DBH - Establishing Behavioral Health Workforce Development Academy

In an MBE set-aside solicitation, only those bidders/suppliers with an active MBE certification at the time the solicitation closes can submit a response

SRC0000036892

3/17/2026 2:00:00 PM

I. MISSION & GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The mission of the Ohio Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) is to provide statewide leadership of a high-quality mental health and addiction prevention, treatment and recovery system that is effective and valued by all Ohioans. DBH strives to be a national leader in implementing a comprehensive, accessible, and quality-focused system of addiction and mental health care and wellness for all Ohio citizens.
The Ohio Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) is seeking proposals from qualified contractors to support the design, coordination, and delivery of the Behavioral Health Workforce Academy, an initiative that equips behavioral health organizations with the knowledge and tools to strengthen strategic planning, workforce development, financial sustainability and performance monitoring. The selected contractor will collaborate with the Department to deliver a high-quality learning experience that develops and enhances business acumen, promotes organizational sustainability, ethical practice, and measurable improvement across Ohio’s behavioral health system.

III. BACKGROUND

Ohio’s behavioral health system is navigating sustained demand, workforce shortages, evolving payment and regulatory environments, and rising expectations for measurable outcomes. The Academy will help Ohio’s behavioral health providers improve agency performance across client relations and administrative functions, strengthen engagement with employees and stakeholders, enhance staff experience by bolstering recruitment and retention, and achieve results so that Ohioans receive higher-quality behavioral health services across the continuum of care. The Academy will provide comprehensive assistance for developing and implementing integrated capability areas: strategic planning, workforce planning, sustainability and performance monitoring. Ethics and ethical practice will serve as cross-cutting themes that informs all aspects of the Academy. Participants will embed ethical leadership, privacy and data stewardship, and transparency into strategy, workforce policies, and performance practices .

VI. SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLES

Applicants should propose plans to design, develop, and deliver a cohort-based training series with a minimum of two cohorts started by October 1, 2026. The target audience for this series will be behavioral health professionals in upper management and supervisory roles. Individuals involved in agency human resources roles, financial management and leadership will be encouraged to apply. Participants will be selected in collaboration with DBH via an online application process. Training topics should include the three areas below:

Strategic Planning and Sustainability : Organizational Direction
VI. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTOR

Eligible contractors include:
Contractors should have demonstrated experience in:
Prior work or experience with the public behavioral health system is preferred.

Contractor shall not be subject to an “unresolved” finding for recovery under Section 9.24 of Ohio Revised Code

PART FOUR: EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

1. Evaluation Process

DBH's evaluation process of responses submitted to this request may consist of up to four distinct phases:

1. DBH’s initial review of all proposals for timely submission;
2. An evaluation committee review of the proposals for defects and scoring;
3. DBH’s request for more information (clarifications, interviews, presentations, and/or demonstrations); and,
4. Negotiations or best offer requests.

At its sole discretion, DBH will determine whether phases three and/or four are necessary under this RFP, reserving for itself the ability to eliminate or add phases three or four at any time during the evaluation process. DBH may add or remove sub-phases to phases 2 through 4 at any time if DBH believes doing so will improve the evaluation process.

1. Proposal Evaluation Criteria

In the proposal evaluation phase, DBH staff or reviewers selected by DBH (the committee) will rate the proposals submitted in response to this RFP based on the following criteria and weight assigned to each criterion.

Evaluation Criteria	Weight	Rating	Extended Score
Alignment with Academy vision and learning domains	20
Quality of proposed curriculum, learning goals and training delivery	20
Demonstrated experience in effective professional development training	20
Capacity to incorporate ethics and ethical practice into curriculum	15
Experience with the behavioral health field	15
Quality of proposal and demonstrated experience in professional development marketing, registration and course administration	10
Proposer submits a cost proposal that is complete, reasonable, and competitive	10
		Total: