REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
June 9, 2026
FROM
JOSHUA DUGAS, Acting Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title
Contracts for Comprehensive Treatment Services School-Aged Treatment Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve contracts with the following agencies for the provision of Comprehensive Treatment Services School-Aged Treatment Services, in the combined amount not to exceed $125,121,330, for the total contract period of July 1, 2026 through March 31, 2030:
1. Desert/Mountain Children’s Center, in the amount of $47,709,030
2. Mountain Counseling & Training, Inc., in the amount of $3,225,510
3. South Coast Children's Society, Inc., dba South Coast Community Services, in the amount of $35,618,700
4. Victor Community Support Services, Inc., in the amount of $27,162,210
5. West End Family Counseling Services, in the amount of $11,405,880
(Presenter: Joshua Dugas, Acting Director, 252-5142)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Promote and Fulfill the Countywide Vision.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The recommended contracts, totaling $125,121,330, for Comprehensive Treatment Services (CTS) School-Aged Treatment Services (SATS), will be funded with $17,516,985 in existing ongoing 1991 Realignment, $36,910,793 in existing ongoing 2011 Realignment, and $70,693,552 in Federal Financial Participation Medi-Cal funds. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Department of Behavioral Health’s (DBH) 2026-27 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 (County) residents experiencing severe mental illness and/or SUD. DBH delivers a comprehensive continuum of behavioral health services through contracts with community-based organizations (CBOs) and County-operated clinics. These services are designed to promote prevention, intervention, treatment, education, recovery, and resiliency for individuals and families throughout the county.
CTS provides quality, preventative mental health services to students and their families to support success in school and within the community through the development of strong family relationships and empowerment consistent with the individual’s values and culture. CTS consists of two distinct but complementary programs: SATS and the Student Assistance Program (SAP). Together, these programs deliver a significant component of the children’s behavioral health continuum of care and collaborate to ensure coordinated and comprehensive service delivery.
The SATS program primarily serves school-aged children and youth, up to 21 years of age, experiencing mild to moderate mental health challenges within the spectrum of medical necessity, as well as those with established long-term behavioral health needs who do not require intensive or in-home services. The program provides Early Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment Medi-Cal Specialty Mental Health Services to these children and youth who experience significant distress due to a mental health condition.
SATS provides a full range of services that are tailored to the needs of the target population in each geographic area of the county, including crisis and emergency services when necessary. SATS provides participants with an average of one to three hours of face‑to‑face services per month, with an average treatment duration of nine months. The goal of the SATS program is to restore or maintain learning, development, independent living skills, and self-sufficiency among Medi-Cal eligible school-aged children who have experienced significant impairment due to mental health difficulties.
To support long-term success for program participants, multidisciplinary treatment teams collaborate closely with youth and their families to develop individualized treatment plans that monitor progress toward specific treatment goals. Through this coordinated approach, child and family teams bring together multiple systems, including schools, foster care, and the Department of Children and Family Services, to develop and implement a unified, integrated plan that supports the child’s behavioral health and overall well-being.
In 2024-25, the SATS program achieved the following outcomes:
• Approximately 4,554 unduplicated clients were served
• Average annual cost of $6,673 per client
• 75% of children and youth who completed services showed some type of improvement in their functioning and/or reduction in symptom distress
Specific needs of 2024-25 SATS program participants showed the following improvements:
• School behavior improved by 70%
• School achievement improved by 67%
• Sleep improved by 61%
• Depression decreased by 65%
• Anxiety decreased by 62%
• Adjustment to trauma improved by 59%
• Anger control increased by 65%
• Emotional/physical dysregulation decreased by 63%
Upon approval of the recommended contracts, DBH anticipates the following annual outcomes throughout the contract period:
• Serving approximately 5,000 children and youth annually
• Maintaining the same average annual cost per client of $6,673
To ensure continuity of care and alignment with the transition from previously approved contracts, the recommended contracts include provisions for the reconciliation of services delivered during the period of January 1, 2026 through May 31, 2026. These provisions ensure contractors remain in compliance with DBH’s billing requirements resulting from the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal reformation from cost reimbursement to Fee-for-Service for certain billable modes, thereby eliminating the need for retroactive amendments to reconcile the billable modes. No additional funding or adjustments are requested for the period of January 1, 2026 through May 31, 2026, as costs and services are included within the total contract amounts not to exceed $125,121,330.
DBH will implement mechanisms to regularly review 1) client service data and progress, and conduct site visits and annual monitoring to ensure performance and compliance standards of the contract(s) are met; 2) applicable claims data and claims for reimbursement to ensure fidelity and accuracy of service billing and optimization of Medi-Cal reimbursement in alignment with contract terms and Department of Health Care Services billing requirements; and 3) provider invoices administratively and programmatically to ensure client and/or bed counts are accurate prior to payment processing.
PROCUREMENT
On October 3, 2024, the County Administrative Office approved and authorized the release of Request for Proposals (RFP) No. DBHE24-ADMN-5313, through the County’s Electronic Procurement Network, to solicit interested and qualified organizations and agencies to provide CTS services for the contract term of April 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. The RFP was publicly advertised in local newspapers and sent through direct mailings to more than 600 CBOs, service providers, and other interested parties.
A bidder’s conference was held on October 17, 2024. A total of 17 proposals were received in response to the RFP by the established deadline. The following proposals met the minimum requirements and continued in the evaluation process:
|
Agency |
SAP Proposed Regions |
SATS Proposed Regions |
Proposed Amount |
|
Desert/Mountain Children’s Center (DMCC) |
High Desert Eastern Desert |
High Desert Eastern Desert |
$25,500,543 |
|
Mountain Counseling & Training, Inc. (MCT) |
East Valley High Desert/Mountain |
East Valley High Desert/ Mountain |
$1,650,836 |
|
South Coast Children's Society, Inc., dba South Coast Community Services (SCCS) |
East Valley West Valley High Desert/Mountain |
East Valley West Valley High Desert/Mountain |
$22,872,679 |
|
Victor Community Support Services, Inc., (VCSS) |
East Valley |
East Valley |
$12,820,437 |
|
West End Family Counseling Services (WEFCS) |
West Valley |
West Valley |
$4,305,002 |
|
Lutheran Social Services of Southern California (LSSSC) |
East Valley High Desert/Mountain |
East Valley High Desert/Mountain |
$491,242 |
|
A Coming of Age to Adulthood Inc. |
Not Applicable |
West Valley East Valley |
$4,306,853 |
|
Athletic Mentorship Partners |
West Valley East Valley High Desert /Mountain |
West Valley East Valley High Desert /Mountain |
$245,000 |
|
Ark Homes Foster Family Agency |
Not Applicable |
West Valley |
$761,874 |
|
Building Bridges Foster Family Agency |
Not Applicable |
West Valley |
$753,218 |
|
Center for Effective Life Transitions |
Not Applicable |
East Valley |
$1,967,434 |
|
ChildNet Youth and Family Services, Inc. |
East Valley |
East Valley |
$11,287,784 |
|
iCare Practitioners and Nursing Concierge, Inc. |
West Valley East Valley High Desert/Mountain Eastern Desert |
West Valley East Valley High Desert/Mountain Eastern Desert |
$27,713,325 |
|
JFHS LLC DBA 360 Human services |
East Valley High Desert/Mountain Eastern Desert |
East Valley High Desert/Mountain Eastern Desert |
$3,000,000 |
|
Pacific Services |
Not Applicable |
East Valley High Desert/Mountain Eastern Desert |
$5,750,274 |
|
True Escape Marriage and Family Therapy |
High Desert/Mountain |
Not applicable |
$353,804 |
|
Wayfinder Family Services |
Not applicable |
West Valley |
$2,043,528 |
The evaluation committee, comprised of four individuals with representation from the Children’s Fund and DBH, evaluated the proposals based on the criteria referenced in the RFP. The evaluation criteria included but were not limited to: the ability to serve the target population, proposed program services, ability to service the necessary number of unduplicated clients, readiness to provide services, experience, staffing levels and qualifications, appropriateness of facility, proximity to mass transit, facility layout, ability to serve proposed geographic area, and the ability to measure outcomes.
On March 25, 2025 (Item No. 21), as a result of a formal procurement, the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved Contract No. 25-167 with DMCC in the amount of $18,124,095, Contract No. 25-168 with LSSSC in the amount of $449,545, Contract No. 25-169 with MCT in the amount of $1,389,585, Contract No. 25-170 with SCCS in the amount of $15,751,925, Contract No. 25-171 with VCSS in the amount of $10,180,605, Contract No. 25-172 with WEFCS in the amount of $4,305,020, for the provision of CTS, SAP, and SATS, for the period of April 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.
To align with the new funding structures and State reporting requirements, the original CTS contracts that included both SATS and SAP programs will now be processed as separate contracts. Amendments to the SAP contracts will be presented to the Board at a future date following approval of the recommended SATS contracts.
The implementation of the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA), formerly the Mental Health Services Act, primarily impacts the SAP program due to the new funding model requirements. This transition provided an opportunity to separate the CTS contracts to better align with programmatic and fiscal requirements.
On March 25, 2026, a program and fiscal analysis was conducted by DBH’s Provider and Accounting Services Division, with the intent of maintaining the same annual contract amounts for each provider for a longer term, from July 1, 2026 through March 31, 2030. The analysis considered the initial annual proposed amounts to ensure continuity in annual funding. Based on the analysis, the following five agencies are recommended for contract award under the SATS program:
|
Agency |
SATS Region(s) |
Awarded Amount |
|
|
|
|
|
DMCC |
High Desert Mountain Area East/Big Bear Eastern Desert |
$47,709,030 |
|
MCT |
Mountain Area West |
$3,225,510 |
|
SCCS |
Central Valley East Valley West Valley |
$35,618,700 |
|
VCSS |
East Valley |
$27,162,210 |
|
WEFCS |
West Valley |
$11,405,880 |
Approval of the recommended contracts will allow SATS to continue for school-aged children and youth receiving needed behavioral health support. Separating these contracts will also maximize the contract term for SATS while DBH prepares formal procurements for SATS and SAP services independently and evaluates operational requirements under BHSA. DBH anticipates issuing a formal procurement for SATS prior to the expiration of the contracts, to serve the critical populations in the appropriate regions.
The Purchasing Department concurs with the recommendation and supports this competitive procurement process conducted in accordance with County policy.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health (Marianna Martinez, Administrative Supervisor II, 383-3940) on May 4, 2026; County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on May 4, 2026; Purchasing (Jessica Barajas, Supervising Buyer, 387-2065) on May 4, 2026; and County Finance and Administration (Iliana Rodriguez, Administrative Analyst, 386-8392 and Joon Cho, Chief Administrative Analyst, 658-1812) on May 19, 2026.