To: Board of Supervisors
From: Marla Stuart, Employment and Human Services Director
Report Title: 20-588-0 (CFS) with the Regents of University of California, Davis
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Employment and Human Services Director, or designee, to execute an interagency agreement with the Regents of the University of California in an amount not to exceed $140,820 to provide consultation and facilitation services supporting the California State mandated child welfare County Self-Assessment and Peer Review activity and reporting for the period September 1, 2024 through February 28, 2026.
FISCAL IMPACT:
$140,820: 53% State, 25% Federal and 22% County funds; $140,820 of which is budgeted in FY 24-25 [and any remaining unexpended funds will be reappropriated in FY 25-26.]
BACKGROUND:
The University of California, Davis, (UCD) Continuing and Professional Education, Health Services Division provides California State mandated child welfare and probation County Self-Assessment (CSA) facilitation and consultation services that meet the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) requirements. If approved, UCD will provide Employment and Human Services (EHSD), Children and Family Services (CFS) consultation and facilitation support services to support the CSA requirements for a term of September 1, 2024 to February 28, 2026.
On July 27, 2021 the Board of Supervisors approved Agreement #20-381-0 with UCD to provide CSA consultation and facilitation services for the period July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022 (C.65). This is a new Agreement with similar services and contains Special Conditions to the General Conditions, including a mutual indemnification clause, self-insurance, modified cancellation, termination and copyright language reviewed and approved by County’s Risk Management and County Counsel.
Per the CDSS Manual, County Welfare Department’s Children and Family Services Divisions are required to complete a CSA process in collaboration with the County Probation Department every five years. Contra Costa is scheduled to undergo its CSA in 2025. The CSA is the analytic vehicle by which County Child Welfare Agencies determine the effectiveness of current practice, programs and resources across the continuum of child welfare and probation placement services and identifies areas for targeted system improvement.
The CSA Peer Review process is expected to solicit unbiased community, staff and peer feedback and analysis through a series of in person and/or virtual stakeholder focus groups, which ultimately will result in the CSA Report to be incorporated into the EHSD CFS Five Year System Improvement Plan. It is encouraged and recommended by the State to have an unbiased third party perform the CSA Peer Review process. UCD is the recommended agency to provide the services.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Should the proposed action not be approved by the Board of Supervisors, Contra Costa Child Welfare Services will be noncompliant with the State Mandated CSA requirements.
CHILDREN’S IMPACT STATEMENT:
This agreement supports all five of Contra Costa County’s community outcomes of the Children’s Report Card, (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 review and analysis of existing child welfare processes and procedures to identify areas for targeted system improvement impacting children and families involved with the child welfare system.