Administrator/Operator for Adult Residential Facilities

The County of Santa Cruz invites sealed proposals from fully licensed, insured, bonded, and certified CONTRACTORS to furnish all labor, tools, equipment, and incidentals required to provide Administrator/Operator for Adult Residential Facilities .

Established in 1850 as one of the state’s original 27 counties, the County of Santa Cruz was originally called Branciforte. The name was later changed to Santa Cruz, which is “holy cross” in Spanish. The County of Santa Cruz geographically is the second smallest county within the State of California yet it has one of the largest unincorporated area populations. The 2020 estimated population for the County of Santa Cruz by the U.S. Census Bureau was 270,861. The County encompasses an urban service area of 440 square miles.

The County of Santa Cruz Health Services Agency (HSA) is requesting proposals for the administration and operation of the following clinical programs serving individuals with a mental health diagnosis: (1) Front Street Residential Care Facility, a 47-bed adult residential care facility (ARF); and/or (2) Wheelock Residential Care Facility, a 16-bed adult residential care facility (ARF).

Santa Cruz County is a diverse community of about 261,547 (2023) residents situated at the northern tip of Monterey Bay, approximately 65 miles south of San Francisco, 35 miles north of Monterey, and 35 miles southwest of Silicon Valley. Its natural beauty is present in the pristine beaches, lush redwood forests, and rich farmland. It has an ideal Mediterranean climate with low humidity and sunshine 300 days a year. Santa Cruz County is the Gateway to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, with 29 miles of coastline. While the County is geographically the second smallest county within the State of California, it has one of the largest unincorporated area populations, with about 47% of the County’s population living in the unincorporated areas. The remaining 53% of the population lives in the four incorporated cities in the County. These include Santa Cruz, with an estimated population of 64,075, Watsonville with about 52,067, Scotts Valley has about 12,232, and Capitola has about 9,846 residents.

The County’s economy is anchored by technology, agriculture, and tourism. Educational assets include Cabrillo Community College and the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). UCSC’s Coastal Science Center includes Long Marine Laboratory, UC Santa Cruz's Coastal Biology Building, the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, the Seymour Marine Discovery Center, and the California Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center.

In addition, the County hosts UC’s Lick Observatory, with the second largest refractor telescope in the world. The County is served by the San Jose Mineta, San Francisco and Oakland International Airports, Monterey Peninsula Airport, and Watsonville Municipal Airport.

The HSA Behavioral Health Division (BH) currently provides community-based services to approximately 2,000 minors and 5,000 adults annually through its continuum of care, which provides a broad range of services for County residents who experience significant disruptions in their mental health and may then require intensive interventions. Residential treatment programs at these two Adult Residential Facilities are geared to provide support for individuals with significant mental health disabilities that are unable to live independently. These facilities will provide daily living activities, services and supports to enable residents to live in a homelike setting promoting their mental health stability and highest level of functioning.

The County is seeking an administrator/operator for the two Adult Residential Facilities mentioned above. Services at the Front Street and Wheelock Adult Residential Facilities are guided by the principal that individuals with serious mental illness can recover and can live successfully in an integrated community setting when individualized supports and services are provided. The operator will fosters and promote the values of recovery, resiliency and belonging while addressing each resident’s physical, mental, and emotional needs in an integrated and culturally sensitive manner. Services will include on-going support and mental health assessment, case management, crisis intervention, individual and group rehabilitation counseling, and linkage to off-site resources. Each care facility provides care and supervision 24 hours per day, seven days per week and includes a variety of on-site services and supports including housekeeping and meal service, assistance with medication administration, physical and nutritional counseling, assistance with activities of daily living, money management, structured activities promoting socialization, transportation or arrangement of same, and skills building.