REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 10, 2020
FROM
VERONICA KELLEY, Director Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title
Emergency Shelter Services Funding
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Authorize increased funding for emergency shelter services utilized for individual emergency shelter services agencies to expand client access, increasing the total aggregate amount by $6,665,048, from $8,577,685 to $15,242,733, effective March 10, 2020 for the funding period of July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2022.
(Presenter: Veronica Kelley, Director, 388-0801)
Body
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 increase in the amount of $6,665,048 for emergency shelter services is funded by 2011 Public Safety Realignment and Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) funding. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Department of Behavioral Health’s (DBH) 2019-20 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Emergency shelter services are provided through DBH contract agencies for San Bernardino County residents in need of a temporary residence while participating in comprehensive mental health and substance use disorder treatment as they work towards recovery and permanent housing. DBH utilizes a Board of Supervisors (Board) approved standard agreement template for the provision of emergency shelter services in order to maintain a pool of qualified agencies that provide these critical services. Countywide emergency shelter services are provided to clients receiving behavioral health services through the Adult Forensic Services, Adult and Older Adult System of Care, Corrections To A Safer Community, Homeless Outreach Support Team, and Transitional Age Youth programs. The recommended increase in funding for emergency shelter services is necessary as the demand for this service has progressively increased since 2017.
DBH is responsible for providing mental health and/or substance use disorder services to San Bernardino County residents who are experiencing major mental illness and/or a substance use disorder. An integral part of the service delivery system consists of County operated and contracted service providers delivering a variety of behavioral health treatment services, including emergency shelter services.
DBH maintains a qualified emergency shelter services vendor pool of shelters that accept individuals with a primary diagnosis of moderate to severe mental illness and may have a secondary diagnosis of substance use disorder who are chronically homeless or at risk of becoming homeless due to mental illness. The target population includes transitional age youth, which includes pregnant and/or mothering youth; adults; and individuals supervised through the criminal justice system and/or presenting with a history of involvement in the criminal justice system and/or psychiatric hospital system of care.
PROCUREMENT
On May 23, 2017 (Item No. 36), the Board approved a standard template agreement and an aggregate amount of $8,577,685 in funding for emergency shelter services to be utilized by qualified emergency shelter services agencies, for the period of July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2022. In addition, this item authorized the Assistant Executive Officer of Human Services, the Deputy Executive Officer of Human Services, or the DBH Director to execute the standard agreement template with the individual emergency shelter services agencies to provide these services.
Approval of the increase in funds for emergency shelter services will allow DBH to expand services to clients in order to meet the increased emergency shelter needs through June 30, 2022.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health (Ellayna Hoatson, Contracts Supervisor, 388-0858) on February 5, 2020; County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on February 14, 2020; Finance (Christopher Lange, Administrative Analyst, 386-8393) on February 20, 2020; and County Finance and Administration (Tanya Bratton, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0332) on February 20, 2020.