Services To At Risk Youth (STAR)

1. Services To At Risk Youth (STAR) FY 13 Procurement Overview The Call-In Number is 1-877-848-7030 Passcode: 5935164

2. Eligibility • Section 2.4.1 of the RFP--Families with children ages 0 - 17 years who have been presented for services due to family conflict/crisis and who will benefit from services intended to prevent child maltreatment and increase family functioning/resiliency and who are not currently under investigation by Child Protective Services (CPS) or have other CPS involvement such as Family Based Services or are in Foster Care. • Section 2.4.2. of the RFP--Youth ages 10 - 16 years who are at risk for one of the following conditions and have not been formally adjudicated by a court of law: juvenile delinquency, truancy, or unaccompanied youth (runaway/homeless). Their Primary Caregiver is required to be served. Youth under the age of 10 typically need family based interventions; therefore, if a youth is displaying issues at school or in the community, STAR services are able to be provided under section 2.4.1.

3. Eligibility Exceptions RFP Section 2.4.3.1 • Child Protective Services Involvement: • If CPS is in the process of an investigation of child abuse/neglect, Contractors may not register the youth or family for services until the CPS investigation is closed. • A family with an open CPS case beyond the investigation stage, and with the presenting problem of family conflict, cannot be registered for STAR services as this family will already be receiving CPS services for family issues. This includes, but not limited to, Family Based Services. • Youth in the conservatorship of CPS are not eligible to receive STAR services, including emergency care regardless of presenting problem. • Juvenile Justice Involvement: • Youth who have been adjudicated and convicted of either a misdemeanor or state jail felony offense are not eligible for STAR services. • Youth whose cases are pre-adjudicated, informally adjudicated, or whose adjudication has been deferred are eligible for STAR services.

4. Client Service Requirements Section 2.5 of the RFP • Contractor agrees to adhere to the following conditions in the provision of services to clients under this Contract: • All clients must enter into services voluntarily. Voluntary means that a family and youth must not be coerced or mandated to attend STAR services. • Contractor cannot charge clients a fee for participating in a program or for any program participation related costs. • Contractor must provide services to families without regard to their economic status.

5. Program Overview • STAR services may be accessed either when a family/youth is in crisis or when there is no immediate crisis, but the family/youth have been referred (or have self-referred) for services in order to avert a crisis or to increase family/youth resilience in coping with stressful life situations.

6. Service Description: Core STAR Services and Guidelines Section 2.7 of the RFP • There are six primary service components of the STAR Program a Contractor will be required to implement. • 3 Ongoing Services • 3 Immediate Crisis Intervention Services

7. The Contractor must provide and have available at a minimum the following array of core services • On-going prevention and early intervention services that include: • Family and Youth short-term counseling (both are required) • Parenting skills training • Youth coping skills training • Immediate crisis intervention services that include: • Toll-free telephone services • Crisis family and youth counseling • Emergency care services (youth shelter services if needed)

8. Family and Youth Short-term Counseling Section 2.7.3.1 of the RFP • Short-term counseling services must be designed to reduce conflict, stress and tension among family members so that a child or youth can remain in, or be returned to, his or her home and to provide guidance and support to families and individual youth and to avert crisis. • Short-term counseling is not a substitute for individuals who need intensive or long-term counseling or psychiatric care. • Face-to-face counseling sessions are preferred and should encompass the majority of service; however, phone counseling, online counseling sessions, webinars, and video conferencing may also be provided if a face-to-face session is not feasible. However, payment for services can only be requested for face-to-face sessions. • Telephone counseling, online counseling sessions, webinars or video conferencing counseling sessions have to be taken into account in each of the unit rates. In addition, contractors who use alternative mediums (as those listed above that use technology) to provide services must ensure client confidentiality. • Counseling services must be offered within one week of the initial referral and must be provided to the family and the individual youth needing services. • Family counseling is a core service and is required for family conflict, truancy, runaway, homeless, and misdemeanor offense issues. The expectation is that the majority of families will be served as a unit, and contractors are expected to promote STAR services as a family-based program. In the event a Primary Caregiver refuses to participate in the STAR services, the contractor must document the reason(s) the Primary Caregiver is not participating in the case file. • Although it is imperative that family counseling be provided to all open STAR cases, DFPS understands that some primary caregivers are unwilling to participate. The expectation is that contractors make strong efforts to serve the family unit. • It is encouraged to include other family members living in the same household.

