Approve sixth amendment to Agreement No. 18-90 with Children’s Home Society of California to increase funding in the amount of $424,435 for 2021-22 for a new contract maximum of $2,100,840 for the period of April 1, 2018 through June 30, 2022, and update and clarify language in the agreement, for the provision of providing Foster Care Emergency Child Care Bridge Program services. (No general fund impact) (Sullivan)

Approve sixth amendment to Agreement No. 18-90 with Children’s Home Society of California to increase funding in the amount of $424,435 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-22 for a new contract maximum of $2,100,840 for the period of April 1, 2018 through June 30, 2022 and update and clarify language in the agreement, for the provision of providing Foster Care Emergency Child Care Bridge Program services.

The Yolo County Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children (Bridge Program) provides resource and referral (R&R) services, trauma-informed training for child care providers, and a voucher payment system for child care services for Resource Families/Foster Parents.

The Bridge Program is a temporary child care voucher program where services may be provided for up to six (6) months. If necessary, the County may extend services for up to 12 months. The purpose of the Bridge Program is to provide Resource Families/Foster Parents with immediate access to child care. A primary goal of temporary child care assistance is to concurrently enroll families in a permanent long term child care program so that there is a smooth transition to the permanent child care with no break in services.

The Bridge Program gives priority to the following target populations: severely disabled children ages 0–21 not receiving foster care payments but expected to complete the Resource Family Approval (RFA) process within 60 days; children with exceptional needs ages 0–21 not receiving foster care payments but expected to complete the RFA process within 60 days; children ages 0–5 years in need of emergency foster care placement; and children ages 0–5 years with current caregivers in need of child care that promotes placement stability.

The Bridge Program also provides a Child Care Navigator in Yolo County and provides a voucher payment program for emergency child care in an effort to increase placement and stability for children that enter the County of Yolo Child Welfare System (CWS.)  In addition, the Bridge Program provides child care providers with trauma-informed care training in order to give child care providers support and education when caregiving for a child that has incurred trauma.

Subsidized child care in Yolo County is scarce and typically has long waiting lists for those eligible to the programs. In addition, CWS encounters barriers to finding immediate placement for children because many Resource Families/Foster Parents are employed and have a need for child care for children placed with them. In many instances, child care may be the only reason why a child is not placed immediately.
 
Approval of this amendment allows for additional families to be served for FY2021-22. Approval also allows for one-time funding to support the authorization of paid nonoperational days for COVID-19 pandemic related closures and child care reimbursement based on the maximum certified hours of care rather than attendance for providers serving children in the Bridge Program.

A Sole Source Letter was reviewed and approved by the Procurement Manager.

The Department confirms The Regents of the University of California has performed satisfactorily on the current agreement.