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HomeMy WebLinkAboutC18-295 Colorado Department of Human Services for Colorado Community Response - NOT FULLY EXECUTEDMEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING Interagency Collaboration Agreement between Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) and the County Department of Human Services (County) and the Colorado Community Response (CCR Provider Agency) This agreement is between the Colorado Department of Human Services (“CDHS”), the undersigned County Department of Human Services (“County”), and Colorado Community Response (“CCR Provider Agency”) (collectively, the “Parties”). This agreement is in effect for the period of September 1, 2018 through June 30, 2020. The purpose of this MOU is to establish a working agreement among the Parties in relation to the Colorado Community Response program randomized control trial (“RCT”). For the purposes of this agreement Eagle County Department of Human Services is identified as the “County” and the “CCR Provider Agency”. Background: Colorado Community Response (“CCR”) is a child abuse prevention program providing voluntary services to families who are reported for child abuse or neglect but whose circumstances do not rise to the level of child welfare service involvement. The Colorado Community Response program is available to families who meet the eligibility criteria defined below. Starting in September 2018, Colorado Community Response is conducting an 18-month RCT in partnership with the Governor’s Office and the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab (“Colorado Lab”). Colorado Lab is a strategic research partner for government and the community and is the principle evaluator for program evaluation. The purpose of the RCT is to establish an evidence base for the program to inform future expansion and funding decisions. Eligible referrals: If families meet the eligibility criteria below, their information will be pulled from Trails and randomized by the CDHS Office of Early Childhood (“OEC”) data system.  Families with children ages 0 to 17, including pregnant or expecting parents and at least one of the following:  Families with a “screened out” child welfare referral; or  Families with a closed High Risk Assessment (“HRA”) without the provision of child welfare services; or  Families with a closed Family Assessment Response assessment (“FAR”) without a service plan. Ineligible referrals: Referrals based on the following will not be pulled into the OEC data system for use in the RCT:  Child Sexual Abuse  Youth in Conflict  Child Fatality Program Goals: DocuSign Envelope ID: 7C60982D-85E7-45CE-A024-63E0A1A62FA9  To provide comprehensive voluntary services for families reported to child protective services whose referral is screened out and/or closed after initial assessment;  To prevent future child welfare services related to safety and risk for children and prevent the high costs associated with being “screened in” to the child protection services;  To increase families’ protective capacities by promoting individual, family, and community strengths;  To address the link between poverty and neglect by connecting families to vital economic and support services to mitigate risk factors associated with child neglect;  To promote safe, stable, nurturing relationships that allow children to reach their full potential;  To increase economic security for families by providing services that help reduce financial stress. Confidentiality: Parties to this agreement recognize that information obtained and exchanged about clients in the performance of this agreement is confidential and agree to maintain the confidentiality of all information obtained as required by this agreement as well as state and federal laws. Randomization: During the 18-month evaluation period, referrals to CCR will be handled entirely through a randomization process established by the Colorado Lab and OEC. Categorically eligible child welfare referrals will be randomized through an automated process between Trails and the OEC data system. The selected referrals will then be given to CCR Provider Agency using the OEC data system. Only families who have been selected through this process will be offered the opportunity to receive Colorado Community Response services. Bias Elimination: To eliminate selection/worker bias, CCR Provider Agency staff and volunteers will not participate in Review, Evaluate and Direct (Red ) Team Screening processes, Child Protection Team (CPT) meetings, or Family Engagement Meetings (FEM) conducted by their respective counties. Only contact information related to screen out referrals or closed assessments will be shared with the CCR family advocate. CDHS Agrees to the Following: 1. CDHS will work with the Colorado Lab at the University of Denver to complete an RCT on Colorado Community Response for the purpose of increasing evidence on the program and growing resources to expand the reach of the program. 2. CDHS will pull information from TRAILS on county child welfare screen outs and closed assessments into the OEC data system. Information will include: a. Referral County b. Date of Referral c. Trails Referral ID d. Referral Pathway (Screen Out, FAR, HRA) e. Family member demographics (Name, Date of Birth, Age, Gender) f. Trails Client ID g. Primary Caregiver h. Address i. Phone number DocuSign Envelope ID: 7C60982D-85E7-45CE-A024-63E0A1A62FA9 3. CDHS will randomize and provide referrals to CCR Provider Agencies by utilizing the OEC data system. 