To: Board of Supervisors
From: Dr. Grant Colfax, Health Services Director
Report Title: Contract Amendment/Extension #74-634-5 with We Care Services for Children
☒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 #74-634-5 with We Care Services for Children, a non-profit corporation, effective June 30, 2026, to amend Contract #74-634-4, to increase the payment limit by $74,572, from $146,218 to a new payment limit of $220,790, 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 families with children ages 0-5 in Contra Costa County.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of this Contract Amendment/Extension will result in additional expenditures of up to $74,572 and will be funded 100% by BHSA 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 engaging families with children ages 0-5 in Contra Costa County by providing family engagement and outreach programming and home-based support parenting education and classes. Contractor’s programs are aimed at supporting early childhood (ages 0-5) mental health and parent empowerment. We Care Services for children has been providing BHSA PEI services since July 2021.
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.
In June 2025, the Purchasing Services Manager approved and executed Contract #74-634-4 with We Care Services for Children, in an amount not to exceed $146,218, for the provision of BHSA-PEI services for families with children ages 0-5 in Contra Costa County for the period July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.
Approval of Contract Amendment/Extension #74-634-5 will allow the Contractor to continue providing BHSA-PEI services for families with children aged 0-5 in Contra Costa County through December 31, 2026.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this Contract Amendment/Extension is not approved, families with children aged 0-5 in Contra Costa County will have reduced access to early childhood mental health support services and programs.
CHILDREN’S IMPACT STATEMENT:
This BHSA-PEI 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).