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
Amendment to Contract with Telecare Corporation for Corrections Outpatient Recovery Enhancement Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. 21-189, effective January 1, 2025, with Telecare Corporation for the provision of Corrections Outpatient Recovery Enhancement services, updating standard contract language, increasing the contract amount by $984,476 from $3,937,904 to $4,922,380, and extending the term for the total contract period of January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2025.
(Presenter: Georgina Yoshioka, Director, 252-5142)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Services Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The recommended increase of $984,476 with Telecare Corporation (Telecare) for Corrections Outpatient Recovery Enhancement (CORE) services will be funded by Federal Financial Participation Medi-Cal and Mental Health Services Act funds. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Department of Behavioral Health’s (DBH) 2024-25 budget and will be included in 2025-26 recommended budget.
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. An integral part of the service delivery system consists of assisting parolees with behavioral health conditions as they reintegrate back into their communities. The CORE program was initiated in 2009 by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) with the goal of reducing mental health crises, homelessness, and recidivism. The CORE program administers integrated services as a Full-Service Partnership program for parolees residing in the county experiencing behavioral health conditions and/or those involved in the criminal justice system. The goal is to successfully transition these individuals to the community from the prison system.
Historically, CDCR contracted with Telecare to administer the CORE program under the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) program. However, this program was eliminated from the State’s 2020-21 budget. As a result, San Bernardino County’s (County) behavioral health programs assumed responsibility for these specialized services and collaborated with Telecare to continue the CORE program. CORE serves individuals who are infrequently admitted to other community-based services because of their status as sex offenders and/or violent offenders.
The CORE program, administered through the contract with Telecare, has a client census of 50 adult parolees diagnosed with a serious mental illness at a time. CORE provides intensive case management services for 12-14 months, in addition to other wraparound support, such as behavioral health treatment services, and housing specific to Penal Code 290 registrants (a person who has been convicted of a sex crime and is required to register as a sex offender under California Penal Code Section 290).
In 2023-24, 113 CORE clients graduated from the program; of those, 63 were assisted in maintaining housing and 13 found employment. Without adequate mental health services and case management, the individuals served in ISMIP funded programs are at greater risk of returning to jail or prison, experiencing homelessness, and becoming high utilizers of emergency services including psychiatric hospitalization (resulting in higher impacts on local behavioral health systems of care).
On March 9, 2021 (Item No. 11), as the result of a non-competitive contract, the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved Contract No. 21-189 with Telecare for the provision of CORE services, in the total amount of $3,937,904, for the period of January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2024.
On June 8, 2021 (Item No. 33), the Board approved a standardized contract template to amend contracts with providers of Specialty Mental Health Services for removal of the County Contract Rate (CCR), including authorization for the Director of DBH to execute the amendment, effective March 1, 2020, as a result of COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. As part of that delegated authority, the Director of DBH approved Amendment No. 1 to Contract No. 21-189.
Approval of this item will allow DBH to extend the contract with Telecare for an additional year, through December 31, 2025, and serve 100 additional clients at an average cost of $9,845 per client.
DBH will implement mechanisms to regularly review 1) client service data and progress, conduct site visits and annual monitoring to ensure performance and compliance standards of the contract(s) are met; 2) 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) provider invoices administratively and programmatically to ensure client and/or bed counts are accurate prior to payment processing.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health Contracts (Michael Shin, Contracts Manager, 388-0899) on November 20, 2024; County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on December 3, 2024; Purchasing (Jessica Barajas, Supervising Buyer, 387-2065) on December 6, 2024; Finance (Paul Garcia, Administrative Analyst, 386-8392) on December 6, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0238) on December 9,2024.