4. CDHS will work with Colorado Community Response to ensure adequate numbers of referrals are being received during the RCT to allow CCR sites to successfully serve the contracted number of families. 5. CDHS will ensure that data held in the OEC data system meets required security measures to maintain the confidentiality of the client information and data. 6. CDHS will provide ongoing training and technical assistance to CCR Provider Agencies to ensure program model fidelity. 7. CDHS will require CCR Provider Agency staff to complete and sign a confidentiality agreement before outreaching to eligible referrals. 8. CDHS will amend CCR Provider Agency contracts by September 1, 2018 to include the following confidentiality clause: a. CCR Provider Agency and its employees recognize that reports of child abuse or neglect and the name and address of any child, family, or informant or any other identifying information contained in such reports are confidential and shall not be public information. C.R.S. 19-1-307(1)(a). b. In addition, the CCR Provider Agency and its employees acknowledge there may be criminal sanctions related to the release of such information pursuant to C.R.S 19-1-307; C.R.S. 19-1-303; 18-1.3-501 or other state, local or federal laws. 9. At the end of the RCT, CDHS will work with sites and county child welfare departments to develop and transition to post-RCT protocol for referrals to CCR. 10. CDHS will provide counties quarterly aggregated data on referrals, acceptance rates, and completers specific to their county. County Department of Human Services Agrees to the Following: 1. County will participate in an 18-month RCT. 2. County agrees to the eligibility referral criteria noted above. 3. County agrees to suspend making referrals to CCR Provider Agencies and understands CDHS will pull all referrals meeting eligibility criteria from Trails into the OEC data system for use in the RCT. DocuSign Envelope ID: 7C60982D-85E7-45CE-A024-63E0A1A62FA9 4. County will not provide referrals or additional information to CCR Provider Agencies about treatment group families. 5. County will not allow CCR family advocates to participate in FEM, CPT, RED team screening process or provide additional information related to the referral allegations. 6. County will maintain strong partnerships with CDHS and the CCR Provider Agency. 7. County will provide additional outreach information, when necessary, for families to participate in Colorado Community Response. Information is limited to additional addresses or phone numbers not available on original referral. 8. County agree to not receive information collected from the family, by CCR Provider Agencies, in connection with this MOU without the family’s written consent. CCR Provider Agency agrees to the following: 1. CCR Provider Agencies will outreach only for referrals that have been randomized and provided by CDHS utilizing the OEC data system. 2. CCR Provider Agencies will utilize OEC data system for all Colorado Community Response related activities. 3. CCR Provider Agencies will follow Colorado Community Response program model to fidelity. 4. CCR Provider Agencies will not participate in FEM, CPT, or RED team screening process to obtain additional information related to referral allegations. 5. CCR Provider Agencies will notify the CCR Provider Agency program manager if the site is not receiving enough or is receiving too many referrals during the course of the RCT. 6. CCR Provider Agencies will communicate with counties as needed to maintain a strong partnership and obtain additional contact information, when necessary, for families whose referral has been randomized to participate in the RCT. 7. CCR Provider Agencies will keep confidential information provided in referrals and have all staff working on Colorado Community Response complete confidentiality agreements. 8. CCR Provider Agency and its employees will not access the OEC data system for any purpose other than in the performance of providing Colorado Community Response services as outlined by this MOU. The CCR Provider Agency and its employees agree to only access those areas of the OEC data system necessary to perform contracted functions, to access only information of those children and families referred for services, and to keep confidential all information gained during performance of Colorado Community Response services. DocuSign Envelope ID: 7C60982D-85E7-45CE-A024-63E0A1A62FA9 9. CCR Provider Agency and its employees will adhere to information data protection requirements as outlined in the Health Insurance Portability Act of 1996 (HIPPA) (5 C.F.R. Part 160 and Part 164). CCR Provider agency will sign a business associate agreement with CDHS to ensure HIPPA compliance. 10. CCR Provider Agency and its employees will adhere to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) for the protection of student records (20 USC 1232g). CDHS ________________________________________ Date: ____________________ Authorized Representative County Department of Human Services _________________________________________ Date: ___________________ Eagle County BoCC Chairman DocuSign Envelope ID: 7C60982D-85E7-45CE-A024-63E0A1A62FA9 10/15/2018