Active SLED Opportunity · CALIFORNIA · COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO

    On-Call Forensic Pathology Services

    Issued by County of Sacramento
    countyRFPCounty of SacramentoSol. 257231
    Open · 2d remaining
    DAYS TO CLOSE
    2
    due Jun 25, 2026
    PUBLISHED
    Jun 10, 2026
    Posting date
    JURISDICTION
    County of
    county
    NAICS CODE
    621399
    AI-classified industry

    AI Summary

    County of Sacramento Coroner's Office requests proposals for on-call forensic pathology services including autopsies, death investigations, and expert testimony. Evaluation based on experience, technical approach, compliance, references, availability, and cost. Proposal due June 25, 2026.

    Opportunity details

    Solicitation No.
    257231
    Type / RFx
    RFP
    Status
    open
    Level
    county
    Published Date
    June 10, 2026
    Due Date
    June 25, 2026
    NAICS Code
    621399AI guide
    Agency
    County of Sacramento

    Description

    The County of Sacramento ("County") Coroner’s Office is soliciting proposals from qualified forensic pathology providers to furnish professional forensic pathology services for deaths falling under the jurisdiction of the Coroner, pursuant to applicable California law.

    Project Details

    • Reference ID: 2026-PURB RFP-0046
    • Department: Coroner
    • Department Head: Rosa Vega (Coroner)

    Important Dates

    • Questions Due: 2026-06-18T21:00:00.000Z

    Evaluation Criteria

    • Experience and Qualifications (25 pts)

      The County will evaluate the consultant’s demonstrated ability to perform forensic pathology services in a death investigation and legal-medical context.

      • Board certification in forensic pathology (e.g., American Board of Pathology or equivalent)
      • Experience performing autopsies and death investigations within a coroner or medical examiner system
      • Experience working with public agencies responsible for death investigation and legal proceedings
      • Experience providing expert witness testimony in criminal and civil cases
      • Depth and relevance of casework involving complex, suspicious, or unexplained deaths
    • Technical Approach and Understanding of Services (20 pts)

      The County will evaluate the consultant’s understanding of the scope of work and ability to perform services effectively on an on-call basis.

      • Understanding of death investigation processes within a public agency setting
      • Clarity and feasibility of the approach to case review, autopsy services, external examinations, reporting, and consultation
      • Approach to quality assurance, documentation, confidentiality, and chain-of-custody integrity
      • Responsiveness to urgent and time-sensitive requests
      • Ability to integrate with County workflows and multidisciplinary death investigation teams
    • Quality of Proposal Compliance (10 pts)

      The County will evaluate the overall quality, completeness, and responsiveness of the submitted proposal, including the proposer’s adherence to all instructions and requirements of the solicitation.

      • Completeness of the proposal, including submission of all required forms, certifications, and attachments
      • Responsiveness to all sections of the solicitation, including scope, qualifications, and pricing requirements
      • Clarity, organization, and professionalism of the written submission
      • Demonstrated understanding of the County's requirements and service expectations
      • Accuracy and consistency of information provided throughout the proposal
      • Compliance with formatting instructions, page limits, and submission guidelines
      • Absence of material omissions, exceptions, or deviations from solicitation requirements
    • References and Past Performance (15 pts)

      The County will evaluate past performance based on submitted references and prior experience.

      • Quality of prior work for public agencies, Coroner offices, Medical Examiner offices, or death investigation systems
      • Reliability, timeliness, and responsiveness
      • Professional conduct and effectiveness in legal proceedings, including testimony, depositions, declarations, or related legal support services
      • Feedback from references provided by the proposer
    • Availability and Responsiveness (10 pts)

      The County will evaluate the consultant’s ability to provide timely on-call services.

      • Availability for routine and urgent case assignments
      • Proposed response times for varying levels of service urgency
      • Capacity to manage variable caseloads
      • Backup coverage or contingency plans, if applicable
      • Ability to respond to after-hours, weekend, and holiday requests
    • Cost (20 pts)

      The County will evaluate proposed compensation for services.

