February 20, 2024: We are getting ready to embark on a new way of service delivery in Leon County. Using national, evidence-based standards to guide our steps toward improving outcomes for children and families, we will create a system of neighborhood based Family Resource Centers. We look forward to leveraging the community partnership school experience as we work with Children’s Home Society of Florida to do what Councilmember Darryl Jones described as a “common thing in an uncommon way.”
The family resource center (FRC) model is place-based service delivery strategy designed to empower families and improve childhood outcomes while reducing barriers like transportation and a disconnected system of care. This strategy is a direct response to multiple family listening sessions held in 2023 and a community needs assessment published in 2022. Together, with our newly named partner, we will develop family leadership councils in specific neighborhoods that data suggests could benefit from an FRC. The Family Leadership Councils will us accountable to ensure we do not decide for our neighbors but rather listen to what they want.
When the Children’s Services Council of Leon County (CSC Leon) formed, we committed ourselves to not repeat history or simply maintain the status quo. We committed to changing things up and funding programs and service modalities that are steeped in research and hold promise to shift the outcomes our community and its residents need and want. We committed to implementing higher levels of accountability and giving the programs we invest in the tools and support they need to meet the expectations of the investment. Change will not happen over night or even over one year. This truly is just the beginning.
Background: On Tuesday, February 20, CSC Leon convened a special meeting to discuss the draft contract for Family Resource Center (FRC) Management. Prior to the meeting, each council member was given the opportunity to submit comments and questions. The revised draft contract and the attached comments and responses were published prior to the meeting. Links to each are available below.
The selected vendor, Children’s Home Society of Florida (CHS), was invited to participate in the meeting to respond to some of the questions directly. After extensive discussion and debate, the Council voted unanimously to approve the contract. CHS will commence services on April 1 with a tentative “grand opening” of the first FRC in August. They will present results of the neighborhood readiness assessments in September. Two of the posiitons to support this investment are posted on the CHS Careers page:
January 18, 2024: On Thursday, January 18, the Children’s Services Council of Leon County (CSC Leon) Governing Council briefly discussed the final contract for Family Resource Center Management. However, due tot he recently passed holidays, the Council had very little time to review before the meeting. Instead of spending time to independently read the 157 page draft contract during the meeting, Council Member Mark O’Bryant suggested we temporarily postpone consideration of the contract and asked staff to schedule a special meeting in February. All council members agreed. Executive Director Green also stated she would send an “editable” version to each council member should they want to make specific recommendations or pose questions in advance of that special meeting. Access the draft contract here.
December 22, 2023: On Thursday evening, December 21, the Children’s Services Council of Leon County (CSC Leon) formally approved the Family Resource Center (FRC) Management ITN Negotiation Team recommendation to issue an “intent to award” to Children’s Home Society of Florida (CHS) for the purposes of FRC Management. The final contract will be presented at the January Council meeting, but it will not include the full scope of the original procurement. During the negotiation process, the team tasked with finding the best value proposition for the council felt that a “proof of concept” approach was warranted before making a commitment to establish multiple centers across the county and suggested a nine-month initial contract instead.
One of the primary driving factors to this decision is the “neighborhood readiness” for the specific locations proposed. While there is ample data to support placement of centers in the specific locations identified, the winning Vendor proposed conducting neighborhood specific readiness scans to ensure the local community understood the purpose of the centers and had a say in its final location and service provision. It was this approach that caused the Negotiation Team to question the speed at which the procurement expected centers to be operational and offered a counter proposal to establish a single center to start while simultaneously conducting the proposed neighborhood assessments before selecting where and when the next centers should be established.
“For the centers to be truly successful, we must be intentional about not getting ahead of the neighbors but rather be responsive to their lead,” explained Tiffany Martin, CEO, CHS. “FRC managers from similar communities that we consulted with stressed this step as essential to building trust and a customer service mindset necessary for success.”
The resulting FRC Management contract will be divided into distinct phases to allow a scaled approach for the creation and implementation of FRCs with significant oversight by CSC Leon. The initial contract terms will not exceed nine (9) months from date of execution and the value of said contract will only allow for specific expenses to achieve the deliverables listed below.
- The first FRC will be established at the site of the CSC Leon Administrative Office and serve as an “incubator” and “proof of concept” for the service modality.
- The Vendor will engage in mandatory coaching/consultation with the National Family Support Network and may engage with coaching from similar sites in Florida.
- The Vendor will ensure a variety of services are provided as outlined in the ITN and will include, at minimum, a subcontract with Whole Child Leon for comprehensive childhood screenings and pediatric behavioral health navigation.
- The Vendor will establish data collection and reporting protocols for the management of FRC services in collaboration with CSC Leon.
- The Vendor will complete a neighborhood readiness assessment for each of the proposed locations to better evaluate specific needs and demand. This will include the development of a community engagement strategy using vetted neighborhood leaders in the proposed locations of Griffin Heights/Frenchtown, Fort Braden, and Macon/Town N’ Country.
- Neighborhood leaders will serve in a paid advisory capacity with clearly delineated deliverables including assistance with the completion of neighborhood readiness assessments.
- The Vendor will propose the second and possible third locations, complete with build out and management budgets, based on the readiness of the communities served, as agreed upon by the CSC Leon staff, before consideration of contract extension.
The initial contract will not exceed $620,000. It will be presented at the Council meeting scheduled for January 18.
December 12, 2023: On Tuesday morning, December 12, the Children’s Services Council of Leon County (CSC Leon) ITN Negotiation Team met publicly to form a recommendation for action to present to the CSC Leon Governing Council. This was the first public meeting after a series of closed negotiations where the members of the appointed team met with the Evaluation Team and then multiple negotiations with each of the advancing Vendors. During its final closed session, the Negotiation Team determined that Children’s Home Society of Florida presented as the strongest candidate and capable of providing “best value” for the services outlined in the ITN. However, they further concluded that the terms of the proposed contract in the original ITN were too broad in scope and proposed alternate contract terms. The full process is outlined in the Recommendation for Contract Award for the FRC Management ITN, project No. 2023-05, to be discussed at the meeting on December 21. Access the Recommendation Memo here.
November 13, 2023: On Monday afternoon, November 13, the Children’s Services Council of Leon County (CSC Leon) ITN Evaluation Team reviewed in detail the submitted responses to the Family Resource Center (FRC) Management ITN. After lengthy discussion and review of the scoring criteria, the Team voted to advance two proposals forward: (1) Whole Child Leon and (2) Children’s Home Society of Florida. Access the final scores here.
The Negotiation Team will now coordinate negotiations with each of the Vendors advancing forward. It is expected that the results will be discussed at the ITN Public Meeting on Tuesday, December 12.
September 15, 2023: On Thursday afternoon, September 14, the Children’s Services Council of Leon County (CSC Leon) approved its revised procurement for Family Resource Center (FRC) Management. The revised procurement expands the original scope of services through September 2026, is more explicit about the expected services, and provides new scoring criteria. The council members reiterated that previously qualified respondents were permitted to respond to the new procurement should they desire and discussed the composition of the evaluation and negotiation teams. The new procurement will be released on Monday, September 18. Interested vendors must participate in the mandatory Bidder’s Conference on September 26 at 3:00 p.m. ET via Zoom. Pre-register at this link: https://bit.ly/3EHucKg.
June 28, 2023: On Monday, June 26, the Children’s Services Council of Leon County (CSC Leon) issued its intent to reissue its procurement for Family Resource Center (FRC) Management. CSC Leon originally published an “Invitation to Negotiate” on March 31, 2023, seeking a single partner to establish two FRCs that operate using nationally recognized standards to promote protective factors and offer family-centered services. CSC Leon received two responses. However, the initial evaluation provided by an independent community panel determined that neither response met the level of expectation required to proceed forward and that the Council should consider readvertising. (View Panel Discussion | View Panel Scores)
This past Monday, that same panel presented its recommendation to the governing Council. After lengthy debate, the Council opted to “reject all and re-issue the solicitation at a later time” to allow CSC Leon to do better education on its intent regarding this funding priority. This is a subtle shift away from the panel recommendation to re-advertise, which in essence would keep the same solicitation and “rules of engagement” in play. The decision by the Council to re-issue means the current solicitation is closed and a new solication will be published at a future date. The original two responses (exempt from public records for a period of 12 months) will not be considered at future deliberations. The two respondents, however, will be permitted to resubmit a new proposal at their discretion.
The CSC Leon team is diligently working to revise the solicitation and its accompanying schedule, but first will hold a series of informational and feedback sessions with members of the public (providers, families, tax payers and interested parties). See dates below.
- Informational Session featuring nationally-recognized FRCs
- Feedback Sessions with CSC Leon staff and council members (as available)
Click on your preferred date to register. Please attend (or at least watch) the informational session before participating in a Feedback Session the following week. For more information about these sessions, please contact the CSC Leon team at info@cscleon.org or 850-764-2966.
March 31, 2023: CSC Leon seeks to establish through an Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) a contract with a single entity to establish and manage Family Resource Centers (FRCs) located in targeted neighborhoods (“Contract”). Responses are due by 2:00 p.m. on Friday, May 5, 2023. Click here to learn more.
FRCs operate using a set of nationally recognized standards that focus on collaborating with families to solve problems utilizing a strengths-based approach and serve as a resource hub where families can access formal and informal supports to promote their health and well-being. Core service provision will rely on community partnerships to ensure availability at commencement of an FRC opening and throughout its operation. Core services are focused on increasing family stability and the prevention of child maltreatment.
CSC Leon details the expectations of the selected Vendor to serve as the Managing Agency to establish and operate two (2) Family Resource Centers (FRCs) in Leon County during this initial contract and additional FRCs upon demonstration of success and need in subsequent renewals. CSC Leon has allocated up to $4 million for the duration of the initial Contract (August 1, 2023, – September 30, 2025) to achieve the objectives outlined in the ITN.
This ITN is a method of competitive solicitation under CSC Leon’s Purchasing Regulation. Those interested in submitting a Response are to comply with all terms and conditions described in this solicitation located at https://cscleon.org/announcements/.
CSC Leon will host a virtual informational session via Zoom on April 6 at 3 pm ET for any vendor interested in submitting a response. This session will be recorded and made available for public viewing. The purpose of the session is to communicate the intent, vision and ideal timeline for this RFP.
Submit all questions about the RFP in writing to the Purchasing Official via email (procurement@cscleon.org) by 5:00 PM ET on April 14, 2023. CSC Leon reserves the right to accept or reject any or all requests for clarification, either in whole or in part, and may require requests to be clarified or supplemented through additional written submissions. Respondents will be notified of the rejection of their request for clarification.
One Response
[…] was packed with action items including the approval of a summer internship program, selection of a Family Resource Center Management partner, and a presentation by Mr. Shington Lamy from Leon County regarding a proposal to realign […]
Comments are closed.