To: Board of Supervisors
From: Dr. Ori Tzvieli, Interim Health Services Director
Report Title: Contract #24-707-73 with VistAbility (dba Lynn Center)
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Interim Health Services Director, or designee, to execute on behalf of the County Contract #24-707-73 with VistAbility (dba Lynn Center), a non-profit corporation, in an amount not to exceed $2,400,000, to provide Medi-Cal specialty mental health services for children who are Seriously Emotionally Disturbed (SED) and environmentally deprived children and their families in East Contra Costa County, for the period July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of this Contract will result in annual budgeted expenditures of up to $2,400,000 for FY 2025-26 and will be funded 100% by Federal Medi-Cal revenues.
BACKGROUND:
This Contract meets the social needs of the County’s population by providing mental health services for preschoolers with measurable delays in interpersonal, social/emotional, language and cognitive development, and for children who are at risk for such delays, including abused, developmentally delayed, SED and environmentally deprived children who do not meet the criteria for any categorical funding source for services. The County has been contracting with VistAbility (dba Lynn Center) since July 1974.
This Contract is entered into under and subject to the following legal authorities: Welfare and Institutions Code, §§ 5600, et seq. (The Bronzan McCorquodale Act); California Code of Regulations (“CCR”), Title 9, §§ 523, et seq. (Community Mental Health Services); California Government Code §§ 26227 and 31000. The Behavioral Health’s Quality Management, Utilization Management and Contract Monitor Staff meet on a regular basis to ensure monitoring and performance measures in the Contract are upheld. This Contract was approved by Health Services Personnel to ensure there is no conflict with labor relations. Per Administrative Bulletin 600.3 the Department has posted a continuous Request for Qualifications and maintains a current qualified list of vendors at all times.
On July 23, 2024, the Board of Supervisors approved Contract #24-707-71, with VistAbility (dba Lynn Center), in an amount not to exceed $2,959,392 for the provision of Medi-Cal mental health specialty services for SED children and their families in East Contra Costa County for the period from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025.
Approval of Contract #24-707-73 will allow the Contractor to continue to provide Medi-Cal specialty mental health services through June 30, 2026.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this Contract is not approved, SED children within East Contra Costa County will have reduced access to mental health services as the County solicits and engages an alternative Contractor.
CHILDREN’S IMPACT STATEMENT:
This program supports the following Board of Supervisors’ community outcomes: “Children Ready for and Succeeding in School”; “Families that are Safe, Stable, and Nurturing”; and “Communities that are Safe and Provide a High Quality of Life for Children and Families”. Expected program outcomes include an increase in positive social and emotional development as measured by the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS).