REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
December 17, 2024
FROM
GEORGINA YOSHIOKA, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title
Contracts for Substance Use Disorder and Recovery Services Non-Residential Drug Court Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve contracts with the following agencies for the provision of Substance Use Disorder and Recovery Services Non-Residential Drug Court services, in the combined amount of $7,396,782, for the contract period of January 1, 2025, through September 30, 2029:
a. High Desert Child, Adolescent and Family Services Center, Inc., in the amount of $3,106,648.
b. Inland Valley Drug and Alcohol Recovery Services dba Inland Valley Recovery Services, in the amount of $4,290,134.
2. Approve Amendment No. 4 to Contract No. 20-487 with Clare|Matrix for the provision of Substance Use Disorder and Recovery Services Non-Residential Drug Court services, increasing the total contract amount by $422,775, from $2,322,649 to $2,745,424, and extending the contract term for an additional nine months, for a total contract period of July 1, 2020 through September 30, 2025.
(Presenter: Georgina Yoshioka, Director, 252-5142)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Promote the Countywide Vision.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The new contracts and contract increase, in a total amount not to exceed $7,819,557, are funded by 2011 Realignment, Federal Financial Participation Drug Medi-Cal, and Substance Use Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Services Block Grant funds. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Department of Behavioral Health’s (DBH) 2024-25 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
DBH is responsible for providing mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) services to county residents experiencing severe mental illness and/or SUD. DBH provides a full range of SUD services for residents of the county through contracts with community-based organizations (CBO) and San Bernardino County (County)-operated clinics with the goal of promoting prevention, intervention, treatment, education, recovery, and resiliency for individuals and families. An integral part of the service delivery system consists of Non-Residential Drug Court services (Drug Court).
DBH has provided Drug Court through contracted providers since 1994. Drug Court brings multiple sectors of the community together to address criminal offender needs, ensuring consistency in judicial decision making, and enhancing the coordination of agencies and resources. Adult Drug Court employs a program designed to reduce drug relapse and criminal recidivism among defendants and offenders through a risk and needs assessment, judicial interaction, monitoring and supervision, graduated sanctions and incentives, treatment, and multiple rehabilitation services. Juvenile Drug Court applies a similar approach that is tailored to the needs of youth with SUDs. Juvenile Drug Court programs provide youth and their families with counseling, education, and other services to provide immediate intervention, treatment, and structure.
Approval of the Recommendations will allow DBH to continue to provide Drug Court. DBH anticipates that the agencies listed under Recommendation No. 1 will serve a total of 736 clients annually at an estimated cost of $2,116 per client; Clare|Matrix under Recommendation No. 2 will serve 200 additional clients at an estimated cost of $2,114 per client.
The National Institute of Justice's Multisite Adult Court Evaluation found that 56 percent of Drug Court participants refrain from drug use compared to the 24 percent of non-Drug Court participants who refrain from drug use. Similarly, 29 percent of Drug Court participants test positive for drug use, compared to the 46 percent of non-Drug Court participants who test positive for drug use. Additionally, 40 percent of Drug Court participants engaged in criminal activity compared to the 53 percent of non-Drug Court participants who engaged in criminal activity. Finally, 52 percent of probationers who had participated in Drug Court had no further arrests compared to 38 percent of probationers who had not participated in Drug Court having no further arrests.
Regarding Recommendation No. 2, DBH recommends the extension of Clare|Matrix’s contract for an additional nine months to provide services for the West Valley region until September 30, 2025. A new procurement specific to the West Valley region will be released to seek additional proposals. It is anticipated that services arising from the resulting contract(s) will begin on October 1, 2025.
On June 23, 2020 (Item No. 35), as a result of a formal procurement for the provision of Drug Court, the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved Contract No. 20-487 with Clare|Matrix in the amount of $1,940,974, for the period of July 1, 2020, through September 30, 2024.
