Adult and/or Youth Early Intervention

The County of Tuolumne, through its Health & Human Services Agency, Behavioral Health Department, hereinafter referred to as the “County,” is requesting proposals from qualified individuals and private and public organizations interested in providing Early Intervention programs for adults and/or youth that are designed to prevent mental illness and substance about disorders from becoming severe and disabling and to reduce disparities in behavioral health.

The County intends to award several contracts to multiple successful applicants to this RFP.

California law and federal law provide specific employment restrictions for retirees and/or current County employees that desire to contract with the County.

For CalPERS retirees: if the work you will perform as a contractor is the same or similar to work you performed as an active employee or is work that is performed by active employees, it is most likely subject to the PERS retired annuitant restrictions, meaning the contract relationship is disallowed and the County will not be able to enter into a contract with you.

For current County employees: California and federal law prohibit a current employee from contracting with its employer while being an active employee. If an employee is interested in becoming an independent contractor, the employee must consider separation from employment with the County; however, should the employee retire, he/she may be subject to the CalPERS retired annuitant laws. Should a current County employee respond to a RFP while in active employment status, the employee must separate from employment prior to award of the contract.

No County time is allowed to be used to prepare for or work on a response to a County RFP.

Background

In recent years, California has undertaken historic efforts to re-envision the state's publicly funded mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) services, with a special focus on county administered specialty mental health and substance use disorder services. In March 2024, voters approved Proposition 1 to reform the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), and fund needed behavioral health facility infrastructure through a general obligation bond. The efforts to implement Proposition 1 are referred to as Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA). 

Under BHSA, each county must establish and administer an Early Intervention program that are designed to prevent mental illnesses and substance use disorders from becoming severe and disabling and to reduce disparities in behavioral health.  Early Intervention funds may also be used to provide supports and services to parents and caregivers.

County Early Intervention programs must emphasize the reduction of the likelihood of the following adverse outcomes for BHSA eligible individuals:

• Suicide and self-harm
• Incarcerations
• School suspension, expulsion, referral to an alternative or community school, or failure to complete (inclusive of early childhood zero to five years of age, Transitional Kindergarten (TK)-12, and higher education)
• Unemployment
• Prolonged suffering
• Homelessness
• Removal of children from their homes
• Overdose
• Mental illness in children and youth through social, emotional, developmental, and behavioral services and supports in early childhood

Culturally Responsive and Linguistically Appropriate Interventions

County Early Intervention programs must include culturally responsive and linguistically appropriate interventions. These interventions must be able to reach underserved cultural populations and address specific barriers related to racial, ethnic, cultural, language, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, economic, or other disparities in mental health and substance use disorder treatment services access, quality, and outcomes.

County Early Intervention programs must create critical linkages with community-based organizations, including, but not limited to, service and treatment providers, youth centers, licensed and exempt clinics, facilities and providers licensed or certified by the DHCS, licensed or certified residential substance use disorder facilities, and licensed narcotic treatment programs. Community-based organizations may also include organizations that provide evidence-based practices (EBPs) or community-defined evidence practices (CDEPs).

Project Details

• Reference ID: RFP-2025-0121
• Department: Behavioral Health Department
• Department Head: Tami Mariscal (Behavioral Health Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-04-16T00:00:00.000Z

Evaluation Criteria

• Scope of Services (30 pts)
• Past & Present Performance/References (15 pts)
• Staffing & Organization (25 pts)
• Budget (30 pts)

Submission Requirements

• Proposal Elements (required) —

  Scope of Services:

  Submit a copy of your organization’s contract template. If the template does not address all the required elements below, please also submit a written narrative to address the missing elements only.

  1. Provide a complete list of services, describing how these services will address the requirements listed in the Scope of Services of this RFP.
  2. Describe how you will approach providing services listed in the Scope of Services in the RFP.
  3. Describe how your organization will integrate with the Behavioral Department, collaborating with staff in providing feedback for general assessment, planning, follow-up linkage.
  4. Describe your agency’s ability to perform Adult and/or Youth Early Intervention childhood education services and supports.
  5. Describe how the proposed services will ensure continued compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
  6. Describe how your agency will comply with the reporting requirements/outcomes.

  Provide a timeline for implementation of the required services, including readiness to provide services upon the signing of a contract.

  Past & Present Performance

  Provide a list of current and former work experiences that demonstrate your agency’s ability to perform the services solicited for the target population described herein. This list will serve as a list of references.

  1. The County may contact some or all of the references provided. The County also reserves the right to contact references other than those provided in the proposal and to use the information gained from them in the evaluation process.

  Staffing and Organization

  Provide a staffing plan for meeting the requirements described in the Scope of Services of this RFP. Describe how you will provide back-up to staffing positions during absences.

  *Response required

• Proposal Budget (required) —

  Proposals must include a fee or rate sheet that details:

  • Administration cost
  • Staff time
  • Material costs
  • Travel costs
  • Any other anticipated costs

  *Response required

• Pricing (required) —

  Select the option that best suits the pricing needs for this solicitation.

  • An Electronic Pricing Tableallows vendors to enter pricing directly into the system, and the system can automatically tabulate pricing results and provide pricing analysis.
  • A Separate Pricing Document will not be automatically tabulated. It will be received by each respondent as a document upload that will need to be evaluated manually.
• Do you know what the Initial Term will be for the Contract? (required) —

  Adjust the sentence below as needed.

• Initial Term (required) —

  The term of the initial contract awarded under this RFP will be for _________________. (Enter the number of years/months in the following format ex: one (1) two (2) week)

• Initial Term (required)
• Extensions (required) —

  Allow extensions for the resulting agreement?

• Extension Options (required) —

  By mutual agreement, this contract may be extended for ______________, under the following circumstances. (Enter the number of years/months in the following format ex: one (1) two (2) week)

• Termination (required) —

  Please select the number of "days" appropriate in the blank space of the sentence below:

• Insurance Requirements (required) —

  Does this project and/or service require any of the following insurance provisions?

   

Questions & Answers