REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
January 14, 2025
FROM
GEORGINA YOSHIOKA, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title
Contract with Avector Community Group, Inc. for the Enhanced Board and Care for the Diversion Opportunity for Outpatient Recovery Services Program
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve contract with Avector Community Group, Inc. for the provision of Enhanced Board and Care for the Diversion Opportunity for Outpatient Recovery Services program, in the amount of $1,269,000, for the contract period of January 10, 2024, through January 9, 2029.
(Presenter: Georgina Yoshioka, 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.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The contract amount of $1,269,000 for Enhanced Board and Care (EBC) services for the Diversion Opportunity for Outpatient Recovery Services (DOORS) program is funded by a grant from the California Department of State Hospitals (DSH). Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Department of Behavioral Health’s (DBH) 2024-25 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’s (County) residents experiencing severe mental illness and/or SUD. DBH administers a felony diversion treatment program for Incompetent to Stand Trial individuals and DSH diversion individuals through the DOORS program. DOORS is for adults who have been charged with felony offenses in County. EBC is an enhancement to the DOORS program. DBH utilizes a contracted vendor to provide EBC for the DOORS program services.
The DOORS program provides behavioral health treatment services to adults 18 years of age and older who committed certain felony crimes where there is a question of the mental competence of the defendant as detailed by California Penal Code sections 1368 and 1370, or who have been court-ordered to diversion as indicated in Welfare and Institution Code section 4361. These consumers are mandated into the DOORS program through four Mental Health Diversion Courts servicing the Central Valley, High Desert, and Morongo Basin regions. The high-risk population served by the DOORS program requires housing in an EBC facility, which provides safe residential housing and accessibility to crisis intervention and treatment services for the term of the diversion sentence. DOORS program services are designed to assist adults in achieving significant independence and reduce recidivism into acute psychiatric hospitals or locked psychiatric adult residential facilities. Shelter and social/educational groups shall be provided throughout the consumer’s course of treatment with DOORS or until the adult obtains the capacity to transition into a lower level of care and permanent housing. DBH EBC for the DOORS program services will provide three beds maximum per month at an estimated cost of $7,050 per bed per day.
DBH is requesting retroactive approval of the EBC contract effective January 10, 2024, which will incorporate the extension of the DOORS pilot program for the period of January 10, 2024, through January 9, 2025. On October 1, 2024, DBH received notification of an award from DSH and provided a new agreement. On December 17, 2024 (Item No. 29), the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved the Revenue Agreement with DSH for the provision of DOORS. This is the first available Board meeting date after all necessary program, fiscal, and legal reviews. Approval of this item will allow Avector Community Group, Inc. (Avector) to provide EBC services to residents of the County.
DBH will also implement mechanisms to regularly 1) review client service data and progress, conduct site visits and annual monitoring to ensure performance and compliance standards of the contract(s) are met, and 2) review provider invoices administratively and programmatically to ensure client and/or bed counts are accurate prior to payment processing.
PROCUREMENT
The Purchasing Department supports the non-competitive contract for EBC for DOORS program services with the justification of specialized services. Avector has and currently provides EBC services for the DOORS program. This includes specialized services beyond EBC in which they provide minimum crisis stabilization hours, experiences, staffing levels, qualifications, and ability to identify and perform key outcome measures and provide data collection.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health (Michael Shin, Contracts Manager, 388-0899) on December 9, 2024; Purchasing (Jessica Barajas, Supervising Buyer, 387-2065) on December 20, 2024; County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on December 18, 2024; Finance (Paul Garcia, Administrative Analyst, 386-8392) on December 20, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0238) on December 23, 2024.