delivery may be used. For the majority of S&S services, however, virtual connections will be used only as a supplement because in-person contact is an essential component for most S&S services.

Providers delivering virtual or hybrid group services must have access to reliable, high speed internet connections and use camera and microphone technology that projects the facilitator’s image and voice to participants with a high level of fidelity. The online meeting software must have the following privacy/confidentiality features that allow the facilitator to:

· Lock virtual meetings so that attendance is limited to intended group members,

· Limit the screen sharing function to prevent unintentional sharing of participants’ private information, and

· Block participants from turning on the recording function.

Prior to the first group meeting, providers will distribute to participants a written privacy/confidentiality statement that, at a minimum, includes:

· Notice to all participants that when the meeting is virtual or hybrid, their comments may be heard by unseen, non-group members who are in the environment of virtual participants;

· Recommendation or, if possible, requirement for virtual participants to use headphones/ear buds to reduce risk of non-group members hearing the comments of other group participants; and,

· Notice to virtual participants to modify their on-screen “nameplate” if they do not wish others to see their full names.

Providers may expand the privacy/confidentiality statement by adding notices or recommendations to the minimum requirements. Providers will be expected to update technology and privacy/confidentiality safeguards as online meeting software technologies evolve.

Staff with lived experience. Many consumers served by the child welfare system express a preference for receiving services from others who have lived experiences like their own. This peer support approach, in which service is delivered by someone with relevant lived experience, is built on a foundation of shared understanding, which is affirming and may help reluctant consumers engage with a service. Within the child welfare population, there are multiple types of relevant lived experience. Examples of relevant experience include, but are not limited to, experience with:

· The child welfare system,

· Children or family members with serious mental or emotional challenges,

· Children or family members with disabilities,

· LGBTQIA+ children or family members,

· Immigration,

· Homelessness,

· Domestic or intimate partner violence,

· Teenaged or very young parents,

· Single fatherhood or other single parent households,

· Parenting adolescents exhibiting risky and/or challenging behaviors, and

· Being a foster or kinship caregiver.

The Department seeks to add more services that use the peer support approach to the S&S service array. In Section 2.2 Service Model Descriptions that include the label “Peer Support Specialist” require the use of the peer support approach. In all other service models, inclusion of staff with relevant lived experience is encouraged but not required.

While expanding the availability of staff with shared lived experience, providers are asked to prepare for the specialized supervisory responsibilities that accompany this expansion. Shared lived experience is what makes the peer support relationship unique and effective; however, the shared experiences can, at times, blur the boundaries between the individuals served and the individuals delivering the services. For peer support and the inclusion of more staff with shared lived experience to be successful, providers must attend to recruitment, training, and supervision. Starting with recruitment, candidates for the peer support role must demonstrate personal qualities, such as integrity, emotional maturity, and ability to empathize, that will promote a collaborative approach to the peer support work.

Providers must train and supervise peer support specialists and staff with shared lived experiences in ways that promote:

· A balance between ensuring that the focus is on the experience and needs of the caregivers being served and sharing one’s personal story,

· Humility in approach, recognizing that similar experiences will not be identical experiences,

· The setting of professional boundaries that define the role of the peer support specialist and clarify both the benefits and the limits of the relationship between the peer support specialist and the caregivers being served,

· The ability of peer support specialists to nurture hope and positive behavior changes among the caregivers being served, and

· Self-care for the peer support specialists and all staff so that burnout, or other emotional reactions that could diminish staff members’ effectiveness in supporting caregivers, is avoided.

Trauma-Informed Service Delivery Trauma is a pervasive problem that results from exposure to a deeply emotionally disturbing or life-threatening incident or series of events. Trauma may be caused not only by a single event, violence, abuse, or neglect, but also by a variety of experiences, including one or a combination of the following, which may have a cumulative impact:

· Racism,

· Discrimination,

· Systemic oppression,

· Poverty,

· Living with a family member with a behavioral health disorder, and/or

· Separation from a loved one.

