Telepsychiatry Services

The County of Tuolumne, through its Health and Human Services Agency, Behavioral Health Department, hereinafter referred to as the “County”, is requesting proposals from licensed mental health practitioners interested in providing Telepsychiatry services to clients in Tuolumne County. For the purposes of this Request for Proposals (RFP), Telepsychiatry services are defined as any psychiatry service provided remotely via the internet and any form of teleconferencing equipment and software that allows real-time audio and visual communication between the provider and the client and, when permitted by law, also includes any and all telephone, fax, email, and written communication necessary for the provider to provide services to the County’s clients as requested. The County intends to award one contract to a successful applicant to this RFP.

Background

Tuolumne County is a rural California county located in the foothills and mountains above the San Joaquin Valley, with a population of approximately 55,000 residents. The Tuolumne County Behavioral Health Department offers a variety of services, including the following:

• Crisis, Assessment & Intervention Program (CAIP) 

• • Call or Walk-In Crisis Services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
  • Response to mental health crisis and emergency psychiatric support services
  • Telephone and face to face support and/or intervention
  • Help connecting with community services and resources
  • Assessment and arrangements for psychiatric hospitalization
  • On site evaluations and services at Tuolumne County Jail

• Outpatient Mental Health Services:

• • Services available for children, youth, adults, and older adults
  • Assessment and Treatment Planning
  • Medication Services
  • Brief Therapy
  • Case Management
  • Group Therapy

• Outpatient Alcohol and Drug Treatment Services:

• • Services available for youth, adults, and older adults.
  • Assessment and Treatment Planning
  • Alcohol and Drug Treatment
  • Dual Diagnosis Treatment
  • Perinatal Treatment Program
  • Adolescent Brief Intervention Program
  • Court Ordered Programs

The County is continually faced with the challenge of recruiting and retaining psychiatric prescribers, and has thus identified the need to provide some or all of these necessary services through Telepsychiatry.

Project Details

• Reference ID: RFP-2025-0116
• Department: Behavioral Health Department
• Department Head: Tami Mariscal (Behavioral Health Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-04-27T19:00:00.000Z

Evaluation Criteria

• Completeness of Proposal (5 pts)
• Scope of Services (40 pts)
• Past & Current Performance/References (15 pts)
• Staffing and Organization (20 pts)
• Budget (25 pts)

Submission Requirements

• Proposal Elements (required) —

  Proposals are to be straightforward, clear, concise and responsive to the information requested. In order for proposals to be considered complete, proposers must provide all requested information.

  Each proposer must submit their response online via Tuolumne County's e-Procurement platform, https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/tuolumnecountyca.

  1.   Proposal Elements*

  A. PROPOSAL FORMAT

  This RFP (including attachments) will also be available on the Tuolumne County website at: https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/tuolumnecountyca

  Proposals are to be straightforward, clear, concise and responsive to the information requested. In order for proposals to be considered complete, applicants must provide all information requested. The response to each section of the proposal must be limited to the number of pages specified. 12 point font shall be used for narrative responses. Please provide content in the recommended order listed below.

   

  B. PROPOSAL ELEMENTS

  1. Cover Sheet
  2. 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. 1. Provide a complete list of services, describing how these services will address the requirements listed in Section Four of this RFP.
     2. Describe how you will meet the technical requirements listed in Technical Requirements (2.1 Scope of Work, Section F). 
     3. Describe how you will approach providing services during the times required in Service Expectations (2.1 Scope of Work, Section B).
     4. Describe how your organization will integrate with the Behavioral Health Department, collaborating with staff in providing feedback for general assessment, planning, follow-up linkage, and the assessment of need for psychiatric hospitalization or other care.
     5. Describe your agency’s ability to perform Utilization Review, quality improvement protocols, and peer review.
     6. Describe how the proposed services will ensure continued compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
     7. Provide a timeline for implementation of the required services, including readiness to provide services upon the signing of a contract.
  3. Past & Present Performance
  1. 1. 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.
     2. 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.
  4. Staffing and Organization
  1. 1. Provide a staffing plan for meeting the requirements described in Section Four of this RFP. Describe how you will provide back-up to staffing positions during absences.
  5. Proposed Budget
  1. 1. Provide a cost proposal for providing the desired Telepsychiatry services at the levels described in Scope of Work of this RFP.
  6. References
  1. 1. Provide three (3) work experiences held by your agency, for provision of services similar to those proposed, starting with the most recent. Experience cited will serve as references for this RFP.  Please include the following for each reference:
  1. 1. 1. Employer name
        2. Employment dates
        3. Program/Project title
        4. Compensation
        5. Reference name, phone, and email Address
        6. Reason for ending employment
• 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