Regional Services RFP Maximum Rates/Determination

Maximum Rates/Determination

We are concerned that the rates do not cover our direct costs in addition to not covering supervision and documentation to the standards of best practice. Our concern is that these rates will result in reduced quality in the provision of services to clients. Please explain the rationale in the determination of these rates?

In addition to face to face visits with family members, a significant amount of time is required to comprehensively assess the information that has been gathered and to actually write adoptive and foster parent home studies.  How many hours of collateral and report writing were included in the computation of the billable face to face rate?

We are very concerned that the proposed rate structure will not cover even the direct costs of delivering most of these important community and family-based services and will minimize essential best practice standards of supervision and documentation integral to these services.  It is very important that the number of collateral hours (non face to face contact) factored into the various maximum hourly rates be made available to prospective providers.  Will this information be posted on the DCS website?

How many collateral hours are built into the face-to-face rates?

The maximum face-to-face rate is a statewide average based on the cost of all billable units from the previous contract year (which includes things such as: collateral contacts, court time, travel, no-shows, case conferencing, and face-to-face time). Providers can look at their actual costs to provide a service and roll all of the costs into one rate; if that rate falls above the maximum, a budget and written justification must be submitted with the proposal.

Bachelors level staff with Masters level supervision is required for most of the service standards, yet the maximum rates vary from $35.00 per hour to $71.00 per hour.  Why is there so much variability in the maximum hourly rates for face to face direct contact if the staffing qualifications for delivering the services are the same? Do the number of collateral hours account for this variability?  If so, will providers be told the number of collateral hours built into each rate?

RATES_ED: Maximum rates were established per program, using statewide averages. Maximum rate calculations were not necessarily based on educational qualifications.