In addition to having a direct impact, trauma may be experienced indirectly across generations. Children and families referred for S&S services may have the experiences described above, whether explicitly documented or not. Trauma can create long-term consequences that affect individuals’ and families’ functioning, including their ability to engage in services. Therefore, the Department expects all providers to ensure that their staff deliver services within a trauma-informed framework that integrates knowledge of the effects of trauma into their work with consumers.

Beyond integrating knowledge of the effects of trauma, trauma-informed service delivery may also include some combination of the following:

· Assessing the needs of individuals who have experienced trauma,

· Supporting healing from trauma in ways that prevent re-traumatization,

· Creating safe physical environments for the delivery of services,

· Reviewing and updating policies with a trauma-informed lens,

· Collaborating with partner organizations to advance knowledge and practice in trauma-informed service delivery, and/or

· Addressing the trauma of provider staff as it relates to work with DCF consumers.

Given concerns around re-traumatization and safety of adult survivors and children in families where there is domestic violence, providers will prioritize safety of adult survivors and children when asked to provide services to both parents in a family where there is domestic violence.

This may include measures such as scheduling services for parents on different days, which will ensure complete separation between the parents. If scheduling separate days is not possible, safety measures may include staggering parents’ arrival and departure times and/or using separate entrances and waiting areas for each parent. The departure time for the abusing partner will be determined by the amount of time the adult survivor needs to exit the location without concern of being followed by the abusing partner.

Flexibility Regarding Type of Cases Served S&S services may be used at different points throughout the life of a DCF case. Historically, S&S services have been used primarily to support families of origin to keep children safe at home without the need for out-of-home placement. While the Department will continue to use S&S services primarily for this important goal, S&S services also may be beneficial at different points in the life of a case, such as during a period of transition for a child or family, during a child’s out-of-home placement when the child needs extra supports, or during the period of preparation prior to a child joining a family-based placement or reunifying with family.

S&S service models described in this RFR include guidelines regarding when – during the life of a case – children, families, and other caregivers are likely to be referred for a service. Ultimately, however, the key for effective delivery of S&S services – both now and in the future – is that there be flexibility in their use, with the overarching goal being service delivery when it is needed to achieve the goals of safety, permanency, and well-being for children. Being flexible allows room for creativity and for unanticipated future ways of using services. Therefore, providers of S&S services will need to be flexible and willing to serve children and families regardless of when during the life of a case the Department refers consumers for services.

Collaboration When Multiple Providers Involved There will be times when meeting a child’s or family’s needs will require delivery of more than one service. When families face multiple, intertwined challenges such as homelessness and domestic violence and substance use, relying on the combined benefits of multiple services can be a way to keep children safe at home without the need for an out-of-home placement, to stabilize an out-of-home placement, or to expedite a reunification after an out-of-home placement occurs.

Scenarios when multiple services may be needed include but are not limited to:

· Supplementing services provided by a different state agency by assisting the family with accessing those services and by providing a focus on caregiving capacity, family functioning, and child safety that is not included in services provided by a different state agency;

· Combining two or more S&S services to work simultaneously with a family of origin to keep children safe while avoiding the need for an out-of-home placement;

· Sequencing S&S services, with one service starting as a different service is ending, which may include a period of overlap to ensure a smooth transition between services;

· Wrapping an S&S service around a child who is in an out-of-home placement and, at the same time, delivering a different S&S service to help the child’s parent prepare for the child’s return home; and/or

· Delivering an S&S service designed to keep a child safe at home combined with intermittent delivery of S&S respite.

Different providers approach their work with families from different professional backgrounds and within different clinical and organizational frameworks. To maximize the benefits of using multiple services to meet complex needs, providers of S&S services need to prepare and support staff to work collaboratively when there are multiple providers involved with a case. By approaching the work as a collaborative endeavor, the Department and providers can minimize the risk of overwhelming consumers when relying on the combined expertise and efforts of multiple providers working with a single family.

