Report 2012-122 Recommendation 22 Responses

Report 2012-122: Mental Health Services Act: The State's Oversight Has Provided Little Assurance of the Act's Effectiveness, and Some Counties Can Improve Measurement of Their Program Performance (Release Date: August 2013)

Recommendation #22 To: Sacramento Department of Health and Human Services, County of

Sacramento County should review its existing MHSA contracts and by December 31, 2013, or as soon as is feasible, amend them as necessary to include plan goals.

1-Year Agency Response

Sacramento County has fully implemented the recommendation. As previously reported, the County applied the framework/tool developed collaboratively with the three other audited counties (Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Santa Clara) to ensure that plan goals are incorporated into MHSA funded contracts. Any necessary contract revisions/amendments have been incorporated into the Fiscal Year 2014-15 contract scopes and those contracts are now in the final stages of execution with a contract term beginning July 1, 2014.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

6-Month Agency Response

Sacramento County has completed the internal review of goals as stated in the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) plans as compared with the goals captured in contracts for MHSA-funded programs.

As previously reported, the County has worked collaboratively with the three other audited counties (Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Santa Clara) to develop a framework/tool to ensure plan goals are incorporated into MHSA funded contracts. This tool is now complete and attached for your reference. The County is now applying this tool to the applicable MHSA funded contracts in order to execute necessary contract revisions/amendments for the upcoming contract year. Sacramento County anticipates completion of this entire process with updated Fiscal Year 2014-15 scopes by June 30, 2014.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Partially Implemented

60-Day Agency Response

Sacramento County is in the process of implementing the recommendation and as such, has begun the internal review of goals as stated in the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) plans as compared with the goals captured in contracts for MHSA-funded programs. Simultaneously, the County is participating in creating a framework incorporating plan goals in MHSA funded contracts in collaboration with the three other audited counties (Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Santa Clara). All are in agreement that a common approach to the audit recommendation would also align with the broader concept of a consistent statewide approach to evaluation. The four counties participated in a teleconference on September 30, 2013 and agreed to explore a common approach to the determination of MHSA program goals and performance measures. A second teleconference took place on October 8, 2013 to outline the next steps to MHSA program goal identification. The work is conceived to be conducted in three phases. The first phase involves the creation of a conceptual model to be developed in collaboration with the four audited counties; the second phase will involve the application of the model by each county to their MHSA contracts; and the third phase will involve each county executing contract revisions/amendments as needed to the MHSA contracts. Sacramento County anticipates completion of this entire process with updated Fiscal Year 2014-15 scopes capturing the plan goals prepared for inclusion in MHSA-funded contracts by June 30, 2014.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Partially Implemented

All Recommendations in 2012-122

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.