RFP #26-2070 Early Intervention Programs for Youth and Transitional Age Youth (TAY)

County Of Siskiyou
Request for Proposals (RFP)
RFP # 26-2070 Health and Human Services Agency,
Behavioral Health Division
for
Early Intervention Programs for Youth and Transitional
Age Youth (TAY)
Proposals may be delivered or emailed to:
Sarah Collard
Director
County of Siskiyou HHSA
2060 Campus Drive Yreka, CA 96097
rfp_rfb_submissions@co.siskiyou.ca.us
Proposals Due by:
June 19, 2026
5:00 p.m.
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County of Siskiyou
Request for Proposals
for Early Intervention Program
The following schedule of events will be followed to the extent achievable; however, the
County reserves the right to adjust or make changes to the schedule as needed.
Estimated Timeline of Events
Date Activity
June 3, 2026 Release of Request for Proposals (RFP)
Deadline to Submit Questions due by
June 11, 2026
5:00 PM
Submission of Proposals due by 5:00
June 19, 2026
PM
June 22-26 2026 Review of Proposals
June 29, 2026 Notification of Final Selection
Professional Service Agreement
To Be Announced
Processed
Professional Service Agreement Start
To Be Announced
Date
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1.0 Preface
Introduction and Background
The purpose of this document is to provide interested parties with information to enable
them to prepare and submit a proposal for Early Intervention services for the Siskiyou
County Health and Human Services Agency's ("County") Behavioral Health Division.
County is seeking proposals from one or more community-based, organizations with
demonstrated experience in behavioral health programming to provide an Early
Intervention mental health and substance use disorder services and supports program
(hereafter referred to as the "Program") to serve BHSA priority populations within all areas
of Siskiyou County.
This Request for Proposals is specifically focused on Early Intervention services or
children, youth, and transitional age youth (TAY) up to age 25 and their families.
Programs funded under this RFP will be part of the County's Behavioral Health Services
and Supports (BHSS) Early Intervention component and must be designed to prevent
mental illness and substance use disorders from becoming severe and disabling and to
reduce disparities in behavioral health outcomes among eligible youth.
Consistent with BHSA requirements, at least fifty-one percent (51%) of BHSS funding will
be used to support Early Intervention programs, and at least fifty-one percent (51%) of
BHSS Early Intervention funding must be used to serve eligible individuals who are 25
years of age and younger, including transitional age youth.
In March 2024, California voters approved Proposition 1 reforming the Mental Health
Services Act of 2004 into the Behavioral Health services Act (BHSA). The BHSA
prioritizes services for people with the most significant mental health needs while adding
the treatment of substance use disorders, expanding housing interventions, and
enhancing accountability at the state and local levels. The BHSA has three components:
Behavioral Health Services and Supports, Full-Service Partnerships, and Housing
Interventions. Siskiyou County's BHSA Integrated Plan for Fiscal Years 2026-2029 cand
be found here: https://www.siskiyoucounty.gov/behavioralhealth/page/bhsa.
Funding Availability: The County anticipates that up to $200,000 per fiscal year will be
available for Early Intervention programs under this RFP, for a total anticipated amount
of $600,000 over the three (3) fiscal year contract term, subject to available BHSA
funding, County approval, and contract execution. The County reserves the right to award
funding to one or more contractors.
Siskiyou County is a rural county with geographic isolation, transportation barriers,
workforce shortages, and limited service capacity that constrain access to timely
behavioral health care. The County's Community Planning Process identified the need to
expand early intervention supports for children, young people, and families, strengthen
school- and community-based services, and reduce geographic and transportation-
related barriers to care.
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Program Overview
Early Intervention is a proactive approach that identifies and addresses behavioral health
concerns at an early stage, before they escalate into more severe or chronic conditions.
