Active SLED Opportunity · CALIFORNIA · COUNTY OF SAN MATEO
AI Summary
San Mateo County seeks a qualified consultant to provide technical consulting and subject matter expertise for the development and implementation of its Family First Prevention Services Program. The contract term is two years starting September 2026. Expertise in California child welfare systems, FFPSA, Title IV-E Prevention Services, fiscal claiming, and CQI is required.
The San Mateo County Human Services Agency (HSA), Children and Family Services (CFS) branch, is seeking proposals from qualified firms with demonstrated expertise in California child welfare systems, the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), Title IV-E Prevention Services, Community Pathways, fiscal claiming, and Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) to provide technical consulting and subject matter expertise supporting the County’s development and implementation of its Family First Prevention Services Program.
The selected Contractor will serve as a technical advisor to the County by providing strategic consultation, policy and operational guidance, fiscal expertise, workforce planning recommendations, facilitation, and technical assistance necessary to support the County in designing and implementing a sustainable FFPSA Prevention Program that complies with applicable federal and State requirements.
The Contractor will work collaboratively with County leadership, child welfare program staff, fiscal staff, and community partners to provide technical guidance, develop implementation recommendations, and assist the County in making informed policy and operational decisions. The County will retain responsibility for all policy decisions, operational implementation, eligibility determinations, and ongoing administration of the FFPSA Prevention Program.
The Contractor will not assume operational responsibility for County programs, perform child welfare case management functions, or make eligibility determinations on behalf of the County.
The County seeks a consultant with extensive knowledge of California child welfare systems and FFPSA requirements who can provide practical guidance, develop implementation tools and resources, identify regulatory and operational considerations, and support integration of Title IV-E Prevention requirements into the County’s existing child welfare continuum.
A successful result looks like a fully integrated, state-compliant Title IV-E and Community Pathway network that routes families to evidence-based programs (EBPs) without requiring Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement. The selected contractor will successfully establish auditable Title IV-E candidacy determination tools, build a braided fiscal model to maximize federal revenue alongside Medi-Cal (CalAIM), and ensure complete documentation and data-link readiness prior to the upcoming CWS-CARES platform local go-live deployment.
The County intends to award one agreement for an initial term of two (2) years, tentatively beginning in September 2026.
The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) expands the use of Title IV-E funding to allow eligible public child welfare agencies to provide evidence-based prevention services to children who are candidates for foster care, pregnant and parenting foster youth, and their parents or kin caregivers.
FFPSA represents a significant shift in child welfare practice, emphasizing early intervention and prevention services designed to safely reduce the need for foster care placement while improving child and family well-being.
The County is actively developing its FFPSA Prevention Program and is integrating Title IV-E Prevention requirements into its existing child welfare prevention continuum. While prevention services currently exist through multiple programs and community-based partners, several core FFPSA components require further development and alignment, including Community Pathways processes, candidacy determination, fiscal claiming methodologies, documentation standards, CQI processes, and reporting frameworks.
The County has received funding to support FFPSA implementation and is establishing a coordinated prevention system integrating Community Pathways, evidence-based services, Title IV-E requirements, and existing child welfare operations.
Successful FFPSA implementation requires specialized expertise in California child welfare systems, federal Title IV-E Prevention requirements, California Department of Social Services (CDSS) guidance, fiscal claiming methodologies, CQI, and emerging statewide initiatives, including CWS-CARES. Because guidance and implementation requirements continue to evolve, the County seeks ongoing technical expertise to support informed decision-making throughout the project term.
Accordingly, the County is seeking a qualified consultant to provide technical consultation, strategic guidance, facilitation, and subject matter expertise to support planning, development, and integration of its FFPSA Prevention Program. The Contractor will provide recommendations, facilitate planning activities, develop implementation tools and resources, and identify regulatory and operational considerations informed by best practices in California child welfare systems.
The County will retain responsibility for all policy decisions, operational implementation, and ongoing administration of the FFPSA Prevention Program.
The County intends to integrate approved evidence-based prevention services into a coordinated prevention framework that supports voluntary family engagement, strengthens cross-system collaboration, and maximizes allowable federal reimbursement. Technical consultation is sought to ensure alignment with FFPSA requirements, CDSS guidance, and evolving statewide initiatives, including CWS-CARES.
The objectives of this project are to:
County will evaluate the Proposer's demonstrated qualifications, organizational experience, and experience of the proposed project team in successfully providing services similar in scope, complexity, and subject matter to those described in this RFP. Evaluation will include the Proposer's experience supporting public child welfare agencies, knowledge of the Families First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), Title IV-E Prevention Services, CWS-CARES readiness, California child welfare policies and implementation requirements, and experience providing technical assistance, strategic planning, policy development, and operational guidance. The County will also evaluate the qualifications, relevant expertise, and assigned roles of key personnel, as well as the Proposer's demonstrated ability to successfully complete complex, multi-year, multi-stakeholder projects of similar size and complexity.
