Tuolumne County Resource Family Home (TCRFH) Quality Parenting and Caregiving Respite Services

The County of Tuolumne, through its Health and Human Services Agency, Department of Social Services, hereinafter referred to as the “County”, is requesting proposals from qualified Resource Families (formerly known as Foster Families) interested in providing Quality Parenting and Caregiving Respite Services at the Tuolumne County Resource Family Home (TCRFH), formerly known as the Emergency Children’s Shelter.

The County intends to contract with an unlimited number of qualified applicants paying up to $100 per day. In the event respite services are needed, the qualified individuals on the list will be contacted. If a qualified applicant is not available to provide respite services, the County will continue to contact qualified providers on the list to provide contracted services.

California law and federal law provide specific employment restrictions for retirees and/or current County employees that desire to contract with the County.

For CalPERS retirees: if the work you will perform as a contractor is the same or similar to work you performed as an active employee or is work that is performed by active employees, it is most likely subject to the PERS retired annuitant restrictions, meaning the employment is disallowed and the County will not be able to enter into a contract with you.

For current County employees: California and federal law prohibit a current employee from contracting with its employer while being an active employee. If an employee is interested in becoming an independent contractor, the employee must consider separation from employment with the County, however should the employee retire, he/she may be subject to the CalPERS retired annuitant laws. Should a current County employee respond to a RFQ while in active employment status, the employee must separate from employment prior to award of the contract.

No County time is allowed to be used to prepare for or work on a response to a County RFQ.

Child Welfare Services clients are often struggling with substance abuse, mental illness, and interpersonal violence within the co-occurring contexts of poverty, socioeconomic status, and cultural differences. The complex interaction of psychological states and presenting problems require the program have team members who are knowledgeable and committed to this population, and who understand their obstacles of logistical issues, child-related concerns, court mandates, and the negative consequences of Child Welfare Services involvement.

When parents and caregivers cannot care for their children, the Resource Family (formerly known as foster family) must be able to provide the loving, committed, skilled care that the child needs while working effectively with the system to achieve the best permanency option for that child. When successful, the Resource Families work with agency staff and the child’s parents/caregivers as a team to support the child. Tuolumne County Child Welfare Services is seeking a contractor who supports the family, not just the youth, in hopes of reunifying the child with his/her family.

The County of Tuolumne, through its Department of Social Services (DSS) seeks to establish a list of qualified persons (“Qualified Provider List”) interested in providing Quality Parenting and Caregiving Respite Services (formerly known as ECS Management Respite Services) at the Tuolumne County Resource Family Home (formerly known as the Emergency Children’s Shelter). A qualified individual’s placement on the Qualified Provider List does not in any way guarantee being chosen for Respite services when the need arises. The County cannot accept proposals from any individual who is currently employed with the County of Tuolumne (California Government Code §29708).

The responsibility of this position is to provide Quality Parenting and Caregiving Respite Services at the County owned Tuolumne County Resource Family Home when the contracted Quality Parenting and Caregiving individual requires respite as mandated in the Agreement. Contracted Quality Parenting and Caregiving Services providers are provided respite at a rate of four (4) days per month, and four (4) one-week vacations per Agreement per year, for a total of seventy-six (76) days. However, in the event of unforeseen circumstances the need for respite could exceed these allotments.