To: Board of Supervisors
From: Marla Stuart, Employment and Human Services Director
Report Title: CFS - Contract 20-704-0 The Lighthouse Mentoring Center
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Employment and Human Services Director, or designee, to execute a contract with The Lighthouse Mentoring Center, in an amount not to exceed $3,113,712 to provide Enhanced Short Term Residential Therapeutic Program Services to Contra Costa County dependent foster youth for the period August 1, 2025 through July 31, 2027.
FISCAL IMPACT:
50% Federal and 50% 2011 State Realignment, of which 46% is budgeted in FY 25-26, and 50% will be budgeted in FY 26-27 and 4% in FY 27-28.
BACKGROUND:
The Lighthouse Mentoring Center (Lighthouse) provides Enhanced Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Programs in Contra Costa County that meets and conforms to the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Community Care Licensing (CCL) Division licensing standards, delivering residential placement and intensive supportive services for Contra Costa County dependent youth who cannot live safely in a family home, do not qualify to be placed in a Regional Center facility and/or are denied entry into lower-level placements due to acute, complex, emotional and behavioral needs. Lighthouse offers alternatives to repeated placement disruptions and provides additional staffing, professional caregivers, supports and services to house, stabilize, provide treatment, and to ultimately transition youth to less restrictive placements, including with family, standard resource family homes, or lower-level care licensed facilities as part of each youth’s long-term permanency plan.
The contract with Lighthouse is being secured as a Single Source contract. In alignment with County policy, RFI 745 was issued in August 2022 and resulted in zero respondents. RFI 746 was issued in August 2022 and resulted in three respondents, in which two were awarded and one rescinded their proposal. To ensure necessary capacity to support the placement needs of complex care/high needs youth, Employment and Human Services Department, Children and Family Services continues to perform outreach within the community to seek and secure qualified placement options (individuals and agencies).
CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:
The services provided under this contract support all five of Contra Costa County’s community outcomes: (1) “Children Ready for and Succeeding in School”; (2) “Children and Youth Healthy and Preparing for Productive Adulthood”; (3) “Families that are Economically Self-Sufficient”; (4) "Families that are Safe, Stable and Nurturing"; and (5) "Communities that are Safe and Provide a High Quality of Life for Children and Families" by providing residential placement and treatment services to youth who have been denied placement and/or cannot live safely in lower level care.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The County will not be able to meet the placement and treatment needs of our high acuity, complex care dependent foster youth, and reduce safety risk and additional trauma for this most vulnerable population with severe emotional and behavioral needs.