REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
November 3, 2026
FROM
JOSHUA DUGAS, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title
Contract with Trek Medics International, Inc. for Beacon Emergency Dispatch Software
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Contract with Trek Medics International, Inc., including non-standard terms, for the provision of Beacon Emergency Dispatch Software, in the amount not to exceed $689,710, for the period of November 9, 2026 through October 31, 2031.
(Presenter: Joshua Dugas, Director, 252-5142)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Foster Sustainable Development Through Strategic Partnerships.
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 amount of $689,710 for the Beacon Emergency Dispatch Software (Beacon) will be funded by Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA) funds. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the 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 provides a full range of mental health services for residents of the County through contracts with community-based organizations and County-operated clinics, with the goal of promoting prevention, intervention, treatment, education, recovery, and resiliency for individuals and families.
Community Crisis Services (CCS) provides mobile mental health crisis responses to residents of the county through its Community Crisis Response Teams (CCRT). CCRT delivers field-based crisis intervention, support, and linkage to appropriate mental health services. CCRT services are available to individuals of all ages and backgrounds. Field-based crisis response is offered in all cities across the east, central, and west valleys, as well as most cities in the high desert. Telephone and telehealth support are available for individuals residing in the mountain and low desert regions, remote high desert areas, and the Colorado River/Needles area.
CCRT operates daily from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with a contracted provider delivering mobile crisis services from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. When a field response is warranted, CCRT is dispatched to the location where the individual is experiencing a crisis to provide individualized on-site intervention and support. CCRT may also transport individuals, either voluntary or involuntary psychiatric holds to Lanterman-Petris-Short-designated hospitals, crisis stabilization units, and other essential treatment settings that support safety, stability, and recovery. CCRT collaborates with local law enforcement and community entities to assess the individuals in crisis and determine the most clinically appropriate level of care.
To strengthen CCRT’s ability to respond efficiently and effectively to individuals in crisis, DBH participated in a one-and-a-half-year trial of Beacon and a mobile application developed by Trek Medics International, Inc. (Trek Medics), with future plans to incorporate the software across several DBH programs. The trial was intended to enhance operational efficiency by streamlining dispatch functions, improving field coordination, and providing more timely services. Beacon provided necessary, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant crisis call information, optimized accessible routes to the scene, tracked emergency responders, and coordinated alerts and responses using CCRT mobile devices, regardless of whether the devices are connected to the internet.
Beacon has proven to be a crucial mechanism for the continuum of care by ensuring that CCS provides individuals in crisis with timely, appropriate care. After careful analysis of the trial, CCS, in collaboration with DBH’s Information Technology unit, determined that Beacon exponentially assisted CCRT by optimizing its dispatch process, improving response times and customer service. DBH is taking steps to incorporate Beacon across all DBH programs where mobile services are provided. This innovative mobile phone technology allows for real-time visibility of the field teams in locations within the county where internet access is geographically hindered. Beacon has proven successful with CCRT by optimizing routing to shorten crisis response times, enhancing and simplifying communications, and strengthening overall preparedness to ensure teams can respond appropriately to a crisis.
In 2025-26, CCRT was dispatched 1,908 times with the following outcomes:
• 21 consumers escalated to Emergency Departments
• 14 consumers refused service after dispatch
• 569 crises resolved in a community setting
• 923 consumers transported to an alternative setting for further treatment
• 381 warm handoffs for transportation by non-CCRT staff
The Agreement is the County standard Information Technology template contract, which the parties negotiated. Trek Medics would not agree to all County standard terms. The non-standard and missing terms include the following:
1. Trek Medics may assign the Agreement to an affiliate or to a successor in interest to all or substantially all of the business or assets without the County’s consent, but upon notice to the County.
• The County standard contract requires that the County must approve any assignment of the contract.
• Potential Impact: Trek Medics could assign the Agreement to a third party or business with which the County is legally prohibited from doing business due to issues of Federal debarment or suspension and conflict of interest, without the County’s knowledge. Should this occur, the County could be out of compliance with the law until it becomes aware of the assignment and terminates the Agreement.
2. Trek Medics excludes from its indemnification obligations any claim arising from the County’s: (1) negligence or willful misconduct; (2) Content; (3) specifications or written instructions; (4) modifications not made by or on behalf of Trek Medics; (5) use of the software other than as permitted by the Agreement or the Documentation; (6) or use of the software after Trek Medics has notified County to cease use because of an alleged infringement claim.
• The County standard contract indemnity provision requires the contractor to indemnify, defend, and hold County harmless from third-party claims arising out of the acts, errors or omissions of any person.
• Potential Impact: The exclusions to Trek Medics’s indemnification obligations means that any claim that meets an excluding condition will not be covered under Trek Medics’s indemnification obligations.
3. The County may not terminate the Agreement for convenience. The County may only terminate to comply with a change to applicable law or for an actual reduction or discontinuation of specifically appropriated funds, and not based on general budget considerations, business decisions, or internal approvals. In addition, the County agrees to pay all undisputed charges accrued through the effective date of termination and all noncancellable third-party charges and wind-down expenses actually incurred by Trek Medics.
• County Policy 11-05 requires that the County have the right to terminate the contract, for any reason, with a 30-day written notice of termination without any obligation other than to pay amounts for services rendered and expenses reasonably incurred prior to the effective date of termination.
• Potential Impact: The County can only terminate the Agreement during the term for an uncured breach by Trek Medics, to comply with a change in applicable law, or due to an actual reduction or discontinuation of specifically appropriated funds. Any attempted termination by County without cause could result in payment liability for the full Agreement amount, which could result in payment liability where no funds are available due to lack of allocation or loss of funding.
DBH recommends approval of the contract with Trek Medics to allow DBH to enhance its customer service to vulnerable clients, improve CCRT response times through route coordination, and streamline the imperative responder tracking and status updates when in the field. DBH intends to incorporate Beacon as a crucial element across multiple DBH programs for the continuity of care and overall safety of the DBH employees.
DBH will continue to implement mechanisms to regularly review: 1) the effectiveness of the integrated platform used to improve CCRT functions; 2) crisis responses are appropriately communicated and HIPAA compliant through annual monitoring, ensuring performance and compliance standards of the contract are met; and 3) provider invoices are administratively and programmatically to ensure accuracy prior to payment processing.
PROCUREMENT
DBH is requesting a non-competitive procurement with Trek Medics due to the essential CCRT coordination, offline tracking capabilities the platform offers, and proprietary framework enabling seamless integration and enhancing the interoperability of the software within DBH’s existing platforms. Trek Medics is the only provider that meets the requirements to ensure real-time communication, safety monitoring, and accurate performance assessment are cost effective.
The Purchasing Department supports the non-competitive procurement with Trek Medics for CCS through Beacon based on the proprietary nature of the software.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health (Marianna Martinez, Administrative Supervisor II, 383-3940) on September 10, 2026; County Counsel (Bonnie Uphold, Supervising Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on October 22, 2026; Risk Management (Arrissia Beaven, Staff Analyst II, 386-9030) on October 16, 2026; Purchasing (Jessica Barajas, Supervising Buyer, 387-2065) on October 19, 2026; Information Technology (Fred Donatucci, Chief Technology Officer, 909-388-0553) on October 20, 2026; and County Finance and Administration (Lizveth Varela, Administrative Analyst III, 387-4883) on October 19, 2026.