Request for Proposal for Mental/Behavioral Health Professionals within 911 Dispatch Center for the Division of Police/ Division of EMS /911 Communications Center, Department of Public Safety

The City of Cleveland (City), Department of Public Safety, through its Director of Public Safety, is soliciting proposals from qualified Mental/Behavioral Health Professional consultants to provide on-site support within the City of Cleveland’s 911 Communication Center to assist call takers and dispatchers in identifying, assessing, and managing emergency calls that involve individuals experiencing mental or behavioral health crises.  The city has obtained federal grant funding to initiate this project.  The budget for this project is set for no more than $500,000 for up to four clinician dispatcher positions. Grant funding for the project will end September 30, 2027.

A pre-proposal conference will be held via Teams. At or before the conference, interested parties may submit or ask questions pertaining to this Request for Proposal and the services requested.  Prospective proposers are encouraged to attend the conference; however, attendance is not mandatory.

It is preferred that the respondent have previous experience providing similar services to other public safety telecommunications facilities.

All fee proposals shall be submitted via OpenGov in a separate electronic file that is clearly labeled.  

Background

This RFP does not obligate the City to complete the selection and contract award process. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all proposals or portions of them; to waive irregularities, informalities, and technicalities to re-issue or to proceed to obtain the services desired otherwise at any time or in any manner considered in the City’s best interest; to request additional information from any or all consultants to assist the City in its evaluation process; and to amend or withdraw this RFP prior to the announcement of the selected consultant. The City reserves the right to modify the scope of services at any time before execution of a contract to add, delete, or otherwise amend any item(s), as it deems necessary, in its sole judgment, and in the best interest of the City. In the event there is an amendment to the RFP, all Proposers will be provided with a copy of any such amendment(s) and be afforded the opportunity to revise their Proposals in response to the RFP amendment.

Should you have any questions regarding this Request for Proposal, please contact Rachael Murphy, Department of Public Safety, by email at RMurphy3@clevelandohio.gov. 

Project Details

• Department: Public Safety
• Department Head: Wayne Drummond (Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-06-03T21:00:00.000Z
• Pre-Proposal Meeting: 2026-05-27T18:00:00.000Z — https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/249176729170136?p=oDdIGF5UJUrlR9fvKU

Evaluation Criteria

• Quality of Proposal (25 pts) —

  Quality of Proposal will be judged based on the inclusion and thoroughness of all sections listed in the Proposal Contents of this RFP: Cover Letter, Executive Summary, Profile, Qualifications, including Key Staff roles and responsibilities, Response to Scope of Services, Project Management Approach/Project Methodologies, List of Representative Projects and (1) Work Sample, and the separate uploads for Fee Proposal and Required City Forms; and how closely instructions for each item were followed.

• Qualifications, including Key Staff roles and responsibilities (20 pts) —

  Credentials of Key Personnel including qualifications and experience of the Project Team, their prior experience and demonstrated ability to perform the scope of work.

• Proposed Services (25 pts) —

  Alignment with the Scope of Work within the RFP.

• Proposed Schedule (15 pts) —

  Proposed Schedule to complete the work outlined in the Scope of Work.

• Project Management Strategy (5 pts) —

  Proposer's plan to proactively communicate and manage project to ensure deadlines are met.

• Proposed Fee (10 pts) —

  Proposed fees will be evaluated in their own category to compare and assess the fee proposals received.

Submission Requirements

• Technical Proposal (required)
• Price Proposal (required)
• Vendor Background Information
• Provide information about any local branch offices or support centers that might serve an account in Cleveland, OH, including number of employee and type of services provided (required)
• Provide name of each principal. (required)
• Provide the year the company was established and any former firm names (required)
• Type of Company (required)
• Provide the state and type of incorporation (required)
• Provide information on related services offered by the company (required)
• Provide the total number of FTEs in the company. (required)
• Provide average years of experience of professional staff. (required)
• Vendor Client References
• VENDOR CLIENT REFERENCE #1 (required) —

  Please include the following information: 

  • Proposing Vendor Name
  • Reference Company/Organization Name
  • Reference Address
  • Reference Contact Name
  • Contact’s Position
  • Contact’s Telephone Number
  • Type of Company/Organization (Industry)
  • Number of Employees
  • Services Performed
  • Sub-contractors used
  • Identify any vendor staff that worked on this reference company's project, that are proposed for City
  • Original Cost Estimates
  • Actual Final Costs
  • Comments
• VENDOR CLIENT REFERENCE #2 (required) —

  Please include the following information: 

  • Proposing Vendor Name
  • Reference Company/Organization Name
  • Reference Address
  • Reference Contact Name
  • Contact’s Position
  • Contact’s Telephone Number
  • Type of Company/Organization (Industry)
  • Number of Employees
  • Services Performed
  • Sub-contractors used
  • Identify any vendor staff that worked on this reference company's project, that are proposed for City
  • Original Cost Estimates
  • Actual Final Costs
  • Comments
• VENDOR CLIENT REFERENCE #3 (required) —

  Please include the following information: 

  • Proposing Vendor Name
  • Reference Company/Organization Name
  • Reference Address
  • Reference Contact Name
  • Contact’s Position
  • Contact’s Telephone Number
  • Type of Company/Organization (Industry)
  • Number of Employees
  • Services Performed
  • Sub-contractors used
  • Identify any vendor staff that worked on this reference company's project, that are proposed for City
  • Original Cost Estimates
  • Actual Final Costs
  • Comments
• City Required Forms
• NOTICE TO BIDDERS AND OEO SCHEDULES (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• NON-COMPETITIVE BID CONTRACT STATEMENT FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2026 (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Northern Ireland Fair Employment Practices Disclosure —

  INSTRUCTIONS: Pursuant to Codified Ordinance Sec. 181.36, the information requested on this page must be supplied by all contractors and any subcontractors having more than a fifty percent (50%) interest in the proposed contract prior to any contract being awarded by the City of Cleveland.  Any contractor or subcontractor who is deemed to have made a false statement shall be declared to have acted in default of its contract and shall be subject to the remedies for default contained in its contract.  For failure to cure such a default, the contractor or subcontractor shall be automatically excluded from bidding for the supply of any goods or services for use by the City for a period of two (2) years.

• CHECK WHICHEVER IS APPLICABLE: (required)
• By confirming, the proposer affirms that they are in compliant Northern Ireland Fair Employment Practices. (required)
• Pricing (required)
• Applicable Language for Goals for Subcontractors (required)
• Is this RFP for Airport? (required)
• Insurance Requirements (for Airport RFP only) (required)
• Do you require insurance from the awarded vendor for this RFP? (required)