SCOPE AND BACKGROUND: Through this Request for Proposal (RFP) the Department for Children and Families, Family Services Division (hereinafter the “State”, “DCF”, or “FSD”) is seeking to establish contracts with one or more companies that can provide consultation and facilitation services regarding the development and operation of Vermont’s high-end system of care. In 2022, Vermont identified four levels of care, often referred to as the high-end system of care, that are most critically needed to stabilize the placement system of care. These four levels of programming include: secure stabilization, secure treatment, communitybased stabilization, and psychiatric residential treatment. As part of its vision and mission work, FSD, the Council for Equitable Youth Justice, and a legislatively created group focused on the high-end system of care (Facility Planning for Justice-Involved Youth Stakeholder Working Group), have been meeting monthly since the fall of 2023. In partnership with this multi-sector stakeholder group, the Council for Equitable Youth Justice (CEYJ) identified the need for an external consultant to evaluate the current state of the high-end system of care, initiatives in the planning and design phase intended to strengthen the system, and to provide recommendations on ways to improve the current system based on national research, their subject matter expertise, and stakeholder feedback. CEYJ, as Vermont’s State Advisory Group, has approved the use of federal grant funds it receives to fund this initiative.