To enhance collaboration and communication between providers and the Department, providers will use the Five Protective Factors clinical framework that the Department uses when assessing caregivers’ protective capacities and developing action plans to promote children’s safety, permanency, and well-being. See Appendix A: Five Protective Factors Clinical Framework.

Two free and readily available options for Five Protective Factors tools are:

· The Protective Factors Survey https://friendsnrc.org/evaluation/protective-factors-survey/[footnoteRef:2]. [2: This hyperlink is current as of the RFR posting date. DCF is not responsible for maintaining links or web addresses. Bidders should use standard internet searches to identify resources if links are no longer working.]

· Prevention Resource Guide (2021-2022) from the federal Children’s Bureau https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/guide_2021.pdf[footnoteRef:3]. This resource includes a set of conversation guides to use with parents/caregivers that is based on the Protective Factors clinical framework. See Chapter 6 of the publication for the conversation guides and worksheets – in both English and Spanish. [3: This hyperlink is current as of the RFR posting date. DCF is not responsible for maintaining links or web addresses. Bidders should use standard internet searches to identify resources if links are no longer working.]

Having the shared foundation of the Five Protective Factors will enhance collaborative efforts and help reduce the risk of overwhelming parents/caregivers with seemingly conflicting tasks or expectations. Providers that want to use a different Five Protective Factors tool than the two listed above or that want to supplement the Five Protective Factors framework with an additional assessment must submit this information on Appendix E. Response Sheet – Provider Organization for DCF’s review and approval.

Continuous Quality Improvement and Evaluation Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) uses information to create feedback loops about targeted accomplishments so that the information can be used to create improvements. The Department is committed to the use of CQI for internal improvements to promote children’s safety, permanency, and well-being and expects contracted partners to join this commitment by mounting their own internal CQI processes. Providers may meet expectations for CQI by relying on internal staff who have appropriate skills or by relying on external contracted staff. Following are readily available informational resources about using CQI in child welfare:

· https://friendsnrc.org/evaluation/continuous-quality-improvement/[footnoteRef:4] [4: This hyperlink is current as of the RFR posting date. DCF is not responsible for maintaining links or web addresses. Bidders should use standard internet searches to identify resources if links are no longer working.]

· https://capacity.childwelfare.gov/states/topics/cqi[footnoteRef:5] [5: This hyperlink is current as of the RFR posting date. DCF is not responsible for maintaining links or web addresses. Bidders should use standard internet searches to identify resources if links are no longer working.]

· https://cpeonline.ucdavis.edu/courses/705/pages/continuous-quality-improvement-in-child-welfare-services-modules[footnoteRef:6] [6: This hyperlink is current as of the RFR posting date. DCF is not responsible for maintaining links or web addresses. Bidders should use standard internet searches to identify resources if links are no longer working.]

CQI is applicable for improving both processes of service delivery and outcomes for consumers. With regard to processes of service delivery, the Department expects providers to use CQI to improve processes for accepting referrals and engaging and retaining consumers in services. The desired direction for these is to have high rates of accepting referrals from the Department as well as high rates of engaging consumers and high rates of retaining consumers through the full course of a service.

For S&S services, there are two types of expected outcomes – 1) behavioral changes and 2) impact. The desired behavioral changes vary depending on the purpose of a service. For example:

· Behavioral changes for a service focused on improving caregiving capacity could include increased resiliency, as evidenced by a parent’s consistent use of strategies (e.g., breathing techniques, talking with others, reaching out to community organizations for assistance, listening to music) to reduce stress, and increased parenting skills, as evidenced by a parent’s use of positive behavior supports for managing a child’s behaviors.

· Behavioral changes for a service focused on youth support could include improvements in a child’s self-regulation skills, as evidenced by a reduction in verbal outbursts and property destruction, or increased capacity to be safe in an intimate relationship, as evidenced by ceasing sexting and recognizing the signs of controlling behaviors in a dating partner.

There are many different types of desired behavioral changes because these are individualized based on the strengths and needs of the consumers receiving the service. In contrast, the desired impacts of S&S services are consistent across S&S services. The desired impacts are increases in children’s safety, permanency, and well-being. Following are the ways the Department measures safety, permanency, and well-being.

