Data Collection and Analysis Project for the Federally Funded Dependency Representation Program (FFDRP)

Description

The Judicial Council of California (“Judicial Council” or “JCC”), chaired by the Chief Justice of California, is the chief policy making agency of the California judicial system. The California Constitution directs the Judicial Council to improve the administration of justice by surveying judicial business, recommending improvements to the courts, and making recommendations annually to the Governor and the Legislature. The Judicial Council also adopts rules for court administration, practice, and procedure, and performs other functions prescribed by law.

In 2019, the federal Administration for Children & Families issued a notice of revision to the Child Welfare Policy Manual. The revision permits an agency to claim federal foster care dollars (title IV-E funds) for attorneys, hereafter referred to as “dependency providers,” to provide enhanced legal representation to a title IV-E eligible child in foster care and the child’s parents to “ensure that, among other things: reasonable efforts are made to prevent removal and finalize the permanency plan; and parents and children are engaged in the development and implementation of case plans.” The funds available through the Federally Funded Dependency Representation Program (FFDRP) are intended to complement a state’s allocation for dependency representation for an overall increase in services. The funds are not intended to reimburse or supplant existing funding.

The change to the Child Welfare Policy Manual is intended to encourage all child welfare agencies and courts to work together to ensure that parents and children, as well as child welfare agencies, receive high quality legal representation at all stages of a child welfare proceeding. To achieve the goal of high-quality legal representation and participate in FFDRP, the dependency providers are required to use the additional federal funding to incorporate recommendations from the Family Justice Initiative (FJI) Making the Legal System Work for Children and Parents - Attributes of High-Quality Legal Representation for Children and Parents in Child Welfare Proceedings into their practice. This project would evaluate whether augmentation of funding through FFDRP and implementation of one or more of the FJI principles leads to higher quality legal representation by reducing attorney caseloads, increasing attorney retention, and improve case timeliness, including reducing case continuances and achieving disposition of the case within the federal timelines.

The Judicial Council seeks a Contractor to develop and implement an evaluation plan of the FFDRP providers use of funding to implement the FJIs using standard data techniques including surveys and focus groups as well as available administrative data so that the Judicial Council can provide useful information to the courts, the legislature, and the funder regarding the impact of FFDRP on outcomes over time.

The Judicial Council intends to award one (1) Agreement with an initial term of nine (9) months (Year 1) approximately from January 1, 2024, through September 30, 2024. The Judicial Council reserves the right to extend for one (1) year options terms for up to three (3) years after the initial term to continue to work with Contractor on implementation of the data plan. Execution of option year terms will be dependent on project need and funding. Option terms may run from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025 (Year 2), October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 (Year 3), and October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027 (Year 4.)

Questions should be directed to solicitations@jud.ca.gov and must be received no later than 1:00 PM Pacific Time, November 15, 2023.

Proposals must be received by the Judicial Council no later than 1:00 PM, Pacific Time, December 6, 2023.

Further details regarding the solicitation are set forth in the RFP No. CFCC-2023-08-LP and related documents provided below: