We’ve won contracts with four states — Indiana, Michigan, North Dakota, and most recently New Hampshire — to provide guidance and support as they implement Qualified Residential Treatment Program (QRTP) assessments to meet new federal funding requirements established under the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA).
As states move to meet the requirements by October 1, 2021, of the most significant legislation to impact the funding and delivery of child welfare services in more than a decade, they are turning to Maximus to help ensure that vulnerable children are placed in settings that can best meet their needs.
Passed into law in 2018, the FFPSA fundamentally transforms the approach to child welfare by placing emphasis and funding on preventative services designed to keep children safely with their families rather than taking them out of the home. The legislation emphasizes placing children who need foster care in family-like settings. To encourage this, the FFPSA limits federal funding for congregate care settings. Federal funding for children in congregate care settings is provided for children in QRTPs that meet federal standards when an independent assessment has determined that a child’s needs are most appropriately met in a QRTP.
As a conflict-free assessment expert, we bring a holistic approach to helping our state clients implement QRTP assessment projects on time and in compliance with all federal and state requirements. We provide our clients a high degree of stakeholder engagement, consultation, training, and clinical alignment to best practices that demonstrate consistency, while also offering continual enhancements shaped to the unique needs of each state and the youth they serve.
"Our work with child welfare agencies is focused on ensuring every child receives quality care services in the right environment that supports their emotional, physical, and behavioral health needs,” said Christa Ballew, Vice President of Clinical Services. “We are committed to helping states understand and implement the FFPSA/QRTP assessments within their unique program requirements and timelines, to maintain federal compliance, and improve processes and outcomes for children and families.”
At Maximus, we have extensive experience providing best practice screenings, comprehensive assessments, and clinical reviews to optimize placement, supports, and services for children in states across the country. We have worked with multiple states to adapt their level of care criteria specifically for FFPSA and the QRTP service settings and successfully implemented their QRTP assessment operations. Each QRTP assessment is reviewed by a Maximus-qualified licensed clinician to ensure all requirements are completed and individualized to each child’s unique circumstances.