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Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) recommending the Board:
1) Accept Round 3 of the Mental Health Student Services Act (MHSSA) partnership grant administered by the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC) in the amount of $1,044,665, to fund the partnership between the HHSA Behavioral Health Division and the El Dorado County Office of Education (EDCOE), in accordance with California Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 5886;
2) Delegate authority to the HHSA Director to execute Amendment 1 to the MHSSA Standard Agreement No. 21MHSOAC049, administered by the MHOAC, which extends the term date of the Agreement from June 30, 2026, to December 31, 2026, and increases the amount of funding by $1,044,665, combining both Round 2 and Round 3 funding, for a total award of $5,044,655;
3) Designate EDCOE to serve as the Lead Agency for the MHSSA grant as allowed by WIC Section 5886(b)(2), with specific designation to Dr. Ed Manansala, EDCOE County Superintendent of Schools, or Matt Smith, EDCOE Director of Mental Health and Wellness, as the Lead Grant Coordinator and submitter of HHSA and EDCOE partnering MHSSA grant application documents, as this funding will be passed through in its entirety by HHSA to EDCOE through a Memorandum of Understanding for the purposes of providing MHSSA services to students in El Dorado County schools; and
4) Delegate authority to the HHSA Director, or HHSA Chief Assistant Director, to execute and administer any subsequent administrative documents relating to said award and required fiscal and programmatic reports, contingent upon County Counsel and Risk Management concurrence, including any amendment(s) that do not increase the amount or term of the agreement.
FUNDING: 100% State Mental Health Services Fund to expand the Mental Health Student Services Act Partnership Grant Program throughout California. No matching funds are required.
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND:
The Mental Health Student Services Act (MHSSA) was established under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021, to promote and improve school mental health services to reach and serve at-risk children, families, and neighborhoods throughout the State of California. The Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSAOC) was initially awarded $100 million through the ARPA State Fiscal Recovery Fund, which is now funded by the State Mental Health Services Fund, for the purposes of expanding the MHSSA Partnership Grant Program throughout California. The key objective of the MHSSA is for community mental health and behavioral health jurisdictions to partner with local educational agencies to create school programs that include targeted interventions for students with identified social-emotional, behavioral, and academic needs, tailored to help children and youth develop into healthy resilient adults.
Funding made available through the MHSSA allows grantees the discretion to use awarded funding on the below eligible activities:
- Hire qualified mental health personnel to support students in the participating schools;
- Increase professional development and training opportunities for school staff;
- Provide suicide prevention and student drop-out prevention;
- Establish a Continuum-of-Care for students in need of mental health services; and
- Deliver outreach to high-risk youth to provide mental health support and stabilization.
The MHSAOC issued a competitive MHSSA Round 2 Request for Applications (RFA) on November 1, 2021, inviting mental and behavioral health jurisdictions to partner with community education agencies to apply. In response, the County of El Dorado (County) Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) Behavioral Health Division (BHD) partnered with the El Dorado County Office of Education (EDCOE) to submit a joint application.
In the application submitted to MHSAOC in November 2021, the HHSA BHD and EDCOE outlined a joint plan to deliver mental health services to children, youth, and young adults in 42 El Dorado County schools. As required in the RFA, at least 50% of the schools selected had to qualify as economically disadvantaged communities, which are defined as schools receiving Title 1 funding for free and reduced-price meal programs. As such, 29 schools selected met the economically disadvantaged requirement. Careful consideration was given to the districts and schools that were included in the MHSSA grant application, including schools where students recently experienced trauma from the Caldor Fire as one of the considerations. All of the schools directly impacted by the Caldor Fire were included in the grant application submittal.
On February 16, 2022, HHSA BHD and EDCOE were notified by the MHSAOC that the Round 2 MHSSA grant application was awarded. On March 8, 2022 (File ID 22-0355) the Board accepted MHSSA Round 2 Standard Agreement No. 21MHSOAC049, in the amount of $4,000,000, for the term of March 3, 2022, through June 30, 2026, and authorized the HHSA Director to execute said Agreement.
On April 18, 2022, the MHSAOC released a Round 3 RFA, notifying the 55 city/county mental health entities that were awarded MHSSA grant funding under Rounds 1 and 2, that $37,687,455 in funding remained available to be issued via amended agreements to selected recipients. HHSA BHD in collaboration with EDCOE, submitted a joint Round 3 application on May 12, 2022, to serve an additional 16 schools, for a total of 58 schools served in El Dorado County, with 30 of those schools qualifying for the MHSSA economically disadvantaged program requirement.
On September 1, 2022, the MHSAOC notified the HHSA BHD and EDCOE that the Round 3 application was awarded in the amount of $1,044,665 and issued Amendment 1 to Standard Agreement No. 21MHSOAC049. The Amendment combined the Round 2 funding award ($4 million) previously accepted by the Board, with the additional Round 3 award ($1,044,665), for a total award of $5,044,655, and extended the term date of June 30, 2026, to December 31, 2026. HHSA is requesting the Board authorize the acceptance of this additional Round 3 funding and authorize the HHSA Director to execute the amended Agreement.
HHSA BHD, as the MHSSA grantee, intends to transfer the entirety of the MHSSA funding awards to EDCOE, with the condition that EDCOE will reimburse HHSA BHD for mental health treatment services rendered to students through the MHSSA program during the term of the grant. Due to EDCOE being the subrecipient of the MHSSA funding and lead administrator of the MHSSA program implementation within the local schools, EDCOE was selected by the HHSA Director to serve as the Lead Agency and Grant Coordinator with the MHSAOC for this program.
The MHSSA program implementation will begin in Fiscal Year 2022-23, and will include the following, with EDCOE expecting to expand staff for future operating years of the program:
- EDCOE will hire one full time Mental Health Clinician to serve schools in the western and central areas of the County.
- EDCOE and HHSA BHD will expand mental health services within the participating community schools to support students who are experiencing mild to severe mental health issues and connect these students to appropriate services.
- EDCOE will provide professional development for staff at participating schools and program staff to create positive social-emotional school environments and expand capacity at schools for addressing students’ mental health needs.
- Through the partnership, EDCOE and HHSA BHD will provide mental health counseling services and expand access to mental health services to help eliminate barriers for youth seeking or accessing mental health in 58 local schools.
HHSA is in the process of drafting a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with EDCOE to outline the MHSSA partnership and the funding award transfers from HHSA to EDCOE. The MOU will define the reimbursement process from EDCOE to HHSA BHD for mental health treatment services provided to students and define how these agencies will work together to implement the MHSSA program within the County schools. HHSA will return to the Board with the resulting MOU, once the agreement is finalized and approved by County Counsel.
ALTERNATIVES:
Should the Board decline to accept this competitive funding award or decline to authorize the HHSA Director to execute the Round 3 MHSAA funding agreement amendment, the County will not receive the additional $1,044,665 in funds to help support students experiencing mental health challenges within the local school system.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION:
03/08/22, File ID 22-0355, Board approved MHSSA Round 2 Funding Agreement.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
County Counsel and Risk Management approved the Amended Agreement.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
State funded MHSSA funds do not have a match requirement. There is no impact to County General Fund and sufficient funds are appropriated in the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget and will be included in future budgets for the term of the funding agreement.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
N/A
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT:
Healthy Communities, Improved Health, Well-being, and Self-sufficiency of El Dorado County communities, residents, and visitors.
CONTACT
Evelyn Schaeffer, Director, Health and Human Services Agency