6-RFP 6223 Therapeutic Family Support Services.pdf

COUNTY OF VENTURA

GENERAL SERVICES AGENCY

PROCUREMENT SERVICES

800 S. VICTORIA AVE., L#1080

VENTURA CA 93009

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

for

THERAPEUTIC FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES

Issued: September 12, 2025 Due: October 10, 2025

County of Ventura RFP 6223 Therapeutic Family Support Services

GSA/Procurement Services

SECTION 1.0

GENERAL INFORMATION

This Request for Proposal (RFP) has been posted on the County of Ventura Vendor Information Portal (VCVIP) aka Bonfire website (Ventura.bonfirehub.com) for your convenience. Addenda and attachments, if issued, are also posted. It is the Offeror’s responsibility to ensure that the entire RFP package, in its latest version, is reviewed prior to submittal of a proposal.

1.1 Introduction/Purpose

The County of Ventura (hereinafter referred to as County) invites your organization to submit a written proposal to provide Therapeutic Family Support Services to families involved in the child welfare system throughout Ventura County. The selected vendor will provide therapeutic intervention and modeling to help improve parent-child interactions and ongoing attachment via licensed, unlicensed registered, or waivered clinical professionals in a safe and natural environment.

Proposals shall be due no later than 3:00 p.m. on Friday, October 10, 2025 for the furnishing of services in accordance with the attached Terms and Conditions, Instructions to Offerors which by this reference are made a part hereof.

Offerors shall be skilled and regularly engaged in the general class or type of work called for in the solicitation documents. To be eligible to submit a proposal, a bidder must:

1) Have a minimum of three (3) years’ experience operating and providing evidence-based interventions and Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) services.

2) Not be listed as an ineligible person on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s List of Excluded Individuals/Entities or the California Department of Health Care Services Suspended and Ineligible Provider List for Medi-Cal program services.

County will use the following links to identify individuals and entities that are not eligible to contract with Behavioral Health: http://exclusions.oig.hhs.gov/ and http://files.medi-cal.ca.gov/pubsdoco/SandILanding.asp. Each bidder should verify that it is not on either list prior to submitting a proposal by using the links above. If a bidder is erroneously listed on either sanction list, they will be responsible for correcting the error prior to the submittal of their proposal. County will not review a proposal submitted by an individual or entity on either list.

https://ventura.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=login http://exclusions.oig.hhs.gov/ http://files.medi-cal.ca.gov/pubsdoco/SandILanding.asp

One qualified vendor will be selected from this RFP. The County reserves the right to increase the number of contracts awarded under this RFP, at its discretion, based on the capacity demonstrated in proposal submissions.

1.2 Background

The Therapeutic Family Support Services (TFSS) program is a jointly managed program between the County of Ventura’s Human Services Agency (HSA) Children & Family Services (CFS) and the Health Care Agency (HCA) Ventura County Behavioral Health (VCBH) aimed at improving family functioning and promoting positive parent-child interactions. The mission of CFS is to protect children by strengthening families. CFS’ three priorities are preventing family separations, safely reuniting families as fast as possible, and ensuring children and youth who cannot safely return home have lifelong and unconditional family connections. The mission of VCBH is to reduce stigma and discrimination while promoting wellness through a whole-person care approach where clients and families are empowered by appropriate, accessible, timely, culturally sensitive, and collaborative behavioral health services.

The TFSS program consists of four components providing (1) individual child/youth therapy sessions; (2) therapeutic visitation services with live coaching with the child/youth and their parent(s) or prospective caregiver(s); (3) individual parent/prospective caregiver sessions; and (4) parenting support groups. Eligible populations for the TFSS program include but are not limited to families receiving Family Preservation (FP), Family Reunification (FR), Family Maintenance (FM), and Family Enhancement (FE) services, and children/youth receiving Permanent Placement (PP) services and their parents, and prospective caregivers.

CFS will refer families who are receiving FP, FR, FM or FE services, and youth who are receiving PP services and their parent(s), and prospective caregiver(s) to VCBH through the Mental Health Referral Form for Assessment and Treatment.

VCBH will determine appropriateness of referral and submit authorization to the contractor for services. The contractor’s licensed, unlicensed registered, or waivered clinical professional will complete a biopsychosocial assessment with the parent/prospective caregiver and child/youth to develop a comprehensive therapeutic support service plan. Plans will be individualized to each child/youth and their parent(s) or prospective caregiver(s) and will integrate needed goals and interventions. The services will seek to maximize the child’s/youth’s well-being, create and maintain safety, promote appropriate parent-child or prospective caregiver-youth interactions to enhance bonding, increase healing and attachment, and work towards supporting timely reunification or permanency and lifelong connections. Services should be provided in the family’s home whenever possible to allow the parents to engage with their children in situations that more closely mirror the reality of home life. The selected vendor must demonstrate the ability to provide culturally competent services and have the bilingual capability to provide therapeutic visitation and intervention services in the family’s primary or preferred language.

