To: Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma
Department or Agency Name(s): Human Resources
Staff Name and Phone Number: Janie Carduff (707) 565-3995
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Side Letter of Agreement to the Memorandum of Understanding between the County of Sonoma and Engineers and Scientists of California Local 20.
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Adopt a Resolution Approving the Side Letter of Agreement between the County of Sonoma and Engineers and Scientists of California Local 20 (ESC) that provides a 5% premium for Behavioral Health Clinicians and Behavioral Health Clinician Interns for all hours worked on the inRESPONSE program.
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Executive Summary:
In accordance with the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, the County and ESC met and conferred regarding the County’s participation in the City of Santa Rosa’s inRESPONSE program. The inRESPONSE program is a Mental Health Support Team modeled on the Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Street (CAHOOTS) program developed and operated by the White Bird Clinic in Eugene, Oregon.
This Board item recommends adopting a Resolution approving the Side Letter of Agreement (Attachment A) between the County and ESC that provides a 5% premium for Behavioral Health Clinicians and Behavioral Health Clinician Interns for all hours worked on the inRESPONSE program as negotiated with ESC Local 20 to compensate inRESPONSE staff for responding to police dispatch calls unaccompanied by law enforcement and to facilitate recruitment and retention of inRESPONSE staff.
Discussion:
As described in the Sonoma County Department of Health Services (DHS) Board item of October 26, 2021, the Sonoma County DHS has operated a Mobile Support Team (MST) since 2012. MST staff provide field-based support to requesting law enforcement officers responding to a behavioral health crisis, including calls to respond to members of the public experiencing substance abuse disorders and psychiatric distress.
Beginning in April of 2021, DHS has worked to partner with the City of Santa Rosa to develop the inRESPONSE program modeled on the WhiteBird Clinic’s CAHOOTS program. The inRESPONSE team is a multi-disciplinary approach to crisis intervention that includes a DHS Behavior Health Clinician or Behavioral Health Clinician Intern, a City of Santa Rosa paramedic, and a homeless outreach specialist. The inRESPONSE team will respond to non-violent, non-emergency calls dispatched through Santa Rosa Police Department (SRPD) unaccompanied by law enforcement. If there is any indication of violence or a weapon, an SRPD officer will initially respond first, and then transition service response to the inRESPONSE Team, once it is deemed safe.
SRPD’s objective is for the inRESPONSE team to handle all non-emergency, non-violent calls for service within the City of Santa Rosa’s jurisdiction where mental health or homelessness is the primary concern. The inRESPONSE team will also partner with the City of Santa Rosa’s Homeless Outreach Services Team (HOST) to identify unsheltered community members who may be experiencing a mental health crisis. This multi-faceted approach to crisis intervention will provide vulnerable and unsheltered members of the community with access to additional resources and services, while increasing local government’s capacity to raise awareness and visibility of opportunities to place people in stable living environments with ongoing, wrap-around support services.
Initially, the City of Santa Rosa’s inRESPONSE team will deliver mobile crisis support services with a single team working 10-hour shifts, seven days a week. The mid to long term plan is to expand the hours of the program with additional resources and funding as necessary to support a 24/7 mental health response model. These expansions will bring increases in the premium pay commensurately.
DHS anticipates that it will seek to transition other parts of the MST program to a model similar the inRESPONSE program. When and if this occurs, the evolution will have to take into account costs associated with premium pay increases, along with other modified program costs, for teams that transition.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Prior Board Actions:
November 10, 2020, Board approved positions to expand the Mobile Support Team
October 26, 2021, Measure O Discussion - Mobile Support Team (MST)/CAHOOTS Programs
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 21-22 Adopted |
FY22-23 Projected |
FY 23-24 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
-------$10,904 |
$22,513 |
$23,652 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$10,904 |
$22,513 |
$23,652 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
$10,904 |
$22,513 |
$23,652 |
|
State/Federal |
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Fees/Other |
|
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
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Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$10,904 |
$22,513 |
$23,652 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
For FY 21-22 the Department of Health Services estimates the 5% premium pay will be up to $10,904 for the January - June 2022 period. The calculated premium assumes coverage by one Behavioral Health Clinician per shift of up to twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week for the January - June 2022 period. The Department anticipates salary savings in FY 21-22 from vacant positions and will not be seeking additional appropriations.
For subsequent fiscal years, the Department of Health Services will include in their Recommended Budgets the 5% premium using the assumptions that one Behavioral Health Clinician per shift will cover up to twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week. The calculated 5% premium will be funded by anticipated salaries savings within the existing allocation of County discretionary resources for a three-year Mobile Support Expansion Services program approved by the Board during the FY 20-21 Budget Hearings.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
Attachment A - Side Letter of Agreement between the County and ESC
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
N/A