REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
February 6, 2024
FROM
GEORGINA YOSHIOKA, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title
Non-Financial Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Redlands, on behalf of Redlands Police Department for Dedicated Office Space
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve non-financial Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Redlands, on behalf of Redlands Police Department, including a non-standard term, for dedicated office space for the Department of Behavioral Health staff to provide crisis services, for the period of January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2028.
(Presenter: Georgina Yoshioka, Director, 252-5142)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
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 non-financial Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) allows the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) to utilize no-cost office space located within the Redlands Police Department (RPD), for DBH to provide crisis services through the Triage, Engagement and Support Team (TEST) program.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The TEST program provides specialized crisis intervention, continuum of care, and intensive case management for individuals experiencing an urgent psychiatric health condition with up to 59 days of follow up services. The recommended MOU reaffirms DBH’s commitment to provide access to crisis services for underserved populations at a variety of collaborated sites throughout San Bernardino County and outlines the use of office space within RPD for the TEST program to provide these services. This MOU will allow DBH staff to continue to serve RPD consumers and utilize office space located within this agency to provide TEST services from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2028.
Since 2015, DBH has partnered with various key agencies requiring immediate behavioral health services in crisis situations for no-cost office space to place DBH crisis triage staff in underserved areas throughout San Bernardino County. The agencies request DBH TEST services and are evaluated to determine appropriateness for participation based on the availability of like services from other sources. DBH currently manages 31 TEST locations, known as ‘point of access’ agencies, such as law enforcement, hospital emergency departments, colleges, and agencies within the judicial court system to assist consumers experiencing a mental health crisis. The TEST co-located program allows immediate access to crisis triage by a mental health professional, which has resulted in thousands of successful outcomes. These DBH TEST services are currently being provided in 10 police departments, 15 sheriff sites, one San Bernardino County Fire Protection District site, three university police departments, Joshua Tree Probation and Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Fontana.
In 2022-23, there were a total of 11,077 encounters with co-located DBH TEST staff, many of which resulted in crisis stabilization instead of unnecessary incarcerations and/or hospitalizations. Crisis stabilization with case management and linkage to appropriate services reduce expenditures for law enforcement resources and hospital emergency departments.
The MOU with the City of Redlands, on behalf of RPD (City), after negotiation, includes the following indemnification language that differs from the standard San Bernardino County (County) contract terms:
Per the MOU, each party is required to defend, indemnify or hold the other party harmless to the extent arising out of the respective party’s breach of the MOU and negligent or wrongful acts or omissions in connection with its performance under the MOU.
• County Policy 11-07 requires the contractor to indemnify the County against all claims arising out of the contract from any cause whatsoever.
• Potential Impact: By agreeing to indemnify the City, the County could be contractually waiving the protection of sovereign immunity. If the County is sued for any claim resulting from its own breach of the MOU and negligent or wrongful acts or omissions in connection with its performance under the MOU, the County may be solely liable for the costs of defense and damages.
On November 29, 2023, DBH was notified by RPD that the MOU requires review and approval from RPD’s City Council in which the soonest meeting date available would be January 18, 2024. On December 20, 2023, DBH was notified by RPD that approval from the City Council was received sooner than originally anticipated and the signed MOU was returned to DBH. Due to this unforeseen delay, the MOU was unable to be presented to the Board of Supervisors (Board) for approval prior to January 1, 2024. The MOU is being processed at this time as this is the first Board date available following DBH Program, Fiscal, Administrative, and legal reviews.
DBH recommends approval of this MOU, including the non-standard term, as it will allow DBH to continue to utilize office space within RPD to provide crisis triage for underserved populations.
The MOU may be terminated by either party without cause upon 30 days’ written notice.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health Contracts (Ellayna Hoatson, Contracts Supervisor, 388-0869) on January 22, 2024; County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on January 24, 2024; Risk Management (Victor Tordesillas, Director, 386-8623) on January 22, 2024; Finance (Christopher Lange, Administrative Analyst, 386-8393) on January 22, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0238) on January 23, 2024.