DATE: March 24, 2020
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Dawan Utecht, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT: Retroactive Grant Application with the Mental Health Services Oversight & Accountability Commission (MHSOAC) for School-Based Mental Health Service Funds
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Department of Behavioral Health Director, or designee, to retroactively submit a Grant Application to the Mental Health Services Oversight & Accountability Commission (MHSOAC), for a competitive grant opportunity for supplemental funds to the school-based specialty mental health treatment and prevention and early intervention services program, in the amount of $6,000,000.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will authorize the retroactive submission of a competitive grant application to the Mental Health Services Oversight & Accountability Commission (MHSOAC) for supplemental funds to the school-based specialty mental health services and prevention and early intervention services program (collectively referred as “All 4 Youth”).
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
There is no alternative action. Should your Board opt not to approve the recommended actions, the submitted grant application will be withdrawn from consideration for funding.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT:
DBH is recommending a retroactive grant application submittal approval due to the Request for Application (RFA) not being released until December 12, 2019 and DBH needed to meet the competitive grant opportunity deadline of February 28, 2020.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The competitive grant opportunity made available by SB 75 and the Mental Health Student Services Act (MHSSA) will be in the amount of $6,000,000. If awarded, DBH will work collaboratively to develop a work plan for the MHSSA funds and will return to your Board with an agreement to accept the grant funds.
Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues related to the funding will be included in the Department’s Org 5630 FY 2020-21 Recommended Budget and will be included in subsequent budget requests for the duration of this program.
DISCUSSION:
On June 2018, the Board approved an Agreement (No. 18-308) with Fresno County Superintendent of Schools (FCSS) to provide Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) specialty mental health services and prevention and early intervention services to youth aged 0-22 and their families at school sites throughout Fresno County. The goal of this integrated expanded treatment program (collectively referred as the “All 4 Youth Program”) is to provide one school based integrated system of care for behavioral health needs of youth and their families. Services include individual and group therapy, intensive case management, rehabilitation, medication, and other related mental health services.
In July 2019, the Governor signed Senate Bill 75 (SB 75), which included the Mental Health Student Services Act (MHSSA) to establish mental health partnerships between County Mental Health or Behavioral Health Departments and local educational entities for the purpose of increasing access to mental health services in locations that are easily accessible to students and their families. MHSOAC will award grants totaling $75 million dollars over a four-year grant cycle, to county behavioral health departments to fund new or existing partnerships. As an existing partnership, if awarded, County will receive an amount of $6,000,000.
The RFA was released on December 12, 2019 from the MHSOAC. DBH and local education agency, FCSS, collaborated to submit a Letter of Intent on January 10, 2020 to the MHSOAC for the existing partnership category. The grant proposal was submitted by the deadline of February 28, 2020.
Through collaboration with FCSS, the submitted proposal would fund capital investments and expansion of the prevention and early intervention component in the current All 4 Youth Program. The funds would establish four new service delivery locations (to be referred as “Wellness Centers”) throughout Fresno County by renovating existing space or purchasing modular buildings located on or adjacent to a school site. These centers will provide outreach, prevention and early intervention services, behavioral health services, and referral to supportive services to youths and their families. The new component includes recruitment and incorporation of Peer/Family Partners from the local community, with lived experience that reflects the population they serve. Peer/Family Partners provide community-based services to the caregiver of a youth/child that has mental illness, substance use disorder, or co-occurring diagnoses with structured, one-to-one, person-centered, strength-based interventions, that promote self-determination, self-advocacy and focus on recovery and resiliency as well as having experience with navigating multiple child-welfare systems. Peer/Family Partner services will be provided at the Wellness Centers and in the field to compliment the current All 4 Youth Program’s clinical treatment services.
With this competitive grant opportunity, an educational entity may be identified as the lead agency; however, it requires the county, city, or multicounty department or consortium to be the official grantee. Approval of the recommended action will allow the proposal to be considered for funding and DBH to receive the grant funds to be passed through to the local education lead agency, FCSS. The proposed salaries and operational budget in the grant application have not been negotiated. Should the grant be awarded, DBH will return to your Board to accept the grant funds and a contract will be brought to your Board for consideration.
OTHER REVIEWING AGENCIES:
The Behavioral Health Board was informed of the MHSOAC competitive grant opportunity during the February 19, 2020 Behavioral Health Board meeting.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #9 - June 5, 2018, Agreement No. 18-308
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - MHSSA Grant Application Template
On file with Clerk - MHSSA Grant Application Fresno County Submittal
CAO ANALYST:
Ronald Alexander