Supervisors forward DPH contract amendments after questions about SOAR, mobile response and case-management waitlist

San Francisco — The Budget & Finance Committee on May 18 moved a package of Department of Public Health (DPH) contract amendments to the full Board after supervisors said they still lacked enough detail about how the work fits into the city’s Mental Health SF system.

Chair Hillary Ronan said the committee would not accept similar contracts in the future without a clear explanation of “how these services fit within the system of care under Mental Health SF.” She pressed DPH officials for a step-by-step plan to eliminate a reported 150-person waitlist for intensive case management (ICM): “I am not going to approve these contracts in the future unless you explain to me how it fits into the overall system of care,” Ronan said at the hearing.

The package included an amendment to Seneca Family Agencies’ contract to continue outpatient and school-based mental health services, and an extension of UCSF’s ICM contract that DPH officials said serves the city’s most complex clients. Michelle Ruggles, a DPH contract lead, described the Seneca amendment as an administrative step to allow services to continue while some programs are moved under separate solicitations. She said the department intends to break large contracts into smaller awards during future procurements.

Supervisors sought clarity on the SOAR program — in-school, educationally related mental-health services — after the Budget and Legislative Analyst (BLA) and DPH said Seneca no longer runs the SOAR classroom program but that the school district and other contractors (identified in committee documents as Oaks and RAM) continue to provide services. Hung Mei Peng, acting executive director of external affairs at San Francisco Unified School District, said SOAR “is operated by the school district and not an outside agency,” and that district staff and contractor clinicians provide classroom supports and consultations.

UCSF representatives said their ICM programs serve about 1,000 clients with 57 dedicated staff and that a short-term linkages program reduced wait times in practice. Still, DPH and UCSF both acknowledged a roughly 30% vacancy rate among case-management staff that limits immediate capacity to reduce the waitlist. "Hiring and training and retaining staff so that we can move to full capacity is another issue that is being addressed," a UCSF speaker said.

Because DPH did not provide the Seneca contract or the detailed scope-breakout requested by supervisors before the committee, Ronan moved to forward that amendment to the full Board without recommendation so the additional documents can arrive in time for the May 24 meeting. The committee recorded a roll-call vote of three ayes.

What happens next: The items will appear on the Board of Supervisors’ May 24 agenda. DPH committed to provide the Seneca contract, the contract scope showing how mobile response and short-term connections are coded, and confirmation that students previously served under Seneca’s SOAR program continue to receive needed services under replacement providers. The committee asked the BLA and DPH to show how these amendments align with Mental Health SF goals and workforce plans in the forthcoming materials.