Lake County Behavioral Health Services (LCBHS) requests approval of the Agreement with Traditions Behavioral Health (TBH) for the provision of Specialty Mental Health Services (SMHS), including locum tenens, telepsychiatry, and related outpatient clinical staffing services for Fiscal Year 2026-2027. The Agreement is for the period of July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, in an amount not to exceed $5,400,000.
LCBHS is responsible for maintaining sufficient clinical capacity to provide timely and appropriate Specialty Mental Health Services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries and other eligible individuals served through the County behavioral health system. To support this responsibility, the Department requires access to qualified psychiatric and other licensed clinical professionals who can supplement County resources when additional capacity is needed. This includes maintaining access to psychiatric evaluation, medication support and management, clinical consultation, follow-up services, and other medically necessary behavioral health services for both adults and children/youth.
Historically, the Department has employed prescribing staff and other medical professional staff to deliver required medication services. However, after several attempts to continue this model the Department has been unsuccessful in retaining and recruiting for these positions. Thus, the Department has utilized a contracted provider for these services since at least 2022.
In addition to the longer-term needs of the Department to provide ongoing services to our beneficiaries, the County's Request for Proposals also specifically identified the need for temporary and short-term clinical coverage to support continuity of care during vacancies, leaves, or periods of increased service demand, with services available either in person or through telehealth depending on County needs. It is important to note that we have prioritized the provision of in-person services across all contracts and services continuums.
The RFP also identified estimated capacity needs of approximately six adult psychiatry FTE, one child/youth psychiatry position, and 6.5 adult and/or child/youth therapy FTE. The Department is subject to minimum prescribing FTE requirements as set forth by the Federal governing through the Network Adequacy rule and process. The contract has been developed to meet these minimum requirements without guaranteeing service volume.
To address these needs, LCBHS issued a competitive Request for Proposals for SMHS Clinical Services - Telehealth and In-Person Provider on February 25, 2026. The purpose of the solicitation was to select the most robust proposal with the greatest value to the department. The solicitation allowed qualified firms and individual practitioners to propose services across multiple disciplines and delivery models, including telepsychiatry and in-person clinical services.
Traditions Behavioral Health was selected through the solicitation process for negotiation and award. Under the resulting Agreement, TBH may provide County-authorized outpatient psychiatric evaluations, psychiatric consultation, medication support, medication management, and related covered Specialty Mental Health Services. Services may be provided through telehealth or in person at County clinics, County-approved field locations, facilities, or other approved service locations based on clinical appropriateness and County need.
The Agreement also provides LCBHS flexibility to utilize additional County-authorized clinical disciplines, including Licensed Practitioners of the Healing Arts (LPHAs), Registered Nurses, Licensed Vocational Nurses, Licensed Psychiatric Technicians, and Medical Assistants when needed. These additional service lines may not be implemented or billed unless the County first approves the provider type, staffing model, compensation rate, and operational expectations in writing. This structure allows LCBHS to respond to changing service needs while retaining control over which provider types and services are utilized.
TBH providers may also participate in multidisciplinary treatment teams, care coordination, treatment planning, clinical consultation, and County quality and compliance activities. The Agreement permits County-authorized psychiatric on-call coverage during evenings, weekends, County holidays, and other approved periods when additional psychiatric availability is operationally necessary. The RFP similarly required proposers to coordinate with LCBHS care teams and participate in case conferences, treatment planning, and care coordination activities as requested by the County.
All providers must satisfy applicable licensing, credentialing, enrollment, exclusion-screening, insurance, training, privacy/security, electronic health record, and County approval requirements before rendering billable services. The Agreement also requires compliance with applicable Medi-Cal, California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), HIPAA, documentation, quality-management, beneficiary-rights, audit, reporting, and program-integrity requirements. The County retains authority to monitor performance, require corrective action, withhold or deny payment, recoup unsupported or disallowed payments, suspend referrals, and require replacement of providers when contractual or regulatory requirements are not met.
Approval of this Agreement will provide LCBHS with a flexible contracted resource to supplement existing clinical capacity, address psychiatric and other clinical staffing needs, maintain continuity of care during vacancies or temporary staffing gaps, and support timely access to medically necessary Specialty Mental Health Services for Lake County residents.