· Safety

· No occurrences or recurrences of child abuse or neglect for children living with family

· No occurrences of abuse or neglect for children living in out-of-home placements

· Permanency

· Maintaining permanency by safely avoiding out-of-home placement

· Achieving permanency promptly by eliminating long delays for children when reunifying

· Achieving permanency promptly by eliminating long delays for children when securing caring, stable, alternative lifetime families

· Identifying and maintaining lifelong, supportive personal relationships

· Maintaining stability: When out-of-home placements are necessary, eliminating placement moves for children

· Well-Being

· Maintaining physical health

· Maintaining mental and behavioral health, including preventing or treating substance use

· Achieving academic success as evidenced by school readiness, attendance, passing grades, and graduation rates

· Achieving vocational/career/college readiness and success The following are two logic models that illustrate the relationships among S&S service delivery, behavioral changes, and desired impacts for S&S services.

The first logic model is a representation of S&S services focused on building parent/caregiver capacity.

The second logic model is a representation of S&S services focused on supporting children, youth, and young adults.

Some S&S services focus on serving an entire family – the parent/caregiver as well as children in the family. For those S&S services, both logic models apply.

The Department expects all providers to use an internal CQI process and to partner with the Department in evaluation work aimed at improving the desired outputs and impact of S&S services. In the event that this partnership will require providers to send data regularly or intermittently to DCF, the Department will provide details regarding what information must be submitted, what format to use, where to send the information, and how often to send it.

Communication with the Department Communication between providers and the Department is an essential element of the partnership needed to provide effective services to children and families.

It is essential for S&S service providers to keep DCF updated throughout their work. This includes, but is not limited to:

· Responding promptly to the Department after receipt of a referral;

· Notifying the Department immediately if a consumer terminates services prior to achieving goals or completing the full course of a service;

· Training all staff on their responsibilities as mandated reporters of when to report suspected abuse or neglect to the Department, or to the Massachusetts Disabled Persons Protection Commission, and the option to contact the Office of the Child Advocate; and

· Following the Department’s current Incident Reporting Guidelines.

Service Referrals Communication about a child or family starts when the Department initiates a referral and shares initial information. In child welfare work, all relevant information may not be available at time of referral; therefore, providers need to be prepared to begin work based on available information and incorporate new information as it becomes available.

The standard expectation is that providers will respond no later than three business days from referral receipt to either accept or decline the referral. Given the fast paced and crisis nature of child welfare work, providers are encouraged to respond to referrals quickly and not to wait the full three days if a decision can be made sooner. There will be times when the Department needs a service to start immediately, or within 24 hours, to respond to an emergency situation. Some services will be more likely to be used on an emergency basis than others; however, the Department expects all providers to be responsive to requests for expedited timeframes. There may be emergency situations in which a provider needs to meet with a family in a hospital, at court, or other out-of-home location. When responding to emergency referrals, the Department expects providers to meet with families at community-based locations whenever possible.

Some providers will need to be available for emergencies and will need to ensure they are prepared to receive and respond to referrals both during business hours Monday through Friday as well as after business hours and during weekends. Services where providers may be asked to respond to emergency referrals are noted in Section 2.2 Service Model Descriptions.

Ongoing Updates Each service model description in Section 2.2 states the frequency for submitting ongoing written updates to DCF. The following is a description of the standard information that providers should include in updates. If there is any specialized content that needs to be included in updates, a description is included in the specific service model description in Section 2.2.

Standard update contents include:

· Each consumer’s level of participation in service

· Progress made on goals of service, e.g., gaining knowledge, changing behaviors, developing skills

· Notes on service delivery, e.g., barriers, successes, opportunities, challenges

· Information relevant to children’s safety and risk:

· When delivering services, providers have opportunities to observe factors relevant to children’s safety and risk. The Department understands that opportunities to observe these factors vary depending on where and how services are delivered. For example, providers delivering in-home, in-person services may be privy to a more expansive array of factors than providers who deliver services in a community-based setting or in a hybrid virtual/in-person format.

