Specifications include, but are not limited to: The selected vendor will conduct a research project to comprehensively review Mississippi's child welfare practices to identify barriers to permanency in Mississippi and make recommendations for removing any identified barriers. The selected vendor will also participate in collaborative planning, training, and technical assistance with MDCPS and other state partners in an effort to develop more efficient and effective pathways to permanency, reduce racial disproportionality, and improve communication, network building, and stakeholder collaboration. Pilot Permanency Barriers County Efforts In addition to a statewide analysis of the Mississippi child welfare system, the selected vendor will work in two pilot counties. It will take approximately two to three years to complete the Permanency Barriers project in each county, depending on the identified needs of the county. These pilot initiatives will be county-driven and county-owned, in that selected vendor staff will partner with key stakeholders in the pilot county child welfare system. Full stakeholder buy-in is essential for realizing and maintaining local system changes. To ensure buy-in from the start, we begin the project by creating and engaging a county Advisory Board made up of: • County child welfare agency administrators and staff, • Juvenile and family court judges, • Court personnel, including court improvement program staff, • Attorneys for parents, children, and the agency, • Behavioral health selected vendors, • CASA programs, • Community members with lived expertise, and • School systems. Once barriers are identified, the selected vendor staff will work to build a stronger working relationship between the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services, state child welfare attorneys, and county courts.
