REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 25, 2025
FROM
GEORGINA YOSHIOKA, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title
Contracts for Community Wholeness and Enrichment Program Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve contracts with the following agencies, for the provision of Community Wholeness and Enrichment program services, in a total aggregate amount not to exceed $1,062,500, for the period of April 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026:
1. Rim Family Services, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $187,500.
2. South Coast Children's Society, Inc., dba South Coast Community Services, in an amount not to exceed $562,500.
3. Victor Community Support Services, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $312,500.
(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
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item will not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The recommended contracts, not to exceed a total of $1,062,500, are funded by Mental Health Services Act Prevention and Early Intervention funding. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Department of Behavioral Health’s (DBH) 2024-25 budget and will be included in the 2025-26 recommended budget.
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. An integral part of this delivery system consists of County-operated and contracted service providers delivering a variety of mental health services, which includes the Community Wholeness and Enrichment (CWE) program.
The primary objective of the CWE program is to identify and help manage early mental health symptoms through the use of community services, collaborative approaches, primary care, and short-term outpatient mental health services. The aforementioned services are offered by agencies within the community. The program requires providers to collaborate with various community partners including local psychiatric hospitals, faith-based organizations, educational institutions, law enforcement agencies, and multiple County departments. In addition, objectives are met by general community education presentations on the signs and symptoms of behavioral health conditions, mental health screenings, mental health education to the families of those experiencing early onset of a mental health disorder; short-term (less than one year) mental health services, and provision of case management services. CWE program services are aimed at avoiding crisis, educating families on their role in an individual's recovery, and reducing the stigma of mental health issues and services.
CWE program services are intended for transitional aged youth (ages 16-25) and adults (ages 26-59) throughout the county who are experiencing the initial onset of mental or emotional illness and/or SUD. Upon approval of the contracts for CWE program services, DBH projects services for 3,613 participants annually countywide, over the duration of the recommended contracts, with an average cost of $294 per participant.
DBH will also implement mechanisms to regularly monitor: 1) 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) provider invoices administratively and programmatically to ensure client and/or bed counts are accurate prior to payment processing.
PROCUREMENT
On September 30, 2024, the County Administrative Office approved and authorized the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) No. DBHE24-ADMN-5507 through the County’s Electronic Procurement Network (ePro), to solicit interested and qualified organizations and agencies to provide CWE services. The RFP was publicly advertised in local newspapers and sent through direct mailings to more than 550 community-based organizations, service providers, and other interested parties. A bidder’s conference was held on October 15, 2024.
A total of seven proposals were received in response to the RFP by the established deadline. The following proposals met the RFP minimum requirements and continued forward in the evaluation process:
|
Agency |
Region(s) |
Bid Amount |
|
Rim Family Services |
Mountain |
$281,250 |
|
South Coast Children's Society, Inc., dba South Coast Community Services |
East/West Valley |
$450,000 |
|
Victor Community Support Services, Inc. |
High Desert |
$560,360 |
|
Mom and Dad Project |
Mountain |
$391,073 |
|
True Escape Marriage and Family Therapy Professional Corporation |
High Desert, Mountain |
$561,534 |
|
SAC Health |
High Desert |
$560,360 |
|
Athletic Membership Partners |
High Desert, East/West Valley |
$83,500 |
All proposals received were reviewed and evaluated by an evaluation team consisting of staff from the Department of Public Health, and DBH Program, and Fiscal Staff. The evaluation criteria included, but were not limited to: ability to serve the target population; proposed program services and strategies; ability to service the anticipated number of participants; readiness to provide services; experience; staffing levels and qualifications; appropriateness of facility (in Geographic Service Option/area, proximity to mass transit, facility layout, etc.); ability to serve specific geographic area; and the ability to measure outcomes.
Based on the program and fiscal evaluations and resulting contract negotiations, the following agencies are recommended for contract award:
|
Agency |
Region(s) |
Recommended Award Amount |
|
Rim Family Services |
Mountain |
$187,500 |
|
South Coast Children's Society, Inc., dba South Coast Community Services |
East/West Valley |
$562,500 |
|
Victor Community Support Services, Inc. |
High Desert |
$312,500 |
Agencies not recommended for contract award were notified via electronic mail and regular mail of the denial, and provided the opportunity to submit a formal written protest to the Director of the Purchasing Department based on the criteria in the RFP. No written protests were received.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health (Lisa Rivas-Ordaz, Contracts Supervisor, 383-3940) on February 14, 2025; County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on March 10, 2025; Purchasing (Jessica Barajas, Supervising Buyer, 387-2065) on March 10, 2025; Finance (Paul Garcia, Administrative Analyst, 386-8392), on March 11, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0332), on March 11, 2025.