Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Louise F. Rogers, Chief, San Mateo County Health
Jei Africa, Director, Behavioral Health, and Recovery Services
Subject: Agreement with Alternative Family Services, Inc. for Specialty Mental Health Services
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing an agreement with Alternative Family Services, Inc. to provide Specialty Mental Health Services, for the term of March 1, 2024, through June 30, 2026, in an amount not to exceed $2,463,000.
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BACKGROUND:
In 2013, as a result of Katie A v. Bonta lawsuit settlement agreement with the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), DHCS agreed to take a series of actions that transformed the way California children and youth who are in foster care or who are at imminent risk of foster care placement, receive access to mental health services. The settlement specifically changed the way a defined group of children and youth with the most intensive needs, referred to as "Katie A. subclass members", involved with the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), are assessed for mental health services. It introduced three covered Specialty Mental Health Services (SMHS) for qualifying Medi-Cal beneficiaries under the age of 21. These three covered services are Intensive Care Coordination (ICC), In-Home Based Services (IHBS), and Therapeutic Foster Care Services (TFC).
In 2017, DHCS expanded ICC, IHBS, and TFC to all Medi-Cal-eligible clients under the age of 21, not just those involved with DCFS. In response, county mental health departments were required to expand services to all funded programs. To meet the DHCS requirement and provide appropriate services to eligible Medi-Cal beneficiaries, in April 2023, San Mateo County Health Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS) released a Request for Proposals, seeking proposals from qualified providers to provide SMHS, including IHBS, I...
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