HomeMy WebLinkAbout20212706RESOLUTION
RE: APPROVE APPLICATION FOR FAMILY FIRST TRANSITION ACT FUNDING TO
IMPLEMENT A THERAPEUTIC FOSTER CARE PROGRAM AND AUTHORIZE CHAIR
TO SIGN
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, Colorado, pursuant to
Colorado statute and the Weld County Home Rule Charter, is vested with the authorky of
administering the affairs of Weld County, Colorado, and
WHEREAS, the Board has been presented with an Application for Family First Transition
Act Funding to Implement a Therapeutic Foster Care Program from the County of Weld, State of
Colorado, by and through the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, on behalf of the
Department of Human Services, to the Colorado Department of Human Services, commencing
upon full execution of signatures, with further terms and conditions being as stated in said
application, and
WHEREAS, after review, the Board deems it advisable to approve said application, a copy
of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of
Weld County, Colorado, that the Application for Family First Transition Act Funding to Implement
a Therapeutic Foster Care Program from the County of Weld, State of Colorado, by and through
the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, on behalf of the Department of Human
Services, to the Colorado Department of Human Services, be, and hereby is, approved.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Board that the Chair be, and hereby is, authorized
to sign said application.
The above and foregoing Resolution was, on motion duly made and seconded, adopted
by the following vote on the 15th day of September, A.D., 2021.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
WELD COUNTY, COLORADO
ATTEST: ddreA4A) .. :4
Weld County Clerk to the Board
BY:
eputy Clerk to the Boar
APP 'o DAS
County At orney
Date of signature: pal /2 -3/2 -
Steve oreno Chair
Lori Sain
cc:HSD
0W.3 /2 -t
2021-2706
HR0093
PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL Cc a& I 5Ze2
MEMORANDUM
DATE: September 7, 2021
TO: Board of County Commissioners — Pass -Around
FR: Jamie Ulrich, Director, Human Services
RE: Family First Transition Act Funding Application
Please review and indicate if you would like a work session prior to placing this item on the
Board's agenda.
Request Board Approval of the Department's Family First Transition Act Funding
Application. The Department is requesting to apply for Family First Transition Act funding
which is available through the Colorado Department of Human Services to provide critical
funding and flexibility to ensure a smooth and successful rollout of the Family First Prevention
Services Act in Colorado. The Department previously applied for this funding in January 2021,
known as Tyler ID 2021-0227. The Department was not awarded funding during that round of
funding distribution. However, the State acknowledged the value of this proposed program and
encouraged the Department to apply for funding during the next round.
If awarded, funds will be used by the Division of Child Welfare to create and implement a
therapeutic foster care program within the already existing foster care program. This program
will fall within the priority funding area 2 which encourages programming that keeps children
placed within the community and in the least restrictive and most family -like setting possible.
The goal of the program will be to reduce the number of youth who are placed in residential
settings outside of the community by placing them in specially trained Weld County foster
homes. The Division of Child Welfare is well positioned to implement this program because of a
strong foster care program and identification of current foster homes who have the necessary
skills to become therapeutic foster homes. Funding will provide for additional training, respite
services and supports for these highly skilled and specially trained foster homes. The funding is
available for one year, with the possibility of additional funding in years two and three. The cost
savings that are realized by reducing the number of youth in higher level placements will be re-
invested into the therapeutic foster home program to maintain this program into the future.
REQUESTED FUNDS:
Year 1
$37,682.00
Year 2
$32,882.00
Year 3
$32,882.00
TOTAL
$103,446.00
This Application is due to the State by Tuesday, September 21, 2021.
Pass -Around Memorandum; September 7, 2021— ID 5242
2021-2706
omG0
PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL
I do not recommend a Work Session. I recommend approval of this Application and authorize the chair to
sign.
