The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), enacted as part of Public Law (P.L.) 115–123, authorized new optional title IV-E funding for time-limited prevention services for mental health, substance use, and in-home parent skill-based programs for children or youth who are candidates for foster care, pregnant or parenting youth in foster care, and the parents or kin caregivers of those children and youth. The FFPSA also identified new standards of care for residential programs (Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTP)) to reduce congregate care and strengthen residential placements for children in state custody who need this level of care. The State of Maine developed a state Prevention Plan to outline the implementation of the above referenced services and identify the candidates that will be covered under this Act to support and strengthen families to safely prevent children from entering foster care. This plan can be found on the OCFS FFPSA Planning and Implementation page.
As part of the FFPSA planning process, the Workforce and Training stakeholder workgroup assessed existing workforce capacity to implement FFPSA, including gaps and needs. The workgroup also suggested strategies in order to build the workforce to ensure strong and reliable resources are available for families in Maine. As a result, a Behavioral Health and Supportive Services Workforce Logic Model was created and can be found below.
- Behavioral Health and Supportive Services Workforce Logic Model (PDF)
- PowerPoint Presentation from initial Workforce Stakeholder workgroup (PDF)
A Behavioral Health and Supportive Services Workforce Collaborative is convening to work together to implement the logic model identified above.
For more information about the Workforce Collaborative or to learn more about how you can be involved in this initiative, please contact OCFS Family First Program Manager Christine Theriault at Christine.Theriault@maine.gov or 207-624-7914