Under BHSA guidelines, Early Intervention focuses on strategies directed to eligible
individuals, including indicated prevention and case identification. Services may be
provided to individuals who do not yet meet diagnostic criteria but are at risk or
experiencing early signs of mental health or substance use disorder, including those with
known risk factors such as trauma or Adverse Childhood Experiences. Allowable activities
include outreach, education, assessment, brief interventions, and linkage to appropriate
services and treatment. County Early Intervention programs prioritize BHSA priority
populations with the goal of early identification, access, and connection to care as
needed.
BHSA goals include:
* Reaching and serving high need priority populations.
* Increasing access to substance use disorder services, housing interventions, and
evidence-based and community-defined practices and building the behavioral
health workforce.
* Focusing on outcomes, transparency, accountability, and equity.
Services should be culturally responsive and should meet people in settings that feel
familiar and welcoming, honor community identity, and reduce barriers to care.
Programs must draw from evidence-based practices and serve as an entry point for
individuals who may be at risk for, or beginning to experience, mental health or substance
use concerns.
The Program shall be a multi-service mental health program that provides ethnically and
culturally diverse opportunities in a healthy, inclusive manner with a wide spectrum of
activities that foster recovery and resiliency. Any individual experiencing behavioral health
challenges, and/or their family members, shall be welcome to participate in Program
activities.
The Early Interventions services will operationalize community priorities identified in the
County's 2026-2029 Integrated Plan Community Planning Process, including expanding
early intervention support for children, young people, and families, strengthening school
and community-based services, and reducing geographic and transportation-related
barriers to care.
The Program shall seek input and guidance from Participants as a required element to
the planning of activities, service delivery, and operating guidelines for the Program. The
Program shall form relationships with community-based agencies and service providers
in order for Participants to link to additional community services and supports. The
Program staff shall be actively involved in providing support and linkage as needed.
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2.0 Scope of Work
Services the successful Proposer will be expected to provide, include but are not limited
to:
1. Evidence Based/Promising Practices
a. Early Intervention Focus and Target Populations
The Program shall provide Early Intervention behavioral health services and
supports for BHSA-eligible children, youth, and transitional age youth up to age
25, consistent with the Behavioral Health Services Act Policy Manual, who are at
risk of, or beginning to experience, mental health and/or substance use conditions
but may not yet meet diagnostic criteria. Priority shall be given to youth
experiencing or at risk of childhood trauma, including youth experiencing
homelessness, justice-involved youth, child welfare-involved youth, 2S/LGBTQ+
youth, a youth from populations with identified behavioral health disparities.
Services may also include supports to parents and caregivers that strengthen the
youth's behavioral health outcomes, including engagement, education, and
navigation support.
b. Required Early Intervention Priorities
The Program must be designed to reduce the likelihood of the following adverse
outcomes among BHSA-eligible youth: suicide and self-harm, school
suspension/expulsion or school failure, unemployment, prolonged suffering,
homelessness, or removal of children from their homes, incarcerations, overdoes,
and the development or worsening of mental illness in children and youth.
Proposers shall identify which of these outcomes their Program will directly
address and describe the strategies, activities, outcome and evaluation process,
and measures that will be used to track progress.
c. Childhood Trauma Early Intervention
The Program shall include specified interventions focused on childhood trauma
and toxic stress, targeting children and youth exposed or at risk of exposure to
adverse childhood experiences, community and historical trauma, and prolonged
stress. Allowable activities may include:
* Trauma-informed outreach and engagement to youth experiencing
homelessness, justice-involved youth, LGBTQ2+ youth, and child welfare-
involved youth.
* Use of developmentally appropriate trauma and behavioral health
screening tools, with timely linkage to Early Intervention services.
* Multigenerational family engagement, education, and support to strengthen
resilience and promote healing.
* Collaboration with child Welfare, schools, Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans,
and homeless youth providers to coordinate care and address social drivers
of health.
