To: Board of Supervisors
From: Dr. Grant Colfax, Health Services Director
Report Title: Contract Amendment/Extension #74-491-12 with FIERCE Advocates (Families and Individuals Rooted in Collective Empowerment), Inc.
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Health Services Director, or designee, to execute on behalf of the County Contract Amendment/Extension #74-491-12 with FIERCE Advocates (Families and Individuals Rooted in Collective Empowerment), Inc., a non-profit corporation, effective June 30, 2026, to amend Contract #74-491-11, to increase the payment limit by $138,011, from $270,609 to a new payment limit of $408,620, and to extend the termination date from June 30, 2026 to December 31, 2026, to provide additional Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA) Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) services for underserved cultural communities in West Contra Costa County.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of this Contract Amendment/Extension will result in additional expenditures of up to $138,011 and will be funded 100% by BHSA-PEI revenues. Beginning July 1, 2026, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) funding fully transitions to the BHSA to reflect full implementation and oversight required under California Proposition 1, approved by voters in March 2024, which modernizes MHSA by renaming it the BHSA and redirecting funding to support building a comprehensive, integrated, and unified behavioral health system statewide. (No rate increase)
BACKGROUND:
This Contract meets the social needs of County’s population by providing BHSA-PEI services to underserved cultural communities and families in West County including support and education of family’s access to mental health services. This Contractor has been providing services to the County since July 2015.
This Contract is entered into under and subject to the following legal authorities: 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.
This provider was selected in collaboration with community stakeholder advisory bodies and was approved as part of the comprehensive BHSA Three-Year Plan as required by State regulation. Providers interested in providing specialized services were invited proactively to participate in program development and offered the opportunity to submit interest at dozens of publicly noticed meetings. The services and vendors were identified in the formal Three-Year plan were approved on the following schedule that was noticed to the public and approved by the Board on August 1, 2023. The Three-Year Plan was posted for public comment from June 5, 2023 through July 5, 2023, a Public Hearing was held at the Mental Health Commission meeting on July 5, 2023, and it was approved by the Board of Supervisors on August 1, 2023.
On June 24, 2025, the Board of Supervisors approved Contract #74-491-11 with FIERCE Advocates (Families and Individuals Rooted in Collective Empowerment), Inc., in an amount not to exceed $270,609, for the provision of BHSA-PEI services for underserved cultural communities in West Contra Costa County for the period July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.
Approval of Contract Amendment/Extension #74-491-12 will allow the Contractor to continue providing BHSA-PEI services for underserved cultural communities in West Contra Costa County through December 31, 2026.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this Contract is not approved, residents of West Contra Costa County will not have access to this contractor’s BHSA-PEI services, which could negatively impact wait times for these mental health services.
CHILDREN’S IMPACT STATEMENT:
This BHSA-PEI program supports the following Board of Supervisors’ community outcomes: “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 increases in social connectedness, communication skills, parenting skills and knowledge of the human service system in Contra Costa County.