REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
February 24, 2026
FROM
JEANY GLASGOW, Director, Children and Family Services
SUBJECT
Title
Contracts for Transitional Housing Program-Plus Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve contracts with the following agencies to provide Transitional Housing Program-Plus services for young adults formerly in foster care, in a combined amount not to exceed $6,600,000, for the period of March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2029:
1. Aspiranet, in the amount of $3,300,000.
2. Walden Environment Inc., dba Walden Family Services, in the amount of $3,300,000.
(Presenter: Jeany Glasgow, Director, 658-1181)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The total contract cost of $6,600,000 will be funded through a combination of state and local sources. State funding will cover approximately 53% ($3,500,000) with a grant award from the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council. The remaining 47% ($3,100,000) will be funded by the Wraparound Reinvestment Fund. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Human Services Administrative Claim and Wraparound Reinvestment 2025-26 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Transitional Housing Program-Plus (THP-Plus) is a state-funded transitional housing program created in 2001 to address the housing and support services needs of individuals who left foster care on or after their 18th birthday. The program provides planning and supportive services, as well as safe and adequate residences to enable individuals to become self-sufficient. Children and Family Services (CFS) has provided these services since 2007 through contracted vendors.
The California 2025-26 State Budget continues funding for the THP-Plus program and expanded program requirements to allow services to be provided for a maximum of 36 months, or up to age 25, with no educational or vocational enrollment requirements for the young adult. This change increases the maximum service duration from two years to three years and extends age eligibility by one year from ages 18-24 to ages 18-25. The growing demand for THP-Plus services has surpassed the current vendor capacity, resulting in a waiting list of qualified youth.
The proposed contracts with Aspiranet and Walden Environment Inc., dba Walden Family Services (Walden), will allow CFS to provide the needed services to qualified individuals awaiting placement in the program. THP-Plus services include 24-hour crisis intervention, educational advocacy, assistance to pursue college or post-secondary training, allowances for food and other necessities, apartment furnishings, system of payment for utilities, telephone, and rent, mentoring, and safe, adequate residences, defined as Scattered-site and Host Family Model housing. Scattered-site housing consists of apartments supervised by the vendor in various locations throughout San Bernardino County (County), which allows young adult tenants to be integrated into their communities. The Host Family Model allows young adults to live in a family setting with a relative, current foster family, or other consistent caring adults.
Vendor performance will be monitored by review of monthly reports and annual audits to ensure compliance with the administrative, program, and fiscal terms and conditions of the contracts. The County reserves the right to request additional program and/or fiscal documentation to facilitate monthly reviews. The contracts may be terminated without cause by the County with 30 days advance written notice.
PROCUREMENT
On October 31, 2025, the County Administrative Office approved and authorized the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit proposals from interested and qualified agencies to provide THP-Plus services. Approximately 200 prospective proposers with experience providing transitional and permanent housing and supportive services were notified via the County’s Electronic Procurement System (ePro).
Human Services received six proposals in response to RFP No. HSSA26-HSSA-6157 by the submission deadline, as follows:
|
Agency |
Proposed Region(s) |
Proposed Monthly Cost per Youth |
|
Aspiranet |
All Regions |
$2,900 Scattered (Non-Parenting) $3,300 Scattered (Parenting) $1,781 Host |
|
Bringing Out Xcellence, Inc. (BOX) |
High Desert Region |
$3,590.24 Scattered (Non-Parenting) $4,690.24 Scattered (Parenting) |
|
Prosperity Way |
Not Specified |
$3,000 Scattered (Non-Parenting) $3,400 Scattered (Parenting) |
|
Rescue Her 33 |
All Regions |
$4,167 Scattered (not specified) |
|
Simple Solutions Psychotherapy |
All Regions |
$2,900 Scattered (Non-Parenting) $3,100 Scattered (Parenting) |
|
Walden |
All Regions |
$2,900 Scattered (Non-Parenting) $3,300 Scattered (Parenting) $2,500 Host |
The review panel consisted of representatives from CFS, who completed an evaluation of the proposals. Proposals were based on the following criteria: cost, youth to be served, ability to provide services, experience providing services, available staffing and resources, and geographical region/service area served.
Based on the criteria, Aspiranet and Walden ranked the highest overall and are recommended for contract award for the period of March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2029, in an amount not to exceed $3,300,000, respectively. The unsuccessful agencies were notified during the RFP process by letter that they could submit a formal protest by January 15, 2026. No protests were received.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Human Services (Lisa Rivas-Ordaz, Contracts Manager, 388-0222) on January 27, 2026; County Counsel (Daniella V. Hernandez, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on January 22, 2026; Purchasing (Ariel Gill, Supervising Buyer, 387-2070) on January 27, 2026; and County Finance and Administration (John Hallen, Principal Administrative Analyst, 388-0208) on February 5, 2026.