9. File Documentation Required • Action Plans are required within 3 days of initial intake and at least every 30 days. • Action Plans must include measureable goals with objectives/goals for the parent and the youth • The parent and youth must have a copy of each action plan and have signed the action plan • The goals/objectives must address the reason for referral at a minimum • Progress Notes are required for every session • The notes must tell a story and address the issues the client was referred for as well as progress on the action plan. • In the progress note, a date along with in/out time for each session must be present—this is important for billing of the face to face session • Referral to outside resources must be documented in file

10. Parenting Skills Training Section 2.7.3.2 • A curriculum-based class/training provided to the parents and/or caregivers designed to prevent future disruptions, improve family functioning, and to build resiliency and avert crisis. The trainings should address at a minimum: communication, problem-solving, decision-making, anger management and conflict resolution.

11. Youth Coping Skills Training Section 2.7.3.3 of the RFP • A curriculum-based class/training provided to the youth designed to prevent future disruptions and improve youth coping skills and build resiliency and avert crisis. The trainings should address at a minimum: communication, problem-solving, decision-making, peer refusal skills, anger management and conflict resolution.

12. File Documentation Required • Action Plan for all groups • Must individualize the goals of the action plan to the youth and parent involved • You are able to have overall goals of the curriculum included in the action plan • Youth and Parent must sign the action plan and have a copy sent home with them • Sign in Sheets to include curriculum name, topic covered, date, start/end time of group for billing purposes • Progress notes • General note to state what was discussed and how the youth and/or parent did in the class

13. Immediate Crisis Intervention • Crisis intervention services must be available 7-days a week, 24-hours a day, including toll-free telephone service and emergency care. • Services must be available in all contracted counties, regardless of whether they are provided in an office, in the client’s home, or in another community location. • Crisis intervention includes a swift and thorough assessment of the situation, crisis counseling, and guidance and support, but is not a substitute for individuals who need intensive or long-term counseling or psychiatric care. • Crisis intervention services must take place as soon as possible after determination of need, but at least within 24-hours of the crisis referral. Service documentation of the service(s) provided will be required, both in a case file, if one is created, and the STAR database (see Services Documentation below).

14. Toll-Free Telephone Section 2.7.4.1 • Live telephone coverage of a publicized toll-free crisis or emergency telephone number must be available 7-days a week, 24-hours a day, including holidays. • Contractor must provide a dedicated telephone (land or cell) line for immediate crisis services which is answered after hours, weekends and holidays by a qualified and trained responder. • A dedicated telephone line means intake telephone line where a qualified staff answers the phone and is able to provide crisis intervention. • The use of an answering service or forwarding to the DFPS Youth or Runaway hotlines does not meet this requirement. • This service cannot be subcontracted.

15. Crisis Family and Youth Counseling Section 2.7.4.2 • Crisis counseling for youth and/or families must be available 7-days a week, 24-hours a day, including weekends and holidays, with access to a crisis intervention counselor immediately by phone and as soon as possible, but at least within 24 hours of the crisis referral, for a face-to-face session. • Under extraordinary circumstances, if a face-to-face crisis counseling session is not feasible, justification and documentation of the reason must be placed in the phone log, case file or clinical summary. Note: Contractor must have a swift, yet thorough assessment process to determine the level of crisis and to identify immediate needs of the youth and/or family, such as harm to self or others, domestic violence, and/or other services that may fall outside the scope of the available STAR services. Ifneeds fall outside the scope of the STAR program, appropriate referrals are required to be made and clearly documented in the case file. If an emergency situation arises such as harm to self or others; a Contractor must take appropriate action to ensure the safety of the youth and family. Appropriate action includes making the referral to a psychiatric hospital and facilitating the assessment process between Contractor and other services. If a Contractor determines that a family and youth are eligible and appropriate for STAR services, and initial crisis has been allayed, the formal intake process must take place within 48 hours of the crisis referral, if ongoing services are initiated.

16. Emergency Care Services (Youth Shelter Services) Section 2.7.4.3 • Short-term, temporary emergency care (shelter) services are an essential component of the STAR program and must be available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, including holidays. • Emergency shelter islimited to youth aged 10 – 17 and cannot exceed 30 days (31 - 60 days with a written waiver from PEI) in a contract period. Emergency care services are designed to be short-term with the goal of reuniting the family as soon as possible. • Emergency shelter services must be accessible within a reasonable distance from the client’s residence and transportation must be available for the youth when needed. • Crisis intervention is required to be provided prior to a placement to ensure eligibility and necessity of this service for youth. • Emergency care services are a last resort and are not the focus of the STAR program. Therefore, if DFPS determines that a Contractor is utilizing emergency care services more than needed; DFPS will seek remedies for this situation. • The purpose of emergency care services is to reduce child maltreatment and reduce family conflict, so short term services, if needed, is expected. Issues such as truancy and misdemeanor offense are not eligible presenting problems for shelter services.

