Approve and authorize the Chairman to sign a retroactive agreement with TLC Child & Family Services in an amount not to exceed $50,000 for the provision of mental health services to eligible children, for the period June 1, 2016 through June 30, 2018.

This new agreement will allow TLC Child & Family Services (TLC) to provide medically necessary mental health treatment for Shasta County youth who are placed out-of-county in residential facilities designed to address their mental health needs.  The retroactive effective date is necessary due to the urgency of securing safe placement for a youth.

TLC provides residential and specialty mental health treatment services to youth in foster care. This facility offers a variety of mental health treatment and residential program services to youth who are Medi-Cal beneficiaries. The proposed agreement will allow for the availability of services for youth with specific residential treatment needs, and their families when considered appropriate for these services.

Youth who are placed in out-of-home care by either HHSA or Probation, or children who are placed voluntarily by their parents through the Adoption Assistance Program, become eligible for Medi-Cal.  Medically necessary Medi-Cal mental health services for eligible children are considered an entitlement.  As part of its Managed Care Plan for specialty mental health services, the HHSA is responsible for determining the medical necessity of services for each beneficiary, obtaining access to necessary services, authorizing, and paying for these services. The services provided by TLC include mental health services designed to reduce serious behaviors and symptoms resulting from a mental illness that can require acute psychiatric hospitalization, and the need for a highly structured and supervised placement.  The goal of placement in these facilities is to improve the youth’s functioning such that the youth can move to a lower level of care when appropriate.  Progress in treatment for each individual will be evaluated through reports on the frequency of behaviors that result in the need for group home level of care as well as tracking of progress toward treatment goals. 

The retroactive agreement is a result of the need for urgent placement services at the TLC facility.  TLC was willing to accept placement pending completion of the County contract process with the understanding that no financial commitment could be made without Board of Supervisors’ approval.  A letter of intent was signed by the County Executive Officer on May 23, 2016.

The Board could choose not to approve this agreement, defer consideration to a future date, or provide direction to staff to negotiate changes to the agreement. 

County Counsel has approved the agreement as to form.  Risk Management has reviewed and approved the agreement.  The recommendation has been reviewed by the County Administrative Office.

The maximum amount payable under the proposed agreement is $50,000 over the term of the agreement. These costs are included in the Adopted FY 2016-17 Mental Health Budget (BU 410) and will be requested in the FY 2017-18 Mental Health budget (BU 410).  The agreement is on a fee-for-service basis and costs will only be incurred when a Shasta County youth is receiving mental health services, from TLC, when authorized by Shasta County.    

This agreement is funded with federal funds (approximately 50 percent) and a County match which is met through a combination of 1991 and 2011 realignment revenue.  Residential costs, which are not included in these agreements, are supported through the Social Services foster care payment system.  There is no additional General Fund impact with the approval of the recommendation.