Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) is a Federal Act that aims to prevent children from entering foster care by allowing partial federal (Title IV-E) reimbursement for qualifying mental health services, substance use treatment, and in-home parenting skill training to families and children who are at risk of entering the child welfare system. A community pathway is any avenue that families can use to access Title IV-E funded prevention services through FFPSA outside of the traditional child welfare service delivery & case management context. This is an approach to reach families further upstream without a family needing to have active involvement with Children’s Division.
In Progress Tasks
April
- Meet with Chapin Hall and CTF to discuss workforce training/support and a communication approach for Home Visiting (HV) Community Pathway
- Continue to develop a Child Specific Plan and design a process for Title IV-E Eligibility for Home Visiting (HV) Community Pathway
- Continue work with Chapin Hall and CTF to develop a process for invoicing and claiming
- Continue work with Chapin Hall and CTF to review/update the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) processes for the HV Community Pathway
- Continue revising the Title IV-E Prevention Plan to add recently approved Medication for Opioid Use Disorders (MOUDs)
- Continue work with Chapin Hall, CTF and fiscal to review and develop financing strategies
- Ongoing updates with Chapin Hall to the Title IV-E Prevention Plan Amendment to include Community Pathway
Next Steps
May
- Finalize our work with Chapin Hall on the development of a community Pathway
- Continue working with CTF to implement a community pathway
- Ongoing updates with Chapin Hall to the Title IV-E Prevention Plan Amendment to include Community Pathway
Completed Tasks
- 2026 - Quarter 1
January
- Work on PCIT has been paused indefinitely as funding is under review
- Child Specific Prevention Plan work and training development for CD staff support
- Continued work on system change requests, invoicing processes, reporting processes, and service codes
- Work with Chapin Hall to review current processes as well as identify gaps to design a data sharing process that meets federal requirements for FFPSA
- Ongoing updates with Chapin Hall to the Title IV-E Prevention Plan Amendment to include Community Pathway
February
- Met with Chapin Hall, CTF, and fiscal to review financing strategies for reimbursement, including braiding funding strategies
- Start developing a Child Specific Plan and design a process for Title IV-E Eligibility for Home Visiting (HV) Community Pathway
- Ongoing updates with Chapin Hall to the Title IV-E Prevention Plan Amendment to include Community Pathway
- Identified Children’s Division data team and met with Chapin Hall to begin business process mapping for data sharing and reporting
- Began reviewing the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) processes for the HV Community Pathway
March
- Continue to develop a Child Specific Plan and design a process for Title IV-E Eligibility for Home Visiting (HV) Community Pathway
- Work with Chapin Hall and CTF to develop a process for invoicing and claiming
- Continue work with Chapin Hall and CTF to review/update the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) processes for the HV Community Pathway
- Continue work with CD and CTF data teams in the development of a business process map for data sharing and reporting
- Begin revising the Title IV-E Prevention Plan to add recently approved MOUDs
- Continue work with Chapin Hall, CTF and fiscal to review and develop financing strategies
- Ongoing updates with Chapin Hall to the Title IV-E Prevention Plan Amendment to include Community Pathway
- 2025 - Quarter 4
October
- BSFT purveyor identified as a single feasible source.
- Ongoing planning and approvals for BSFT and PCIT with the Office of Administration (OA) and DSS legal.
- Met with Chapin Hall and data individuals from both DSS and CTF to discuss data and reporting requirements for FFPSA.
November
- Worked with the FACES team to make changes to the system that will allow online invoicing for FFPSA Prevention Services.
- Continued work with the bid process for providers of PCIT.
- Met with Chapin Hall and CTF to discuss Home Visiting Program Structure, overview, funding, and candidacy definition.
December
- Continued plans for PCIT providers for final approvals and awards by early 2026.
- Continued work with Chapin Hall and CTF in the development of a Community Pathway for Home Visiting to focus on financing strategies for reimbursement and partnership.
- 2025 - Quarter 3
July
- Met with BSFT purveyor to discuss updated Scope of Work
August
- Continued working with the BSFT purveyor to align provider documents with model requirements.
- Met with team to discuss options for system invoicing, payments, and reporting.
- Reengaged in Community Pathway discussions for Home Visiting Programs, with Chapin Hall and Children’s Trust Fund (CTF)
September
- Continued approvals for PCIT purveyor as a single feasible source.
- Continued reviews and approvals for BSFT and PCIT plans for issuing bid opportunities to providers.
- Met with Chapin Hall and CTF for further discussion and planning for Home Visiting community Pathway development.
- 2025 - Quarter 2
May
- Drafted Brief Strategic Family Therapy (BSFT) purveyor Request for Proposal (RFP)
- Drafted Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) and BSFT provider documents for bid opportunities.
June
- CIT purveyor contractual documents reviewed and approved by DSS legal.
- Status changed for BSFT purveyor, allowing for the option of a single feasible source.
- Continued drafting the PCIT and BSFT provider contract documents.