REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 26, 2024
FROM
GEORGINA YOSHIOKA, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Contract with Citrus Counseling Services dba Family Service Agency of San Bernardino for General Mental Health Outpatient Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 1 to Contract No. 21-690, effective January 1, 2023, for the provision of General Mental Health outpatient services, reflecting the assignment of the contract from Family Service Agency of San Bernardino to Citrus Counseling Services dba Family Service Agency of San Bernardino, and updating standard contract language, with no change to the contract amount of $1,875,000 or the period of October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2024.
(Presenter: Georgina Yoshioka, Director, 252-5142)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Promote the Countywide Vision.
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
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 amount of $1,875,000 for the General Mental Health (GMH) outpatient services is funded through Federal Financial Participation Medi-Cal and Local Share. Adequate appropriation and revenue are included in Department of Behavioral Health’s (DBH) 2023-24 budget and will be included in 2024-25 recommended budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
DBH is responsible for providing mental health and substance use disorder services to county residents who are experiencing mental illness and/or substance use disorders. An integral part of the service delivery system consists of GMH outpatient services which are designed to assist in an individual’s reduction of mental disability in order to enhance self-sufficiency through mental health activities that promote learning, self-development, and achievement of personal milestones.
GMH outpatient services are delivered by contract agencies to indigent or Medi-Cal eligible adults who require Tier III level of care and children who are experiencing serious mental and emotional difficulties resulting in significant impairment in daily living activities and functioning. Tier III adult clients have a severe functional impairment resulting from a mental illness and/or substance use disorder that is persistent in duration and impairs functioning in one or more categories, such as health, self-care, housing, occupation, education, legal, money management, adult/or interpersonal/social. The mental health services are designed to assist clients in achieving self-sufficiency and include assessments, evaluations, therapy, rehabilitation, medication support services, crisis intervention and case management.
Approval of this amendment will allow for the continuation of services by Citrus Counseling Services (CCS) at the locations previously covered by Family Service Agency of San Bernardino (FSASB). GMH outpatient services will be provided to approximately 262 clients annually at an estimated cost of $2,385 per client.
On December 21, 2022, DBH received written notice from FSASB indicating that they would be merging with/be acquired by CCS, effective January 1, 2023. FSASB was the “disappearing entity” with its dissolution of the Corporation structure as of December 31, 2022. CCS filed a Doing Business As (dba) to continue to operate as FSASB, and took possession of the FSASB service location, transitioned the staff, and continued to see the FSASB clients without interruption of services. The recommended amendment will allow the assignment of the contract to the parent company, Citrus Counseling Services dba Family Service Agency of San Bernardino, update standard contract language (Executive Order N-6-22 - Russia Sanctions and Campaign Contribution Disclosure (Senate Bill 1439)), and the assumption of the contracted services under the new agency name, with no changes to the contract terms and conditions.
DBH is requesting retroactive approval of this amendment due to delays in the submission of documentation related to the merger/acquisition to, and approval from, the California Secretary of State, and internal processing delays as a result of staffing changes. Consequently, this is the first available Board of Supervisors (Board) date following the time necessary to complete the required DBH program, fiscal, administrative and legal reviews. DBH has put procedures in place to ensure that future staffing changes do not affect the processing of items.
DBH will continue to monitor contract performance on a regular basis to ensure performance and compliance standards are met. The provider invoices will be reviewed, approved, and processed in a timely manner by DBH program staff. DBH fiscal staff will verify signatures and service costs prior to issuing payment.
PROCUREMENT
On September 21, 2021 (Item No. 9), the Board approved Contract No. 21-690 with FSASB for GMH services in the amount of $1,875,000 for the period October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2024.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health Contracts (Natalie Kessee, Contracts Manager, 388-0869) on February 22, 2024; County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on February 23, 2024; Finance (Christopher Lange, Administrative Analyst, 386-8393) on February 28, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0238) on March 11, 2024.