On October 26, 2021 (Item No. 21), the Board approved Amendment No. 1 to Contract No. 20-487 with Clare|Matrix, updating contract language in accordance with California State Assembly Bill 1950, with no change to the contract amount of $1,940,974 or contract period of July 1, 2020, through September 30, 2024.
On June 13, 2023 (Item No. 26), the Board approved Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. 20-487 with Clare|Matrix for the provision of Drug Court, increasing the total contract amount by $240,750, from $1,940,974 to $2,181,724, for the expansion of services to serve additional clients, with no change to the contract period of July 1, 2020, through September 30, 2024.
On September 24, 2024 (Item No. 27), the Board approved Amendment No. 3 to Contract No. 20-487 with Clare|Matrix for the provision of Drug Court, updating standard contract language, increasing the total contract amount by $140,925, from $2,181,724 to $2,322,649, and extending the contract term for an additional three months to avoid a lapse in program services and allow for the completion of the procurement, for a total contract period of July 1, 2020 through December 31, 2024.
DBH will implement mechanisms to regularly 1) review client service data and progress, conduct site visits and annual monitoring to ensure performance and compliance standards of the contract(s) are met; 2) review applicable reimbursement claims and claims data to ensure fidelity and accuracy of service billing and optimization of Medi-Cal reimbursement in alignment with contract terms and Department of Health Care Services billing requirements; and 3) review provider invoices administratively and programmatically to ensure client and/or bed counts are accurate prior to payment processing.
PROCUREMENT
On June 24, 2024, the County Administrative Office approved and authorized the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) No. DBHE24-ADS-5440 through the Electronic Procurement Network (ePro), to solicit interested and qualified organizations and agencies to provide Drug Court. The RFP was publicly advertised in local newspapers and through direct mailings to more than 600 CBOs, service providers, and other interested parties.
Five proposals were received in response to the RFP by the established deadline. Of those, the three noted in the table below met the procurement conditions and were moved forward for further evaluation:
|
Proposing Agency |
Proposed Regions |
Proposed Age Range |
|
High Desert Child, Adolescent and Family Services Center, Inc. |
Desert/Mountain |
Adult and Juvenile |
|
Humanity Center 4 Change |
East Valley/San Bernardino Metropolitan |
Adult |
|
Inland Valley Drug and Alcohol Recovery Services dba Inland Valley Recovery Services |
East Valley/San Bernardino Metropolitan, Central Valley and West Valley |
Adult and Juvenile |
The evaluation committee, comprised of six individuals from the Superior Court of California, the Public Defender’s office, the District Attorney’s office, and DBH, reviewed and evaluated the proposals based on the criteria referenced in the RFP. These criteria included but were not limited to demonstrated ability to serve the target population, ability to provide required services specified in the RFP, demonstrated ability to serve the number of unduplicated participants indicated, appropriate staffing levels, and ability to serve the specified geographic areas.
Based on the program and fiscal evaluations and resulting contract negotiations, two of the three proposing agencies are recommended for contract award to provide Drug Court in three of the four service regions, through September 30, 2029. High Desert Child, Adolescent and Family Services Center, Inc. will provide services to the Desert/Mountain region, and Inland Valley Drug and Alcohol Recovery Services dba Inland Valley Recovery Services will provide services in the East Valley/San Bernardino Metropolitan and Central Valley regions.
The agency not recommended for contract award, Humanity Center 4 Change, was notified by letter via electronic mail on November 8, 2024, including the ability to submit a formal written protest to the Director of the Purchasing Department based on the criteria in the RFP. A written protest was not received.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health (Lisa Rivas-Ordaz, Contract Supervisor, 383-3940) on November 22, 2024; County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on December 2, 2024; Purchasing (Jessica Barajas, Supervising Buyer, 387-2065) on December 9, 2024; Finance (Paul Garcia, Administrative Analyst, 386-8392) on December 9, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0238) on December 9, 2024.