TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Amanda Gibbs, Chief Probation Officer
REPORT BY: Michelle Van Wie, Staff Services Analyst II
SUBJECT: Seneca Family of Agencies - Agreement No. 250304B
RECOMMENDATION
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Approve and authorize Agreement No. 250304B with Seneca Family of Agencies in order to conduct Family Finding searches and provide information regarding clients for whom family members are being sought. (Fiscal Impact: $3,000 Expense; General Fund; Budgeted; Discretionary)
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BACKGROUND
Seneca Family of Agencies provides Family Finding Search Services. The firm has over 10 years’ experience conducting thousands of relative/personal searches on behalf of youth. This agreement will assist in meeting the
Continuum of Care initiative of AB 403 effective January 1, 2017, designed to improve probation and child
welfare outcomes by reducing the use of group homes, increasing the use of home-based settings (including
foster care) and decreasing the amount of time it takes to return youth to a permanent home.
Pursuant to AB 938 (2009), it is the policy of Probation to notify relatives whenever a ward will be placed in
foster care or a residential treatment facility. If the Court orders foster care or residential treatment, Probation
has 30 days to identify, locate and notify, in writing, all grandparents, adult siblings and other adult relatives,
including those suggested by the parents and youth. The purpose of this bill is to engage relatives and
encourage their support for the youth placed out of home, and, in the event the youth cannot return home, the
relatives may be able to provide a home pursuant to AB 1695 (2001). Probation currently uses Lexis Nexis to
locate families however, services provided by Seneca will yield enhanced and more comprehensive family
finding results.
Seneca Family Finding Search services will be used to identify, locate and engage family and friends who can
be natural supports to youth and families who are at-risk of out of home placement. Engagement of friends and
family as natural supports can prevent removal from the home, and, if removal is necessary, provide placement
options with family or friends instead of congregate care or traditional foster homes. Youth who are placed with
family or friends are more likely to have successful outcomes than youth placed in group congregate care or
with unknown foster parents.
The search service accesses multiple premium search databases to provide a customized search report with the
most comprehensive information available. Search requests are submitted on the Seneca website and results
will be sent to the requestor by email, typically within four hours, during "normal" business hours.
The Family Finding Report includes:
Up to 30-year address history for the person with listed phone numbers, aliases and deceased notices, if any
Up to 30 possible relatives with address history and listed phone numbers
Up to 20 possible family acquaintances, with address history and listed phone numbers
Neighbors with listed phone numbers at the subject's most recently reported address
Seneca also offers an optional Social Network Search which adds information from some of the most popular
social network sites, such as Facebook, Linked In and others, for up to two of the relatives found on the
standard report (additional fee will apply).
With regard to privacy of information, Seneca Family of Agencies and its employees shall at all times comply
with the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information published by the Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
of 1996 (HIPAA). In addition, due to AB 938 and AB 1695, information received related to relative findings
will be maintained by Probation and HHS as required by law.
This Agreement includes two automatic annual renewals and will be used by Probation and Health and Human Services.
The vendor has had an Agreement with the County for over six years requiring Board approval per policy.
REQUESTED ACTION:
Approve and authorize Agreement No. 250304B with Seneca Family of Agencies through June 30, 2025, with two additional automatic annual renewals, for a contract maximum of $3,000 annually.
FISCAL & STRATEGIC PLAN IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
Yes |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
Yes |
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Where is it budgeted? |
Probation (1420000) and Health and Human Services |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
This Agreement is discretionary in that there is no mandate to contract for these services |
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Is the general fund affected? |
Yes |
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Future fiscal impact: |
The Agreement has an automatic renewal and will be budgeted accordingly in subsequent fiscal years |
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Consequences if not approved: |
If the Agreement is not approved, the departments would need to be trained to search for family members and subsequently, will spend more hours searching for family members, a process that would not be cost effective nor efficient. An Agreement with this vendor provides an experienced search agent that is able to instantly access multiple premium databases to provide a customized search report at a non-profit price. |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.