The County may consider, at a minimum:
Demonstrated expertise in strategic planning, policy development, fiscal claiming, Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI), stakeholder engagement, organizational change management, operational planning and readiness.
County will evaluate the Proposer's understanding of the project objectives and the quality, feasibility, and completeness of the proposed methodology for performing the Scope of Work. Evaluation will include the Proposer's technical approach, project management methodology, work plan, schedule, staffing approach, risk management strategies, and ability to provide practical technical assistance that supports the County's planning, policy development, operational readiness, and decision-making related to FFPSA Prevention Services. The County will also evaluate how well the proposed approach demonstrates an understanding of federal and California child welfare requirements and provides practical, sustainable guidance, tools, and operational frameworks that enable the County to establish, implement, and sustain FFPSA Prevention Services infrastructure.
The County may consider, at a minimum:
Fee proposals will be evaluated separately from technical proposals and will only be evaluated for Proposers who achieve a minimum of 50 technical points. Proposals that do not meet the minimum technical threshold will not proceed to cost evaluation and will be deemed non-responsive for cost evaluation purposes. For Proposers meeting the minimum technical threshold, the County will evaluate the total cost for award purposes. The County reserves the right to reject any proposal that is materially incomplete, inconsistent with the Scope of Work, or contains an allocation of costs that is not reasonably aligned to the proposed deliverables or performance requirements.
Methodology: Score = (Lowest Bid ÷ Proposer’s Bid) × Maximum Cost Points
Where price is not the sole evaluation factor for a solicitation (e.g., in the case of a "best-value" solicitation), 5 points will be added to the proposal score for each Local Business or Local Non-Profit. In the event of a tie between a Local Business or Local Non-Profit and another bidder, the Local Business or Non-Profit shall be awarded the Contract, assuming agreement on other contract terms. An additional 3 points shall be given to a "Small" Local Business/Local Non-profit (for a total of eight points); or an additional 5 points will be added if the Local Business/Non-Profit is a "Micro" Local Business/Local Non-profit.
Proposers are directed to review the Minimum Qualifications Evaluation Scoring Section to understand the criteria that will be used to determine Pass/Fail compliance. Responses to MQs should clearly and specifically demonstrate how each requirement is met, including relevant experience, project descriptions, roles, and outcomes as applicable.
Detail/describe how Proposer meets this requirement.
As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code, a “Local Business” means any for-profit business which has its principal place of business, or is headquartered, in San Mateo County. If this designation applies to the proposer, a self-attestation form must be completed and provided with this response.
Please download the below documents, complete, and upload. If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank.
A Non-Profit is defined as a tax-exempt public charity organization (within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code) that is formed for purposes other than making a profit, is exempt from paying federal income taxes on the income generated for their exempt purposes.
As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code, a “Local Non-Profit" means a tax-exempt public charity organization (within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code) that is formed for purposes other than making a profit, is exempt from paying federal income taxes on the income generated for their exempt purposes, and has its principal place of business, or is headquartered, in San Mateo County. If this designation applies to the proposer, a self-attestation form must be completed and provided with this response.
Please download the below documents, complete, and upload. If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank.
As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code:
“Small Business” means any business which holds a Small Business Certification awarded by the California Office of Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Services (OSDS).
“Micro Business” means any Small Business certified by the OSDS which is automatically designated by the OSDS as a Micro Business due to gross annual receipts falling below the OSDS-designated dollar amount.
If the above designations apply, please provide the OSDS provided Certification ID.
If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank.
As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code:
“Small Non-Profit" means a Local Non-Profit with an annual revenue of $1,000,000 to $2,500,000 according to its most recently filed IRS Form 990.
“Micro Non-Profit" means a Local Non-Profit with an annual revenue of less than $1,000,000, according to its most recently filed IRS Form 990.
If the above designations apply, please provide your latest filed IRS form 990. A filing from the last two calendar years is acceptable.
If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank.
Proposers shall submit a separate MQ Verification document that addresses each Minimum Qualification in the order presented below.
For each Minimum Qualification, Proposers shall:
The County will evaluate only whether the stated Minimum Qualification has been met. Additional experience, project complexity, depth of expertise, or quality of work will be evaluated under the Technical Proposal scoring criteria.
The County reserves the right to verify any information submitted and may request clarification or additional documentation during the evaluation process. Submission of false, misleading, or materially incomplete information may result in disqualification
MQ1: Child Welfare / Human Services Experience
Provide evidence of at least three (3) years of experience within the last five (5) years.
