TITLE
Title
HHS-SOCIAL SERVICES NEUROAGILE LEADERSHIP & WORKFORCE ALLIES 4 OUTCOMES CONTRACT APPROVAL
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SPONSOR
Sponsor
Sharon Barlow
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BACKGROUND
Background
In February 2024, Guilford County entered into contract with NeuroAgile Leadership & Workforce Consulting, LLC (dba Allies 4 Outcomes) to further enhance child welfare practice and leadership skills within the division. This initiative was endeavored in direct response to the Corrective Action Plan (CAP) imposed by the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services (NCDHHS). The goal of the partnership has been to improve overall child welfare service delivery within the organization with two specific outcomes: 1) strengthen safety planning practices and continuous quality improvement processes, and 2) enhancing supervisor and manager skills to better promote the transfer of learning to practice for social workers.
Guilford County HHS-DSS plans to continue to work with Allies 4 Outcomes to develop a Sustainability Plan to ensure performance outcomes continue to trend favorably. To date, Allies 4 Outcomes has managed to successfully accomplish the goals set before them by Guilford County through the use of targeted group and one-on-one learning sessions, coaching, practice application of policy to decision-making and case trajectory, field/in-office observation, evaluation, and feedback loops.
On April 23, 2025, the NCDHHS formally confirmed that Guilford County HHS-DSS - Children’s Services Division has successfully completed all requirements of the CAP. This accomplishment reflects the unwavering dedication and tireless efforts of our staff and their steadfast commitment to improving outcomes for children and families.
Key achievements include:
• Backlogs reduced: Cases open 120+ days decreased from 387 to 95
• Safety planning strengthened: Adequate Safety Assessments increased to 89%
• Ongoing contacts significantly expanded: Now reaching 80% of required contacts
• Supervision enhanced: Consistent, effective supervision now occurring in 100% of cases
• Placement stability improved: Placement moves reduced from 11.1% to 6.1%
• Kinship placements expanded: More children placed safely with relatives
• Complaints resolved: No placement resource complaints reported to NCDHHS in the past 4 months
Children’s Services has also ensured that improvements are sustainable through:
• Consolidated and accessible Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
• A redesigned onboarding and training process that integrates state and local protocols
• Ongoing review and improvement through the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) team
• Annual discipline-specific “Boot Camps” to refresh and update staff on policy and practice
• Regular processes to maintain compliance with policy and practice updates
This milestone demonstrates remarkable and measurable progress, positioning Guilford County as a leader in child welfare practice improvements across North Carolina.
Guilford County HHS-DSS is requesting approval of a new one year term contract in the maximum amount of $269,000. These expenses were budgeted with 50% county funding; and, the County expects a 50% reimbursement rate by way of Federal/State Revenue for the contract expenses as they relate to aide to foster care, therefore the net County cost will be $134,500 and the expenses and expected revenue reimbursement are already budgeted.
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BUDGET IMPACT
Budget Impact
NO ADDITIONAL COUNTY FUNDS REQUIRED
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REQUESTED ACTION
Requested Action
Approve contract, in substantial form, for a total contract amount of $269,000 with NeuroAgile Leadership & Workforce Consulting, LLC (dba Allies 4 Outcomes) and authorize staff to take all necessary actions to execute this contract.