· When providing written updates to the Department, all providers are expected to report on factors they observe that are relevant to children’s safety and risk. These factors include but are not limited to:

· Conditions in the home environment such as presence or absence of safety hazards, adequacy of food, adequacy of clothing for weather conditions

· Evidence or suspicions of domestic or intimate partner violence

· Instances of child or family witnessing or experiencing violence in the community

· Children’s physical health, access to medical care, and adherence with medical orders, if applicable

· Children’s attendance and progress in school

· Children’s mental health and emotional competence

· Children’s achievement of developmental milestones.

· Progress on increasing parenting/caregiving capacity. When delivering a service intended to increase parenting/caregiving capacity, providers will report on progress using the clinical framework of the Five Protective Factors. See Appendix A: Five Protective Factors Clinical Framework.

· Progress on addressing children’s needs and building strengths. When delivering a service intended to support a child, providers will report on progress in areas related to children’s safety, permanency, and well-being. For examples, see Appendix B: Child and Youth Safety and Well-Being.

· In the event that a provider files a 51A report, the provider will mention the filing in the regularly scheduled update. The update does not need to provide specific details of the 51A report because those details will be shared internally within the Department with the Social Worker and Supervisor serving the consumers included in the 51A report.

Assessments and Treatment Plans When a service model requires providers to conduct assessments and complete treatment plans, providers are expected to share assessments and treatment plans with DCF per the instructions below.[footnoteRef:7] [7: These requirements for sharing assessments and treatment plans with DCF do not apply to the Assessment reports that will be created by providers of the Assessment service model. See the Assessment service model description in Section 2.2 for a description of the requirements for submitting Assessment reports to the Department. ]

· Completed assessments will be shared with the Department as soon as completed but no later than 30 calendar days from the date of provider acceptance of the referral.

· Completed assessments will be uploaded to the Department’s i-FamilyNet case management system via the Virtual Gateway (hereafter referred to as Virtual Gateway) using instructions provided by the Department.

· Based on the results of assessment(s), providers will develop a treatment plan individualized to address a consumer’s strengths and needs. As part of this process, providers will conduct a meeting to ensure that consumers, DCF, and providers are on the same page regarding goals, behavior changes, and service delivery.

· Providers will complete and approve treatment plans in the Virtual Gateway as soon as possible after completing assessments and involving the family, but no later than 30 calendar days from date of provider acceptance of the referral.

· On an ongoing basis, providers will record treatment activities and update treatment progress in the Virtual Gateway following instructions provided by the Department.

· Providers will convene a collaborative meeting no later than six weeks after provider acceptance of the referral. The meeting can be virtual or in person, and is to include the consumers, DCF social worker, DCF supervisor, Area Lead Agency staff, and any additional supports needed. At this meeting, the team will review and assess the match of provider and service, as well as the level of family engagement. If needed, the provider will present the intentional strategies used to engage and retain a family in the service. The effectiveness of these strategies will be discussed, and a decision will be made at this meeting whether to continue with the service. If it is determined that a change in service or provider is needed, the team will discuss a timeline for closure and selection of alternative service.

· Within 90 calendar days after acceptance of referral, and within every 90 calendar days thereafter, providers are responsible for completing and approving the Treatment Progress Review in the Virtual Gateway.

· An active and approved treatment plan must be in the Virtual Gateway at all times. Providers have the option to copy an existing treatment plan or create a new one.

· If a provider is unable to meet the timeframes above for any reason, the provider must notify the Area Lead Agency and DCF social worker and supervisor as soon as the provider believes a delay is likely. The communication needs to include the anticipated date of completion.

Meetings with the Department Providers will be required to participate in various meetings with the Department, including:

· Treatment progress review meetings at least every 90 calendar days.

· Starting 90 calendar days after acceptance of referral, and every 90 calendar days thereafter, providers are responsible for documenting consumers’ progress in the Virtual Gateway, conducting reassessments of strengths and needs, and updating the treatment plan to reflect results from reassessments.

