The South-Central Community Based Initiative (SCCBI) region includes the counties of Blue Earth, Brown, Faribault-Martin, Freeborn, Le Sueur, Nicollet, Rice, Sibley, and Watonwan. The SCCBI's mission is to enhance the quality of life for individuals with mental health needs, promoting independence and community integration through timely, appropriate, and cost-effective services. The SCCBI has been dedicated to supporting families and children in crisis by building effective, evidence-based regional services. Over the past twenty years, Minnesota has seen a significant drop in children's residential treatment capacity, a 36% decrease due to facility closures. Federal reforms like the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) have further limited funding for congregate care. As a result, counties in the SCCBI region face increasing challenges when placing youth with complex mental health needs. Recently, Children's Mental Health Supervisors from 10 counties worked together on a Gaps Analysis. This analysis made clear there is an urgent need for regional children's crisis stabilization services and more local placement options. Many children needing higher levels of care are placed far from home—sometimes even out of state—causing both financial strain and emotional hardship. From 2021 through 2024, counties in this region spent over $5.7 million placing 31 children in residential treatment centers across 10 different states. This project is a direct response to those needs. It aims to develop a local, high-quality, and sustainable children's crisis stabilization service that aligns with the SCCBI's mission and the goals of the counties we serve.
The goal of this project is to secure the services of a qualified Project Manager to develop a Request for Proposal (RFP) for children's crisis residential services. This service aims to truly support families and youth in crisis by improving regional capacity to provide immediate and effective crisis stabilization, reducing the need for out-of-state placements to ensure children receive care close to home, and offering trauma-informed, developmentally appropriate care tailored to the unique needs of each child. This project will align with best practices and draw on local, state, and federal funding to create a replicable service. Ultimately, it will reduce pressure on emergency rooms, strengthen cooperation between counties, and improve outcomes for children and their families.
For information about this request for proposal, the intended role of the project manager and scope of work, please click here.