To: Board of Supervisors
From: Marla Stuart, Employment and Human Services Director
Report Title: CFS - Contract 20-494-2 Seneca Family of Agencies
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Employment and Human Services Director, or designee, to execute a contract with Seneca Family of Agencies, a non-profit corporation, in an amount not to exceed $770,987 to provide an Enhanced Intensive Services Foster Care Program delivering in home-based placement and intensive supportive services to Contra Costa County dependent foster youth for the period July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.
FISCAL IMPACT:
$770,987: 70% State, 30% County General Fund, all of which is budgeted in FY 2025-2026.
BACKGROUND:
Seneca Family of Agencies (Seneca) provides an Enhanced Intensive Services Foster Care (E-ISFC) Program delivering in home-based placement and intensive supportive services for youth who cannot live safely in a family home, do not qualify to be placed in a Regional Center facility and/or are denied entry into lower-level placements due to acute, complex, emotional and behavioral needs. Seneca offers alternatives to repeated placement disruptions and provides additional staffing, professional caregivers, supports and services to house, stabilize, provide treatment, and to ultimately transition youth to less restrictive placements, including with family, standard resource family homes, or lower-level care licensed facilities as part of each youth’s long-term permanency plan.
This action is to execute a contract renewal with Seneca Family of Agencies for the term July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. In August 2022, in alignment with County policy, EHSD Children and Family Services issued Request For Interest (RFI) #746 for High Acuity Needs Youth Residential of which Seneca was awarded a contract. On June 27, 2023, the Board approved item C.76 to execute a contract with Seneca for a term of July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024 and on May 21, 2024 approved item C.22 executing a renewal contract with Seneca for a term of July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 to provide an Enhanced Intensive Services Foster Care Program delivering in home-based placement and intensive supportive services to Contra Costa County dependent foster youth.
CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:
The services provided under this contract support all five of Contra Costa County’s community outcomes: (1) “Children Ready for and Succeeding in School”; (2) “Children and Youth Healthy and Preparing for Productive Adulthood”; (3) “Families that are Economically Self-Sufficient”; (4) "Families that are Safe, Stable and Nurturing"; and (5) "Communities that are Safe and Provide a High Quality of Life for Children and Families" by providing residential placement services to youth who have been denied placement and/or cannot live safely in lower level care.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The County will not be able to meet the placement and treatment needs of our high acuity, complex care dependent foster youth, and reduce safety risk and additional trauma for this most vulnerable population with severe emotional and behavioral needs.