Resolving Disagreements and Addressing Performance Issues The Department will work collaboratively with providers to resolve any disagreements or unresolved concerns between a provider and Department staff on issues such as:

· Service delivery,

· Recommendations regarding home removal and/or level of care,

· Client outcomes, and/or

· Family or social worker satisfaction.

If a disagreement or concern cannot be resolved between a provider and the DCF social worker and supervisor, the provider may contact the Area Lead Agency Program Director.

If the work at the Area level does not yield satisfactory results, the provider may contact the DCF Central Office S&S Contract Manager.

Glossary Adolescents. Youths aged 13-17.

Bidder. An organization or individual that submits a proposal to the Department to provide human or social services in response to this RFR.

Child/Children. Refers to youths aged 0-12. However, when used in connection with a parent, or other adult serving the role of a parent, the term “child” applies regardless of the age of the offspring. That is, in the phrases “the mother’s child” or “increasing capacity to care for their child,” the term “child” may refer to youth of any age. Also, in the phrase “Commercially Sexually Exploited Child,” the term “child” may refer to youth of any age.

Consumer. Refers to individuals, such as youth, parents, foster parents, or other caregivers, who will receive services.

Contractor. An organization or individual that enters into a Contract with the Department to provide human or social services in conjunction with the operation of programs as delineated in this RFR.

Cultural humility. Acknowledging the complexity and intersection of human characteristics that makes individuals unique despite perceived similarities, contributing to the evolving nature of consumers’ experiences. Practicing cultural humility includes seeking assistance when internal resources are not adequate to meet a consumer’s unique needs and making cultural learning an ongoing aspect of professional development.

Evidence-Based Practice for Child Welfare. Services rated as Well-Supported, Supported, or Promising on the federal Administration for Children and Families’ Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse https://preventionservices.acf.hhs.gov/[footnoteRef:8]. [8: This hyperlink is current as of the RFR posting date. DCF is not responsible for maintaining links or web addresses. Bidders should use standard internet searches to identify resources if links are no longer working.]

Family. A term used inclusively in this RFR to describe not only biological or adoptive parents and siblings, but other individuals who are important to a youth, who can serve as lifelong connections for a youth, and who may care for a youth in their home. These individuals may be kin, foster, pre-adoptive family members, or other caring adults in a youth’s life.

Individual Provider. One person who delivers health and/or human services. A Sole Proprietorship or Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) with a single employee is not considered an Individual Provider. (See Provider Organization definition below.)

Kin. Used inclusively to refer to relatives by blood or marriage and people who, though not related by blood or marriage, have a close emotional relationship with the youth. Neighbors, family friends, teachers, coaches, and other community members are included.

Linguistic Competency. The capacity to communicate effectively and convey information in a manner that is easily understood by diverse audiences, including persons with limited English proficiency, those who have low literacy skills or are not literate, and individuals with disabilities, including sensory disabilities such as blindness or deafness.

Local Education Agency (LEA). A Massachusetts municipal school department or regional school district acting through its school committee or superintendent of schools that has programmatic and administrative responsibility for educational services within a geographic area.

Provider Organization. An entity with one or more employees that delivers health and/or human services, including Sole Proprietorship, Limited Liability Corporation (LLC), Partnership, Incorporation, Trust, or Local Government. A Provider Organization typically has an Employer Identification Number (EIN) issued by the Internal Revenue Service.

Trauma-informed. Refers to environments, services, and treatments based on knowledge of the impacts of trauma, effective responses to trauma, and commitments to promote healing from trauma and avoidance of re-traumatization.

Under-resourced community. A geographic area the Department identifies as lacking the services needed to support children and families.

Virtual Gateway. An Internet portal operated by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services that allows the general public, medical providers, community-based organizations and state employees a centralized technology platform to find information and access health and human services including the Department’s i-FamilyNet Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System.

Young adults. Youth aged 18-23.

Youth. Used to refer collectively to…