Department
Behavioral Health and Development Disabilities
Requested Action (Identify appropriate Action or Motion, purpose, cost, timeframe, etc.)
title
Request approval of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Fulton County, on behalf of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, and Way Shape Form, Inc. to conduct the TextForHelp program in Fulton County by providing clinical management responsibilities and delivering the necessary data and reports generated by the program, in the amount not to exceed $23,500.00. The MOU will be effective May 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025.
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Requirement for Board Action (Cite specific Board policy, statute or code requirement)
Fulton County Code Section 102-420 provides that contract modifications within the scope of the contract and necessary for completion of the contract, in the specifications, services, time of performance or terms and conditions of the contract shall be forwarded to the BOC for approval.
Strategic Priority Area related to this item (If yes, note strategic priority area below)
Health and Human Services
Commission Districts Affected
All Districts ☒
District 1 ☐
District 2 ☐
District 3 ☐
District 4 ☐
District 5 ☐
District 6 ☐
Is this a purchasing item?
No
Summary & Background
To address the opioid crisis in Fulton County, the Board of Commissioners implemented a strategy to develop, implement, evaluate, and sustain a multi-faceted, county-wide effort to prevent opioid abuse, addiction, overdose, and death. In its on-going efforts to combat the opioid crisis, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners on December 21, 2022 (Agenda Item #22-0992) entered into an agreement with Linking Efforts Against Drugs (“LEAD”), an Illinois not-for-profit corporation, to implement its TextForHelp.app program, which is now called “TextForHelp” for FY2023. The Fulton County agreement with LEAD for TextForHelp was automatically renewed for FY2024 per the terms of the Agreement.
The TextForHelp program is aimed at middle and high school students in Fulton County and allows individuals to send a confidential text message to a dedicated number and receive an immediate response from a licensed mental health professional, which then enables the person sending the text message to conduct a conversation with the professional while remaining confidential during the process. Way Shape Form, Inc. has served as the subcontractor managing both the technical and clinical components of the TextforHelp.app for LEAD during FY2023 and FY2024. LEAD is no longer entering into new contracts for TextForHelp, and LEAD’s existing contracts for TextForHelp are being fulfilled by Way Shape Form, with the goal to transition each client directly to Way Shape Form by the end of 2025. Accordingly, this MOU for TextForHelp for FY2025 is with Way Shape Form.
Scope of Work: TextForHelp Program: Way Shape Form, in coordination with its technical and mental health partners, shall provide its TextForHelp program in Fulton County, Georgia through a confidential text hotline using a dedicated toll-free number that will only be in used in Fulton County, Georgia. Way Shape Form shall ensure that a system back-up or redundancy is in place to minimize system failure or loss of data. Clinical Services: Way Shape Form shall contract with and oversee qualified clinicians to provide mental health crisis intervention services through the TextForHelp platform in accordance with applicable federal and state laws, regulations, and professional standards, including but not limited to: Ensuring all clinicians providing services maintain current and appropriate licenses in Georgia, verifying credentials of all clinicians prior to their engagement, implementing and maintaining clinical protocols and standards of care for crisis intervention, conducting regular quality assurance reviews of clinical services, managing clinical documentation in compliance with applicable laws and professional standards, providing 24/7 clinical coverage to respond to incoming messages within defined response time parameters.
Community Impact: To address mental health and substance use issues for middle and high school students within the Fulton County School District.
Department Recommendation: The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities recommends approval.
Project Implications: None
Community Issues/Concerns: none
Department Issues/Concerns: none
Fiscal Impact / Funding Source
Funding Line 1:
100-755-8226-1113