Interoffice Memorandum
DATE: August 16, 2024
TO: Mayor Jerry L. Demings and County Commissioners
FROM: Carrie Mathes, CFCM, NIGP-CPP, CPPO, C.P.M., Manager II, Procurement Division
CONTACT: Isabelle Klier-Graham, Manager, Mental Health and Homelessness Division
PHONE: 407-836-3187
SUBJECT: Approval of Amendment No. 2, Contract Y23-151, The Management of the Youth Mental Health Management Network Consortium and the Provision of Mental Health Support Services
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approval of Amendment No. 2, Contract Y23-151, The Management of the Youth Mental Health Management Network Consortium and the Provision of Mental Health Support Services, with RISE Community Solutions, Inc., in the amount of $273,983.36, for a revised estimated contract amount of $729,656.81. ([Community and Family Services Department Mental Health and Homelessness Division) Procurement Division]
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PROCUREMENT:
This amendment will renew the contract for the period of October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025 and provide additional funds to facilitate the performance of peer support training and consultation services being added to the Scope of Services (Exhibit A-2).
The increase in funding will cover additional staff for Breakthrough and add Peer Support Training and Consultation.
The addition of the Family Support Navigator (FSN) position is a pivotal move in expanding the Youth Mental Health Commission’s Pilot Program-Breakthrough. This role will significantly increase our program's reach and impact, allowing us to serve up to 25 new and unduplicated families in the upcoming contract term.
Additional funding will support hiring up to two Certified Trainers, who will provide 300 hours of peer support coaching, development, field observation, and community-based peer support activities (Center of Excellence). Up to 25 staff will be recruited and offered training on peer support and using lived experience in their daily practice.
Peer Support Training and Consultation aims to create an environment that fosters peer development by developing and implementing training curricula and providing education that supports and enhances the leadership and professional skills required by peer professionals as they impact individuals, families, communities, and beyond. The training, which is rigorously evidence-based, will be offered to other community providers, ensuring the highest standard of care.
The Mental Health and Homelessness Division recognizes the value of those with lived experience as a treatment system component and believes that by partnering with experts who provide training and technical assistance on integrating peers in the workforce, offering evidence-based and promising peer support practices, and developing peer training programs, among other activities, we can ensure the sustained success of peer support within Orange County.
In summary:
- 2-3 additional Program Positions within Breakthrough
- Expansion of clients served to an additional 25 families
- Up to 2 certified training facilitators/peer coaches
- Up to 25 community providers will be informed, trained, and coached
FUNDING:
Funds are available in account numbers 0001-062-2507-8610 and 0001-062-2504-8610.
APPROVALS:
The Mental Health and Homelessness Division concurs with this recommendation.
REMARKS:
Vendor/Agency History: RISE Community Solutions, Inc. (RISE) has worked with Orange County since early 2014. The organization leadership's contributions, along with many others, led to the development and implementation of the Youth Mental Health Management Network Consortium and later, the Youth Mental Health Pilot Project called Breakthrough.
The Youth Mental Health Management Network Consortium (Management Network) was formalized in November 2017. In December 2017, RISE was selected as the Managing Partner for the Management Network and has made significant contributions to the development and operation of Breakthrough, which launched in April 2018.
RISE has been a reliable partner and contributor to youth mental health work since the inception of the Management Network and Breakthrough.
Role Definitions:
The Management Network is a group of partners providing technical and subject matter expertise to the Youth Mental Health Commission. The Management Network members' role is to ensure that Breakthrough and other mental health programs under the Youth Mental Health Commission conform to the needs and best interests of affected families and children within Orange County.
As the Managing Partner in the Management Network, RISE holds significant responsibilities. They manage the consortium's contributions, disburse funds for participant service needs, and oversee the providers serving families participating with Breakthrough or related mental health programs under the Youth Mental Health Commission.
The Youth Mental Health Management Network Pilot Project was developed in April 2018 to address the behavioral needs of a specific group of youth. It targets those between the ages of nine and 17 who have had two or more inpatient hospitalizations within a 12-month period, with many of these readmissions occurring within 30 days of discharge.
Research and planning for the pilot project began in early 2014. The research was conducted by community stakeholders to create the framework for the Youth Mental Health Commission and later for the pilot project. In early 2014, the Board heard the recommendations and approved implementing the Pilot Project.
After receiving approval from the Board, the research and planning committees informally became the Management Network and entered into a formal agreement in November 2017 to become the Management Network, responsible for oversight of the Pilot Project. The Pilot Project called Breakthrough was launched in April 2018.
Program Goals include improving mental health outcomes and preventing or reducing severe aggressive behavioral, emotional, and psychiatric issues in children. The pilot was designed to:
1. Provide clinically appropriate, integrated treatment and increase coping skills to prevent future hospitalizations.
2. Utilize key components of the System of Care model, including youth voice, family-choice-focused treatment, and a FSN.
3. Increase youth and family functioning, at the individual and family level, across specific domains based on an individual’s needs and strengths of youth and families.
Performance Measures include concurrently serving a maximum of 39 youth in order to not exceed a caseload ratio of 1:13 per FSN, maintaining an 85% rate of family satisfaction as reported via quarterly satisfaction surveys, and maintaining an 80% rate of successful service discharge. In total, the program will aim to enroll 45 families per contract year.
Enrollment/Referral Criteria in the current iteration: Breakthrough targets youth between nine and 17 years of age with a history of at least two psychiatric hospitalizations in need of increased support. Additional referral criteria require youth to be residents of Orange County and be in the care of a permanent caregiver.
Referrals/how people know about the services in the current iteration:, Breakthrough primary referral sources are the psychiatric hospitals, Central Florida Behavioral Health and University Behavioral Center. The program also accepts referrals from Orange County Public Schools, Department of Children and Families, and self-referrals.
On September 12, 2023, the Board authorized the award of Contract Y23-151 to RISE Community Solutions, Inc. (formerly Embrace Family Solutions, Inc.) as the sole-source provider, per the Memorandum of Understanding establishing the Management Network, in the estimated contract amount of $439,006.77 for a one-year term. The Board further authorized the Procurement Division to renew the contract for two additional one-year terms.
Previous contracts amendments are as follows:
- Amendment No. 1: replaced Exhibit B, Budget, and added Attachment 4, Job Description for Public Ally Apprentice. Additionally increased funding by $16,666.68, for a revised estimated contract amount of $455,673.45.