Required response:
For each project include:
MQ2: FFPSA / Title IV-E Prevention Experience
Provide at least one qualifying project.
For each project include:
Other comparable FFPSA-related activities
MQ3: Prevention Program Experience
Provide evidence of prevention-focused child welfare or human services work.
For each project include:
MQ4: Data, Reporting, and Compliance Capacity
Provide examples demonstrating experience supporting data management, reporting requirements, documentation standards, or compliance activities.
For each example include:
Proposers shall upload a complete proposal, including all required forms, attachments, and supporting documentation using the format shown below.
Proposals shall include a linked Table of Contents identifying each required section of the response to facilitate the County’s review.
Proposers shall prepare all narrative responses using Times New Roman, 12-point font. The County may permit alternative formatting for tables, charts, organizational charts, resumes, and other supporting exhibits where necessary to enhance readability.
Proposers shall not include confidential or proprietary information in their proposals unless expressly requested by the County and submitted in accordance with the RFP's confidentiality requirements.
Responses shall be limited to the information requested in this RFP and should be clear, concise, and directly address the stated requirements. Marketing materials, brochures, promotional content, or other extraneous materials shall not be included unless specifically requested.
The County reserves the right to disregard information that is unrelated to the requirements of this RFP. Submission of excessive, irrelevant, or unnecessary materials may adversely affect the evaluation of the proposal.
I. Introduction and Executive Summary
Proposers shall submit a letter of introduction and executive summary of the proposal. The letter must contain:
Submission of the letter will constitute a representation by proposer that it is willing and able to perform the commitments contained in the proposal and has not violated the terms of this RFP.
II. Project Approach
A. Overall Approach
Describe your approach to supporting a County FFPSA Prevention System, including:
B. Phase-Based Approach Alignment
Provide a structured response for each phase:
Phase 1 – Community Pathway and Title IV-E Pathway Design
Phase 2 – Fiscal Strategy & CWS-CARES
Phase 3 – CQI & Workforce Development
Phase 4 – Evaluation & Sustainability
Phase 5 – Project Management
III. Project Planning
A. Project Plan, provide:
B. Risk Management
Describe:
C. Knowledge Transfer & Sustainability
Describe how your organization will:
V. Qualificatins
A. Firm Qualifications
Provide:
B. Team Qualifications
For key personnel:
Include:
Provide TBD references for each of the following, including the name, address, and telephone number of recent clients (preferably other public agencies):
The Fee Proposal should be submitted as a separate attachment/file from the Technical Proposal Response. The Fee Proposal must be clearly labeled and submitted independently. No technical or narrative information shall be included in the Fee Proposal. Failure to separate Fee Proposal and Technical Proposal may result in disqualification.
The Fee Proposal shall provide a fixed-price, deliverable-based cost proposal for completing all work described in the Scope of Work.
The Fee Proposal shall be submitted using the following format:
1. Fee Proposal Cover Sheet
Provide the following:
2. Fee Proposal Structure (Deliverable-Based Allocation)
The total contract price shall be a fixed, not-to-exceed amount distributed across the following phases. Costs must be clearly aligned to the completion of associated deliverables and County acceptance.
Phase | Milestone / Deliverable Group | % of Total Contract Value | Proposed Fixed Price (inclusive of all costs) |
Phase 1 | Community Pathway Design & Implementation Readiness Deliverables | 25% |
|
Phase 2 | CWS-CARES Implementation, Fiscal Strategy & Title IV-E Claiming Deliverables | 30% |
|
Phase 3 | CQI, Fidelity Monitoring & Workforce Development Deliverables | 20% |
|
Phase 4 | Evaluation, Reporting & Sustainability Deliverables | 15% |
|
Phase 5 | Project Management & Technical Assistance (ongoing monthly deliverables) | 10% |
|
The sum of all phase allocations must equal the total Not-to-Exceed Contract Amount.
3. Hourly Rate Schedule (Informational/For Contract Administration)
Proposers shall submit a schedule of fully loaded hourly rates by labor category. Hourly rates shall be used solely for the purposes of:
Hourly rates are not subject to evaluation or scoring and are submitted for informational and contract administration purposes only.
In the event of any conflict between deliverable-based pricing and hourly rates, the deliverable-based fixed price shall govern.
Hourly rates will not be used to calculate or determine the award of the contract and shall not be used to modify the fixed-price deliverable structure of the Fee Proposal.
Update below if needed.
Is there an extension to this agreement?
Modify the extension information below, if needed
How many references are required by the vendor? (Number)
In rare circumstances where there is an expectation that proposers will need to submit trade secrets or other confidential information in order to respond to an RFP.
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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