17. Emergency Care Services (Youth Shelter Services) Continued • Emergency care services may be provided by emergency shelters, foster homes, or other short-term care facilities. All facilities that are used to provide short-term shelter care and foster homes must be licensed by the Child Care Licensing Division of DFPS. • If emergency care is to be provided by an emergency shelter, a parent or conservator consent should be given before the placement occurs, if possible, but is not required in circumstances such as homeless and runaway youth. Emergency shelter placements that occur without parent or conservator consent must, within 24-hours, include a diligent search by Contractors to locate parents or conservators. Those efforts are to be clearly documented and the service provider shall notify the appropriate public agency (i.e. police, CPS, etc.) of the youth’s placement when contact cannot be made with parents or conservators within 24-hours of the placement. Child Placement Agencies must notify the child's parent before placing the child in respite child-care services.[1] • [1] Child Protective Services Policies: Chapter 749 Minimum Standards for Child Placing Agencies, Subchapter M, Division 7 - Respite Child Care Services, §749.2623.

18. Emergency Care Services (Youth Shelter Services) Continued Placement of a youth in a shelter must always be preceded by an intake and assessment by the STAR counselor to ensure that the placement is appropriate and that all applicable laws regarding contact with parents/guardians have been followed.

19. Emergency Care Services (Youth Shelter Services) Continued • A contingency plan for providing emergency care must be developed for situations when the Contractor may be unable to accept a youth for emergency care services as a result of licensing constraints or capacity issues. • The Contractor must work with local authorities and/or other agencies to locate an appropriate, alternative facility or licensed foster care home through a licensed child-placing agency that can house the youth when necessary.

20. Emergency Care Services (Youth Shelter Services) Continued • Contractor may subcontract with a licensed facility to provide emergency care services for youth. • If emergency care is a subcontracted service, staff of the primary Contractor must arrange face-to-face contact with the youth within 24-hours and will be responsible for developing the STAR Action Plan. Action Plans for youth in emergency care (whether a subcontracted service or own shelter facility) must be reviewed and updated weekly to note progress toward goals and with the youth, determine if they may benefit from any additional STAR services. • While in care, the youth must be seen at least three times weekly with coordinated services provided by the primary Contractor and subcontracted facility staff, if applicable. • Coordinated services consist of family counseling, individual counseling and group counseling. • All services must be documented and maintained in the youth’s case file. • Family counseling is required for any youth placed in emergency care in order to reunite the family swiftly. • After-care STAR services are strongly encouraged in order to support the family in their transition back home.

21. Additional Responsibilities: Program Outreach and Awareness Section 2.7.5 of the RFP Universal Child Abuse Prevention Activities • UCAP services are voluntary for participants and are required to be available to the community at large, including all families regardless of level of risk, for the purpose of increasing knowledge and awareness of child maltreatment and the promotion of healthy parenting and family interaction. • The types of activities may include: media campaigns, educational presentations, parenting classes, participation in community-wide events and public awareness campaigns associated with Child Abuse Prevention Month and/or other child abuse prevention campaigns. • The Contractor must document the type of activities provided and the number of participants each month in the STAR database and documentation of all UCAP activities must be maintained by the STAR program manager, along with a current calendar of events consistent with the UCAP table provided in the Plan of Operations once a contract is awarded. Documentation of other types of UCAP activities would include: copies of press releases, notices/postings of upcoming activities in local newspapers, flyers, and actual number of attendees. Street Outreach • The STAR program serves youth who are vulnerable to running away and/or becoming homeless. Therefore, Contractor must provide direct outreach to street youth who are homeless, disenfranchised, unsupervised, or at risk of involvement with negative peer groups/gangs, particularly in major urban areas. The Contractor must document the type of activities provided each month in the STAR database. Documentation includes, but not limited to, copies of street outreach materials, logs that include location of where street outreach was provided. • Note: If data reflects a low incidence of homelessness in a county, and street outreach does not seem appropriate, the Contractors are expected to provide an ongoing community assessment process to determine if homeless youth are present and in need of services. The presence of unsupervised youth or youth at risk of involvement with negative peer groups/gangs would also be an appropriate target population for street outreach. Documentation includes official county data to show the number of homeless and unaccompanied youth in the area.

22. Ancillary Services Section 2.7.6 of the RFP • The following are ancillary services that are intended to enhance or supplement core STAR services provided to youth and their families. They are provided inconjunction with a core service and contribute to the effectiveness of services overall.These are optional services and not required elements with the exception of 2.7.6.1. • Resource and Referral: Providing information about community resources to program participants with needs outside of the scope of STAR services. • However, clients that present with serious issues warranting immediate attention beyond the capabilities of the STAR program, and who may or may not become STAR participants, should immediately be referred to the appropriate service provider, community agency, hospital, CPS, domestic violence shelter or legal authority and this type of referral is not considered an ancillary service, but a required element of the program. • Case Management: Activities for the arrangement, coordination, and monitoring of services with other local social service providers to meet the needs of youth and their families. • Child Care: Child care provided, so families can participate in program services/activities (parenting classes). • Transportation: Transportation provided to and from a service for the program participant or transportation for Emergency Care Services. • Support Group: A group session for program participants (youth or family) for the purpose of building a network of support; can be led by an informal team leader or a trained facilitator.