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* Provision of Evidence Based Practices aligned with DHCS and BHSA
d. Program Components and Service Models
The Program shall offer a mix of youth-focused Early Intervention services that
may include, but are not limited to:
* Outreach, psychoeducation, and early identification activities-in schools,
youth-serving settings, and community locations.
* Screening, brief assessments, and brief evidence-based or community-
defined evidence interventions appropriate for early-stage mental health
and substance use concerns, as approved by Siskiyou County Behavioral
Health.
* Individual and group services such as brief counseling, skills groups, and
psychoeducational groups for youth and caregivers.
* Peer, parent, and family support activities that build resilience, support
navigation across systems, and reduce crisis engagement.
* Warm handoffs and supported linkages to ongoing treatment, specialty
behavioral health, substance use disorder treatment, and other needed
services across the continuum of care.
e. Culturally Responsive and Linguistically Appropriate Services
The Program shall implement culturally responsive and linguistically appropriate
interventions to reach underserved cultural populations and address barriers
related to race, ethnicity, culture, language, gender, sexual orientation, gender
identity, age, and economic status. Proposers shall described how they will use
evidence-based practices and/or community-defined evidence practices that
reflect the values, histories, and life experiences of the youth and families served.
f. Partnerships and Settings
The Program must create strong linkages with community-based organizations,
schools, Tribal programs, youth centers, primary care and school-based health
centers, faith-based organizations, and other providers serving youth and families.
Priority shall be given to proposals that embed services in setting that are familiar
and welcoming to youth and that leverage existing trusted messengers identified
through the County's CPP (e.g., schools, community resource centers, Tribal
programs.)
g. Recordkeeping and Reporting
Program shall provide County with written Monthly Progress Report, due no later
than 20 days after the end of each calendar month. Each Monthly Progress Report
shall include, but is not limited to, participant data (demographics, number of
participants), activities (description, duration, schedule, number of participants
engaged), staff (number of staff, job titles, pay), monthly participant satisfaction
survey results, trainings, Program newsletter, and narratives on progress.
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In addition to standard monthly reporting requirements, the Program shall collect
and report data needed to monitor Early Intervention outcomes, including but not
limited to: demographic information; service utilization; screening and assessment
results; linkages and warm handoffs completed; and progress on required Early
Intervention adverse outcome measures (e.g., school engagement,
homelessness, justice involvement). The County will work with the Program to
finalize a scorecard of key indicators aligned with the Integrated Plan. The County
will require timely completion of County-developed data invoices in accordance
with County reporting timelines.
h. Program Evaluation
The Program shall be evaluated utilizing data supplied in the Monthly Progress
Report. The Program evaluation shall be at the sole discretion of County, a
minimum of once per County Fiscal Year, and may, at County's sole discretion,
include a site visit to the Program site.
3.0 Submission Requirements
Proposal Format: Proposals must contain the following:
1. Cover Letter
a. Please provide the Proposer's name, address, and telephone number. The
letter must be signed by a representative authorized to enter into contracts on
behalf of the Proposer.
2. Qualifications
a. Proposers must demonstrate the following:
1. Experience in providing Early Intervention Program services to the target
population.
2. Knowledge and understanding of a collaborative service program design.
3. Ability to deliver services to clients in a culturally competent manner,
including those with limited English proficiency and diverse cultural and
ethnic backgrounds, and criminal involvement.
4. Demonstrated experience operating early intervention or community-based
behavioral health programs serving children, youth, and transitional age
youth.
5. Experience collaborating with county behavioral health plans and complying
with state/federal documentation and reporting requirements.
6. Demonstrated experience providing Early Intervention and/or school-or
community-based behavioral health services to children, youth, and
transitional age youth.
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b. Responsible Applicant
1. Possess adequate financial resources or the ability to obtain resources as
required during the performance of the Contract.
2. Ability to comply with the proposed delivery or performance schedule, taking
into consideration available expertise and any existing business
commitments.
3. Has no record of unsatisfactory performance, lack of integrity, or poor
business ethics/practices.
