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(Alliance News Service) —
New Practices Drive Collaboration
Alliance members form new company
to serve Iowa kids

When the Iowa Department of Human Services in the summer of 2006 announced major changes in how it would structure the contracting of foster care and adoption services throughout the state, six Iowa-based nonprofit human service agencies began forming a new nonprofit organization in Iowa.

The six agencies, Four Oaks Family and Children's Services, Boys and Girls Home and Family Services, Christian Home Association-Children's Square U.S.A., Family Resources, Lutheran Services in Iowa, and Quakerdale, had worked together in various informal capacities over the years.

The collaboration became necessary because the state announced it was going to move away from multiple contracts for foster care and adoption services with numerous organizations across the state, to either a statewide contract with one provider, or statewide contracts with much more limited number of providers.

The collaboration resulted in the legal formation in August 2006 of Iowa KidsNet, a limited liability partnership created solely to respond to the changes the state was anticipated to make.

Anne Gruenewald, CEO of Iowa KidsNet, explains, “At the beginning, our work was instigated by the state changes. But we also set out to not only respond to a single RFP, but to take the opportunity to clearly define this entity called Iowa KidsNet. Most importantly, we tried to determine how it could best respond to what kids and families in Iowa need.”

Just one week after formation of Iowa KidsNet, the first major request for proposals was issued by the state for foster care and adoption services. By Thanksgiving 2006, Four Oaks (on behalf of Iowa KidsNet) was awarded the 18-month contract, with an option of three one-year renewals. The contract took effect on Jan. 2, 2007.

Explains Gruenewald, “Our responsibility is to recruit as many families, whether they be foster care or adoption, as the children needing those homes require. We are also responsible for providing the support services to those families to make sure that children stay in those homes.”

With the contract fully operational, Iowa KidsNet will recruit, orient, and provide training to foster and adoptive families. They will also license the families, provide other support services, and match kids to families.

Because the contract is pay for performance, the same standards must be satisfied in every part of the state.  “We either make it statewide or we don’t,” explains Gruenewald. “We have to have statewide consistency in order to be able to satisfy this contract. To achieve that, we are directly supervising all the project staff across the state. We then must make sure that each project staff meets the targets.”

To achieve the lofty standards, Iowa KidsNet operates the contract, including the delivery of service, and all six partner and five subcontract agencies agreed to lease their staff to Iowa KidsNet. Therefore, all of the project staff report to Iowa KidsNet and the organization also covers all quality improvement functions and measures.

“This is almost the reverse of what usually happens. In most cases, the project subcontracts to each agency and they are responsible for their part of the state. In our case, each agency is giving over their staff to this project to operate it statewide so that we can have that consistency and quality control,” explains Gruenewald.

The additional subcontract agencies involved in this project include: American Home Finding Association, Avalon Center, Children and Families of Iowa, Young House Family Services, and Youth and Shelter Services.

As the project move forward in its first year of implementation, Iowa KidsNet  will continue to transform foster care and adoption services throughout the state of Iowa and ensure a better future for many children.

For more information, contact Anne Gruenewald at agruenewald@iowakidsnet.com or Iowa KidsNet at 800-243-0756 or www.iowakidsnet.com.

11700 West Lake Park Drive, Milwaukee, WI 53224-3099
Phone: (800) 221-3726
Fax: (414) 359-1074

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