Background:

In 2009 the Legislature enacted Second Substitute House Bill 2106 (SSHB 2106), which, among other things, established a Child Welfare Transformation Design Committee (TDC) to develop performance measures and criteria for contracting of child welfare case management services in two demonstration sites selected by the TDC. The TDC is charged with developing the transition plan under which the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) must fully implement the demonstration sites by June 30, 2012. The TDC reports quarterly to the Legislative Children's Oversight Committee (LCOC) and the Governor.

TDC Membership

The TDC membership consists of a broad group of stakeholders, including:

the Office of the Governor;
the Office of the Attorney General;
the Children's Administration within the DSHS;
the Office of the Family and Children's Ombudsman;
the Indian Policy Advisory Committee convened by DSHS;
the Racial Disproportionality Advisory Committee convened by the DSHS;
the bargaining representative for the largest number of Children's Administration's employees;
nationally recognized experts in performance-based contracting;
private agencies providing child welfare services in Washington;
parents with experience in the dependency process;
Partners for Our Children;
superior court judges; and
foster parents.

Since its initial meeting, the TDC has included a representative of foster youth in its deliberations. Because the representation of foster youth is not listed in statute, however, the foster youth representative has not had formal voting rights in the TDC's decision making.

Performance-Based Contracting.

Second SHB 2106 also directed the DSHS to consolidate and convert existing contracts to performance-based contracts by January 1, 2011. The DSHS contracts with multiple private providers for the purchase of various child welfare services, including individual and group counseling or therapy; group care and behavioral health services; assessment and treatment for chemical dependence, domestic violence, or mental health needs; reunification services; and adoption services. These contracts are fee-for-service contracts with both nonprofit and for-profit entities.

Recommendations from the TDC.

In its most recent quarterly report to the LCOC and the Governor, the TDC recommended the Legislature amend the statute governing the following aspects of performance-based contracting and implementation of the demonstration sites:

Include a representative of foster youth who will have full voting rights on the TDC.
Extend the date by which the DSHS must complete consolidation and conversion of contracts to performance-based contracts to July 1, 2011, to allow sufficient time for the DSHS and contracted providers to consolidate and convert contracts.
Extend the date by which the demonstration sites must be fully implemented to December 31, 2012, to allow for an orderly transition of existing dependency cases from the DSHS to the supervising agencies.
Clarify the authority to implement the demonstration sites using a random case assignment model within a fixed geographic area in which both supervising agencies and the CA will have case management responsibilities for separate groups of cases in order to allow for a comparison of outcomes with fewer variables requiring control in the evaluation process.
Extend the period for evaluation by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy of the demonstration sites in order to allow a greater statistical validity for outcomes and allow for smaller demonstration sites.

Summary of Bill:

The membership of the TDC is expanded to include a representative of foster youth who will be selected by the co-chairs of the TDC. The representative may be a youth currently in foster care, or a recent alumnus. The date by which the DSHS must convert all contracts for the purchase of child welfare services to performance-based contracts is extended from January 1, 2011, to July 1, 2011. The date by which the DSHS must complete implementation of the demonstration sites is extended from July 1, 2012, to December 30, 2012. Implementation of the demonstration sites may be accomplished through a random case assignment model allowing for both supervising agencies and the DSHS to provide case management services in the demonstration site.

The implementation of performance-based contracts and selection of the demonstration sites must be done in a matter that maintains the care and placement authority of the DSHS at a level that does not jeopardize federal funding eligibility, and that also provides flexibility and maximizes federal funding opportunities.

The definition of supervising agency is clarified to be consistent with the intent of the demonstration sites. The authority of Indian tribes to provide their own child welfare programs is expressly recognized.

For all purchases of child welfare services through performance-based contracts, including any expansion or continuation of the demonstration sites, after July 1, 2015, state employees, along with private nonprofit organizations and Indian tribes, are to be preferred contractors over private, for-profit entities.