At its Sept. 23 meeting the Clallam County Board of Commissioners approved a slate of contracts and contract amendments across public safety, juvenile services and health-and-human services to support ongoing operations and billing capabilities.

Key items approved in the consent and regular agenda included four separate contract amendments to the county’s contract with its electronic health-record vendor (EPIC) for incarcerated individuals. County staff described EPIC as “an electronic database of medical records” used by jail medical staff; the amendments will add a document-transmission tracking component required by an upgraded EPIC version, add a licensed location for juvenile services and a billing module to permit Medicaid/waiver billing, implement IT-recommended network connectivity changes, and add a behavioral-health module to improve tracking and billing for behavioral-health codes.

Other approved items included:
- Renewal of the county’s mental-health field-response grant partnership with Olympic Peninsula Community Clinic (OPCC) and a waiver of RFP requirements so the county can continue the existing provider arrangement.
- Renewal agreements with the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to continue CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteer support and BECCA (juvenile services) program services.
- A renewal agreement with the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families for detention-based juvenile services.
- An amendment to a Recreation and Conservation Office acquisition grant to reflect a negotiated scope change on the Forks-to-La Push segment of the Olympic Discovery Trail.
- Multiple Health & Human Services agreements for adult developmental-disability services (contracts with Jones and Associates, Morningside and Concerned Citizens) and school-based transition/transition-to-work programs with Sequim and Quileute Valley school districts.
- Approval of a contract with Assa Abloy Entrance Systems to install specialized doorways as part of a courthouse single-point security-entry project.

Board action and votes: Each consent-item motion was moved and seconded and passed unanimously. The EPIC amendments were advanced in separate motions (items 2a–2d) and each passed by the board. The OPCC mental-health field response contract renewal included a disclosure by a commissioner who said they had previously been a board member of the clinic but were no longer on its board and did not participate in the contract negotiations.

Why it matters: The EPIC amendments expand the county’s ability to document, network and bill for medical and behavioral-health services provided in custody and juvenile settings, potentially enabling reimbursement routes (including Medicaid/waiver billing) and improved care coordination. Renewals of juvenile and behavioral-health contracts keep established service lines operating and maintain funding relationships with state and community providers.

Next steps: County staff will finalize and execute the amended contracts and renewals, proceed with necessary IT and billing-system changes, and monitor contract performance through regular departmental reporting. Where bid waivers were approved (OPCC), the county will maintain contract oversight consistent with county procurement rules and the approvals recorded in the meeting.

Ending note: All listed contract amendments and renewals were approved by the board during the Sept. 23 meeting as part of the consent and business-agenda items; motions recorded in the minutes show unanimous approval for the contract slate.