Perry L. Buck
Mike Freeman
Scott K. James, Pro-Tem
Steve Moreno, Chair
Lori Saine
Approve Schedule
Recommendation Work Session
Via fruit
t
Other/Comments:
Pass -Around Memorandum; September 7, 2021— ID 5242 Page 2
Karla Ford
4
Fr : m:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
yes
Lori Saone
Weld County Commissioner, District 3
1150 O Street
PO Box 758
Greeley CO 80632
Phone: 970-400-4205
Fax: 970-336-7233
Email: IsAine@weldgov.com
Website: www.co.weld.co.us
In God We Trust
Lori Saine
Tuesday, September 7, 2021 12:01 PM
Karla Ford
RE: Please Reply - PA FOR ROUTING: CW Family First Funding (CMS 5242)
Confidentiality Notice: This electronic transmission and any attached documents or other writings are intended only for
the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential or otherwise
protected from disclosure. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify sender by return
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contents of this communication or any attachments by anyone other than the named recipient is strictly prohibited.
From: Karla Ford <kford @weldgov.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 7, 2021 11:22 AM
To: Lori Saine <Isaine@9 eldgovacom>
Subject: Please Reply - PA FOR ROUTING: CW Family First Funding (CMS 5242)
Importance: High
Please advise if you approve recommendation. Thank you.
Karla Ford
Office Manager, Board of Weld County Commissioners
1150 O Street, P.O. Box 758, Greeley, Colorado 80632
:: 970,33697204:: kford@weldgov.cor:: www.weldgov.com e®
*please note my working hours are Monday -Thursday 7:OOa.m.®5mOOpa .'
syM'... vKY..r• ("tpww.,wnw.w.wave.wwaw +.w+.•
y .•
4
I
COLORADO
Department of Human Services
EXHIBIT A: APPLICATION
1. General Information
Agency type requesting funding:
County Department
Non-Profit/Community Partner
Government Agency
Other:
Agency/Organization name:
Weld County Department of Human Services
2. Proposal Summary
Total amount requested:
$103,446.00
Expected length of project (in months):
36
Provide a one- to two -paragraph description of your proposal:
Weld County will develop a therapeutic foster care program which will allow for
placement of youth who need higher level of care within the community allowing them
to maintain connections with parents and family members, school and community
supports. The program will consist of four to five veteran and specially trained foster
parents. Each home will be a two- parent home with one parent being at home when
the youth are present in order to provide support, encourage youth extracurricular
1
RFA IHFA FA 2022000042
Family First Transition Act Funds Application
02o osQlo-02794
activities and family visitation. Families recruited for the program will have proven
experience with difficult and challenging youth, either as foster parents, residential
staff, teachers or counselors. Families will have a history of providing service and
support to youth, promoting positive outcomes for youth and collaborating with
professionals and families in the best interest of youth.
What is the change you expect to see as a result of gaining funding (think about outcomes expected)?
Weld County will develop a therapeutic foster care program which will provide for the
placement of youth who need higher level of care within the community allowing them
to maintain connections with parents and family members, school and community
supports. This program will reduce the reliance on residential placements, including
QRTP, and will allow youth to be placed in a family like setting within the community.
What need are you trying to address and why is it a fit/priority for your community or
the community you expect the funding to support?
Weld County currently does not have any Residential Child Care Facilities, potential
Qualified Residential Treatment Programs or an adequate number of Child Placement
Agency treatment foster homes within the County. This lack of higher -level placement
options requires that youth who meet criteria for higher level of care be placed out of
the County. Placing a youth out of their community causes further trauma to youth and
complicates visitation, school placement and youth's overall connection to kin, friends
and neighbors. If youth cannot safely be maintained at home or with kin, research
indicates that youth do better when placed in a foster care setting rather than in a
residential setting. Family First also supports maintaining children in their home when it
is safely possible or in the lowest level of care, preferably in a family like setting. Having
the availability of highly skilled and specially trained therapeutic foster homes within the
County will further the goals of Family First and will promote safety, permanency and
well- being for the children and families in our community.
3. Guiding Principles
Describe how your proposal will address each principle. If the proposal does not align
with one of the guiding principles, please explain why.
Collaboration. How does your proposal leverage partnerships and collaboration? If
appropriate, list out your partners. If applicable, attach letters of support/partnership
to the end of your application.
2
RFAIHFA 2022000042
Family First Transition Act Funds Application
Our program will leverage partnerships and collaboration with our community partners
in ways that each agency can help address areas of support, services and training for
foster, biological and kinship families. Each partner agency has existing staff and
programs that will be utilized to support the therapeutic foster homes and the youth
placed in those homes. These partnerships will provide wrap around services to the
families while the youth is placed and continue with services once the youth transitions
home or to a lower level of care. Maintaining the youth in their school district,
providing access to services and providing specialized foster parents will enable youth to
heal from the harm caused by trauma, to build resiliency and to be positioned to
successfully return home. The collaboration will ensure this coordinated approach by
developing a small task force where representation will be heard through the voices of
the community partners and the families we are serving. The community partners that
we have identified at this time is our local School District Greeley/Evans School District 6
and our community mental health center, North Range Behavioral Health.
Infrastructure Development. How does your proposal address identified gaps in the
current system and/or build a more robust foundation?
Currently, Weld County has a gap in higher level of placement options within the
County. The proposed therapeutic foster care program will provide specially trained
foster parents within Weld County to care for youth who meet criteria for higher level of
care. The therapeutic foster homes are not permanent homes, but will support the high
needs of youth, provide stability and healing and prepare the youth to return home or
to a lower level of care. The maximum length of stay in these homes is six months.
Each youth placed in this program will have an up to date diligent search and an
extensive family find will be conducted to identify family connections. Transition
planning will begin within no more than 60 days from the placement of the youth. The
Foster Care Coordinator shall collaborate with the family engagement and permanency
teams to develop and implement a transition plan to address the services and supports
needed for the youth to return home or step down to a lower level of care. By
maintaining the youth within their own community, the possibility of reunification is
enhanced due to the ability to have more frequent visitation and immediate visitation,
to maintain community supports and connections for youth and to wrap services around
the youth and family that can be maintained after the youth returns home or to a lower
level of care.
Sustainability. How does your proposal support sustainable, longer -term
impacts/outcomes?
This program is sustainable since it will be part of our already existing foster care
program and the staff resources to support this program are in place and available to
3
RFA IHFA 2022000042
Family First Transition Act Funds Application
provide support in the long term. By expanding the continuum of care, youth will be
placed at the most appropriate level the first time and will avoid unnecessary moves
which further traumatize youth. This program will positively impact outcomes for youth
and families, including reducing the number of moves for youth in foster care, reducing
the length of time to reunification/permanency for youth and reducing the re-entry rate
for youth by providing therapeutic and respite support to biological and kinship families.
Community -Informed. How did feedback and input from the community you plan to
serve contribute to the proposed work? What ongoing engagement strategies will
your proposal utilize?
The community recognizes that there is a gap in placement services in Weld County and
that youth oftentimes must leave their community in order to be placed in a higher level
of care, especially pre -teen and teenage youth. Over the past year, we have had
multiple conversations with the school district and our service providers about the need
to support our youth within our County and not be reliant on only looking outside of the
County for higher level placement options. Our community partners are willing to
provide support to our therapeutic foster parents and the youth placed in those homes.
We will have regular meetings with our community partners to discuss the program and
our progress in improving outcomes for the youth and families served. We will continue
to engage other community partners in an effort to expand support for the foster
families, youth and biological families. We will solicit feedback from staff, families and
youth to learn what other areas, services, supports, and training would be needed.
Data -Informed. Is the request data -informed? If yes, please describe the data
collection plan and measurements. If no, please explain why not and/or what data will
be gathered as part of your proposal.
Currently, Weld County has 19 youth placed in residential settings, including Group
Home care, 100% are out of County, with two youth being placed out of State. Weld
County also has 14 youth placed with Child Placement Agencies, 50% are out of County.
The proposed therapeutic foster care program will allow 6-8 youth at any one time to be
placed within the community. This will decrease our reliance residential care and out of
county placements in general. We will also track the outcomes for youth in this
program compared to youth in residential care and traditional foster care for
reunification, achieving permanency, placement stability and re-entry. We will use
Trails reports to gather this data and will review the data on a semi-annual basis. In
addition, if we place 6-8 youth in our program and avoid placement in residential care,
we can save an average of $16,000 to $20,000 per month in placement costs that can be
reinvested into services for the youth and families.
4
RFA IHFA 2022000042
Family First Transition Act Funds Application
Equity. How has your proposal taken Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) into
consideration? What specific inequities is this work addressing? How will the
proposed activities address these inequities?
Weld County is committed to increasing diversity, equity and inclusion in all aspects of
foster care. When recruiting for foster homes, we do not discriminate against any
persons and we seek to have equal opportunities for all. We strive to recruit homes that
will match the diversity of the youth we have in care and will offer support to all youth
placed within their homes. Our expectation is that our foster parents are educated in
equity, diversity and inclusion and we make efforts to provide continuing education in
that area. The trainings are tailored to allow frank and honest discussion amongst the
trainer and all participants. As part of the NTDC pilot project, we offer the NTDC
curriculum which has been designed to take DEI into consideration and has specific
modules regarding supporting all youth placed in homes, respecting and honoring their
diversity. Our philosophy of inclusivity and respecting diversity applies to all our foster
homes, including those we will look to license as respite only homes.
4. Proposed Activities
Describe what you will do and how you will do it.
What is the timeline for this work and what are the major milestones that will
ultimately lead to your desired results?
Targeted recruitment for the therapeutic foster homes will begin in January 2022,
including identifying current foster homes to transition to this new program as well as
recruiting new homes to be part of the program. The certification and training process
will be completed by April 2022 and first placements into this program will occur
beginning in May 2022. Based on an average length of stay of three months, the first
youth will transition to home, kin or a lower level of care by the end of July 2022.
How will you know you are successful?
We will know the program is successful by reducing the number of youth placed in
residential settings and out of the County by 25% in the first year of the program. We
will also expect 80% of the youth in the program to maintain placement stability while in
the program. 60% of the youth will achieve permanency when they exit the program
and 80% will not re-enter out of home placement within 12 months from exiting the
program.
What do you believe the consequence will be if your proposal is not funded?
5
RFA IHFA 2022000042
Family First Transition Act Funds Application
Weld County will continue to place youth with higher level needs out of the community.
While we will continue to develop our foster care program in the hopes to place more
teens within our program, without the additional funding provided by the grant, we will
be unable to start a therapeutic foster care program.
5. Project Budget
Attach a budget description for your submission. We have provided a sample template
in Exhibit B but will accept more detailed submissions if applicable.
Budget justification for total amount requested. Please describe how you came to the
amount requested, e.g. based on target population size, number of clients expected to
be served, hours per deliverable, etc.
Weld County is requesting funding for three years to support the implementation of our
therapeutic foster care program. The total funding request for three years is
$103,446.00. The yearly funding request includes:
• Salary and benefits of a County communication staff to spend 10% of work time
to provide recruitment support using social media postings, marketing material
creation and website updates
• 12 hours of initial training for 5-6 foster parents as required by rule and monthly
2-4 hours of training for foster parents to support ongoing training needs
• Respite care for one full weekend per month for 6 youth, 3 hours unplanned
respite time each month for 6 youth and 108 hours of respite time to be used by
the biological family and provided by the foster home after youth return home
• Incentive funding for family activities, youth pro -social and extra -curricular
activities and gifts cards for food and supplies for 5-6 foster parents and 12
youth.
Please describe any sustainability plans you have to ensure funding after the use of
transition funds, if appropriate.
The addition of the therapeutic foster care program will not require any additional staff
to support the program since Weld County already has a foster care program. The
transition funding used to provide training, respite and incentives, will be replaced by
Child Welfare block funding in the future, once the transition funds have been spent.
Because this program will reduce the number of youth in higher levels of care,
particularly QRTPs, there will be available funding in the block that will allow for this
program to continue in the future.
6
RFA IHFA 2022000042
Family First Transition Act Funds Application
FTA = Famil First
Ali-
PROJECT
Transition Act
BUDGET
Applicant
Name/Organization:
Weld
County Department of Human Services
Name of
Proposed Project:
Weld
County Therapeutic
Foster Care Program
Project Period:
Year)
(State Fiscal
From:
12/1/2021
To:
6/30/2024
Contact Name, Email
& Phone:
Denise Suniga,
sunigadk@weldgov.com,
970-400
INCOME
Budget
Year
1
Budget
Year 2
Budget
Year 3
(multi -year requests only)
Source
Other Sources
FFTA
Other Sources
Other Sources
FFTA
FFTA
request
$ 37,682
S 32,882
$ 32,882
FFTA
Other
Contracts
Government
(specify)
Grants &
Other
Foundations
(specify)
Individual
Contributions
Fundraising
Events/Products
Patient / Client
Fees
Other
(specify)
Foster Care Coordinator (.1
$ 8,926
$ 8,926
$ 8,926
FTE)
Foster Care Supervisor (.1
$ 10,693
$ 10,693
$ 10,693
FTE)
Foster Care Recruiter (.1
$ 9,692
$ 9,692
$ 9,692
FTE)
•
Total
FFTA
$ 37,682
$ 32,882
$ 32,882
Total
Other
$ 29,311
$ 29,311
$ 29,311
Total
Income
$ 66,993
$ 62,193
$ 62,193
if
BUDGET=
applicable
..
(continued,
PROJECT
Applicant
Name/Organization
Weld
County Department of
Human Services
Name of Proposed
Project:
Weld
County Therapeutic
Foster Care Program
EXPENSES
Budget
Year 1
Budget
Year 2
Budget Year 3
(multi -year requests only)
Item
FFTA
Other Sources
FFTA
Other Sources
FFTA
Other Sources
Salaries & Wages
� y s� y
6 ,j-
'
4. � x
<
�t� Y ;;
(break down by individual position and
indicate full- or part-time)
I
F
' y } F^
Y Sf NN�
' 'l t�
i
` t < Sz y
t
— '
`c
Communications Staff ( 1 FTE)
$ 5,525
$ 5,525
$ 5,525
Foster Care Coordinator ( 1 FTE)
$ 7,360
$ 7,360
$ 7,360
Foster Care Supervisor ( 1 FTE)
$ 8,159
$ 8,159
$ 8,159
Foster Care Recruiter ( 1 FTE)
$ 7,363
$ 7,363
$ 7,363
Total Salaries & Wages
$ 5,525
$ 22,882
$ 5,525
$ 22,882
$ 5,525
$ 22,882
Fringe Benefits
- ��
Communications Staff ( 1 FTE)
$ 1,170
$ 1,170
$ 1,170
Foster Care Coordinator ( 1 FTE)
$ 1,566
$ 1,566
$ 1,566
Foster Care Supervisor ( 1 FTE)
$ 2,534
$ 2,534
$ 2,534
Foster Care Recruiter ( 1 FTE)
$ 2,329
$ 2,329
$ 2,329
Total Fringe Benefits
$ 1,170
$ 6,428
$ 1,170
$ 6,428
$ 1,170
$ 6,428
Consultants & Professional Fees
Equipment
Fundraising Events/Projects
Occupancy
Postage & Delivery
Printing & Copying
Professional Development &
Training
$ 8,800
$ 4,000
$ 4,000
Supplies
$ 2,400
$ 2,400
$ 2,400
Telephone / Fax / Internet
Travel
Other (specify) ex Subcontracts
Foster Parent Respite
$ 19,787
$ 19,787
$ 19,787
Indirect Costs*
Total FFTA
$ 37,682
_
$ 32,882
; -
$ 32,882
Total Other
- -= 3
's 5�.� '�'"
ry
$ 29,311
` ss',
° Y
, t Cvr�
$ 29,311
>-'} ; r
Y i
�
i o
$ 29,311
Total Expenses
$ 66,992
$ 62,192
$ 62,192
J. Signature Page
The Vendor must complete and submit the Signature Page along with the application.
Vendor Name
Weld County Department of Human Services
Vendor Address
315 N. 11th Ave., Greeley, CO 80632
Vendor Contact Name
Denise Suniga
Vendor Contact Email
sunigadk@weldgov.com
Vendor Contact Phone
970-400-6545
Does the Vendor have any perceived,
potential, or apparent conflicts of interest? If
so, please disclose them.
No
Is the Vendor a Service Disabled Veteran
Owned Small Business pursuant to C.R.S. §24-
103-905?
No
Is the Vendor currently on any debarred list?
No
Name of person authorized to submit this
application
Steve Moreno
Chair of the Board of County Commissioners
Signature from an authorized individual.
Signatures may be physical or electronic as
defined by the Uniform Electronic
Transactions Act. Some examples of
acceptable signatures are: Docusign, Adobe,
or scanned physical copies.
.....)2&,--e- P -27 -1 -12 -4^ -2, —
SEP 1 5 2021
Colorado Department of Human Services Solicitation Number: IHFA 2022000042
Division of Contracts and Procurement Page 10 of 10
New Contract Request
Entity Information
Entity Name* Entity ID*
COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF HUMANS 00003650
SERVICES
❑ New Entity?
Contract Name* Contract ID
FAMILY FIRST TRANSITION ACT REQUEST FOR FUNDING 5242
Contract Status
CTB REVIEW
Contract Lead
APEGG
Contract Lead Email
apegg@weldgov.com; cobbx
xlkOweldgov.com
Parent Contract ID
Requires Board Approval
YES
Department Project #
Contract Description*
FUNDING IS AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT THE FAMILY FIRST PREVENTION SERVICES ACT. FUNDS WILL BE USED BY CHILD WELFARE
TO IMPLEMENT A THERAPEUTIC FOSTER CARE PROGRAM.
SEPTEMBER 202 i APPLICATION PERIOD
Contract Description 2
PA IS BEING ROUTED THROUGH THE NORMAL PROCESS. ETA TO CTB: 9/9121.
Contract Type
APPLICATION
Amount*
$0.00
Renewable*
NO
Automatic Renewal
Grant
Department
HUMAN SERVICES
Department Email
CM-
HurnanSendices@weldgov.co
m
Department Head Email
CM-HumanServices-
De pt H e adnre I dg ov. com
County Attorney
GENERAL COUNTY
ATTORNEY EMAIL
County Attorney Email
CM-
COU NTYATTORN EYPWELDG
OV.COM
Requested BDCC Agenda
Date*
09;1512021
Due Date
09,E 1 1 /2021
Will a work session with BOCC be required?*
NO
Does Contract require Purchasing Dept. to be included?
If this is a renewal enter previous Contract ID
If this is part of a MSA enter MSA Contract ID
Note: the Previous Contract Number and Master Services Agreement Number should be left blank if those contracts are not in
On Base
Contract Dates
Effective Date
Termination Notice Period
Contact Information
Contact Info
Contact Name
Purchasing
Purchasing Approver
Approval Process
Department Head
JAMIE ULRICH
DH Approved Date
09;10.2021
Final Approval
BOCC Approved
BOCC Signed Date
BOCC Agenda Date
09;15 '2021
Originator
APEGG
Contact Type
Review Date*
0331 2022
Committed Delivery Date
Contact Email
Finance Approver
CHRIS D'OVIDIO
Renewal Date
Expiration Date .
05,`31,2022
Contact Phone 1 Contact Phone 2
Purchasing Approved Date
Finance Approved Date
09:13,/2021
Tyler Ref
AG091521
Legal Counsel
KARIN MCDOUGAL
Legal Counsel Approved Date
09;'1 3 2021
Hello