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Kings County Board OKs emergency procurement authority for psychiatric and specialty placements
Summary
The board approved a resolution allowing Kings County Behavioral Health to arrange and pay directly for emergency inpatient and residential psychiatric placements to ensure timely care and provider payment, citing state emergency procurement exemptions and existing budget appropriations.
Kings County supervisors voted Dec. 16 to authorize emergency procurement authority for specialized inpatient psychiatric and residential behavioral health placements, a move county officials said is intended to prevent delays in care and keep providers paid.
Dr. Lisa Lewis, director of Kings County Behavioral Health, told the board that emergency psychiatric and foster‑youth placement services are time sensitive and often initiated by law enforcement, hospitals or child welfare, and that ‘‘bed availability is highly constrained within the state of California.’’ She said standard competitive bidding does not align with the need to secure placements immediately and that the resolution would allow the behavioral health director or a designee to sign agreements and make payments when necessary while preserving board oversight.
The department described the authority as consistent with state public contracting law’s emergency exemption (cited in the presentation as Public Contract Code §10340) and with mental‑health mandates under the LPS Act and the Welfare and Institutions Code. Lewis said payments under the authority would be limited to Department of Health Care Services regional rates or negotiated, consistent facility rates and are expected to be reimbursed by Medi‑Cal, Mental Health Services Act funds or realignment when Medi‑Cal is not available.
Supervisor motion and vote: Supervisor Rusty Robinson moved the resolution; it was seconded and carried on a roll call vote. County staff told the board the measure does not create new services or additional appropriations from the general fund and requires documentation and fiscal controls; county counsel also reviewed the form of the resolution.
What happens next: With the board’s approval, Behavioral Health said it will maintain clinical review and fiscal controls and will return to the board to ratify individual agreements when circumstances warrant additional scrutiny.
Why it matters: County officials said the change is designed to avoid payment backlog that could jeopardize relationships with inpatient providers and disrupt access to legally mandated emergency psychiatric care for residents under conservatorship, children in foster care and others in crisis.
