DATE: July 9, 2019
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Delfino E. Neira, Director, Department of Social Services
SUBJECT: Retroactive Revenue Agreement with the California Department of Veterans Affairs for Mental Health Outreach Activities
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a retroactive revenue Agreement with the California Department of Veterans Affairs for Proposition 63 Mental Health Services Act funding for the Fresno County Department of Social Services - Veterans Services Office, effective July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020 ($49,000).
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will allow the Department to receive a portion of Proposition 63 Mental Health Services Act (Prop 63) funding for the Veterans Services Office (VSO) to enhance referral services for veterans who have mental health concerns, with no Net County Cost. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board can instruct the Department to withdraw the acceptance for Prop 63 grant funding. The County will not receive the funding to expand mental health outreach and referral services for Fresno County veterans.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT:
The recommended Agreement is retroactive to July 1, 2019, as it was received from the California Department of Veterans Affairs on June 14, 2019.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. Approval of the recommended action will allow the Fresno County Veterans Service Office (VSO) to receive $49,000 in Prop 63 funds to provide mental health outreach activities to Fresno County veterans from the period of July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues will be included in the FY 2019-20 Recommended Budget for the Department of Social Services Org 5610.
DISCUSSION:
In 2008, the California Department of Mental Health awarded the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CDVA) Prop 63 funding to enhance the effectiveness of referrals to County Veterans Services Offices for veterans who present with mental health issues. CDVA began working with the VSO, providing instructions and resources to provide veterans direct and local access to staff that could assist them through the process of claiming Veterans Affairs (VA) mental health benefits.
Since FY 2009-10, the Fresno County VSO has been one of several counties in the State that has been allocated Prop 63 funding. The County has received funds for mental health outreach activities with an emphasis on the incarcerated veteran population, which includes veterans being identified prior to court hearings and sentencing, incarcerated veterans, and parolee veterans, newly discharged soldiers, National Guard, and Reserve soldiers who have been deployed. The purpose of the service is to connect veterans with the appropriate mental health and substance abuse services in order to help mitigate the harmful effects of combat, sexual assault, in-service injury and readjustment/assimilation to civilian life by providing education, networking, prevention, intervention and improved access to support services.
The goal for FY 2019-20 is to provide support to over 900 unduplicated veterans in the Central Valley and to assist the judicial system in identifying veterans who may benefit from outreach services rather than incarceration, as well as supporting incarcerated veterans with claims, existing cases and assistance upon exiting. The VSO ensures that veterans are educated about the various VA mental health services available to them, including services dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The VSO also provides information to veterans on how to assist their dependents to education benefits.
In 2018, the Fresno County VSO was notified that the County is eligible to receive up to $50,000 in Prop 63 funding for the period of July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020. On April 9, 2019, your Board retroactively authorized the submission of the Prop 63 Grant application. Approval of the recommended Agreement is necessary to accept the Prop 63 funding and to allow for the provision of mental health outreach activities. The Agreement varies from the County’s model contract as it is the State of California Standard Agreement initiated by the CDVA.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #54, April 9, 2019
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Agreement with CDVA
CAO ANALYST:
Ronald Alexander