Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Louise F. Rogers, Chief, San Mateo County Health
Scott Gilman, Director, Behavioral Health and Recovery Services
Subject: Agreement with American Institutes for Research for Evaluation and Research Services
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing an agreement with American Institutes for Research for evaluation and research services, for the term July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, in an amount not to exceed $581,613.
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BACKGROUND:
Federal and State programs require Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS) to submit evaluations and reports on program outcomes. These requirements have increased as a result of the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), which requires evaluation design, analysis, and reporting on new initiatives to improve access to underserved populations. Measure K funding has also increased reporting requirements.
In September 2015, BHRS issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to select a provider of research and evaluation services. American Institutes for Research (AIR) submitted a proposal and was selected to provide a portion of these services, along with another proposer, Prins Williams Analytics, LLC.
The AIR agreement was renewed for an additional two years, as was an option in RFP taking the agreement through FY 2019-20. This has allowed AIR to continue state mandated MHSA reporting initiatives.
DISCUSSION:
BHRS shall continue contracting with AIR to provide research, analysis, and evaluation services. These services include contract performance data analysis, MHSA reporting and evaluation, and progress monitoring for initiatives (e.g., Diversity and Equity, Prevention and Early Intervention, Welcoming and Engagement, Empowering Clients and Families, Foster Total Wellness, and System of Care Enhancements) that require integrating data from separate mental health and drug/alcohol information systems. The data provided by AIR will be used to assist BHRS managers in maintaining oversight of contracted provider services and ensuring quality services for BHRS clients.
On July 23, 2020, BHRS was awarded a 4-year $6,000,000 Mental Health Student Services Act (MHSSA) grant to establish mental health partnerships between county behavioral health departments and local education entities. AIR will provide consultation, evaluation and reporting to support start-up requirements for this grant.
The increase in the contract amount is due to new services AIR will begin to support implementation and reporting requirements of the new MHSSA grant described above. AIR will provide consultation related to selection of evidence-based social-emotional learning practices on school campuses; collect, analyze and report on relevant performance measures and outcomes; and develop a referral database to support reporting of the MHSSA outcomes. AIR has national expertise in school-based evidence-based programming to support social emotional learning and local expertise in supporting BHRS programs with state grant and revenue requirements.
Given COVID-19 challenges, all services will be provided remotely via online meeting platforms and conference calls.
The agreement and resolution have been reviewed and approved by County Counsel as to form. This agreement is on the Continuing Resolution. The agreement is late due to protracted negotiations with the vendor
The resolution contains the County’s standard provisions allowing amendment of the County’s fiscal obligations by a maximum of $25,000 (in aggregate).
It is anticipated that 100% of the MHSA reporting/evaluation requirements and the evaluation of alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment success will be completed by the contractor for selected populations (e.g. AB109).
PERFORMANCE MEASURE:
|
Measure |
FY 2019-20 Actual |
FY 2020-21 Projected |
|
Percentage of MHSA reporting/evaluation requirements, and evaluation of AOD treatment success completed by the contractor for selected populations (e.g. AB109) |
100% |
100% |
FISCAL IMPACT:
The term of the agreement is July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. The amount of the agreement is not to exceed $581,613 for the one-year term. Funds in the amount of $581,613 are included in the BHRS FY 2020-21 Recommended Budget. It is anticipated that the MHSA one-time funding will fund $200,000 for development of a database. The remaining amount will be funded by the MHSSA grant ($179,943), Federal Financial
Participation for Medi-Cal ($70,720), 1991 Realignment ($72,663), and FY 2020-21 MHSA program funding ($50,000). The Net County Cost is $8,287.