About South Central and Hill Country

The South Central and Hill Country area, previously known as Region 8b, is comprised of 27 counties in and around San Antonio, excluding Bexar county.

The Single Source Continuum Contractor (SSCC) for this area is Belong. Visit the Belong website to learn about them.

Joint Operations Manual

DFPS/Belong Joint Operations Manual (Stage II)

Timeline

• September 1, 2020: Request for application released
• April 1, 2021: Contract awarded* to Belong
• April 1, 2021: Stage I start-up
• October 27, 2021: Stage I go-live
• April 1, 2022: Stage II start-up
• October 1, 2022: Stage II go-live
• April 1, 2026: Contract renewal
• April 1, 2031: Community area re-procurement
  *Steps to view the executed contract for Belong (# HHS000901800001):

  

  1. Go to the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) contract database website and click on “Contract Database Search”.
  2. In the Contract ID field, enter the contract number.
  3. In the Agency dropdown, select “530 - Family & Protective Services”.
  4. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on the “Submit Search” button.
  5. When the results appear, click on the “Display Expanded Data Set” button.
  6. Next, click on the "+" icon to view contract information.
  7. To view a document in the Attachments section, click on the magnifying glass icon   to the left of the document you wish to review.
     

  Note: The contract file name typically appears with the contract number followed by the word “Contract”. For this contract, the file “HHS000901800001_contract” contains the executed contract document.

News

Stay informed by visiting the Belong news page.

October 2022

DFPS and the Office of Community-Based Care Transition (OCBCT) are pleased to announce that they have taken the next step toward expanding Community-Based Care (CBC) by transitioning to CBC Stage II in the south central and hill country areas of Texas (Region 8b). This service area includes 27 Texas counties surrounding Bexar County.

In Stage II, Belong will provide case management, kinship, and reunification services in their community. Stage II expands the continuum of services to include services for families and to increase permanency outcomes for children. Belong is the first SSCC in Texas to move from Stage I to Stage II on the accelerated timeline of 12 months. This expedited transition was actualized through the collaboration and commitment of Belong, DFPS, and OCBCT.

Contact DFPS/OCBCT

• Community-Based Care administrator: Stacy Russell (830) 423-2164
• DFPS Contract Administration manager: Elizabeth Castillo (210) 478-0559

Contact Belong

Title	Name / Email
President/CEO	Tara Roussett
Chief Operating Officer	Rachel Richter
Chief Administrative Officer	Carlye Dupart
Director of Quality Assurance and Contracts	Yvette Moran
Senior Vice President of Operations	Adrian Quintanilla
Vice President of Operations	Shannon Walker
Vice President of Placement & Support Services	Robyn Muennink
Director of Accounting	Ashley Fox
Senior Regional Director, North	Kane Jaggers
Regional Director, West	Kelly Dalton
Regional Director, East	Nicole Nguyen
Regional Director, South	Wendy Knox

Forms

Click here to view all CBC forms

Number	Form Title
1514	Region 8b Removal Checklist
1515	Region 8b Adoption Checklist