REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
December 16, 2025
FROM
GEORGINA YOSHIOKA, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title
Contracts for One Stop Transitional Age Youth Center Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve contracts with the following agencies for the provision of One Stop Transitional Age Youth Center services, in the not to exceed amount of $23,875,315 for the period of January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2030:
1. Valley Star Behavioral Health, Inc., in the amount of $14,762,655.
2. Victor Community Support Services, Inc., in the amount of $9,112,660.
(Presenter: Jennifer Alsina, Assistant 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.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The recommended contracts not to exceed a total of $23,875,315 for One Stop Transitional Age Youth (TAY) Center services are funded by Mental Health Services Act and Federal Financial Participation Medi-Cal funds. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Department of Behavioral Health’s (DBH) 2025-26 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 San Bernardino County (County) residents experiencing severe mental illness and/or SUD. DBH entered a contract with the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) as a Mental Health Plan (MHP) established under Assembly Bill 757, in January 1995. As an MHP, DBH is responsible for providing TAY Center services to county residents. TAY Centers provide community-based assessments, treatment, and co-location of community services within centralized locations to reduce the behavioral health service stigma, encourage access, and encourage family participation.
Since 2007, DBH has provided TAY Center services to TAY, ages 16-25, who are underserved, unserved, and/or inappropriately served from diverse ethnic, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations with issues related to SUD, mental health, and homelessness. TAY Center services stabilize, restore, and/or increase relationships and community networking for TAY while reducing the cost of delivering behavioral health services by avoiding frequent and unnecessary hospitalization and/or homelessness. TAY Centers maintain family and community ties, provide TAY-specific behavioral health services and activities at non-stigmatized safe zones, and decrease use of inappropriate care for mental health and SUD diagnosed and abused TAY.
TAY access TAY Center services as either walk-ins or through referrals from the County or outside agencies. Participation in TAY Center services has resulted in reductions in homelessness, incarcerations, and unnecessary hospitalizations, with 66% of TAY who completed services showing improvement in life functioning and behavioral health issues. Currently, services are provided at five centers in the following areas: a county operated facility located in the Central Valley; contract facilities in the West Valley, East Desert (Morongo Basin), High Desert, and Barstow.
Upon approval, Valley Star Behavioral Health, Inc. (VSBH) will provide TAY Center services in the East Desert and West Valley regions while Victor Community Support Services, Inc. (VCSS) will provide TAY Center services in the High Desert region. DBH anticipates that the contractors combined will provide TAY Center services to approximately 1,068 clients annually at an estimated cost of $4,471 per client.
DBH will implement mechanisms to regularly 1) review client service data and progress, and conduct site visits and annual monitoring to ensure performance and compliance standards of the contract(s) are met; 2) review applicable claims data and claims for reimbursement to ensure fidelity and accuracy of service billing and optimization of Medi-Cal reimbursement in alignment with contract terms and DHCS 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 10, 2025, the County Administrative Office approved and authorized the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP), RFP# DBHE25-ADMN-5586, to solicit interested and qualified organizations and agencies to provide TAY Center services throughout the county. The RFP was publicly advertised through direct mailings to more than 500 community-based organizations, educational providers, services providers, and other interested parties; and posted on the County’s Electronic Procurement Network (ePro).
The proposal conference for TAY Center services was held on Thursday, June 26, 2025. A total of eight proposals were received and proceeded to the evaluation phase.
|
Proposal Name |
Proposed Regions |
Proposed Costs |
|
Culture Collective Counseling, Inc. |
West Valley |
$2,720,155 |
|
The Heart Matters |
High Desert West Valley |
$4,700,940 $4,020,470 |
|
Hillsides |
West Valley |
$10,464,129 |
|
Pacific Clinics |
High Desert West Valley |
$7,258,708 $6,534,964 |
|
Pivotal Moment Empowerment |
High Desert |
$2,135,098 |
|
VCSS |
High Desert |
$12,205,928 |
|
VSBH |
East Desert West Valley |
$7,426,569 $14,883,802 |
|
YOINNIK LLC DBA YONNIK Support Services |
High Desert |
$18,635,664 |
The evaluation committee, comprised of seven individuals from the Probation Department, Children and Family Services, the San Bernardino community, and DBH, evaluated the proposals based on the criteria in the RFP, including, but not limited to, the ability to: serve the target population, provide required services, serve a sufficient volume of participants, provide specified services by contract start date, and identify and measure key outcomes. Further categories include experience providing services, meeting staffing levels and requirements, and appropriate facility location (within proposed service area, availability of transportation and facility layout).
Based on the evaluation criteria, the evaluation committee determined that VCSS and VSBH best met the County’s standards to provide TAY Center services and recommended them for the award. VCSS had the second highest proposed cost, but they scored the highest during evaluation process to provide services in the High Desert region. VSBH scored the highest during the evaluation and was the only proposal received to provide services in the East Desert region. VCSS and VSBH are also currently providing TAY Center services.
Award and denial letters were sent to all responsible and responsive proposers on September 12, 2025. No protests were received within the allowable period.
Based on the evaluation results of the proposals, DBH recommends awarding the contracts to VCSS and VSBH for the provision of TAY Center services for the period of January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2030.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health (Diana Barajas, Acting Contracts Supervisor, 383-3962) on November 14, 2025; County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on November 3, 2025; Purchasing (Jessica Barajas, Supervising Buyer, 387-2065) on November 6, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Paul Garcia, Administrative Analyst, 386-8392) on November 11, 2025.