Community-Based Care Lead Agency for Circuit 20

The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), Suncoast Region, is seeking a Community-Based Care Lead Agency to provide a comprehensive array of foster care and related services, including child abuse prevention and protection, adoptions, family preservation, independent living, emergency shelter, residential group care, therapeutic foster care, intensive residential treatment, foster care supervision, case management, coordination of mental health services, post-placement supervision, permanent foster care, and family reunification for the counties of Charlotte, Hendry, Collier, Glades, and Lee. The procurement is being conducted through an Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) process, with responses due by June 29, 2022. The selected vendor(s) will be awarded a contract with a five-year term, commencing on July 1, 2022. The Lead Agency will be compensated through a combination of state and federal grant funds and must meet a 25% local match requirement for Promoting Safe and Stable Families grant funds. The evaluation criteria for the programmatic and financial proposals include the vendor's service approach and solution, executive overview, core team qualifications, financial management capabilities, and proposed budget.

The ITN does not specify any set-aside designations or restrictions on the types of organizations that can respond. The current incumbent provider, Children's Network of South West Florida, LLC, has been selected for the contract award. The Department does not fund cost-of-living increases, and there will be no funds awarded for start-up or readiness activities. The Lead Agency must provide a completed Cost Allocation Plan developed in accordance with federal regulations prior to contract execution. The anticipated contract value or budget range is not provided in the documentation.