REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
June 9, 2020
FROM
VERONICA KELLEY, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title
Contracts for One Stop Transitional Age Youth Center Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve contracts with the following agencies for One-Stop Transitional Age Youth Center services, in the total amount of $26,375,315, for the period of July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2025:
1. Mental Health Systems, Inc., in the amount of $13,155,830.
2. Valley Star Behavioral Health, Inc., in the amount of $5,650,000.
3. Victor Community Support Services, in the amount of $7,569,485
(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 total cost for services will not exceed $26,375,315 and will be funded by Medi-Cal Federal Financial Participation, 2011 Realignment, and Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) funding. Adequate appropriation and revenue will be included in the Department of Behavioral Health’s (DBH) 2020-21 recommended budget and in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
One-Stop Transitional Age Youth (TAY) Centers stabilize, restore, and/or increase relationships and community networking for youth, ages 16-26, while reducing the cost of delivering mental health services by avoiding frequent and unnecessary hospitalization and/or homelessness. DBH anticipates the proposed contracts will serve approximately 2,488 TAY participants at an average cost of $2,120 per participant annually.
One-Stop TAY Centers:
• Provide TAY specific behavioral health services and activities at non-stigmatized “safe” zones.
• Provide a place to socialize and seek counseling/therapy in a safe and non-threatening environment.
• Decrease the use of inappropriate care for dually-diagnosed TAY.
• Provide treatment and co-location of community services within centralized locations and encourage access to services and family participation.
One-Stop TAY Center programs collaborate with an array of agencies that include the Department of Children and Family Services, Probation Department, Department of Public Health, and Workforce Development Department, San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, and community based organizations to provide coordinated and comprehensive support and direct services. Services/activities provided address employment, educational opportunities, housing, and community life necessary for wellness, recovery and resilience of TAY participants.
DBH has provided One-Stop TAY Center services to youth that are underserved, unserved and inappropriately served from diverse ethnic and lower social-economic populations with issues related to mental health, substance use disorders, and homelessness since 2007. Youth access One-Stop TAY services as walk-ins from the community or through referrals from the County or outside agencies.
PROCUREMENT
On January 30, 2020, the County Administrative Office approved and authorized the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP), RFP#19-96, RFP# DBHE20-ADMN-3594, to solicit vendors to provide One-Stop TAY Center program services for the period of July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2025. The RFP was publicly advertised through direct mailings to more than 400 community based organizations, advertised in eight local newspapers, and posted on the County’s Electronic Procurement Network (ePro).
A total of 10 agencies were in attendance at the mandatory proposal conference on February 13, 2020. Three proposals were received in response to the RFP; all proposals met procurement qualifications and were reviewed during the evaluation process.
|
Proposing Agency |
Proposed Region(s) |
5-Year Proposed Amount |
|
Mental Health Systems, Inc. (San Diego, CA) |
West Valley |
$10,505,000 |
|
Valley Star Behavioral Health, Inc. (San Bernardino, CA) |
Eastern Desert, West Valley |
$5,650,000 |
|
Victor Community Support Services (Chico, CA) |
High Desert |
$11,569,485 |
The evaluation committee was comprised of six individuals from the Probation Department, Children and Family Services, and DBH. The committee reviewed and evaluated the proposals based on the following evaluation criteria: ability to serve target population, ability to provide services, ability to provide specified services by start date, experience, staffing levels, facility, and outcome measures.
Based on the evaluation results, all of the evaluated proposers were recommended for contract award for the regions listed below. The proposals submitted indicated these agencies will provide the most adequate and appropriate services, and will be ready to provide services by the contract start date. These agencies are currently providing One Stop TAY Center services to San Bernardino County residents. During meetings with the proposers, it was negotiated that the agencies would receive the same amount as fiscal year 2019-2020.
The recommended total amounts for each agency are based on the total number of clients; historically the West Valley center provides services to more clients than the other centers and DBH anticipates this trend to continue.
Mental Health Systems, Inc.’s (MHS) proposed amount did not reflect the funding increase of the previous year. MHS informed DBH that they had used budgets that did not include the previous fiscal year during the negotiation meeting. DBH is recommending MHS to receive the funding amount of fiscal year 2019-2020 in order to keep the same service level for San Bernardino County residents.
|
Proposing Agency |
Recommended Region(s) |
Recommended 5-Year Amount |
|
Mental Health Systems, Inc. |
West Valley |
$13,155,830 |
|
Valley Star Behavioral Health, Inc. |
Eastern Desert |
$5,650,000 |
|
Victor Community Support Services |
High Desert |
$7,569,485 |
DBH will monitor contractor performance on a regular basis to ensure performance and compliance standards are met.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health Contracts (Natalie Kessee, Contracts Manager, 388-0869) on May 14, 2020; County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on May 15, 2020; Purchasing Department (Bruce Cole, Supervising Buyer, 387-2148) on May 12, 2020; Finance (Christopher Lange, Administrative Analyst, 386-8393) on May 20, 2020; and County Finance and Administration (Tanya Bratton, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0332) on May 20, 2020.