Services performed through this RFP will be designed from a trauma-informed perspective, will align with the mission, vision and values of HSA and HCA, and will be implemented according to the values and practices of the following:

• Integrated Core Practice Model (ICPM)

• Safety Organized Practice (SOP)

• Quality Parenting Initiative (QPI) Timely communication, documentation and coordination with CFS and VCBH are critical aspects of this service.

It is estimated that the Contractor selected from this RFP will provide services to forty-eight (48) unduplicated families or youth and their prospective caregivers for the 6-month performance period of January 1, 2026, through June 30, 2026. Should the contract be renewed, it is estimated that ninety-six (96) unduplicated families or youth and their prospective caregivers will receive services each year.

1.3 Pre-proposal Conference

A non-mandatory pre-proposal conference will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, September 22, 2025 via TEAMS.

Join the meeting now Meeting ID: 261 516 968 216 1 Passcode: Bc7gx7Vc

The purpose of this conference is to clarify requirements and answer vendor questions. In order to provide comprehensive answers and minimize response time, Offerors are asked to submit questions in writing prior to this conference.

Pre-proposal questions should be submitted to the Buyer under the “Messages” tab of the solicitation online at: https://ventura.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=login.

1.4 Action Dates

https://venturacounty.gov/human-services-agency/about-human-services-agency/ https://hca.venturacounty.gov/about-us/mission-and-vision/ https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/the-integrated-core-practice-model https://humanservices.ucdavis.edu/toolkits/safety-organized-practice https://cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/caregiver-advocacy-network/quality-parenting-initiative https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_NzIyNTUwNWQtMzdhNi00M2Q5LTljZmQtNGFjNTUyZGMwODVk%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22bce0ec04-d1f1-4f5a-a050-a4b5e9181683%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2237821757-f701-4b48-84ff-307de2544edc%22%7d

The following is an outline of the anticipated schedule for the proposal review and contract award.

Issue Request for Proposal (RFP) September 12, 2025 Non-Mandatory Pre-Proposal Conference September 22, 2025 Last day for questions October 3, 2025 Proposals Due October 10, 2025 Evaluation-award October 31, 2025 Start Work January 1, 2026

The schedule set forth above is subject to change.

1.5 Questions Regarding RFP

All questions concerning this Proposal may be directed to Michelle Larios, Buyer, under “Messages” tab of the solicitation online at:

https://ventura.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=login.

SECTION 2.0

2.1 Submittal Deadline

Completed proposals must be submitted online through VCVIP at ventura.bonfirehub.com per instructions.

Offerors are responsible for making certain their proposals are received by GSA- Procurement on or before the Proposal Submittal Deadline listed on the RFP Details tab in the VCVIP portal. The receiving time in VCVIP will be the governing time for acceptability of proposals. No hard copy, oral, telegraphic, electronic mail, facsimile, or telephone proposals or modifications will be considered.

2.2 Proposal Response

Offerors must submit their proposals and all required information and forms by the submittal deadline. Proposals failing to provide complete information may be deemed non-responsive. Offerors should keep copies of their submittals for future reference.

2.3 Modification of Proposals

Any Offeror who wishes to make modifications to a proposal already received by County must withdraw their proposal in order to make the modifications. All modifications must be made on-line, properly by Offeror’s authorized representative, executed, and submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions of this solicitation. It is the responsibility of Offeror to ensure that modified proposals are resubmitted before the Submittal Deadline.

Offerors may withdraw their proposals, at any time prior to the due date and time, by submitting notification of withdrawal signed by Offeror’s authorized agent.

Proposals cannot be changed or modified after the date and time designated for receipt.

2.4 Examination of the Request for Proposal

Offerors should carefully examine the entire RFP, any addenda thereto, and all related materials and data referenced herein or otherwise available to offeror.

Offeror shall be presumed to be familiar with all specifications and requirements of this RFP. The failure or omission to examine any form, instrument or document shall in no way relieve offerors from any obligation with respect to this proposal.

2.5 Proposal Validity

Proposals submitted hereunder shall be firm for 90 calendar days from the due date unless otherwise qualified.

2.6 Proposal Content/Format

To be considered responsive, proposals should address all items identified in this section.

Please note: Some items require that the Offeror provide a detailed response and/or attachments. Failure to provide a complete response may be grounds for rejection of a proposal.

Furthermore, proposals should be prepared in such a way as to provide a straightforward and concise discussion of the Offeror’s ability to provide the services that can best satisfy the requirements herein and meet the needs of the County. Elaborate or unnecessarily lengthy responses and attachments are discouraged.

Emphasis should be concentrated on conformance to the RFP instructions, responsiveness to the RFP requirements and on completeness and clarity of content.

In order to facilitate evaluation and comparison, proposals should be submitted in the format described in this section. Format instructions must be adhered to; all requirements and requests for information must be addressed; all requested data must be supplied. Failure to comply with this requirement may be cause for rejection.

Assemble and present your proposal response in the order that the items are listed, identifying each response by the corresponding number.

a. Cover Letter/Signature on Proposal

A cover letter, which shall be considered an integral part of the proposal, shall be signed by individual(s) who is/are authorized to bind offeror(s) contractually. The signature(s) must indicate the classification or position that the individual(s) holds.

The cover letter shall designate a person or persons who may be contacted during the period of evaluation with questions or contract issues. Include name(s), title(s), address(es), telephone number(s), fax number(s) and email address(es).

Upload the Cover Letter through the Requested Information.

b. Company Profile and Qualifications

Offeror must provide company profile in Section 2 –Offerors Information Questionnaire, Question Set 1.

Information provided shall include:

1. Correct legal name as registered with the California Secretary of State.

2. Company ownership. If incorporated, the state in which the company is incorporated and the date of incorporation.

3. Location of the company offices.

4. Location of the office servicing any California account(s). What are the hours of operation of the customer service unit involved in supporting the proposed services?

5. Number of employees both locally and nationally.

6. Location(s) from which employees will be assigned.

7. Name, address, and telephone number of the Offeror’s point of contact for a contract resulting from this RFP.

8. Company background/history establishing that Offeror is qualified to provide the services described in this RFP.

9. Length of time Offeror has been providing services described in this

RFP. Please provide a brief description of such services.

Offeror must include in their proposal a complete disclosure of any alleged significant prior or ongoing contract failures, any civil or criminal litigation or investigation pending which involves the Offeror or in which the Offeror has been judged guilty or liable. Failure to comply with the terms of this provision will disqualify any proposal. County reserves the right to reject any proposal based upon Offeror’s prior history with County or with any other party, which documents, without limitation, unsatisfactory performance, adversarial or contentious demeanor, significant failure(s) to meet contract milestones or other contractual failures.

c. Staff Qualifications and Availability

Identify key personnel and their position within the organization in Section 2 – Offerors Information Questionnaire, Question Set 2.

Provide a resume detailing the experience, level of expertise and qualifications of the representative/manager and those individuals who will directly support and be involved in meeting the day-to-day requirements of the County.

If you plan to sub-contract work, you must indicate the name and address of each subcontractor and the type of work or tasks they will perform.

Identify the personnel to be assigned, their position, qualifications, and representative experience. Provide this information in Section 2 –Offerors Information Questionnaire, Question Set 4

d. Financial Statement

This competitive solicitation has a standard requirement that all submitted proposals include the Offeror’s financial history. To comply with this requirement, all respondents are to furnish County with financial statements at the time of submittal in order to demonstrate the Offeror's financial capabilities. Failure to provide this information at the time of submittal will result in a recommendation by the Chief Procurement Officer to deem the response as non-responsive.

Each respondent shall submit their most recent two (2) years of annual financial statements for review that shall include the following: 1) Income Statement, and 2) Balance Sheet. County’s preference is that financials be submitted in a comparative format, meaning that the two (2) most recent years are shown side by side. The financial statements are not required to be audited financial statements. If Offeror has been in business for less than the required number of years, then Offeror must disclose for all years of the required period that Offeror has been in business, including any partial year-to-date financial statements. County, during evaluation, may consider the unavailability of the most recent year’s financial statements and whether

Offeror acted in good faith in disclosing their financial documents.

Upload the Financial Statement through the Requested Information.

e. References

Offers must provide a minimum of three (3) references from similar projects in Section 2 -Offerors Information Questionnaire, Question Set 3

Offerors should provide a minimum of three (3) references from similar projects performed within the last three years. In addition include all local government (Southern California) references. Information provided shall include:

1. Client name;

2. Project description;

3. Project dates (starting and ending);

4. Dollar value

5. Staff assigned to reference engagement that will be designated for work per this RFP;

6. Client project manager name and telephone number.

f. Offeror Understanding

Offerors may include an understanding of the County's needs or any other information, deemed necessary, which may not be required in any other section of the RFP.

g. Requirements

Offeror's response shall state on a point-by-point basis whether proposal is in compliance with the requirements/specifications of the RFP (Section 3). Address each item in the order given, identify each response by item number. Submit a full explanation of, and justification for, any exemptions or deviations.

Upload the response to Section 3 through the Requested Information section.

h. Compliance with County Standard Contract Terms and Conditions

Successful Contractor will be required to enter into a written contract.

Offerors shall review the County’s standard contract in Section 4, which shall form the basis for any contract entered into hereunder.

Offerors must state approval of the standard contract, OR provide any comments/exceptions to this contract on a line-by-line basis.

For exceptions, address each item in the order given; identify each response by item number. Any comments/exceptions to this contract must be included in your proposal. Precise substitute wording must be offered in place of the paragraph objected to. It is not sufficient to state merely that an exception is noted to a particular paragraph.

Deviations considered excessive by the County may reduce or eliminate an Offeror.

PLEASE NOTE: The sample standard contract attached to this RFP is a template. Please do not attempt to insert missing information and complete the attached sample. Once a vendor is selected, Procurement will work with the selected vendor to draft a vendor-specific contract.

i. Payment Terms

Customary terms are Net 30 for work performed.

2.7 Costs Incurred in Responding

The County of Ventura will not pay any costs incurred in proposal preparation, presentation, demonstration or negotiation, nor does it commit to procure or contract for any services. All costs of proposal preparation shall be borne by the offeror. It is understood that all proposals, inquiries, and correspondence relating to this RFP and all reports, charts, displays, schedules, exhibits, and other documentation will become the property of the County of Ventura when received by the County and may be considered public information under applicable law.

The County assumes no liability for any costs incurred by offerors throughout the entire selection process.

2.8 Addenda

The County will issue written addenda to make changes, additions, or deletions to this solicitation. Oral communications regarding this RFP will NOT be valid or binding, nor excuse the successful Offeror of any obligations hereunder, unless set forth in writing by the County. Addenda will be sent to all known Offerors.

Offerors must acknowledge and return all Addenda on or before the Proposal Submittal Deadline. It is the responsibility of each Offeror to ensure the County of Ventura has their correct business name and address on file. Any prospective Offeror who obtained a copy of the RFP documents from any other source other than the County is responsible for advising the Procurement division that they have said documents and wish to receive subsequent Addenda.

2.9 Nomenclatures

The terms “Successful Offeror, Successful Contractor, and Contractor” may be used interchangeably in these specifications and shall refer exclusively to the Offeror with whom the (Agency) enters into a contract because of this solicitation.

The terms “Proposal/Solicitation/RFP” refer to all proposal documents and related addenda produced by the County and provided to prospective Offerors.

2.10 Confidential and Proprietary Data

All materials received relative to this RFP will be kept confidential, until such time an award is made or the RFP is canceled, at which time all materials received will be made available to the public. Proposals received will be subject to Government Code §6250, the Public Information Act. Under the Act, the County may be obligated to provide a copy of any and all responses to this Request for Proposal, if such requests are made after the contract is awarded.

One exception, to this required disclosure, is information which fits within the definition of a confidential trade secret [Government Code section 6254(k)] or contains other technical, financial or other data whose public disclosure could cause injury to the proposer’s competitive position. If any proposer believes that information contained in its response to this Request for Proposal should be protected from disclosure, the proposer MUST specifically mark the pages of the response that contains the information.

The County will not honor any attempt by the Offeror to designate its entire proposal as proprietary.

2.11 Commitments, Warranty and Representations

The proposal submitted in response to this RFP will be included as part of the final contract. Offerors are cautioned that if a contract is awarded as a result of this procurement process, any written commitment by an offeror within the scope of this procurement shall be binding upon the offeror whether or not incorporated into a contract document. Failure of the vendor to fulfill any such commitment shall render the offeror liable for liquidated or other damages due the County under the terms of the Contract. For the purpose of this procurement, a commitment by a offeror includes:

• Any modification of, or affirmation or representation as to the above, which is made by an offeror in or during the course of negotiation.

• Any representation by an offeror in a proposal, supporting document, or negotiations subsequent thereto as to services to be performed, regardless of the fact that the duration of such commitment may exceed the duration of the contract.

2.12 Proposal Validation/Evaluation/Award

a. Validation

Proposals will be checked for the information required to conform with this RFP. Absence of required information may be cause for rejection.

b. Evaluation

The successful offeror shall be chosen in accordance with, but not limited to, the following criteria:

1. Proven Performance

The offeror’s background, experience, and stability of their company will be assessed. The evaluation will focus on the Offeror’s record of successful service and support to accounts of comparable size and environment. The ability of the offeror will be evaluated in terms of technical resources, staffing, staff experience and facilities.

Client references will be contacted and their responses will become a part of the award/review process.

2. Compliance with Contract Terms and Conditions

The Proposals will be evaluated on the ability to comply with the County’s Contract terms and conditions in Section 4 - Contract Compliance.

3. Plan and Approach

The ability to meet the requirements/specifications outlined herein.

4. Cost

The Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of the offeror’s reasonableness of cost.

c. Award

Award will be made to the Offeror offering the most advantageous proposal after considerations of all evaluation criteria set forth herein. The criteria are not listed in any order of preference. An Evaluation Committee will be established by the County. The Committee will evaluate all proposals received in accordance with the evaluation criteria.

The Evaluation Committee may also contact and evaluate the Offeror’s and subcontractor’s references; contact any Offeror to clarify any response;

contact any current users of an Offeror’s services; solicit information from any available source concerning any aspect of a proposal; and seek and review any other information deemed pertinent to the evaluation process.

The County reserves the right to establish weight factors that will be applied to the criteria depending upon order of importance. Weight factors and summary of evaluation scores will not be released until after award of proposal. The County shall not be obligated to accept the lowest priced proposal, but will make an award in the best interests of the County after all factors have been evaluated.

While the County intends to enter a contract for these services, it will not be bound to do so. The County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals.

The County shall be the sole judge of the successful offers hereunder. The County reserves the right to award a contract to other than the offeror submitting the lowest total price and to negotiate with any or all Offerors.

Offerors are advised that it is possible that an award may be made without discussion or any contact concerning the proposals received. Accordingly, proposals should contain the most favorable terms from a price and technical standpoint, which the vendor can submit to the County. DO NOT ASSUME that you will be contacted or afforded an opportunity to clarify, discuss, or revise your proposal.

Award will be by means of a written contract with the successful Offeror. A Notification of Intent to Award may be sent to any Offeror selected. Award is contingent upon the successful negotiation of final contract terms.

Negotiations shall be confidential and not subject to disclosure to competing Offerors unless an agreement is reached. If contract negotiations cannot be concluded successfully, the County may negotiate with the next highest scoring Offeror or withdraw the RFP.

The County Board of Supervisors must approve all contracts resulting from this Request for Proposal if services exceed $200,000.

2.13 Presentations

Offerors may be invited to make oral presentations to County personnel.

2.14 Site Visits

The County reserves the right to schedule site visits to offeror’s facilities or a current operational site in order to assess the capability and ability of the offeror to fulfill the contract.

2.15 Additional information

If during the evaluation process, the County is unable to determine an offeror's ability to perform, the County has the option of requesting any additional information which the County deems necessary to determine the offeror s ability.

The offeror will be notified and permitted five working days to comply with any such request.

2.16 Errors/Defects in Proposals

If discrepancies between sections or other errors are found in a proposal, the County may reject the proposal; however, the County may, at its sole option, correct any arithmetical errors in price.

The County may waive any immaterial deviation or defect in a proposal. The County’s waiver of an immaterial deviation or defect shall in no way modify the RFP documents or excuse the offeror from full compliance with the RFP requirements, if awarded a contract.

2.17 Rejection of Proposals

County reserves the right to reject the proposal of any offeror who:

• previously failed to perform adequately for County or any other governmental agency within the previous twelve (12) months.

• submits false, incomplete, or unresponsive statements in a proposal;

• is in default on the payment of taxes, licenses or other monies due County;

• containing errors or discrepancies.

2.18 Cancellation of RFP

The County reserves the right to cancel this solicitation at any time, prior to the submittal deadline.

2.19 Protest Procedures

To be considered, protests must be made in writing, signed by Offeror’s authorized representative, and delivered to the Ventura County Procurement Services Manager, GSA/Procurement, 800 S. Victoria Ave., Ventura, CA 93009-1080.

The following conditions apply to proposal protest:

a. Before Proposal Submittal Deadline. Protests of specifications, terms, conditions or any other aspects of the solicitation must be made before the Proposal Submittal Deadline.

b. After Proposal Submittal Deadline. Protest of award must be made, by Offeror, no later than five (5) calendar days after the notice of intent to award. All protests must include the following information:

1) The name, address, and telephone number of the protestor;

2) The signature of the protestor, or protestor’s authorized representative;

3) The solicitation or contract number; and

4) A detail statement of the legal and/or factual grounds for the protest.

The Procurement Services Manager reserves the right to refuse to hear protestors who have not followed the above procedures.

SECTION 3.0

SCOPE OF WORK

The requirements described herein are considered reasonable to meet the County’s needs. Offeror having alternate proposals to meet these needs, may, after responding to the minimum requirements hereunder, offer alternate service levels for consideration by the County.

3.1 Scope of Work

The following section provides the tasks and responsibilities of the contractor selected under this RFP. These responsibilities are subject to change but provide guidance to interested bidders in preparing a response to this RFP.

Contractor will provide therapeutic family support services and work collaboratively with CFS and VCBH in assessing and coordinating services to each CFS-involved child/youth and their parent(s) or prospective caregiver(s). Contractor shall ensure each of the following tasks are accomplished during the term of the program:

• Develop and coordinate a therapeutic family support services program that includes the following service components:

1) Children’s Individual Therapy Sessions- Specialty Mental Health Services (SMHS) will be provided to children and youth who are EPSDT Medi-Cal beneficiaries or Non-Medi-Cal recipients and meet medical necessity criteria based on the child’s/youth’s need for services as established by an assessment and documented in the treatment plan.

2) Family Therapeutic Sessions- Child/youth and their parent(s) or prospective caregiver(s) sessions will be provided to address and support the mental health issues and behaviors of the child/youth as outlined in the treatment plan. These sessions will provide the parent or prospective caregiver with opportunities to learn and practice new skills in order to support the child’s/youth’s treatment goals and reunification process or permanency goal.

3) Parent or Prospective Caregiver Individual Sessions- Sessions with the parent(s) or prospective caregiver(s) will be provided to discuss progress, address concerns, and explore next steps in the program. These sessions are also intended to provide psychoeducation regarding the rupture and repair process of attachment and a safe space in which the parent or prospective caregiver can process the trauma-informed training provided during Parenting Support Groups.

4) Parenting Support Groups- Provide a safe environment to hold parenting support groups appropriate for parents and prospective caregivers in order to provide psychoeducation training on attachment, parenting styles, complex trauma, child/youth development, basic emotional needs, communication, respectful discipline, building trust between the parents/prospective caregiver and child/youth, and strengthening their social network.

• Meet certification requirements as a Short-Doyle Medi-Cal organization providing Medi-Cal services in a California county for at least three (3) years and have experience providing EPSDT services for a minimum of three (3) years.

• Hire a minimum of two (2) full-time equivalent (FTE) licensed, unlicensed registered, or waivered clinical professionals who will provide therapeutic services that will focus on using trauma-informed best practices, re-integrating the family, maintaining family attachments, promoting permanency/lifelong connections, supporting positive interactions during any periods of separation or disruption, and/or helping the child/youth, their parent(s), or prospective caregiver(s) resolve problems while increasing stability and safety in the home.

o Contractor may utilize a combination of part-time and full-time licensed, unlicensed registered or waivered clinical professionals to accommodate times that will be most convenient for the participants.

• Maintain a minimum of 30% bilingual staff for the program to provide sufficient services to all Spanish-speaking families and ensure that interpretation services are available for other languages, including American Sign Language (ASL), to meet participants’ needs.

• Be flexible in providing services in terms of location, time of day/day of week, planning, and response based on needs of the child/youth and their parent(s) or prospective caregiver(s).

• Serve all Ventura County CFS-involved families and children/youth referred by CFS and VCBH who meet program eligibility. Contractor will be expected to track services by CFS program component and family status (FP, FR, FM, FE, and PP).

• Communicate with the treating psychiatrist in cases where County is providing medication services to referred clients to ensure coordinated treatment. In cases where Contractor terminates services to a client, Contractor will immediately inform the VCBH Clinic Administrator of the VCBH clinic where the client is assigned.

• Notify CFS and VCBH contract liaisons if needing to triage based on capacity.

Contractor will provide weekly updates as to the status of the triage including, but not limited to, the number of children/youths, parents and prospective caregivers in process, and anticipated timeline to begin services.

• Utilize funds from the contract budget to support transportation to and from services for participants when needed.

• Have in place written procedures for notifying children and their families how to access urgent or emergency psychiatric services after hours and on weekends and have messages on voicemail systems, in both English and Spanish, with instructions on how to access these services, including contacting a 24-hour crisis service and calling public emergency 911 systems.

• Complete and obtain necessary intake documentation, signed release of information forms, necessary service authorization agreements, compliance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) guidelines, etc.

• At initial contact, provide child/youth and their parent(s) or prospective caregiver(s) with an introduction to the program, a description of the available services, and a brief overview of the development of the therapeutic support service plan.

• Utilize an evidence-based assessment at initial intake to assist licensed, unlicensed registered, or waivered clinical professionals with developing a therapeutic support service plan.

o The initial intake assessment shall include, but not be limited to the following: safety and family functioning, participants’ strengths and needs, individual skills, values, and beliefs.

• Complete the Pediatric Symptom Checklist-35 (PSC-35) tool at required intervals, including at intake, every six (6) months during treatment, and at discharge.

• Develop and finalize a therapeutic support service plan in collaboration with the child/youth, parent(s) or prospective caregiver(s) and assigned CWSW following the completion of the Children and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) Assessment Tool. CANS are completed at intake, key events, every 6 months, and at discharge.

o Therapeutic support services plans shall be individualized, contain behaviorally specific goals, and integrate needed interventions consistent with the CFS Case Plan and CANS Assessment Tool. The type of services and duration of services should be assessed utilizing the Structured Decision Making (SDM) tool, safety factors, and risk level. Safety factors will help determine the type of services while the risk level will help determine the duration of services.

o Therapeutic support services plans should include but are not limited to the following:

▪ Description of services

▪ Frequency of services including dates, times, length of each service, and duration of services

▪ Location of services

▪ General goals/Progress goals

▪ Support system o Therapeutic support service plans shall be forwarded to the CWSW and CW Supervisor within seven (7) calendar days after completion of CANS and assessment.

o Therapeutic support service plans shall be updated when needed to reflect changes in child’s/youth’s or family’s circumstances/functioning and to incorporate safety planning when necessary.

• Provide program services utilizing the services identified in the therapeutic support service plan.

