REPORT TO SHASTA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

BOARD MEETING DATE:  April  18, 2017
CATEGORY:  Consent - Health and Human Services-2.

SUBJECT:

    Renewal Agreement with National Council on Crime and Delinquency

Supervisorial District No. :  All

DEPARTMENT CONTACT:  Dianna L. Wagner, Branch Director, Children’s Services (530) 225-5705

STAFF REPORT APPROVED BY:  Dianna L. Wagner, Branch Director

RECOMMENDATION

Approve and authorize the Chairman to sign a renewal agreement with the National Council on Crime and Delinquency in the amount of $121,500 (paid in semi-annual advance payments in the amount of $20,250) to provide SafeMeasures child welfare data reporting services for the period July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2020, with one optional three-year renewal.

SUMMARY

NCCD provides SafeMeasures which is a performance management tool that organizes the data in the Child Welfare / Case Management System (CWS/CMS) data base and publishes it via a conventional web-browser into a series of concise, interactive reports to allow for up-to-date monitoring of state and federal requirements.

DISCUSSION

Meaningful data evaluation is essential for Children's Services to measure progress toward compliance with state and federal outcomes as outlined by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS).  It also assists supervisors with tracking Social Worker's completion of case management requirements.  SafeMeasures was designed with CDSS collaboration and specifications to be able to compile case specific data and timely generate user-friendly analytical tools and reports for Children's Services managers and supervisors.  Reports are updated within 48 hours to enable timely program support.  As a result of the compiled information, Children's Services can determine which areas of service delivery are working well, and which areas may need additional attention or improvement.

This agreement proposes to: continue SafeMeasures web based child welfare data reporting; provide software updates as they become available; provide up to four consecutive half-day training sessions for County staff; and extend the agreement for an additional three-year period.  Training available through the Agreement will be utilized at County discretion to train new staff when other resources of training are unavailable or less advantageous.  any software updates and enhancements that may occur will be provided to the County, and will either confirm to CDSS outcome/measure changes or are functional enhancements to the current system. SafeMeasures is a unique reporting service and is not available through other vendors.  NCCD has a contract with the State of California to access CWS/CMS data, making NCCD the only provider of this service and, therefore, the only viable vendor.  The data obtained from SafeMeasures reports are an element of several self-assessments, system improvement and quality review processes that occur within Children's Services child welfare programs.  Typically, NCCD requires payment of the annual fee up front once the agreement is signed in order to secure this service.  They have agreed to split the payment of the annual fee into one-half due every six months and have reduced the annual fee by 10%. 

ALTERNATIVES

    The Board may choose not to approve this agreement and direct the HHSA to determine an     alternative strategy to meet state and federal reporting needs.  As the selection of this vendor     occurred at the CDSS level and they have authorized the release of data and collaborated with this     vendor on the design of appropriate reports to meet requirements, this alternative is not     recommended.

OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT

    County Counsel has approved the agreement as to form. Risk Management and Information Technology have approved the agreement.      The recommendation has been reviewed by the County Administrative Office.

FINANCING

    This agreement is funded through the Child Welfare Services allocation and requires a County share,  which is met largely through Realignment.      These funds were included in the FY 17-18 Requested Budget.  No additional general fund dollars are requested with this recommendation.