AGENDA CAPTION:
Title
Consider approval of Resolution 2024-235R, approving: 1) a Change In Services to the agreement with Sunrise Rehab & Recovery, dba Evoke Wellness San Marcos, that provides a substance use treatment program for qualified adults identified through the Police Department’s mental health diversion program for the purpose of increasing funding from $99,000.00 to $150,000.00 of American Resue Plan Act (ARPA) funds; and 2) an amendment to the scope of services exhibit to said agreement; authorizing the City Manager, or her designee, to execute any documents to implement said changes; and declaring an effective date.
Body
Meeting date: December 17, 2024
Department: Police Department - Stan Standridge, Chief
Amount & Source of Funding
Funds Required: $150,000 total, which is a $51,000 increase from the previously authorized $99,000
Account Number: ARP-EC 1.12 -PD07 -2022 12073326-56555
Funds Available: Yes
Account Name: ARPA Public Health
Fiscal Note:
Prior Council Action: Click or tap here to enter text.
City Council Strategic Initiative: [Please select from the dropdown menu below]
Quality of Life & Sense of Place
Public Safety, Core Services & Fiscal Excellence
Choose an item.
Comprehensive Plan Element (s): [Please select the Plan element(s) and Goal # from dropdown menu below]
☐ Economic Development - Choose an item.
☐ Environment & Resource Protection - Choose an item.
☐ Land Use - Choose an item.
☐ Neighborhoods & Housing - Choose an item.
☐ Parks, Public Spaces & Facilities - Choose an item.
☐ Transportation - Choose an item.
☒ Core Services
☐ Not Applicable
Master Plan: [Please select the corresponding Master Plan from the dropdown menu below (if applicable)]
Choose an item.
Background Information:
On August 3, 2022, San Marcos Police Chief Stan Standridge joined 70+ local and county leaders for the City’s / County’s first Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) Mapping Workshop.
What is a SIM mapping?
The SIM is a conceptual tool developed to help communities understand how people with mental illness (MI) and substance use disorders (SUD) come into contact and move through the criminal justice system. SIM mapping workshops bring together community leaders and officials from different agencies and systems to identify local gaps and develop new strategies to reduce and prevent justice involvement for people with MI and SUD.
This two-day workshop was done in collaboration with Texas Health and Human Services Commission, and its primary purpose was to identify strengths and weaknesses associated with mental health services in the city and county. From the SIM Workshop, a leadership collaborative was formed called the Behavioral Advisory Team (BAT). The BAT was chaired by Chief Standridge and Judge Elaine Brown (County Court at Law #3 and Mental Health Court).
The BAT supports the vision of the Cities of San Marcos and Kyle and Hays County to develop a system of behavioral healthcare consistent with the following values:
• A leadership collaborative is critical to the development and sustainability of a cohesive and effective system for community wellness.
• Service quality and effectiveness, not only access, should be a focus for all providers committed to improving the resilience and wellness of all citizens within Hays County.
• Behavioral health and physical health care should be integrated.
• Data must be shared among all providers in a manner that improves service quality and effectiveness.
• Adequate resources must be allocated to housing, both immediate and long-term.
• Substance Use Disorder (SUD) services should be integrated into all service delivery systems.
• Children’s services should be family-centered and systems-oriented.
To ensure these values are instilled in all systems and services:
• The BAT will partner and work closely with the Forensic Director of Health and Human Services Commission to assist in creating a road map for developing action plans.
• The BAT will be a locus for quality improvement in behavioral health in the Cities of San Marcos and Kyle and Hays County. The BAT will work with clinical operations teams and other community stakeholders to identify performance indicators that are connected to the stories and experiences of the area citizens and residents who struggle to make progress toward recovery and be able to track how well the system is doing in reducing crisis, improving integration and continuity, using its resources effectively, and working in partnership to make change.
• The BAT will be a locus for coordination of advocacy and program development for the city and county. This includes legislative advocacy, identifying major grant opportunities and other funding resources.
• The BAT will ensure that the Cities of San Marcos and Kyle and Hays County are an active partner with surrounding municipalities including the City of Buda and other counties in developing a strong behavioral healthcare system in the central Texas area.
The BAT met every first Wednesday of each month, and they identified five priorities for San Marcos and Hays County. These include:
1. Expand crisis options through the development of a diversion center.
2. Develop strategies to address high needs utilizers and pilot a new Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) program.
3. Explore the development of a Behavioral Health Office to coordinate county services, while also focusing on local restoration services for those who are incarcerated.
4. Increase information and data sharing across the Sequential Intercept Model.
5. Enhance 911 and law enforcement response to behavioral health crises.
Goal #2 has seen significant progress. The Local Mental Health Authority, Hill Country, received grant funding for two additional Qualified Mental Health Professionals (QMHP), and the San Marcos Police Department embedded a QMHP in the MH unit. Goal #3 has been accomplished. Goals 4 and 5 are ongoing, with a major step having been accomplished for 5 wherein the Mental Health Crisis Line has been added to the 9-1-1 Dispatch Center, thus giving telecommunicators an option beyond dispatching officers to a call for service.
Regarding Goal #1, the county articulated that they did not allocate any ARPA funds for a brick-and-mortar diversion center. The closest Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) is in Kerrville, and it is frequently on diversion. Comal County is moving forward with an Extended Observation Unit (EOU), but it will not be operational until 2026. It will provide (6) extended observation beds and (10) crisis stabilization beds. The primary difference between a CSU and an EOU is the level of care. CSU stays average seven days and offer more clinical services, whereas an EOU stay averages two days for less acute issues.
In the interim, both the City and the County found value to a partnership with Evoke Wellness to provide some services. On August 26, 2024, the City entered into a professional services agreement #224-231 for $99,000 with Sunrise Rehab & Recovery DBA Evoke Wellness San Marcos with a corporate office located in Miramar, Florida. Similarly, the County entered into a separate agreement, albeit with less funding and their clients are referred directly by the Mental Health Court.
Through this agreement, Evoke Wellness provides a Substance Use Treatment Program for San Marcos residents who need services. The services include a detox program and a residential treatment program, and they can treat for any cooccurring behavioral health issues. By treating SUD and mental health issues, Evoke Wellness provides the City with a diversion center that offers treatment in lieu of incarceration. Clients are referred to Evoke Wellness by members of the San Marcos Mental Health Unit, which is comprised of a corporal, four officers and a QMHP.
This agreement is funded by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) federal funds. As the City is requesting to increase the agreement amount from $99,000 to $150,000 to provide greater outreach to the San Marcos community, this requires consideration and approval by City Council. In addition, council is being asked to approve clarifying amendments to the scope of services.
Other related mental health initiatives include the full-time staffing of the Homeless Outreach Team (staffed by Officers Luke Willdigg and Chad Phillippi), a Meadows MH Policy Institute needs assessment, single CAD and RMS provider for all countywide law enforcement, and a concerted effort to share 16.22 mental health evaluations done in the county jail.
Council Committee, Board/Commission Action:
Click or tap here to enter text.
Alternatives:
Click or tap here to enter text.
Recommendation:
Approve a contract increase for a Substance Use Treatment Program.