23. Intake/Referral/Close Out Process Intake Process • The intake process must include completion of the STAR Registration Form (Form 2075(A)) and enter all data fields on the Form 2075(A) into the STAR database. • The contractor is responsible for obtaining the Pre-Service Protective Factors Survey from the family, and entering the data into the STAR database. • Contractor must have a process for intake and assessment of youth/family need(s) for services and this intake process must be documented in each client's case file. • Data entry of client information into the STAR database may not be subcontracted out to another entity. Recruitment/Referral Process • Contractor must track the primary means of recruitment of new clients, including the names of the referring agencies. • Contractor must track families/youth referred to the Contractor for services, including the origin of the referral, whether services were provided and/or if subsequent referrals were made to another social service provider. • Efforts must be made by the Contractor to ensure that families and youth are not denied or delayed services due to a wait list. • The Contractor must have referral policies and processes in place that provide alternative service options either through the Contractor or through other community resources when the contractor is at capacity.

24. Client Close Out Process • When a family crisis has been stabilized or is no longer in need of STAR specific services; a contractor must close out the case. • Case closure must include collection of a Post-Service Protective Factors Survey. When services are completed, the Contractor must document closure of the case on the Client Registration Form (2075) and in the STAR database. • Form 2075 must remain in client file including when follow ups are due. • Any referrals made for additional services to other local social service providers must be tracked by the Contractor in their self created referral tracking tool.

25. Required Reports • On-going Monitoring/ Database Reports • The purpose of this report is for contractors to know their progress on Performance Measures on an ongoing basis. • There are two parts to this report. • On-going Monitoring Report—a template to the report will be provided for completion. If a contractor is meeting projected levels towards the performance measures; a corrective action plan (CAP) is not required. If a contractor is not meeting projected levels; a CAP is required. The report template includes the CAP information to be filled in, if necessary. • Database Reports—Print out performance measure reports from STAR database on a monthly basis and submit all months with the On-going Monitoring Report. • Reports are due on a quarterly basis--December 31*, March 31*, & June 30*, *or next business day • Annual Report • The purpose of this report is to provide a summary of the achievements and challenges of the full contract year, and plans for program changes in the upcoming fiscal year. PEI will provide the report template. • The report is due no later than October 15; 45 days after the close of the prior DFPS fiscal year

26. 2-1-1 Area Information Center • 2-1-1 Texas is a free, confidential information and referral line answered by nationally certified specialists 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The 2-1-1 Texas Hotline and Website provide people with comprehensive information about health and human services programs that are available in their local area.  • The Contractor will be required to add their services to the database of resources for the respective 2-1-1 Area Information Centers covering the counties proposed to be served through the STAR program, and to update the information appropriately within 30 days of any changes in the scope of their program. • If services are provided through subcontract(s), this requirement must be included in the subcontract, and must be monitored by the Contractor to ensure compliance.  Contractors may add, change or update their contact and service information by contacting the Resource Manager at the local 2-1-1 Area Information Center (AIC) by dialing 2-1-1 or by completing the Resource Provider Form on the 2-1-1 Texas website (www.211Texas.org).

27. Staff Training Requirements • All STAR staff are required to have at least 16 hours of training that includes new hire orientation, 3 hours of cultural competency, 3 hours of crisis intervention, and other training related to preventing child abuse and neglect and delinquency to at risk youth and families. • As a reminder, prevention is for families and youth who are not in the system (CPS or Juvenile Probation).

28. Utilization • Contractors are responsible for managing the number of clients that are accepted into the STAR program in order to stay within the contracted budget. • Careful planning is imperative in order to stay within budget. • It is required that services are provided all year round; so, plan strategically to ensure year round coverage.

29. Contracted Performance Measures • In addition to the Contractor's compliance with all of its obligations and duties under the contract resulting from this RFP, DFPS will evaluate the performance of the Contractor on the basis of the performance measures. • Each contractor’s performance measures will be listed in the contract. DFPS will monitor a contractor to ensure compliance with all programmatic requirements of the contract.

30. Invoicing Process • 3 Forms are required to be submitted when billing DFPS. • STAR Purchased Services Expenditure Report Form • 4116x State of Texas Purchase Voucher • Freeze Form • Billing is required to be submitted to the Contract Technician or Contract Manager on a monthly basis no later than 30 days after the preceding month services were provided.

31. STAR Purchased Services Expenditure Report

32. 4116x State of Texas Purchase Voucher

33. STAR Freeze Form