      • Pricing structures for professional services
      • Fees for autopsy, consultation, and case review services
      • Travel or incidental costs, if applicable
      • Proposed annual increases, escalation, or other pricing adjustments
      • Overall clarity, structure, completeness, and reasonableness of pricing

    Submission Requirements

    • Certification of Independent Contractor Status (required)

      "I hereby certify that the Contractor/Consultant firm employs five or more full-time employees. “Full-time”, as defined by the Internal Revenue Service, means persons employed for 20 or more hours per week, and excludes temporary employees whose term of employment will be less than one (1) month. This certification satisfies the Internal Revenue Service criteria for treatment of the above-named consultant as an independent contractor, not an employee for tax withholding purposes."

    • Contractor Certification of Compliance, Part 1 (required)

      WHEREAS it is in the best interest of Sacramento County that those entities with whom the County does business demonstrate financial responsibility, integrity and lawfulness, it is inequitable for those entities with whom the County does business to receive County funds while failing to pay court-ordered child, family and spousal support which shifts the support of their dependents onto the public treasury.

      Therefore, in order to assist the Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services in its efforts to collect unpaid court-ordered child, family and spousal support orders, the following certification must be provided by all entities with whom the County does business:

      Contractor/Consultant hereby certifies that either:

    • Contractor Certification of Compliance, Part 2 (required)

      New Contractor/Consultant shall certify that each of the following statements is true:

      a. Contractor/Consultant has fully complied with all applicable state and federal reporting requirements relating to employment reporting for its employees; and

      b. Contractor/Consultant has fully complied with all lawfully served wage and earnings assignment orders and notices of assignment and will continue to maintain compliance.

      NOTE: Failure to comply with state and federal reporting requirements regarding a Contractor's employees or failure to implement lawfully served wage and earnings assignment orders or notices of assignment constitutes a default under the contract; and failure to cure the default within 90 days of notice by the County shall be grounds for termination of the contract. Principal Owners can contact the Sacramento Department of Child Support Services at 1-866-901-3212, by writing to P.O. Box 269112, Sacramento, 95826-9112, or via the Customer Connect website at www.childsup.ca.gov .

       

    • Request for Proposal Requirements (required)

      Please confirm that you have read through and met all of the Proposal requirements.

    • Iran Contracting Act Certification (required)

      (California Public Contract Code, sections 2202-2208)

      When responding to a bid or proposal or executing a contract or renewal for a County of Sacramento contract for goods or services of $1,000,000 or more, a vendor must either:

      1. certify it is not on the current list of persons engaged in investment activities in Iran created by the California Department of General Services (“DGS”) pursuant to Public Contract Code section 2203(b) and is not a financial institution extending twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) or more in credit to another person, for 45 days or more, if that other person will use the credit to provide goods or services in the energy sector in Iran and is identified on the current list of persons engaged in investment activities in Iran created by DGS; or
      2. demonstrate it has been exempted from the certification requirement for that solicitation or contract pursuant to Public Contract Code section 2203(c) or (d).

      To comply with this requirement, please select one of the options below. Please note: California law establishes penalties for providing false certifications, including civil penalties equal to the greater of $250,000 or twice the amount of the contract for which the false certification was made; contract termination; and three-year ineligibility to bid on contracts. (Public Contract Code section 2205.)

      OPTION #1 - CERTIFICATION

      I certify I am duly authorized to execute this certification on behalf of the vendor/financial institution, and the vendor/financial institution is not on the current list of persons engaged in investment activities in Iran created by DGS and is not a financial institution extending twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) or more in credit to another person/vendor, for 45 days or more, if that other person/vendor will use the credit to provide goods or services in the energy sector in Iran and is identified on the current list of persons engaged in investment activities in Iran created by DGS.

      OPTION #2 – EXEMPTION

      Pursuant to Public Contract Code sections 2203(c) and (d), a public entity may permit a vendor/financial institution engaged in investment activities in Iran, on a case-by-case basis, to be eligible for, or to bid on, submit a proposal for, or enters into or renews, a contract for goods and services. If you have obtained an exemption from the certification requirement under the Iran Contracting Act, please select "EXEMPTION" below, and attach documentation demonstrating the exemption approval with your electronic submission.

    • SAM.gov Unique Entity ID (UEI) (required)

      Provide your SAM.gov Unique Entity ID (UEI). If your firm does not have a UEI, go to: https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration to obtain one. 

    • Confidential Sections of Proposal (If Applicable)

      The County will treat all information submitted in a proposal as available for public inspection once the County has awarded a contract. If you believe that you have a legally justifiable basis under the California Public Records Act (Government Code section 6250 et. seq.) for protecting the confidentiality of any information contained within your proposal, you must identify any such information, together with the legal basis of your claim in your proposal, and present such information in this section as part of your proposal response package. The final determination of whether the County will assert a proposer's claim of confidentiality shall be at the sole discretion of the County. Click "file upload" below to upload any proposal documents you consider to be confidential documents.

    • Proposed Contract Exceptions (If Applicable)

      If proposing any exceptions to the County's Sample Agreement (Attachment A), upload a redlined revision of the Sample Agreement attached to this solicitation here. Any submissions are for negotiation purposes only.

      *If no exceptions are proposed, please skip this question.

    • Cover Letter (separate) (required)

      Please upload your Cover Letter here. 

    • Proposal Narrative (required)

      Please upload your proposal narrative here. The proposal narrative shall not exceed ten (10) pages.

      *The ten (10) page limit applies to the proposal narrative only and excludes the following: cover letter, resumes/CVs, licenses, certifications, references, rate sheet, and other required attachments or uploads. Refer to Section 5. Proposal Format and Content for further details. 

    • Rate Sheet (separate) (required)

      Upload your Rate Sheet here, including all proposed rates, charges, fees, annual adjustments, travel or incidental costs, and any costs not included in the proposed rates. 

    • Resumes/CVs, Staffing Documents & Applicable Licenses, Certifications, Registrations, and/or Permits of Proposed Staff (separate) (required)

      Upload all required qualifications and staffing documents for any forensic pathologist identified at proposal submission, including the following:

      • Current resume/CV
      • Current and unrestricted California medical license documentation
      • Board Certification in Forensic Pathology or equivalent qualification documentation
      • Any other applicable licenses, certifications, registrations, or permits.

      If all forensic pathologists have not yet been identified, upload a staffing plan explaining how qualified forensic pathologists will be assigned and made available to meet the County’s service and operational needs.

    • References (separate) (required)

      Upload reference information for at least three (3) references for whom the proposer has provided services similar to those described in this RFP.

    • Any Additional Documents (If Applicable)

      Upload any additional documents required by this solicitation that are not otherwise captured in the submission categories above, or any other documents relevant to support the proposal.

      If none, please skip this question. 

    • Compliance and Insurance Acknowledgment (required)

      By confirming below, consultant acknowledges that, except for any exceptions or redlines expressly identified in the proposal and accepted by the County, consultant will comply with all applicable County requirements, including confidentiality requirements, County policies and procedures, County insurance requirements, DOJ CJIS training, NexTest, County-required IT training, DOJ/FBI Live Scan clearance, and any other applicable security, clearance, training, or compliance requirements.

      Consultant further acknowledges that required Certificate(s) of Insurance, endorsements, and other insurance documentation must be provided before any services are performed under the agreement, or earlier if required by the County.

    • Provide the full contact name, title, and e-mail of the signatory for your firm. Provide contact information for the contract manager for your firm in order to distribute contract documents, including other recipients requiring a copy, if awarded. (required)

      Signatory: name, title, email

      Contract manager/admin: name, phone, email

    • PaymentWorks Contact (required)

      Please provide the name and e-mail for a finance point-of-contact for your firm that will receive an invitation to complete the vendor registration process on the County's PaymentWorks portal.

      To clarify, if you are set-up with other agencies using PaymentWorks, that information is not available to the County, so you must complete this process for the County.

    • Evaluation criteria weights (required)

      Do you want to show evaluation criteria scores/weights in the solicitation? This question refers to the points or weights given to each criterion, not the actual scores that the evaluation panel assigns during evaluation.

    • Electronic pricing table (required)

      Are Proposers responding to an electronic pricing table?

      Select "yes" if you are providing a pricing table or template as part of your solicitation.

      Select "no" if you are asking Proposers to submit their own hourly rate sheet.

    • Will the contract amount exceed $1,000,000.00? (required)

      If "yes" Proposers will be required to complete the Iran Contracting Act Certification.

    • Will federal funds be used for this agreement? (required)
    • Contracting entity (required)

      Is this a County or SCWA solicitation? 

    Key dates

    1. June 10, 2026Published
    2. June 25, 2026Responses Due

    AI classification tags

    Frequently asked questions

    SLED stands for State, Local, and Education. These are solicitations issued by state governments, counties, cities, school districts, utilities, and higher education institutions — as opposed to federal agencies.

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