Approve and authorize the Procurement Manager or designee to execute an agreement with Stanford Youth Solutions dba Stanford Sierra Youth Families in the amount of $1,589,784 for the period of July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027 for the provision of therapeutic behavioral services. (No general fund impact) (Sullivan)

Therapeutic Behavioral Services (TBS) provides short term 1:1 behavioral support and coaching for children being served by another specialty mental health provider (SMHP) not connected to the TBS program. The children served have significantly greater needs, as indicated by the number of issues they require assistance with. Most children served are engaged in disruptive behaviors that place the youth at risk of psychiatric inpatient hospitalization or are being considered for an out of home placement. TBS is intended to address a critical need for a child so that more traditional services may be helpful. These services are mandated by federal statue and court agreements signed by the state, and also align with the County’s commitment to keep children safe and healthy, at home, in school and in their communities. Most costly public services are when children are removed from their home and placed in residential care and/or hospitalized.

Authorizing delegated signing authority to the Procurement Manager will ensure that there is adequate time to finalize the contract and obtain signatures from all parties in time for a July 1, 2024 start date to prevent a lapse of these vital services. This Agreement has an initial term of July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027 for a total contract amount of $1,589,784. The Agreement also includes 2 optional extensions for Fiscal Years 2027-28 and 2028-29.

Performance Measures included in this Agreement are as follows:
The Performance Measures associated with this Agreement are included in Attachment A, Exhibit E.

County Counsel has approved this Agreement as to form.
General Services Department, Procurement Division

On January 25, 2024, the County via the General Services Department, Procurement Division (GSD) issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) on behalf of the Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) for Child, Youth and Family Outpatient Mental Health Services. The solicitation was open for 35 days, (5 weeks). On February 2, 2024, GSD and HHSA offered potential bidders an opportunity to ask questions during a bidder’s conference. 

The County received 4 proposal(s) from this solicitation (see list below). GSD reviewed the proposal for minimum requirements and all 4 proposals were moved forward to the Review Committee, comprised of 2 HHSA staff and 1 other County staff.

The Review Committee evaluated the proposals and selected Stanford Youth Solutions for primary services, wraparound services, and therapeutic behavioral services and Victor Community Support Services for full service partnership services for seriously emotional disturbed children and youth.  The Review Committee determined that the proposal submitted by Stanford Youth Solutions met all the required qualifications necessary to successfully provide the therapeutic behavioral services described in the RFP.  On April 10, 2024, the County issued an Intent to Award letter. On April 17, 2024, the County received a protest from Turning Point Community Programs (“Turning Point”) protesting/appealing the Intent to Award. Turning Point requested that the County revise the scoring methodology set forth in the RFP to account for existing provider and conduct oral interviews prior to issuing the notice of intent of award to the successful vendors (see Att. B. Protest Letter).  In accordance with County policy, the County’s Purchasing Agent reviewed the protest, the department’s evaluation process, and coordinated with County Counsel. The protest/appeal was denied as the Purchasing Agent determined the process was conducted and proposals were scored in accordance with the RFP (see Att. C. Protest Letter Response)

Additional information regarding the Competitive RFP Process is provided below, including a summary of the solicitation evaluation criteria.

Evaluation Criteria Included in RFP: