County of Santa Clara, California Social Services Agency Request for Proposals For Supportive and Therapeutic Options Program (STOP) Social Service Agency 333 West Julian Street San Jose, CA 95110-2335 Will Lightbourne, Agency Director Release Date: Thursday, March 5, 2009 Serial Number: RFPSTOP2010
Request for Proposals For Supportive and Therapeutic Options Program (STOP) Contract Period: July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010 (Possible two (2) additional one-year terms based on performance, need for services and availability of funding) Vendors Conference: Monday, March 16, 2009, 1:00 to 4:00 PM PST 333 West Julian Street, 2 nd Floor, Saratoga Room, San Jose CA 95110 Proposals Due: Wednesday, April 15, 2009, 3:00 PM PST Submit to: Social Service Agency Administration Lobby Attention: Bai-Yun Chen 333 West Julian Street San Jose, CA 95110-2335 Copies of this RFP and related materials are available on-line in a downloadable format from Bid Sync web site at www.bidsync.com. If help is needed to register and/or download, call the Bid Sync vendor helpdesk at 1-800-900-9339. There is no cost to the vendor to register. Table of Contents
I. Invitation 1 II. Sequence of Events 1 III. Background Information 2 IV. General Information 3 A. Term of Contract 3 B. Amount and Availability of Funds 3 C. Compensation 3 V. Scope of Services 3 A. Mental Health Family Intervention Treatment Program 3 B. Substance Abuse Dual Diagnosis Treatment Program 5 VI. Proposal Specifications 6 1. Proposal Response Cover Sheet 7 2. Eligibility Requirements 7 3. Contractor s Experience 7 4. Staffing Requirements 7 5. Scope of Services 8 6. Cultural and Language Capabilities 8 7. Program Cost 8 8. Contracting Principles 9 9. Vendor s Experience and Financial Status 9 10. Financial Statement 9 VII. Evaluation Criteria 10 VIII. Proposal Review 10 IX. Appeal Process 11 X. General Requirements for Selected Contractor 11 XI. County Rights and Privileges 12 XII. Submission Requirements 14 EXHIBITS Exhibit I - Sample Contract Exhibit II - Declaration of Contractor Exhibit III - Type II Packet ATTACHMMENTS Attachment A - Proposal Response Cover Sheet Attachment B - Eligibility Requirements Attachment C - Service Rate Worksheet Attachment D Vendor s Experience and Financial Status
I. INVITATION Social Services Agency (SSA) of Santa Clara County is requesting proposals from qualified organizations to provide Mental Health Family Intervention Treatment program and Substance Abuse Dual Diagnosis Treatment program. Services will involve a coordinated and collaborative effort between the contracted service provider, Department of Family and Children s Services (DFCS) Social Services Agency, Probation Department, Department of Alcohol and Drug Services, Department of Mental Health, and other service agencies. Treatment services must work to ensure that those elements of culture, language, values, beliefs, traditions and historical experiences are incorporated into the services provided to children, youth and families. These services will also ensure accessibility and maximize the strengths of different cultural groups in Santa Clara County. II. SEQUENCE OF EVENTS A. CALENDAR - Dates subject to change at the discretion of SSA. For RFP Updates, Posted Questions & Answers, go to www.bidsync.com Event Date Release of Request for Proposals (RFP) 3/5/09 Vendors Conference 3/16/09,1-4pm PST Deadline to Submit Written Questions 3/18/09 by 3pm PST Response to Written Questions/RFP Amendment 3/25/09 (Addendum) Deadline to Submit Proposals 4/15/09 by 3pm PST Proposal Evaluation 4/16/09-5/1/09 Evaluation Results Notices to Vendors 5/8/09 Final Negotiations 5/22/09 Contract Award 6/5/09 Contract to Commence 7/1/09 B. VENDORS CONFERENCE A vendors conference will be held for this RFP on Monday, March 16, 2009, 1:00 to 4:00 pm at 333 West Julian Street, 2 nd Floor, Saratoga Room, San Jose, CA 95110. Serial Number: RFPSTOP2010 Page 1
Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to submit written questions in advance of the conference via www.bidsync.com RFPSTOP2010 Q & A. Additional written questions may be submitted at the conference. All written questions timely received prior to the conference will be addressed orally at the conference. However, oral responses are not binding until reduced to writing and posting at www.bidsync.com Attendance at the conference is highly recommended but is not a pre-requisite for submission of a proposal. Only questions relevant to the RFP will be listed in the Addendum and posted on www.bidsync.com To sign up for the vendors conference, please contact Bai-Yun Chen at (408) 491-6878 or Bai-Yun.Chen@ssa.sccgov.org by Thursday, March 12, 2009. Please bring a copy of the RFP. III. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Some families with children exiting the foster care system or with children at-risk of foster care placement are not Medi-Cal eligible or for other reasons are unable to access needed services under existing funding arrangements. The lack of services and supports needed to successfully keep children at home results in out-of-home placements that are costly both in fiscal and human terms. Furthermore, when out-of-home placements terminate, services to the child typically end. Although the child s return to the home often creates tremendous stress for the entire family, there is no ability to continue the services that would support successful transitions (in-home family counseling, on-going education and recreational services for the child). Consequently, this transition is not successful for many families and the child is removed again and returned to out-of-home care. This action is both costly and detrimental to the child s well being. When Medi-Cal eligibility exists, this funding can be available for services to prevent placement and support the child s return home. The Supportive and Therapeutic Options Program (STOP) funding is for children who are not Medi-Cal eligible or when children are eligible but services are not reasonably accessible. Program Goals: a. To prevent children from entering or reentering foster placement through Child Welfare and Probation systems by providing family-centered, community based supportive and therapeutic services to families. b. To promote successful transitions home and minimize trauma to children Serial Number: RFPSTOP2010 Page 2
and families through the development of aftercare alternatives that provide continuity in service delivery by maintaining already established provider relationships. c. To maximize funding resources for service delivery through collaborative partnership among local public and private agencies such as social service agencies, mental health department, probation department, department of alcohol and drug services, and other service providers. IV. GENERAL INFORMATION A. Term of Contract It is anticipated that the contract will be from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010 with possible two additional one-year options for renewal of the contract based on performance and funding availability. B. Amount and Availability of Funds Total projected funding of $328,520 for the Mental Health Family Intervention Treatment program and Substance Abuse Dual Diagnosis Treatment program is based on the current fiscal year s budget. Future funding availability is based on the State s budget for Supportive and Therapeutic Options Program (STOP). C. Compensation This will be a fee for service contract. The successful contractor will be reimbursed based on a rate for each type of service and number of units services provided for its actual, reasonable, necessary, and allowable services incurred up to the maximum allowable amount of the contract for the performance of the services outlined in the contract. V. SCOPE OF SERVICES A. Mental Health Family Intervention Treatment Program 1. Referral The referral coordinators from County s Mental Health Department and Probation Department will accept the client referrals from Juvenile Probation Department and Social Services Agency Serial Number: RFPSTOP2010 Page 3
Department of Family and Children s Services. The coordinators will send the referrals to the appropriate agency and the agency will confirm the client eligibility. 2. Description of Services Contractor will provide culturally appropriate mental health services to children and families who have previously been ineligible for these services due to ineligibility for Medi-Cal so that children served by DFCS and the Probation Department can return home sooner or avoid entering the system. These services will include assessments, medication evaluation and support services, crisis intervention, individual, group, collateral and family therapy, and rehabilitation and case management services. Services will be individualized and take into account each person s age, maturational level, culture, preferred language, family values and structure, educational functioning level and physical health. Contractor will deliver a level of services more intensive than weekly hour-long outpatient service in the clinic, home, school, and community, as appropriate to the treatment needs and service goals of the child and family. All services will be child centered, family focused, with specific activities, interventions, and resources determined by the individual needs of the child, family, and/or family surrogate. Services can be provided up to 9 months. If it is deemed necessary that the client needs additional services after 9 months, contractor needs to obtain an extension approval of 3 months from the referral coordinators in order to continue providing treatment. Contractor will promote coordination and collaboration in case planning efforts with other serving agencies and institutions involved in delivering services to the child and his/her family, to ensure comprehensive and consistent care. 3. Goals Serial Number: RFPSTOP2010 Page 4
These services will treat and ameliorate the mental health symptoms and dysfunction of children, adolescents, and families in the least restrictive and least intrusive manner in order to maintain the child within the community. B. Substance Abuse Dual Diagnosis Treatment Program 1. Referral The referral coordinators from County s Mental Health Department and Probation Department will accept the client referrals from Juvenile Probation Department, Social Services Agency Department of Family and Children s Services, and Department of Alcohol and Drugs Services. The coordinators will send the referrals to the appropriate agency and the agency will confirm the client eligibility. 2. Description of Services When a child/youth is diagnosed of having substance abuse disorder, in concurrent with another mental health diagnosis, contractor will provide comprehensive counseling and supportive services to the child/youth and his/her family. A best practice approach is to utilize an integrated model that combines elements of both mental health and substance abuse treatment into a unified and comprehensive program. Contractor services and duties, addressing substance abuse and/or mental health shall include, but are not limited, to the following components: a. A substance abuse assessment utilizing a standardized assessment tool and youth history. b. Motivational Enhancement Therapy techniques and cognitive behavioral strategies and interventions. c. Individualized treatment plan tailored to meet the needs of each youth receiving services, including frequency and types of counseling and updating treatment plans as needed. d. Individual and/or group counseling responsive to the mental health, substance abuse and dual diagnosis needs of the children and youth. e. Family counseling offered throughout the course of treatment and incorporated into discharge and aftercare planning. Serial Number: RFPSTOP2010 Page 5
f. Psycho-educational curriculum incorporated into individual, group and family counseling. g. The ability to provide these services to children, youth and their families with diverse backgrounds. h. The ability to provide these services in the community. Services can be provided up to 9 months. If it is deemed necessary for the client to continue receiving additional services after 9 months, contractor needs to obtain an extension approval of 3 months from the referral coordinators in order to continue providing treatment. 3. Goals Services provided will reduce high-risk behaviors associated with substance abuse by providing integrated treatment for dual diagnosis youth, stabilization for transition back to home and community, increased resiliency factors and developmental assets and to replace delinquency and self-defeating behaviors with prosocial development and activities. VI. PROPOSAL SPECIFICATIONS Vendors may submit proposal (s) separately as an individual agency or as a consortium of providers. Consortium Only one proposal is submitted representing one vendor who will be responsible for all services provided. The vendor may subcontract with other vendors to provide these services. If a contract is awarded it will only be with the submitting vendor and the County will only provide payment for the services to the submitting vendor. The vendor is wholly responsible for the entire contract performance whether or not subcontractors are used. Program and financial accountability is with the contracted organization. A separate proposal is required for each program, Mental Health Family Intervention Treatment program and Substance Abuse Dual Diagnosis Treatment program. The award of the contract for each program may be one or multiple proposals. Vendor will identify and address all of the following sections in order they are listed Serial Number: RFPSTOP2010 Page 6
except when instructed to attach as an exhibit. 1. Proposal Response Cover Sheet - Use Form: Attachment A An authorized representative of the vendor must sign the Proposal Response Cover Sheet. This is the vendor s certification that all the statements in the response are true, and constitutes a warranty, the falsity of which will entitle the County to pursue legal action which includes the right of declaring the contract void. 2. Eligibility Requirements - Use Form: Attachment B An organization must meet the eligibility requirements to be eligible to submit a proposal for this RFP. 3. Contractor s Experience Narrative (20 Points) Describe the vendor s experience providing the services requested in this RFP specifically addressing experience with Child Welfare services and Juvenile Dependency Court process. Indicate the number of years these services have been provided and the number of clients served. 4. Staffing Requirements - Narrative (20 Points) a. Describe the education and experience of staff to demonstrate the ability to provide the Scope of Services listed in this RFP, including the following: i. Substantial knowledge of State and Federal regulations on Child Welfare services and the Juvenile dependency Court process. ii. Knowledge of Santa Clara County s Child Welfare system iii. Knowledge of Santa Clara County s Probation or Juvenile Dependency System. iv. Ability to work with Santa Clara County s culturally and ethnically diverse population v. Knowledge of basic social work practice and experience in working with the public welfare system. b. Personnel Qualifications and Experience - List i. A complete list of names and resumes for all personnel. The list must include all personnel who will be providing services. Serial Number: RFPSTOP2010 Page 7
