REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
June 23, 2020
FROM
VERONICA KELLEY, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title v
Memorandum of Understanding with the Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino for Drug Court Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Memorandum of Understanding with the Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino for drug court services to non-violent Drug Court probationers and defendants, in the amount of $181,168, for the period of April 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021.
(Presenter: Veronica Kelley, Director, 388-0801)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Services Needs of County Residents
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The cost for drug court services, in the amount of $181,168 is 100% funded by 2011 Realignment. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Department of Behavioral Health’s (DBH) 2019-20 and 2020-21 budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
DBH is responsible for providing mental health and substance use disorder services to San Bernardino County residents who are experiencing major mental illness and/or substance use disorders. DBH Substance Use Disorder and Recovery Services provides a full range of substance use disorder treatment services and education for communities and residents through contracts with community based organizations and County-operated clinics with the goal of promoting prevention, intervention, recovery and resiliency for individuals and families.
This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will allow DBH and the Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino (Superior Court) to collaborate in providing drug court services to non-violent Drug Court probationers and defendants. Under the terms of the MOU, the Superior Court provides a court liaison and the assignment of a judge to the Drug Court. Clients are not served directly by the cost of this MOU; they receive treatment services through various DBH contracts with contract providers.
The California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, which became part of the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) in 2013, has supported the development of drug courts since 1998. DBH and the Superior Court have worked together successfully to provide drug court services since 1999 and are committed to the concept that substance use disorder services and treatment are preferable to incarceration of non-violent offenders. Drug Courts serve the community by addressing the underlying challenges faced by non-violent substance abusing offenders. The goals of the drug court programs are to reduce drug usage and recidivism; provide court supervised treatment; integrate drug treatment with other rehabilitative services to promote long-term recovery and reduce social costs; and reduce the number of children in the Child Welfare System due to the substance use of their parent/caregivers.
The State Drug Court Realignment funding received by DBH for DHCS programs is transferred to the Superior Court to support the costs of one Treatment Court Coordinator (TCC) position, one Court Account Clerk position and related court expenses. The TCC provides oversight of the Drug Court Program and is the liaison between the Drug Court and DBH. The Court Account Clerk supports drug court administrative activities including fiscal monitoring, data collection and reporting, and provides clerical to the TCC and court clerical staff.
This item is being presented at this time due to the time required for contract negotiations resulting from significant changes in program oversight included in the current MOU’s terms and conditions and completion of the required operational, fiscal, and legal reviews. Approval of the MOU by the Board of Supervisors at this time will have no impact on services and activities.
The recommended MOU will allow DBH and Superior Court to continue to collaborate to provide drug court services to non-violent substance use disorder offenders. DBH will monitor contractor performance to ensure compliance standards are met.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health Contracts (Ellayna Hoatson, Contracts Supervisor, 388-0858) on May 18, 2020; County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on May 22, 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.