Committee approves large DPH contract amendment for Progress Foundation's behavioral health services

The Budget & Finance Committee on Jan. 25 voted to forward a resolution that approves Amendment No. 2 to the Department of Public Health contract with Progress Foundation, increasing the not-to-exceed amount by about $127 million to roughly $221.0 million and extending the term through Dec. 31, 2027.

Max Rocha of DPH outlined the services funded by the contract, including acute diversion units (ADUs), urgent care clinics, transitional residential treatment programs (90-day and longer stays), and supported and independent living programs. He described bed counts and capacities across program types and said the contractor fills an important segment of the cityontinuum of care. Steve Fields, Progress Foundation executive director, told supervisors these programs aim to reduce hospital and emergency-room utilization by providing diversion and longer-term residential care.

Supervisors used the presentation to press DPH and Progress Foundation on metrics, outcomes and unmet need. Supervisor Ronan and others asked how much of the city emand was being met and where additional beds are needed; Fields recommended adding more acute diversion and 90-day-to-one-year treatment beds, especially with neighborhood-specific and culturally competent services. DPH said it will produce an updated beds report by June and provide further data to the committee.

The BLA reviewed the contract amendment and recommended approval with language clarifying retroactivity; the committee amended the resolution as recommended and voted 3-0 to forward it to the full Board with a positive recommendation.