Department of Juvenile Justice Department of Juvenile Justice
 

 



RBWO Vendor Services

RBWO Audit
 

Please Note: Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and in accordance to the Governor’s Executive Orders and CDC Guidelines, the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) suspended in-person Comprehensive Audits for all contracted residential Room Board Watchful Oversight(RBWO) providers between March 2020 and October 2021. The Department implemented virtual oversight of all contracted providers during this time, which included implementing Virtual Safety Checks between January 2021-October 2021. Public records related to the virtual audits and safety checks are available by requesting said records from the Department of Juvenile Justice by sending the request for records to the following: rbwo.contracts@djj.state.ga.us or legal@djj.state.ga.us(via the Open Records process).

The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice and the Georgia Department of Human Services (Office of Provider Management and the Office of Regulatory Child Care Licensing), have been tasked with the development of conducting a singularly coordinated audit at designated Room Board Watchful Oversight residential vendors at least once a year. These vendors are either a licensed Child Caring Institution or a Child Placing Agency and have a contract with the Department of Juvenile Justice and/or the Department of Human Services Office of Provider Management.

The purpose of the Joint Comprehensive Audit is to improve communication between agencies and residential providers and to develop “best-practices” to better serve youth and families. In support of our mission to protect and serve the citizens of Georgia, the Department of Juvenile Justice is making the summary findings of the Comprehensive Audit available to you for review. The summary findings will be made available as audits are completed and can be viewed by selecting the individual link to the vendor’s report.

The Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) currently contracts with and monitors licensed Child Caring Institutions (CCI) and Child Placing Agencies (CPA), for Room, Board and Watchful Oversight (RBWO) services for DJJ youth in need of Residential and/or Foster Home placement.

DJJ Regional Treatment Services Specialists (RTSS) closely monitor adherence to RBWO minimum standards, Georgia residential licensure requirements, DJJ policy and procedures, and DJJ contractual obligations.

DJJ currently reviews the following Domains for all DJJ audits for each contracted RBWO CCI and CPA vendors. The stated Sub-Categories are a brief representation of what is addressed in each Domain:


YOUTH SAFETY & SECURITY

  • PREA
  • Grievances
  • Supervision

PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION

  • Program Planning
  • Physical Plant
  • Staffing

PROGRAMMING & SERVICES

  • RBWO Level of Services
  • Transition\Discharge Planning

QUALITY OF CARE

  • Medical\Dental
  • Mental Health
  • Nutrition
  • Education

The DJJ scoring system has been developed to assist the vendor and DJJ with addressing performance and accountability.

The DJJ Scorecard is determined based on the following criteria:


  • DJJ on-site reviews of youth and personnel records
  • Vendor administration practices
  • Physical plant
  • Programming and services as outlined in each youth’s Service Plan to address:
    • recidivism
    • youth reentry
    • family engagement:
    • educational
    • medical
    • mental health
    • health
  • Outcome data from Utilization Reviews for each DJJ youth placed in a residential setting

Each vendor, at a minimum, will receive (1) Un-Announced and (1) Announced Audits (one of which is the Joint Comprehensive Audit) per calendar year. Vendors may have additional audits. These additional audits will be based on the vendor’s performance. After each announced and un-announced audit, the vendor will receive a DJJ Audit Score Summary Report from the DJJ Regional Treatment Services Specialist(RTSS). This report will contain: an Comprehensive Audit Score(Joint Comprehensive Audit Only); a Deficiency Report and a Corrective Action Plan Template, as applicable.

Please note, the vendor will have (3) separate Comprehensive Audit Scores, one from each agency, for the Joint Comprehensive Audit and these scores will be posted and labeled on each agency’s public website.

If the vendor wished to appeal the DJJ Audit Summary Report, they must do so in writing within 5 business days from receipt of the RBWO Audit Outcome Letter and the DJJ Audit Summary Report. . The Appeal letter must contain: Deficiencies they disagree with; why they disagree; and describe the actions\resolution being requested. The Appeals Letter must be sent to the Operations Manager 2 for Residential and After-Care Services.

The DJJ Scorecards are published on the public DJJ website. Providers will receive an overall score and corresponding grade for each completed DJJ Audit. The Full Audit Detail Report will be made available to each vendor upon request.

The following tables outline the scoring measures and categories:

DJJ AUDIT MEASURES CCI & CPA
Youth Safety & Security 30%
Programming & Services 25%
Quality of Care 25%
Program Administration 20%
TOTAL 100%

DJJ has implemented the following incentive credits designed to encourage performance at more than the minimum level of expectation.

INCENTIVE CREDIT CCI & CPA
Active Agency Accreditation that is recognized by DJJ 2pts. per Audit Scorecard
Acceptance and Placement of DJJ youth of 70% or more of their current population 2pts. per Audit Scorecard
Zero PREA related incidents over the last 90 days 2pts. per Audit Scorecard

Scores and sub scores are calculated by summation of provider’s performance measure by the total measure. All the calculations are percentage based.

Vendors will receive an overall score based on a 100-point scale. Vendors will receive a numerical score and a corresponding letter grade on each audit.

Scores are used for assisting DJJ staff with making the appropriate placement, contract evaluation and enforcing performance accountability.

The chart below describes the range of numerical scores and the corresponding letter grade.

SCORE GRADE
97-100 A+
90-96 A
80-89 B
70-79 C
60-69 D
0-59 F

DJJ’s acceptable provider performance has been set at 75% or higher. Providers are expected to maintain at least a 75/C+ or higher on Joint Comprehensive Audits. Providers who earn a score of less than 75% on (3) consecutive Joint Comprehensive Audits and/or Safety Reviews will be subject to admissions suspensions and other remedies as appropriate in order to address the performance deficiencies identified. Technical assistance will be provided by DJJ staff to vendors to address poor performance as needed.

Technical assistance will be provided by DJJ to assist vendors in areas of need. Providers who earn less than 75% on any three consecutive audits will be subject to admissions suspensions and other remedies as appropriate in order to address the performance deficiencies.

Additional Resources
RCCL:
https://rcctrails.dhs.ga.gov/public/publiclanding.aspx
DHS-OPM
https://www.gascore.com/providerscores/