PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to request City Council approval of a specialized health care service plan contract between the City of Burbank and Robert T. Dorris & Associates Inc. to make available a new Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for all full-time and part-time employees.

BACKGROUND

The City recognizes that employees who are troubled by personal, career, or on-the-job problems cannot fully function at work.  Therefore, the City has made it a policy to provide an EAP so that employees can seek confidential and professional assistance when help is needed in dealing with and resolving any type of problem. 

The City currently contracts with two companies that provide employee assistance.  The City�s Outpatient Managed Behavioral Health Program is administered by Managed Health Network (MHN) and is designed to provide employees access to a full range of mental health and substance abuse tools for everyday problems as well as more serious concerns.  MHN offers a wide range of professional services including psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, and master-level counselors.  The program provides assessments, assistance, and referrals to additional services when needed.  Eligible members may receive up to 52 counseling sessions per year for medically necessary treatment. 

The City also contracts with Buena Vista Counseling Services.  The service is designed to have employees contact an EAP counselor (Carol Sussman) and the counselor will assess the problem and propose a plan of action to solve it.  If further help is needed, the counselor will help the employee contact the appropriate resource.  This was also the City�s Management EAP for situations involving the need for mandatory counseling, Critical Incident Debriefing, Substance Abuse Program, and violence in the workplace.

ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION

With the recent retirement of Carol Sussman, the City�s EAP counselor, staff would like to take this opportunity to combine the two programs into one well balanced EAP. The new EAP should emphasize an overall assistance to employees and not just solely focus on behavioral health care considering these benefits are now included in most medical benefits.  To find a new vendor, staff consulted with Dr. Linda Poverny, a psychologist with the University of Southern California who has run corporate EAPs and has established a number of other EAPs.  With Dr. Poverny�s assistance, staff and representatives from each of the unions worked together to prepare a Request for Proposal (RFP) to gather information from organizations relative to the City�s desired scope of service and selection criteria.  The top three proposals were selected to address in more detail, issues regarding financial and other aspects of their organization and operations, as well as concerns regarding program evaluation and provider relations.  The top three proposals were received from MHN, The Holman Group, and Robert T. Dorris & Associates.   These companies presented their proposals to staff, union representatives, and Dr. Poverny on October 18, 2006. The decision was unanimous to select Robert T. Dorris & Associates as their proposal best suits the needs of the City and is the most economical as well.  The proposal includes the following:

Employee Services

• On-site counselor � 8 hours/week

• 1-10 Critical Incident Stress Management/Debriefing sessions

• Toll-free 24-hour, 7-day a week Helpline

• Calls answered directly by EAP professionals

• Helpline services available in 140 languages

• Counseling for personal problems including:

• Marital/family concerns

• Substance abuse

• Depression

• Work related issues

• Confidential assessment, referral, and follow up by licensed EAP counselors

• Face-to-face sessions scheduled;

• Within 24-48 hours for routine situations

• Within 2-6 hours for emergent situations

• Crisis Intervention services

• Nationwide EAP Consultant network

• Basic legal consultation and referral

• Financial resource and referral

• Coordination with full service medical plans and case management of ongoing referrals

• In-person presentations on the EAP for employees, managers, and union representatives

• Provide 6 customized Wellness workshops per year to employees and managers on topics such as stress management, time management, leadership development, etc.

• On-line Work/Life services

• Department Of Transportation / Substance Abuse Program services

Management Services

• In-person and internet manager/supervisory training

• Consultation and coaching on employee performance issues and intervention planning

• Assistance with layoffs and terminations

• Benefit design consultation

• 20 hours of Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Services

• In-patient chemical dependency program rate negotiations and case management

• Department Of Transportation / Substance Abuse Program services

Program Management

• Quality assurance reviews

• Account management

• Monthly utilization reporting

• Qualitative program reviews

• Service satisfaction evaluations

• Policy development consultation

• Customized brochures, wallet cards, promotional materials

• Monthly newsletters

• Manager�s Quick Reference Guides

• Chemical Dependency rate negotiation and case management

FISCAL IMPACT

The new EAP will replace two programs already in place.  The first is the Outpatient Managed Behavioral Health Program provided through MHN.  This program�s cost is based on $4.59/month per full-time and 30 hour or more per week part-time employees.  The total cost of this program for FY 2005-06 was $71,835.51.  The second program is the EAP with Buena Vista Counseling Service (Carol Sussman).  The City is charged a flat monthly rate of $6,000, or $72,000 annually.  The cost of the two programs combined is $143,835.51 per year.

The new EAP with Robert T. Dorris & Associates costs $5.07/month per employee.  All full-time and part-time employees will be included in the program and the cost is based on an average of 1,425 employees.  The cost per year is $86,184, resulting in an annual cost savings of $57,651.51.

RECOMMENDATION

Staff recommends adoption of the resolution which will make the Robert T. Dorris & Associates Inc. EAP available to all full-time and part-time employees.

Respectfully submitted,

Judie Sarquiz

Management Services Director