Agenda

Return

C. 39

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	William Walker, M.D., Health Services
Date:	October 24, 2017

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Add Two Substance Abuse Counselor Positions in the Health Services Department

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 10/24/2017

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

Melissa Carofanello, 925-957-5248

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: October 24, 2017
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

Adopt Position Adjustment Resolution No. 22179 to add two Substance Abuse Counselor (VHVC) positions at salary plan and grade level TC5-1436 ($4,941 - $6,006) in the Health Services Department. (Represented)

FISCAL IMPACT:

Upon approval, there is an annual cost of approximately $241,789 with pension costs of $51,178 already included. The cost will be funded 100% by the Drug Medi-Cal Waiver.

BACKGROUND:

The Health Services Department is requesting to add two substance abuse counselor positions in Behavioral Health Division’s Access Line Unit. These positions will be exclusively responsible for handling calls from clients who are currently in jail and mandated to alcohol and other drug treatment. Since our go-live date for Drug Medi-Cal Waiver implementation on July 1, 2017, the volume of calls specific to Alcohol and Other Drugs Services has increased from 400 the first week to 856 and continues to rise. In the past, inmates were able to call the programs directly. The new substance abuse counselors will be dedicated to conducting phone screenings during specific dates and blocks of time, will potentially conduct face-to-face screenings with a list of prearranged clients, and handle communication with the court and criminal justice system to prevent a bottleneck of clients and calls. The department has determined the appropriate classification to fulfill this need would be two substance abuse counselors.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

If this action is not approved, the Behavioral Health Division’s Access Line Unit will not have the appropriate classification nor be adequately staffed to handle the increased call volume from these specific consumers the Access Line Unit is currently experiencing.