i. Provide resumes and/or supplemental information that demonstrate the education, knowledge, experience, and qualification requirements of this RFP. ii. For each person on the list, the following information must be included: job title and years of employment with the Contractor; the activities they will perform; salary or salary range; the person s educational background and relevant experience; any non-english languages in which they are proficient; specific training and experience working with culturally diverse populations; relevant awards, certificates, or other achievements. This section of the proposal should include no more than two pages of information for each listed person. 5. Scope of Services Narrative (30 Points) Vendor shall complete a narrative description that describe how the agency will implement the program, addressing service needs described in Section IV, Scope of Services, page 3-5 of this RFP. 6. Cultural and Language Capabilities - Narrative (20 Points) Due to large number of bilingual families in Child Welfare system, contractor staff should have broad knowledge or demonstrated cultural sensitivity to the diverse population served by the County. Culturally competent practice improves access and quality of service for individuals of diverse populations. a. Describe how services to other non-english speaking clients will be provided. Describe the cultural competency of staff. b. Describe the applicant s policies, structures, practices, procedures dedicated resources to support cultural competence. 7. Program Cost /Service Rate Schedule (10 Points) Use Form: Attachment C. Each unit of service is equivalent to one (1) staff hour in direct services to client. Allowable services may include clinical assessment, medical evaluation, crisis intervention, individual, group, collateral and family therapy, rehabilitation and case management services. Please indicate the dollar amount for each one-hour unit of each service Serial Number: RFPSTOP2010 Page 8
type, which will be considered as service rate. This service rate will be used to build the cost for program activities. Please project the number of hours needed to provide each program activity of your contract. Total hours proposed and service rate will be used in calculating your cost and the basis for funding amounts. Please use Attachment C, Service Rate Worksheet to multiply the service rate by the total number of hours projected for each type of services provided and then add them together at the end to determine the total cost of the program. 8. Contracting Principles All proposals must include a completed Declaration of Contractor form as Exhibit II. If the contractor is a Type II, as described in the County s Contracting Principles, attach Type II Packet as Exhibit III. 9. Vendor s Experience and Financial Status Use Form: Attachment D 10. Financial Statement Label as Attachment E Vendor must provide a copy of an audited statement. Such statement shall be the most recent and complete audited financial statement available and for a fiscal period of not more than 18 months old at time of submission. This statement shall be by an independent, certified public accountant. The submission shall include the audit opinion, balance sheet, income statement, related earnings, cash flows and notes to the financial statements. If the independently audited financial statements do not exist for the vendor, the vendor shall state the reason, and instead, submit information in lieu of the certified financial audit, if it is of equal value in determining the fiscal stability of the vendor. The County may request, at its discretion, additional financial information. The vendor must supply the requested information within the timeframe provided by the County in order to be considered responsive to the RFP. VII. EVALUATION CRITERIA Serial Number: RFPSTOP2010 Page 9
