DATE: August 4, 2020
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Dawan Utecht, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT: Retroactive Agreement with Reading and Beyond, Inc. for Family Advocacy Services
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a retroactive Agreement with Reading and Beyond, Inc. for the provision of family advocacy services, effective March 24, 2020 through June 30, 2025, which includes a three-year and three-month base contract and two optional one-year extensions, total not to exceed $1,294,694.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will provide advocacy services to family members of behavioral health clients in contact or engaged with the Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health Services, with no increase in Net County Cost. If approved, the family advocacy services contract will be fully funded by Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Community Services and Supports (CSS) funding. This action also allows for this Agreement to supersede in its entirety and render null and void the Agreement between parties identified in County Agreement No. 20-119, effective March 24, 2020.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Should your Board not approve the recommended Agreement, the County would have no advocacy assistance to provide to families and support system of current clients of the Behavioral Health System of Care.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT:
The recommended Agreement is retroactive due to the fact that the original Agreement No. 20-119 was presented to your Board without the appropriate exhibits included. The original Board date was March 24, 2020.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The maximum amount of the recommended five-year Agreement ($1,294,694) will be fully offset with MHSA CSS funds. There is a pending invoice for June 2020 that is estimated at $18,850. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Behavioral Health Org 5630 FY 2019-20 Adopted Budget and FY 2020-2021 Recommended Budget and will be included in future budget requests for the duration of the contract.
DISCUSSION:
The Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), formerly known as Proposition 63, represents a comprehensive approach to the development of community-based mental health services and supports for the residents of California. The Community Services & Support (CSS) component of MHSA is focused on mental health treatment services, community collaboration, cultural competence, and client and family driven services and systems for unserved and underserved populations.
Through the MHSA stakeholder process, it was identified that there is a need for a qualified bidder to provide advocacy, support, and other services to family members and support systems of individuals currently receiving, or in need of, services by the Behavioral Health System of Care. Families and support systems may be self-referrals (walk-in/self-initiated service) or referred via behavioral health programs. The staff providing family advocacy services will also act as navigators and liaisons between family members and other support systems and County professorial staff and other groups or organizations in the community. There will be a minimum of two full time equivalent Family Advocacy Services staff at any given time during normal work hours; one will be located at the Heritage Centre and the other will be located at the Metro UMC Campus.
On October 24, 2019, a Request for Proposal (RFP) 20-023 was released on the County’s Public Purchase system to vendors who met the classification match. In response, one (1) agency submitted a proposal: Reading and Beyond, Inc. After evaluating the proposals, the RFP Evaluation Panel recommended funding of the proposal submitted by Reading and Beyond, Inc. as they provided a strong and comprehensive proposal to provide family advocacy services and represented the guiding principles of MHSA.
On March 24, 2020, Agreement No. 20-119 was presented to your Board for approval for these same services; however, due to unfortunate error, the exhibits were not appropriately included. The Department regrets the error and is now returning with the entire Agreement for your Board’s approval, superseding the previous Agreement. If approved, the recommended action will approve the updated Agreement and supersede in its entirety and render null and void the Agreement between parties identified in County Agreement No. 20-119, effective March 24, 2020.
This Agreement is contingent upon funding being received from the State of California on a yearly basis. If approved, the recommended Agreement will become effective upon execution through June 30, 2023, a base year contract of three years and an additional three months to include a ramp up period for recruiting, hiring, and training purposes, with the possibility of two additional one-year extension periods through June 30, 2025 and may be terminated by the County, DBH Director, or designee, or the Contractor, upon providing a 30-day advanced written notice.
OTHER REVIEWING AGENCIES:
The Behavioral Health Board was originally informed of this recommended Agreement at its February 19, 2020 and again at its July 15, 2020 meeting.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #34, March 24, 2020
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Agreement with Reading and Beyond, Inc.
CAO ANALYST:
Ronald Alexander