nce a child is placed in the Assessment Center program, the Proposer will begin their assessment of the child. The Proposer will meet with the child’s child protective services team, family, and other service providers to gather collateral information for the assessment. The child protective services team could include, but is not limited to the child welfare case manager and child welfare supervisor. Assessment tools used must be approved by the DMCPS Contract Administrator. The Proposer will use an evidence-based or evidence-informed assessment with children. The Assessment Center program assessment will be a structured, comprehensive process to identify and analyze the child’s mental, emotional, and behaviors needs. The assessment information should include, but is not limited to, the following: Description of the child’s current functioning, including in the community and in family relationships Identification of strengths and areas of interest for the child Identification and description of the child’s primary barrier to a stable/family-based out-of-home placement Description of the child’s history, as provided by the child, which identifies past and current trauma Identification and review of the child’s service history with community providers Description of the caregiver’s role in supporting the child and the caregiver’s ability to respond to the child in crisis situations Identification of informal supports for the child Identifying specific behavioral interventions attempted with the child and the results of these attempt(s) Appropriate and necessary service recommendations, including type(s) of services and purpose Recommendations on subsequent placement types, supports needed to maintain placement, and behavior management strategies to be utilized by future placements It is expected an assessment be completed for every child placed beyond 5 business days. The assessment should be updated as more information is learned about the child over the course of their placement. The Proposer will collaborate with the assigned child protective services team to gather information on the child and share the results of the assessment with the child’s team. The Proposer will collaborate with the assigned child protective services team to establish necessary services for the child not provided by the Proposer that are recommended as a result of the assessment and as part of discharge planning. Service Provision Once a child is placed in the program, the Proposer must immediately begin their assessment of the child and begin attempts to engage the child in services and programs both in the community and provided directly by the Proposer. It is expected that the assessment of the child will be completed over the length of their stay with the Proposer. Based on the results of the assessment, a service plan with the child’s input will be established. Each plan should be individualized to meet the child’s needs and include recommendations for future service provisions and placement. Clinical Therapeutic Intervention The Proposer will provide clinical therapeutic intervention services to those children placed in the program. The intention and aims of clinical services will look different for each child placed with the Proposer. For children entering out-of-home care for the first time, clinical services may include setting up treatment services as none were in place. For children already in out-of-home care, they may have been disrupted from their current placement and need assistance with stabilization and therapeutic crisis management services. For children who are already in out-of-home care, but are returned from a missing-from care episode, they may need immediate access to therapeutic services while long-term care is established. Services will be determined based on the child’s needs, but could include crisis intervention, individual therapy, group therapy, or family therapy. In the event that the child refuses to engage in services, the Proposer must make ongoing efforts to engage the child in services throughout the length of their stay in the program. If the child is already engaged in therapeutic services with a community provider, it would be the expectation that the Proposer collaborate with the community provider to meet the needs of the child. Due to the program’s funding source, for clinical therapeutic intervention services, the Proposer is required to bill private insurance or Medicaid for eligible services and the costs for these services would not be an allowable cost under the resulting contract. If the Proposer does not have the capacity to bill private insurance or Medicaid, the clinical therapeutic intervention service piece must be subcontracted. Peer Support/Mentor The Proposer will provide peer support/mentor services to children placed in the program. Peer support and mentorship has been widely studied and proven to be effective in the mental health and substance use treatment fields. There is a growing body of work that supports the incorporation of peer support/mentorship within child welfare. Because there are limited evidence supported models available to administer these services within the field of child welfare, it would be expected that the Proposer identify an evidence based or evidence supported model for providing peer support/mentorship services which could be adapted to meet the organization’s needs. For additional information on why peer support within child welfare is important, you can review Promoting Peer Support in Child Welfare. Services will be determined based on the child’s needs. The aim of services is to provide children placed with the Proposer with access to a peer support/mentor who has lived experience in the child welfare and/or youth justice system. Services could include mentorship, advocacy, resource navigation, crisis intervention, support group, and community outings. In the event that the child refuses to engage in services, the Proposer must make ongoing efforts to engage the child in services throughout the length of their stay in the program. After Care Services The Proposer should provide limited after care services for 60 days for those children placed for more than 5 business days. After care services are intended to support the child as they transition to a long-term placement and provide bridge services while other community-based services are implemented. The plan for after care services must be established as part of discharge planning and should be tailored to the child’s needs. After care services will include support from the Clinical Specialist and peer support/mentor. It is the expectation after care services include, at a minimum, the following: Weekly in person contact with the child Weekly in person, phone, or email contact with the child welfare team After care services are only required to be provided to children who are placed, when leaving the Proposer’s facility in a placement located within Milwaukee County. As part of after care service provision, the Proposer would be expected to speak with any new provider(s) assigned to children receiving after care and participate in transition staffing(s) to share treatment information with new provider(s). In the event that the child refuses to participate in after care services, the Proposer must make weekly efforts to engage the child for 30 days before discontinuing after care services.
