Prevention Planning Consultation Services

The San Mateo County Human Services Agency (HSA), Children and Family Services (CFS) branch, is seeking proposals from qualified firms with demonstrated expertise in California child welfare systems, the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), Title IV-E Prevention Services, Community Pathways, fiscal claiming, and Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) to provide technical consulting and subject matter expertise supporting the County’s development and implementation of its Family First Prevention Services Program.

The selected Contractor will serve as a technical advisor to the County by providing strategic consultation, policy and operational guidance, fiscal expertise, workforce planning recommendations, facilitation, and technical assistance necessary to support the County in designing and implementing a sustainable FFPSA Prevention Program that complies with applicable federal and State requirements.

The Contractor will work collaboratively with County leadership, child welfare program staff, fiscal staff, and community partners to provide technical guidance, develop implementation recommendations, and assist the County in making informed policy and operational decisions. The County will retain responsibility for all policy decisions, operational implementation, eligibility determinations, and ongoing administration of the FFPSA Prevention Program.

The Contractor will not assume operational responsibility for County programs, perform child welfare case management functions, or make eligibility determinations on behalf of the County.

The County seeks a consultant with extensive knowledge of California child welfare systems and FFPSA requirements who can provide practical guidance, develop implementation tools and resources, identify regulatory and operational considerations, and support integration of Title IV-E Prevention requirements into the County’s existing child welfare continuum.

A successful result looks like a fully integrated, state-compliant Title IV-E and Community Pathway network that routes families to evidence-based programs (EBPs) without requiring Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement. The selected contractor will successfully establish auditable Title IV-E candidacy determination tools, build a braided fiscal model to maximize federal revenue alongside Medi-Cal (CalAIM), and ensure complete documentation and data-link readiness prior to the upcoming CWS-CARES platform local go-live deployment.

The County intends to award one agreement for an initial term of two (2) years, tentatively beginning in September 2026.

The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) expands the use of Title IV-E funding to allow eligible public child welfare agencies to provide evidence-based prevention services to children who are candidates for foster care, pregnant and parenting foster youth, and their parents or kin caregivers.

FFPSA represents a significant shift in child welfare practice, emphasizing early intervention and prevention services designed to safely reduce the need for foster care placement while improving child and family well-being.

The County is actively developing its FFPSA Prevention Program and is integrating Title IV-E Prevention requirements into its existing child welfare prevention continuum. While prevention services currently exist through multiple programs and community-based partners, several core FFPSA components require further development and alignment, including Community Pathways processes, candidacy determination, fiscal claiming methodologies, documentation standards, CQI processes, and reporting frameworks.

The County has received funding to support FFPSA implementation and is establishing a coordinated prevention system integrating Community Pathways, evidence-based services, Title IV-E requirements, and existing child welfare operations.

Successful FFPSA implementation requires specialized expertise in California child welfare systems, federal Title IV-E Prevention requirements, California Department of Social Services (CDSS) guidance, fiscal claiming methodologies, CQI, and emerging statewide initiatives, including CWS-CARES. Because guidance and implementation requirements continue to evolve, the County seeks ongoing technical expertise to support informed decision-making throughout the project term.

Accordingly, the County is seeking a qualified consultant to provide technical consultation, strategic guidance, facilitation, and subject matter expertise to support planning, development, and integration of its FFPSA Prevention Program. The Contractor will provide recommendations, facilitate planning activities, develop implementation tools and resources, and identify regulatory and operational considerations informed by best practices in California child welfare systems.

The County will retain responsibility for all policy decisions, operational implementation, and ongoing administration of the FFPSA Prevention Program.

The County intends to integrate approved evidence-based prevention services into a coordinated prevention framework that supports voluntary family engagement, strengthens cross-system collaboration, and maximizes allowable federal reimbursement. Technical consultation is sought to ensure alignment with FFPSA requirements, CDSS guidance, and evolving statewide initiatives, including CWS-CARES.

The objectives of this project are to:

• Support the County in designing an integrated Community Pathway that provides voluntary access to evidence-based prevention services.
• Develop standardized referral, intake, assessment, and Title IV-E Prevention candidacy determination processes aligned with federal and State requirements.
• Develop recommendations for compliant fiscal claiming methodologies and braided funding strategies to maximize available federal and State funding sources.
• Support County and community providers in planning for implementation of CWS-CARES documentation, reporting, and claiming requirements.
• Develop recommendations for Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI), fidelity monitoring, workforce development, and performance management frameworks.
• Develop policies, procedures, tools, and operational guidance to support County implementation and long-term administration of the FFPSA Prevention Program.
• Support County capacity-building efforts to sustain prevention services and compliance beyond the term of this contract.