REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
May 19, 2020
FROM
VERONICA KELLEY, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title v
Contract with Cedar House for Residential Recovery Services for Adults with Co-Occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
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RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve contract with Social Science Services Inc. dba Cedar House Life Change Center for the provision of residential treatment services for adults with co-occurring mental health and/or substance use disorders, in the amount of $2,213,835, for the period of July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2025.
(Presenter: Veronica Kelley, Director, 388-0801)
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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 amount of $2,213,835 for these residential recovery services is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Community Mental Health Services Block Grant. Adequate appropriation and revenue will be included in the Department of Behavioral Health’s (DBH) 2020-21 recommended budget and in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
DBH is responsible for providing behavioral health services to San Bernardino County residents experiencing a behavioral health condition, substance use disorder, and/or other addictions. An integral part of the service delivery system consists of County operated and contracted service providers delivering a variety of behavioral health treatment services. The recommended contract with Social Science Services, Inc. dba Cedar House Life Change Center (Cedar House) will provide residential recovery services to adult consumers who are experiencing a substance use disorder and/or a co-occurring mental health condition, in collaboration with DBH’s Therapeutic Alliance Program (TAP). This three component system has provided services utilizing Cedar House’s distinct residential program with substance use disorder services, in coordination with DBH’s TAP program, for over 17 years.
Residential recovery services provided by Cedar House will include basic support (room and board), 24/7 supervision, transportation, and psychiatric medication management, as well as residential treatment and withdrawal management services. In addition, Cedar House will provide short-term residential and treatment services for adult consumers with placement difficulties or who do not meet medically necessity criteria, but still require services. Approximately 120 adult Cedar House/TAP consumers will receive up to 90 days residential services at a cost of $1,926 per consumer ($21.40 per bed day). Short term treatment and residential services will be limited to approximately 26 adult consumers at a treatment cost of $263.00 per day plus the residential daily rate of $21.40 for a total of $284.40 a day.
This residential recovery program has succeeded in providing up to 11,000 plus bed days, continued access to appropriate level of care based on the consumer’s current level of functioning and reduced the frequency of unnecessary psychiatric hospitalization. DBH’s TAP program provides the necessary and coordinated mental health and case management services in addition to outpatient psychiatric services.
PROCUREMENT
A formal procurement was not conducted for these services. The recommended non-competitive contract with Cedar House meets the unique needs of this specialized population by providing a distinct residential program of substance use disorder services in coordination with the DBH TAP program. Cedar House has the experience and has demonstrated successful outcomes in serving adult consumers with co-occurring mental health and/or substance use disorders in a residential treatment setting, working as part of a multi-disciplinary treatment team with DBH, and has close geographic proximity to the TAP program located in Rialto.
In the last quarter of 2019, DBH performed a good faith, comprehensive evaluation of possible residential co-occurring treatment services providers in the local community, in close geographic proximity to the TAP program, willing to meet the treatment expectations for this specialized population that participate or provide room and board at the required cost of $21.40 a day. DBH did not identify any additional appropriate providers. Purchasing supports the non-competitive contract with Cedar House residential recovery services as specialty mental health services.
DBH will monitor contractor performance on a regular basis to ensure compliance standards are met.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health Contracts (Natalie Kessee, Contracts Manager, 388-0869) on April 22, 2020; County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on April 24, 2020; Purchasing (Bruce Cole, Staff Analyst, 387-2148) on May 1, 2020; Finance (Christopher Lange, Administrative Analyst, 386-8393) on April 27, 2020; and County Finance and Administration (Tanya Bratton, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0332) on April 29, 2020.