• Develop, coordinate and provide formal, natural supports and community services for use during intervention and in after care.

• Create and maintain progress notes for the provision of all SMHS services provided through this program.

o Each progress note shall provide sufficient detail to support the service code selected for the service type, as indicated by the service code description.

o Progress notes shall be completed within three (3) business days of providing a service, with the exception of notes for crisis services, which shall be completed within 24 hours.

• Maintain regular and frequent communication with the assigned CWSW to ensure all services and activities remain in alignment with the Case Plan goals.

o Provide an update on the family to the assigned CWSW and CW Supervisor monthly, at minimum, including any updates to the therapeutic support service plan and the participants’ progress or lack thereof.

o Additional written reports and summaries may be requested by CFS and VCBH as needed.

• Attend scheduled Children and Family Team Meetings (CFTMs), as requested to provide an update on the child’s/youth’s and their parent’s or prospective caregiver’s progress towards goals, change in status, updates in service delivery, targeted interventions, and other issues identified by the contractor, CFS or VCBH.

• Prior to the conclusion of services, the child/youth, parent(s), or prospective caregiver(s), and Contractor’s clinician will assess progress and develop a written aftercare plan to maintain progress and identify ongoing service needs of the child/youth and the parent(s) or prospective caregiver(s).

o The clinician will assist participants in connecting to needed resources and services to support them following case closure to prevent crisis, reinforce skills, or provide support with a planned or unplanned future event.

• Provide a discharge summary to CFS and VCBH at the end of services for each family. The summary should include but is not limited to the reason for discharge, service type, number of completed and missed sessions, summary of goal completion, final assessment of participants’ overall progress, and the aftercare plan.

• Develop and administer a County-approved feedback and satisfaction survey to the parents, prospective caregiver, and child/youth prior to case closure.

• Develop and administer a County-approved electronic satisfaction survey to the assigned CWSW.

• Collect data to develop and submit weekly reports to CFS and VCBH (participant demographics, program component, services, etc.,) and quarterly performance reports, as well as any additional ad hoc reports as requested by CFS or VCBH.

• Work collaboratively with CFS and VCBH staff (Program Managers, Clinicians, Child Welfare Supervisors, Child Welfare Social Workers, etc.,) to support decisions made by stakeholders and to resolve programmatic or communication concerns.

• Immediately call the 24-hour Child and Elder Abuse Hotline (805-654-3200) to report any concerns of suspected abuse and/or neglect.

• Develop and maintain a website and brochure/printed information piece describing the program’s services in both English and Spanish, the contents of which will be pre-approved by the HSA and VCBH contract liaisons.

• Provide periodic and regular training about relevant child welfare topics including, but not limited to, Safety Organized Practice, substance abuse, adolescent development, psychotropic medication and medication management, working with families, concurrent child welfare permanency planning, domestic violence, teen relationship abuse, crisis intervention and trauma theory. The Contractor must provide training on how to recognize and assess child safety and risk.

• Submit an accurate invoice monthly for all expenses incurred and paid for the previous month no later than the fifteenth (15th) calendar day of the subsequent month. Contractor must maintain sufficient documentation to verify allowability and accuracy of expenses. Contractor will be responsible for repayment of any disallowed costs.

Required Staff:

The contract resulting from this procurement requires the Contractor to recruit, hire, and maintain qualified staff for all required positions including but not limited to Therapists/Clinicians, Supervisor, and Program Manager. The staffing requirements are listed below for each position. The Contractor must fully vet any staff hired and assigned to provide services, including the completion of all necessary clearances. Contractor may propose additional staff, if well justified, and supported within the maximum contract amount.

• Therapists/Clinicians must have a graduate degree in Social Work, Psychology, or Counseling, and must be licensed or license-eligible with the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS).

• Supervisor must have a graduate degree in Social Work, Psychology, or Counseling, and must be a Licensed Professional of the Healing Arts (LPHA). The Supervisor will need to be in good standing with the BBS and meet the qualifications to provide clinical supervision per BBS standards.

• Program Manager must have a graduate degree in Social Work, Psychology, Counseling, have at least two years supervisory/management experience, and must have at least four years providing direct services to families, preferably intensive in‐home services. The Program Manager will also provide client back-up for the Supervisor when needed. The program manager must be licensed and able to supervise therapists/clinicians.

Performance and Outcomes Measures:

The selected contractor must have the ability to maintain accurate and current data, as well as the ability to assess, interpret and report data outcomes to the County on a quarterly basis. Such data may include quantitative and qualitative information regarding program participation, service provision and how those services relate to the family’s planned goals and outcomes. In addition, the selected contractor will be expected to meet the following performance and outcome measures and will be evaluated in the following areas listed below:

• Process Indicators o Total number of families referred.

o Total number of families enrolled and receiving services.