The review panel will evaluate the responsible and responsive responses to this RFP with the following criteria. Rating Criteria Possible Points Contractor s Experience 20 Staffing Requirements 20 Scope of Services 30 Cultural and Language Capabilities 20 Program Cost 10 Total Points 100 VIII. PROPOSAL REVIEW A. Proposals received by the established deadline will be screened by SSA staff to determine whether proposals are responsive and responsible. 1. Responsible means one who: a. Possesses adequate financial resources, or the ability to obtain such resources as required during the performance of the contract; and b. Has the ability to comply with the proposed scope of work, taking into consideration available expertise and any existing business commitments; and c. Has no record of unsatisfactory performance, lack of integrity, or poor business ethics, and d. Is otherwise qualified and eligible to receive an award under applicable statues and regulations. 2. Responsive means one whose proposal substantially complies with all requirements of the RFP. B. If a proposal is found to be non-responsive, non-responsible, or both, it will be recommended that the proposal be rejected. Written notification of the recommended rejection and reasons will be sent to the vendors by Friday, April 17, 2009. The County will have sole discretion on this determination. C. Once the initial screening is completed, proposals will then be reviewed by a Review Panel Committee consisting of members of the community experts and County Staff. This Committee will rate and rank the applications in accordance with the established evaluation criteria in this RFP. Serial Number: RFPSTOP2010 Page 10
D. The evaluation result notices to vendors will be emailed, faxed, or sent by certified mail by Friday, May 8, 2009. IX. APPEAL PROCESS Vendors may appeal the award of the contract to the Social Services Agency. The appeal process will begin on Monday, May 25, 2009 and appeals are due on Monday, June 1, 2009. a. Appeals must be in writing and must be addressed to: Gina Sessions Director of Development & Operational Planning Social Services Agency 333 West Julian Street San Jose, CA 95110-2335 b. An appeal must state the reason (s) for protest including the facts and citation of law, rule, regulation, or practice upon which the protest is based. c. Responses to Vendor s appeals will be faxed, emailed or sent by certified mail by Friday, June 5, 2009. X. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SELECTED CONTRACTOR The contract resulting from this RFP will include, but will not be limited to, the following terms and conditions: a. A Contractor will comply with the County s insurance requirements for Independent Contractors as listed on the County s Web site: http://www.ssa.sccgov.org Select SSA Contracting Information b. Contractor will comply with the Nondiscrimination of Services, Employment, and Contracting: CONTRACTOR is required to comply with the County s Nondiscrimination of Service, Employment, and Contracting policy. c. Contractor will comply with the provisions of Section 827 and 10850 et seq. of Serial Number: RFPSTOP2010 Page 11
the Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) and California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Manual of Policies and Procedures, Division 19 Regulations regarding confidential client information, in that all applications and records concerning any individual receiving services pursuant to this Contract are confidential. d. Contractor will comply with the Santa Clara County travel policies and guidelines, where applicable, for all travel, lodging, and meal reimbursements arising from the performance of the awarded Contract. Travel may be preauthorized by the County. e. Contractor ensures that it, its employees, contractors, subcontractors or agents are not suspended or debarred from receiving federal fund as listed in the List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement or Non-procurement Programs issued by the Federal General Services Administration, (http://epls.arnet.gov/). CONTRACTOR must within 30 calendar days advise the COUNTY if it, its employees, contractors, subcontractors or agents become suspended or debarred from receiving federal funds as listed in the List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement or Non-procurement Programs issued by the Federal General Services Administration during the term of this Agreement. f. Must have the ability to maintain confidential client files and records in a secure location and to meet statistical reporting requirements. g. Must be able to meet and comply with all applicable statutes, regulations, policies, procedures, program rules, or other requirements of the Federal Government, State of California, and/or Santa Clara County, including working with Child Welfare Clients. h. Must be able to meet and comply with the contractual terms and conditions, some of which are listed in this RFP. XI. COUNTY RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES The County reserves the following right and privileges: a. County reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, as well as the right to cancel this procurement prior to the execution of a contract if it is determined in the best interest of the County for any reason, including but not limited to: Serial Number: RFPSTOP2010 Page 12
i. Inadequate, ambiguous, or otherwise deficient specifications were cited in the RFP. ii. The services are no longer required. iii. All otherwise acceptable proposals received are at unreasonable prices. iv. The proposals did not provide competition adequate to ensure reasonable prices in accordance with County resources or generally accepted prices. v. No proposal meets the minimum requirements of the RFP. vi. The County determines that its needs can be satisfied in another manner. b. All vendors will be notified in writing when the County rejects all proposals. c. Vendors will not be reimbursed for any costs associated with the preparation or submittal of responses to this RFP. d. The County is under no obligation to award this project to the vendor whose proposal represents the lowest cost. Selection of a vendor will be based on the vendor s overall qualifications as determined by an evaluation of proposals according to the selection criteria. e. The County reserves the right to waive any minor irregularities or informalities in any proposal, and/or to request clarification from any vendor f. California Public Records Act (CPRA) - All proposals become the property of the County, and subject to the disclosure requirements of the Public Records Act (PRA, California Government Code section 6250 and following). If proprietary information is contained in or attached to the written proposal, and vendor claims that it is not subject to the CPRA, the proposal must clearly identify the proprietary or confidential. In the event of a CPRA request for such information, the County will ask vendor the legal basis for exempting it under the CPRA. If in the County s sole discretion, the vendor provides an adequate legal basis to keep the information confidential, the County will request the vendor agree in writing to defend and indemnify the County in any litigation that may result from denial of a CPRA request. The County will disclose the information under the CPRA unless vendor responds timely and agrees to indemnify the County. g. Confidentiality All data and information gathered by the vendor and its agents in this RFP process, including reports, recommendations, specifications and data, shall be treated by the vendor and its agents as confidential. The vendor and its agents shall not disclose or communicate Serial Number: RFPSTOP2010 Page 13
this information to a third party or use it in advertising, publicity, propaganda, or in another job or jobs, unless documentation, including financial information, submitted by a vendor to the County is confidential until negotiations are complete, when such documents become public record under state and local law, unless exempted under CPRA. h. The County reserves the right to use any or all ideas presented in any proposal, whether accepted or not. Selection or rejection of a specific proposal does not affect this right. i The County reserves the right to accept all or a portion of any proposal(s). j. The County reserves the right to reduce, amend, and/or rescind this RFP any time prior to final execution of the contract. Any changes to this RFP will be posted on Bid Sync website at www.bidsync.com XII. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS 1. Number of Copies Vendors must submit a total of seven (7) copies of the proposal. One original and six (6) identical copies must be delivered either in person or mail by Wednesday, April 15, 2009, 3:00 PM PST. Proposals must be labeled on the outside of the package to clearly indicate that they are in response to RFPSTOP2010. The Original must be stamped ORIGINAL on the cover sheet and contain original signatures. Postmarks will not be accepted as the time-of-delivery, and proposals must actually be delivered by 3:00 PM PST to the address below on the due date. The Social Services Agency time and date stamp will be the basis of determining receipt of proposal. Proposals must be delivered to: Bai-Yun Chen Serial Number: RFPSTOP2010 Page 14
Social Services Agency Office of Contracts Management 333 West Julian Street, 2nd Floor San Jose, CA 95110 2. Proposal Format All proposals shall be typewritten using a minimum font size of Arial 12 on standard 8 ½ X 11 paper with 1 inch margins and placed within a binder with tabs delineating each section. Proposals should utilize both sides of the paper where practical. All pages will have page numbers in consecutive order. 3. Proposal Organization The proposal must be organized and indexed using tabs in the following format and must contain, at a minimum, all listed items in the sequence indicated. Tab 1 - Proposal Response Cover Sheet (Attachment A) Tab 2 - Table of Contents Tab 3 - Eligibility Requirements (Attachment B) Tab 4 - Contractor s Experience Tab 5 - Staffing Requirements Tab 6 - Scope of Services Tab 7 - Cultural and Language Capabilities Tab 8 - Program Cost/ Service Rate Worksheet (Attachment C) Include Tab 9 and Tab 10 to the ORIGINAL BINDER ONLY. All copies should include Tab 1 through 8. Tab 9 - Contracting Principles 1. Declaration of Contractor Form (label as Exhibit II) 2. Type II Forms, if required (label as Exhibit III) Tab 10 - Financial Statement/Information 1. Vendor s Experience and Financial Status (Attachment D) 2. Current Audited Financial Statement (label as Attachment E) Serial Number: RFPSTOP2010 Page 15