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Approve a second contract amendment with Solano County Office of Education for $341,261, for a total contract amount of $1,245,413, to administer grants supporting the implementation of culturally responsive school-based Wellness Centers on campuses across the County through June 30, 2020; Authorize the County Administrator to execute the amendment; and Approve an Appropriations Transfer Request (ATR) to transfer $341,261 in Mental Health Services Act revenue from Fund 906 to Fund 902 and increase appropriations for the amendment (4/5 vote required)
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Published Notice Required? Yes _____ No __X__
Public Hearing Required? Yes _____ No __X__
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The Department of Health and Social Services (H&SS) recommends that the Board approve a second contract amendment with Solano County Office of Education for $341,261, for a total contract amount of $1,245,413, to administer grants supporting the implementation of culturally responsive school-based Wellness Centers on campuses across the County through June 30, 2020; authorize the County Administrator to execute the amendment; and approve an Appropriations Transfer Request (ATR) to transfer $341,261 in Mental Health Services Act revenue from Fund 906 to Fund 902 and increase appropriations for the amendment (4/5 vote required).
SUMMARY:
The wellness center project is part of the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Innovation (INN) project Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Cultural Transformation Model (ICCTM) and the Solano County MHSA Reversion Plan. With the passage of Assembly Bill 114 (AB 114) counties received notice that previously unspent MHSA funds that were at risk of reversion to the State could be retained locally, within the originally intended funding category, upon timely development of a new plan for expenditure of the funds by June 30, 2020. INN funds were at risk of reversion in Solano County and the County’s Reversion Plan emphasized the implementation of the ICCTM. The Plan was endorsed by the MHSA Steering Committee and stakeholders and approved by the Board of Supervisors on September 11, 2018.
The original contract for $170,000 was approved by the Board of Supervisors on June 25, 2019. The second amendment for $734,152 was subsequently approved by the Board on August 27, 2019 and allowed the Solano County Office of Education (SCOE) to establish five pilot wellness centers and award wellness center/rooms funding to an additional 17 school sites. The proposed amendment will support the opening of up to 20 additional sites, resulting in a total of up to 42 school-based wellness centers/rooms throughout Solano County by June 30, 2020. The funding will be used for the purchase of furnishings and a variety of educational materials promoting mental health wellness. School district staff will be available for receipt and installation of all furnishings and materials by June 30, 2020, and ready for when students return to campuses. The amendment will also allow provide technical assistance and training supports to enhance the implementation of the wellness centers/rooms. The recent COVID-19 crisis and local school closures have generated additional interest in addressing student mental health through the wellness center initiative.
Schools apply for wellness center/room funds by demonstrating a plan for implementation and sustainability, and then the funds are disbursed through SCOE. Each school district is responsible for identifying suitable and sustainable space(s), providing staff to support the centers/rooms, and identifying an infrastructure to refer and link students to more intensive services as needed. SCOE has effectively garnered participation from school districts/sites, solicited community input, developed multi-sector partnerships, and formulated sustainability plans. Additionally, SCOE has demonstrated a financial commitment by securing several supplementary grants to be leveraged for the initiative.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The second contract amendment adds $341,261 to the Solano County Office of Education contract for a total contract amount of $1,245,413. The increase is funded by $58,867 in MHSA Prevention & Early Intervention (PEI) funds and $282,394 in MHSA INN funds. If not used by June 30, 2020, the INN funds will revert to the State. As funding for this agreement was not budgeted, an ATR to transfer $341,261 in MHSA revenue from Fund 906 to Fund 902 and increase appropriations for this amendment is needed. There is no impact to the County General Fund.
The cost of preparing the agenda item is nominal and is included in the Department’s FY2019/20 Adopted Budget.
DISCUSSION:
In FY2014/15, the Solano County Board of Supervisors and the California MHSOAC approved the County’s Innovation Component Plan to implement the Mental Health Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Cultural Transformation Model (ICCTM). The County is partnering with the University of California, Davis, Center for Reducing Health Disparities to implement the ICCTM project which aims to increase culturally competent and linguistically appropriate services for Solano County-specific unserved and unserved populations with low mental health service utilization rates: Latino, Filipino and LGBTQ communities. Solano County is the first county to design a multi-phase transformation project that combines the nationally Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) standards with community engagement in order to create a region-specific curriculum and quality improvement action plans that are intended to create a system change. The proposed amendment is associated with the third phase of the project - the implementation action plans developed in phase two.
Phase 1 included a comprehensive cultural health assessment of the local community that included the collection of qualitative data captured through key informant interviews, focus groups, community forums, organizational surveys, and analysis of service data from the County’s electronic health record system.
Phase 2 included the facilitation of the three CLAS Training cohorts specific to the mental health needs of Solano County.
Phase 3 is underway and focuses on the coordination, implementation, and evaluation of the action plans. Phase 3 is: “Taking CLAS to Schools,” which is designed to increase mental health services and supports in schools through the creation of culturally responsive wellness centers/rooms in schools K-12 and adult education sites throughout Solano County. These wellness centers/rooms will provide a variety of educational materials on mental health, stigma reduction, suicide prevention, substance abuse prevention, and general wellness to prevent the development of serious behavioral health conditions. Addressing the mental health needs of students more proactively in a safe and accessible space is expected to improve attendance and academics, reduce discipline issues, and reduce students experiencing crises on school campuses that have caused a recent increase in students being placed on a Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) section 5150 by local law enforcement, and most importantly, reduce student suicide deaths.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board may choose not to approve the second contract amendment with SCOE. This is not recommended as the funds would revert to the State and the INN Plan is stakeholder-driven and was approved by the Board.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
This is a collaborative project developed by ICCTM project group members representing SCOE, Adult Education Consortium, and a representative from Solano Special Education Local Areas (SELPA). The Solano Youth Voices youth leadership council facilitated youth focus groups for pilot wellness centers, and they will partner with SCOE to conduct youth focus groups for future wellness center sites. Additional partners include the local school districts, Solano Pride Center, and other community-based organizations that will provide onsite outreach, education, or training at the wellness centers.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATION