Notification of upcoming tender process for the Care of Children and Young People with Complex Disabilities

Introduction
FACS will commence an open tender process to provide support to children and young people with complex disabilities. It is envisaged that this process will commence in early 2018 with new contracts commencing in late 2018.

This tender will be open to all service providers, including those who were not successful in the Intensive Therapeutic Care (ITC) Expression of Interest (EOI) stage, or those currently involved in the ITC Request for Tender (RFT).

Background
FACS commenced a two stage procurement process for ITC in November 2016. This procurement is to reform the existing Residential Care service system. In May 2017, FACS paused the RFT stage of the ITC procurement to enable additional interactive dialogue with RFT Respondents to provide greater visibility of key reform parameters which will underpin RFT responses.

During the interactive meetings, a recurring theme was the inability of the new ITC model to cater for the needs of children and young people in statutory out of home care with complex disabilities. Their needs are ongoing and significantly different to other children and young people in residential care.

Trauma informed services such as ITC are designed specifically to address trauma and its impact in order to facilitate recovery. However in all aspects of service delivery, ITC may not be the model to cater for children with complex disabilities.

FACS will now commence a separate procurement process for these children and young people.

Cohort identification
The children and young people in this alternative service model are unlikely to step-down to less intensive care pathways, as framed by the ITC system. FACS expects there are a small group of under 50 children and young people in the current statutory out of home care service system in NSW that may become eligible for this service model.

They are identified as having extreme functional impairment and/or very high support needs that have substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities and require specialised and intensive supports to maintain stability in their care arrangements.

They may not be able to respond to the practices of ITC and may have complexities that pose significant risks to themselves and others and, as a result, will require ongoing care and disability support even after they turn 18 years of age.

Next steps
A tendering process for the model of care will be undertaken in 2018 after a period of consultation with the sector to facilitate the development of a service model. The model will be designed so that the services a child or young person with a complex disability receives are always determined by their assessed needs and focused on safety, permanency and well-being outcomes.

If your agency did not participate in the ITC EOI or RFT, and currently provides placements for FACS funded special care or other out-of-contract placements, you are encouraged to participate in this tendering process.

Further information will be provided in early 2018, so that all service providers have time to consider their positions.