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Del Norte supervisors approve $150,000 contingency contract for out-of‑county acute placements
Summary
The board approved a not-to-exceed $150,000 agreement to secure acute psychiatric placement capacity outside Del Norte County when local beds are unavailable; county health director said funds are used only if placements occur and the county is contractually required to provide the services.
The Del Norte County Board of Supervisors on a unanimous roll call approved a not-to-exceed $150,000 agreement to secure out-of-county acute placement services for adults and adolescents when no local facility is available. Renell Brown, director of the Department of Health and Human Services, told the board the agreement covers crisis intervention, consultation and education and will be used only when placement is necessary.
"This is for adults and adolescents, and we often have difficulty placing adolescents, and so we need to do a contract with another facility," Brown said, describing the Sacramento facility as the likely option when local beds are not available. She said the county is required to provide these services under its Department of Health Care Services contract.
Board members and members of the public questioned the frequency of DHHS contracts on the consent agenda and asked that staff provide clearer contract descriptions. Brown said many county agreements are maintained in case a need arises and that doing multi-year agreements is one way staff try to reduce repetitive board action.
The motion to approve carried on roll call: Supervisor Dean Wilson—yes; Supervisor Valerie Starkey—yes; Chair Borges—yes.
The contract was presented as a contingency resource rather than an immediate expenditure. County staff said the agreement does not mean the county will spend the full $150,000; funds are expended only if placements are used.
