REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
May 24, 2022
FROM
GEORGINA YOSHIOKA, Interim Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title
Standard Agreement Template for Children’s Residential Intensive Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve the standard agreement template for ongoing Children’s Residential Intensive Services, to be utilized with the two qualified agencies identified in the Procurement section and future qualified agencies, with no change to the aggregate amount not to exceed $53,000,000, upon the execution of the contract by the parties through June 30, 2026.
2. Authorize the Assistant Executive Officer of Department Operations, Deputy Executive Officer of Human Services, or Director of the Department of Behavioral Health to execute the individual standard agreement template with new agencies which have successfully completed the standardized application process to become a new Children’s Residential Intensive Services provider, on behalf of the County, subject to review by County Counsel.
(Presenter: Georgina Yoshioka, Interim Director, 388-0801)
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 standard agreement template for Children’s Residential Intensive Services (ChRIS) is utilized to provide services in a total aggregate amount of $53,000,000 and funded by Medi-Cal Federal Financial Participation, Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), 2011 Realignment, 1991 Realignment, and a Memorandum of Understanding with Children and Family Services (CFS). Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Department of Behavioral Health’s (DBH) 2021-22 budget, and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The ChRIS program is a structured residential program providing specialty mental health services to children/youth, who are San Bernardino County (County) Medi-Cal beneficiaries and who are placed into group homes or Short Term Residential Therapeutic Programs (STRTPs). Services are available to eligible children/youth during the period of placement and up to two months after the children/youth have left the group home in order to facilitate a successful transition to a lower level of care. DBH currently has a pool of 28 qualified contract ChRIS providers through the use of the existing Board of Supervisors’ (Board) approved standard agreement template. Future Stars Youth Services, Inc. and Sunrise Horizons are qualified agencies that will enter into individual agreements utilizing the new standard agreement template, following approval of this item by the Board. In 2021-22, DBH anticipates that qualified providers for ChRIS will serve approximately 600 children/youth annually at an estimated average cost of $17,666 per child/youth.
DBH is responsible for providing mental health and/or substance use disorder services to County residents who are experiencing major mental illness and/or a substance use disorder. An integral part of the service delivery system consists of County operated and contracted service providers delivering a variety of mental health treatment services, including specialized services for children/youth that reside in group homes or are at risk of being placed in a group home.
The ChRIS program allows children/youth, who are CFS Dependents and/or Probation Wards and placed in STRTPs, to receive the specialty mental health services they require. These facilities provide short-term, specialized and intensive mental health treatment services and 24-hour care and supervision. ChRIS providers must meet strict licensing, accreditation, qualification, and program requirements in order to be part of DBH’s qualified provider pool of contractors. It is the expectation of the California Department of Health Care Services to have a contract approved within 30 days of notification from a qualified agency requesting to provide ChRIS. The standard agreement template will enable DBH to meet this expectation when qualified providers are identified.
The recommended actions will allow DBH to execute individual agreements, utilizing the standard agreement template, with the two agencies identified in the Procurement section below, as well as with future new agencies qualified to provide these services.
PROCUREMENT
As a result of a successful procurement process, on June 22, 2021 (Item No. 30), the Board approved a standard agreement template for ongoing ChRIS to be utilized with 28 qualified agencies, in the aggregate amount of $53,000,000, for the period of July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2026. The Board further authorized the Assistant Executive Officer (AEO) of Human Services, Deputy Executive Officer (DEO) of Human Services, or DBH Director to execute the individual standard agreement templates with the 28 qualified agencies on behalf of the County, subject to review by County Counsel. This item has been revised to permit the AEO, DEO or DBH Director to execute the agreements, under the Delegated Authority, to meet the aforementioned 30-day timeline.
ChRIS is an ongoing procurement, which allows applicants to apply after the completion of the initial procurement. During the most recent round of the procurement, a total of seven applications were received, as detailed in the table below:
|
Proposing Agency |
Recommendation |
|
Beloved Ones |
Did not meet qualifications |
|
Creekside |
Did not meet qualifications |
|
Diakonia |
Did not meet qualifications |
|
Ferree’s Group Home |
Did not meet qualifications |
|
Future Stars Youth Services, Inc. |
Awarded |
|
New Destiny Youth Facility |
Did not meet qualifications |
|
Sunrise Horizon |
Awarded |
Five applications did not meet Application Conditions and were not recommended for award. One of the five eliminated applicants submitted an appeal, and after further consideration decided to withdraw their appeal. Of the two applications that were evaluated, one applicant was denied funding and submitted an appeal. Prior to Purchasing making a decision on the appeal, the appeal was resolved, with DBH rescinding the denial of funding and agreeing to provide funding to this applicant. Sunrise Horizon and Future Stars Youth Services, Inc. are agencies qualified to be a part of the pool of qualified contract ChRIS providers. In addition, DBH is requesting authorization for the Assistant Executive Officer of Department Operations, Deputy Executive Officer of Human Services, or Director of the DBH to execute the individual standard agreement templates with these two agencies and future qualified agencies. A template is being utilized due to the ongoing nature of this procurement, and approval of this request will expedite the process with participating providers.
DBH will monitor contractor performance on a regular basis to ensure performance and compliance standards and requirements are met. Contract monitoring is inclusive of, but not limited to, site visits and assessments of policy, procedures, process implementation, and service delivery components, to ensure compliance with the contract, and applicable laws and regulations. The fiscal review ensures costs claimed are reasonable, allowable, and in compliance with related financial records and procedures.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health Contracts (Ellayna Hoatson, Contracts Supervisor, 388-0858) on May 6, 2022; County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on May 11, 2022; Purchasing (Bruce Cole, Supervising Buyer, 387-2148) on May 10, 2022; Finance (Christopher Lange, Administrative Analyst, 386-8393) on May 6, 2022; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0238) on May 12, 2022.