Notice End Date: November 5, 2025

Vendor Name: Family Choice Center

Contract Amount: 50,000

Agency Procurement Manager: Tameka McClary

Agency Procurement Manager Email: Tameka.Mcclary@dss.sc.gov

Agency Procurement Manager Telephone#: 803-898-9035

The Agency hereby provides notice that it entered into an emergency contract per S.C. Code Ann. §11-35-1570 with Vendor for the following supplies, services, information technology, or construction:

SCDSS was tasked at the Michelle H settlement court hearing in October 2024 to meet specific requirements as it relates to Richland County youth in foster care, to ensure that they do not have overnight stays in the SCDSS office, and to reduce the utilization of “night to night” emergency placements for these youth, and remains under an ongoing order to prevent overnight office stays for all youth in foster care. Family Choice Center is contracted with SCDSS as an Enhanced level group care provider for girls. At times, they provide care for youth whose established level of care and corresponding needs exceed the expectations of an Enhanced Group Care provider (i.e., the youth is approved for Psychiatric Residential Treatment Services or has other needs that result in high acuity behaviors). These youth often require 24/7 individualized supervision to remain stable and safe in placement. This provider does not wish to accept services from outside contracted providers to provide the additional supervision and is able provide internal supplemental staffing. In compliance with court ordered requirements, SCDSS is establishing an Emergency Contract with Family Choice Center group home to establish funding for this group care provider for the provision of supplemental, individualized program staffing for youth with high acuity needs who are at risk of being overnight in the SCDSS office, or at risk for being in night- to-night emergency placements. These services are intended to be utilized as time limited, crisis-stabilization to aid a youth in stabilizing or acclimating to placement with the provider and are not a long-term service or replacement for other treatment interventions that could benefit the youth.

Agency's justification for this emergency procurement may be viewed or obtained at: Agency Procurement Manager (Listed Above)

PROTESTS:
Any actual or prospective bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor aggrieved in connection with the intended award or award of this emergency contract, shall notify the appropriate chief Procurement officer in writing of its intent to protest within five (5) business days of the date this notice is posted. Any actual or prospective bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor who is aggrieved in connection with the intended award or award of this emergency contract and has timely notified the appropriate chief procurement officer of its intent to protest, may protest to the appropriate chief procurement officer in the manner set forth below within fifteen days of the date this notice is posted; except that a matter that could have been raised as a protest of the solicitation may not be raised as a protest of the award or intended award of a contract.
A protest must be in writing, filed with the appropriate chief procurement officer, and set forth the grounds of the protest and the relief requested with enough particularity to give notice of the issues to be decided. The protest must be received by the appropriate chief procurement officer within the time provided above. Days are calculated as provided in S.C. Code Ann. § 11-35-310(13).

Any Notice Of Intent To Protest And Protest Must Be Addressed To: Materials Management Officer