REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 29, 2022
FROM
JACQUELYN GREENE, Director, Preschool Services Department
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Contract with Dr. Bergin Psychotherapy Family Services, PC dba Dr. Bergin Family Counseling Services for Mental Health Screenings and Trauma Treatment Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 4, effective April 1, 2022, to Contract No. 16-199 with Dr. Bergin Psychotherapy Family Services, PC dba Dr. Bergin Family Counseling Services, to provide mental health screenings and trauma treatment services countywide for Head Start, Early Head Start, and State Preschool children ages 0 to 5 and their parents, increasing the contract amount by $120,000, from $575,000 to $695,000 and extending the contract term by six months, for a total contract period of July 1, 2016 through September 30, 2022.
(Presenter: Jacquelyn Greene, Director, 383-2005)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item has no impact on Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The increase of $120,000, for a total contract amount of $695,000 for mental health screening and trauma treatment services is state funded by the Mental Health Services Act through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Behavioral Health. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Preschool Services Department’s (PSD) 2021-22 budget and will be included in the 2022-2023 recommended budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
PSD provides Head Start, Early Head Start, and State Preschool programs that include comprehensive child development and family services comprised of education, health, nutrition, parent involvement, and psychological services for children ages 0 to 5 and their families. The overall goal of these programs is to increase the health and school readiness of disadvantaged children and increase the self-sufficiency of low-income families. Head Start and State Preschool programs have been operating in San Bernardino County since 1965. Since 1999, PSD has provided these programs through a combination of direct and contracted services.
The recommended amendment will allow Dr. Bergin Psychotherapy Family Services, PC dba Dr. Bergin Family Counseling Services (Dr. Bergin) to continue providing individualized mental health screenings and evaluations, utilizing Head Start’s recommended assessments for children enrolled in PSD’s Head Start programs and their families. Mental health screenings and evaluations are provided to approximately 200 children and their families per year. In addition, Dr. Bergin provides trauma treatment services and analysis of outcomes for supervised group pediatric psychology services for children with grief due to a traumatic loss. The program provides children with the tools to express traumatic loss or grief in a socially acceptable manner. Trauma treatment services are provided to approximately 150 children and their parents per year. Dr. Bergin has provided individualized mental health screenings and evaluations utilizing Head Start recommended assessments to children enrolled in PSD’s Head Start programs and their families since 2008.
Head Start Performance Standards require that children enrolled in the Head Start program, who have mental health issues and who are experiencing trauma due to bereavement, loss, or separation, are provided mental health screenings and evaluations that include a formal assessment conducted by a licensed mental health professional. The recommended amendment provides licensed mental health professionals with experience and expertise in counseling young children and their families.
A procurement, utilizing a Request for Proposal process, for countywide mental health screening services was underway with a projected completion date of March 31, 2022. However, after a thorough analysis of the service delivery system for mental health screenings and trauma treatment services programs, PSD revised the scope of work and the procurement tool to combine both services. As a result, it was necessary to change the procurement to a Request for Application (RFA) process that will be completed no later than September 30, 2022. The RFA procurement process allows PSD to reach out to more mental health and trauma treatment service providers who are willing to provide the services countywide. This amendment will keep the services provided by Dr. Bergin in place pending the completion of the RFA.
Dr. Bergin’s performance will be monitored by the review of monthly reports and an annual site visit to ensure compliance with the administrative, program, and fiscal terms and conditions of the contract. Dr. Bergin will cooperate with the County in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of this contract and comply with any and all reporting requirements established by this contract. Dr. Bergin’s charges must be for services provided to eligible beneficiaries under this funded Program. The County reserves the right to request additional program and/or fiscal reports to facilitate this monthly review. The contract may be terminated without cause by the County with 30 days written notice.
PROCUREMENT
On May 3, 2016 (Item No. 34), as the result of a formal procurement, the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved Contract No. 16-199 with Dr. Bergin to provide individualized mental health screenings for Head Start, Early Head Start, and State Preschool children ages 0 to 5 and their parents countywide, in the amount of $300,000, for the period of July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2019.
On April 30, 2019 (Item No. 42), the Board approved Amendment No. 1 to Contract No. 16-199 with Dr. Bergin increasing the contract amount by $125,000, from $300,000 to a total contract amount of $425,000, and extending the contract period for one year, for a total contract period of July 1, 2016 through September 30, 2020. This amendment also included the option to extend the contract one additional one-year period upon agreement by both parties.
On September 15, 2020 (Item No. 43) the Board approved Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. 16-199 with Dr. Bergin, increasing the contract amount by $100,000, from $425,000 for a total contract amount of $525,000, and exercising the final one-year option to extend the contract, for a total contract period of July 1, 2016 through September 30, 2021.
On September 21, 2021 (Item No. 26), the Board approved Amendment No. 3 to Contract No. 16-199 with Dr. Bergin increasing the contract amount by $50,000, from $525,000 to $575,000 and extending the contract term by six months, for a total contract period of July 1, 2016 through March 31, 2022.
Procurement for countywide mental health services is underway and additional time is necessary to complete the procurement process. To avoid an interruption in services, PSD is requesting the existing contract with Dr. Bergin be extended an additional six months through September 30, 2022. A new contract will be presented to the Board for approval with services to be effective October 1, 2022.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Human Services Contracts (Patty Steven, Contracts Manager, 388-0241) on February 16, 2022; County Counsel (Adam Ebright, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on March 1, 2022; Finance (Paul Garcia, Administrative Analyst, 386-8392) on March 3, 2022; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0332) on March 14, 2022.