DATE: February 10, 2026
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Susan Holt, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT: Termination of Agreement with National Latino Behavioral Health Association
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Retroactively approve and authorize the Director of the Department of Behavioral Health’s previously sent 30-day written notice to National Latino Behavioral Health Association, terminating Agreement No. 22-261, pursuant to the Without Cause provision of the Agreement, effective February 10, 2026.
REPORT
There is no Net County Cost associated with the approval of the recommended action. The recommended action will allow for the termination of Agreement No. 22-261 with the National Latino Behavioral Health Association (NLBHA) without cause pursuant to Article 4(C) of the agreement. This service agreement is funded by the Mental Health Services Act - Workforce Education and Training (MHSA-WET), which is now being replaced by the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA), effective July 1, 2026. Under the BHSA funding structure, the state-level California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) will receive 3% of BHSA funding for workforce education and training and MHSA-WET will no longer be part of County-allocated funds. With this change, the Department of Behavioral Health (Department) has prepared and will be ready to have administrative personnel assume the training in place of the vendor, NLBHA. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If your Board does not approve the recommended action, the Department will be unable to terminate the agreement and will spend an additional $23,000 on training services between February 10, 2026 through June 30, 2026.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. Terminating this agreement will save the County $23,000 allocated to MHSA-WET. As of November 7, 2025, invoices submitted and approved total $29,500 for FY 2025-26. There are no outstanding invoices.
DISCUSSION:
On June 21, 2022, the Board approved Agreement 22-261 with NLBHA for behavioral health interpreter courses for Department personnel and contracted providers in both virtual and in-person formats. This training service places the Department in compliance with the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) Cultural Competence Plan Criterion 5, mandating annual interpreter training in mental health settings.
On June 4, 2024, the Board approved Agreement 24-258, Amendment No. 1 to Agreement No. 22-261 with NLBHA. This amendment increased the maximum number of courses NLBHA is to provide in the agreement in order to accommodate increased workforce demands and allow for staff to receive their interpreter training within six months of their initial hire date. This amendment did not change the agreement term but did increase the compensation maximum by $29,500 for a total of $267,400.
In March 2024, California Proposition 1 was passed, redesigning the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) into the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA). In the time between the passage of Proposition 1 and the BHSA implementation date of July 1, 2026, County departments were provided additional details about the BHSA structure. In January 2025, the Department learned that the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) would be allocated 3% of BHSA funding for workforce education and training purposes, and that this funding would not be part of County allocation funds.
With this knowledge, the Department began to plan an internal behavioral health interpreter training developed and instructed by staff in administrative positions. The Department believes that they are now ready to begin providing this new training beginning in February 2026 and is subsequently ready to terminate the agreement with NLBHA. On January 7, 2026, the Department issued a 30-day written notice of termination via certified mail to NLBHA, pursuant to Section 4(C) of the agreement, which allows termination due to non-allocation of funds by the appropriating government agency.
Approval of the recommended action will authorize the previously sent 30-day written notice to NLBHA allowing the Department to terminate Agreement No 22-261 without cause effective February 10, 2026.
OTHER REVIEWING AGENCIES:
The Behavioral Health Board was notified of this agreement at the February 2026 meeting.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #27, June 4, 2024
BAI #42, June 21, 2022
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Termination Letter
CAO ANALYST:
Ronald Alexander