▪ Family Preservation

▪ Family Reunification

▪ Family Maintenance

▪ Family Enhancement

▪ Permanent Placement o Number of referred families that were not enrolled in services and the reason why they were not enrolled.

o Number of direct and indirect hours of service and services provided.

(Direct hours include client (in-person) contact that includes but is not limited to assessment, treatment planning, individual sessions, family therapeutic sessions, and skill-building, as well as telephone contact.)

o Number of families closed for services.

▪ Number of families closed due to successful completion of program.

▪ Number of families closed due to unsuccessful completion and reason why.

o Number of families triaged.

▪ Number of days each family is/was triaged.

▪ Reason why the family was triaged.

o Number of families being served in their preferred language.

▪ English

▪ Spanish

▪ Other

• Outcome Measures Tracked by Children & Family Services – It is anticipated that this service will contribute to, at minimum, the following outcomes, which will be documented by CFS.

o Families completing program will have no recurrence of child maltreatment as evidenced by no substantiated referral within the service period and at 12 months following program completion. (Goal: 90%) CFS will report on results each quarter.

o Families completing program will have no entry or re-entry into child welfare system during service period and at 12 months following program completion. (Goal: 90%) CFS will report on results each quarter.

o Children or youth in an active placement at service completion will achieve permanency within 12 months following completion of services.

Permanency is defined as placement exit status of reunification, guardianship, or adoption. (Goal: 30%) CFS will report on results each quarter.

• Outcome Measures Tracked by Contractor - The following outcome measures will be tracked by the Contractor and documented on the quarterly report.

o At post-service assessment, each parent/prospective caregiver will indicate services improved their relationship with the child/youth, increased their parenting confidence, and increased their strategies to support the child’s/youth’s needs and behaviors. In addition, each parent/caregiver will also indicate they have observed positive changes in the child’s/youth’s behaviors since participating in services.

o Participants who exit the program and the assigned Child Welfare Social Workers will return the post-service satisfaction surveys indicating they are at least “satisfied” with services.

• Contractor will be required to complete outcome performance measures identified by VCBH upon intake, annually and at discharge for each client authorized by County for EPSDT Medi-Cal mental health services. County will provide Contractor with direction in establishing a system for data collection and data integrity measures.

• Contractor will submit the attached Performance Report on a quarterly basis.

Reports are due within 15 days after the end of each quarter (April 15, July 15, October 15, January 15). An accompanying narrative outlining reasons for underperformance and plan for improvement should accompany reports for any measures where the stated goal is not being met. Should the format of the Performance report change during the contract period, the County will advise the contractor as soon as possible.

• Additional data/reporting may be requested by CFS or VCBH.

Additional Requirements:

• Services shall take place in the least restrictive setting that maintains safety for the child/youth, parent, prospective caregiver, and staff. If services cannot be safely provided in the home, the use of family or friends’ home, resource homes, or community settings (ex. public library, park, etc.,) are encouraged. If it is determined by the family, CFS, VCBH and Contractor that it is best to provide therapeutic visitation and intervention in an office due to safety concerns or other factors, the Contractor’s program site may be used providing there is a family and child/youth-friendly space designated specifically for the visit. The program site location should be accessible and located in an area convenient to the population it serves. The Contractor shall coordinate and pay for the costs of transportation for participants identified in need of transportation assistance to and from sessions.

• In the event of short- or long-term conditions which impact Contractor’s normal service delivery operations, such as a declared public health emergency or disaster, Contractor shall immediately notify County of the status and impact on operations, staffing and client populations. Contractor shall work with County to develop a strategy to be approved by County for alternative methods to deliver services and plan for timely return to normal service operations, while also adhering to federal, state and local safety and public health directives at all times.

• Cultivate staff and program capacity to serve clients in an accessible, culturally and linguistically considerate manner, and ensure equitable outcomes across the diverse client population.

• Contractor is required to have a secure email system and send any email containing personally identifiable information (PII) or protected health information (PHI) in a secure and encrypted manner.

• All digital and physical promotional materials for this program must include the County of Ventura’s logos along with a statement in both English and Spanish that the program is funded by the County of Ventura, through its Human Services Agency - Children & Family Services and Health Care Agency - Behavioral Health.

All materials must be approved by the CFS and VCBH contract liaisons prior to publication. County may approve a deviation from this requirement on a case by case basis. Logos can be obtained through the CFS and VCBH contract liaisons and must be used solely for the approved purpose.

• If it is determined that the contractor must subcontract any of the duties and responsibilities to a third party, including for language assistance, the contractor will notify the CFS and VCBH contract liaisons in advance, in writing, and will receive approval prior to subcontracting. All subcontractor(s) must be an eligible service provider and will be held to the same policies, procedures, conditions and mandates as pertains to Contractor. In all cases, Contractor shall be liable for all actions of any subcontractor in the operation of this program, and Contractor shall monitor performance and compliance with all aspects of said subcontract and report all findings and corrective actions immediately to the CFS and VCBH contract liaisons.