4. Is otherwise qualified and eligible to contract to provide a Wellness Program
under applicable statutes and regulations.
c. Insurance Requirements
Ensure that comprehensive general liability insurance coverage has been
secured in an amount not less than two million dollars per occurrence and three
million aggregate per year ($2,000,000/$3,000,000). Evidence of such
insurance shall be provided to the Health & Human Services
Agency/Behavioral Health Division upon request.
3. Company Profile
a. Provide a brief description of your company, including business structure,
address, the total number of employees, overall industry experience,
certifications, affiliations, and relevant experience. Support your capacity to
perform the services detailed in this RFP.
4. Approach:
a. A description of how the proposed Program meets BHSA Early Intervention
requirements, including focus on youth up to age 25, targeted adverse
outcomes (suicide, school failure, homelessness, etc.), and childhood trauma
early intervention.
b. A description of how services will be delivered in youth-friendly settings and
how the Prosper will address transportation barriers for rural and outlying
communities identified in the CPP.
c. A description of how the Program will endure culturally responsive and
linguistically appropriate interventions, including any evidence-based practices
and community-defined evidence practices to be used.
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5. References:
a. Please include at least three (3) references, including name, address,
telephone number, and Email, for whom similar services have been provided.
6. Price Proposal:
a. Provide a transparent fee schedule that outlines all of the costs associated with
the required services, broken down by category of products and services, and
all on-going costs for recommended or required services.
b. Provide an itemized budget per each fiscal year for each proposed service or
program, including staff hourly rates, covering the period of July 1, 2026
through June 30, 2029.
c. Include a budget narrative describing in detail each expense item.
The proposal must include all requirements as listed and correlate to the Scope of Work outlined
under this RFP.
Conflict of Interest: Proposer(s) shall disclose to the County any interest, direct or indirect,
which could conflict in any manner or degree with the performance of service required. At the
County's discretion, a potential conflict of interest, to the extent it is waivable, may be waived
or factored into the final award decisions and/or a modified Scope of Work.
4.0 Selection Process
The proposals received in response to this RFP will be screened by a selection committee.
The selection committee will consider only the proposals which have been considered
responsive to the RFP. Any proposal that fails to meet the RFP's requirements will be regarded
as non-responsive and may be rejected. A proposal, which is in any way incomplete, irregular
or conditional, at the County's discretion, may be rejected. The following criteria will be used in
the evaluation of the potential consultants:
1. Qualifications
2. Approach
3. Experience and references
4. Proposed costs
The County may meet or interview any or all of the proposers during the evaluation process. A
contract will be negotiated with one or more qualified entities selected during the evaluation
process. Proposals not selected in the evaluation process may be awarded a contract should
negotiations with the selected Proposer(s) prove unsuccessful. The County reserves the right to
reject any and all proposals and reserves the right to waive any non-substantive defects in the
proposals.
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5.0 General Information
Proposals must be submitted by way of mail, hand delivery, and/or electronic means, as
described below:
* Hand Delivery: Hard copy proposals submitted by hand delivery must be received at
Siskiyou County Behavioral Health, 2060 Campus Drive Yreka, CA 96097 on or before
June 19, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. (ATTN: Sarah Collard, HHSA Director). Please note "RFP
# 26-2070" on front of envelope.
* Mailing: Hard copy proposals by way of mail must be mailed to 2060 Campus Drive,
Yreka, CA 96097 and received by June 19, 2026 at 5:00 p.m.. Please note "RFP #
26-2070" on front of envelope.
* Electronic Copy Submittal: Submit an electronic copy of the proposal via email.
Electronic copies shall be emailed to Sarah Collard, HHSA Director at
rfp_rfb_submissions@co.siskiyou.ca.us and must be received by June 19, 2026 at
5:00 p.m.. Please include "RFP # 26-2070" in subject line.
Proposers shall provide One (1) original copy with signature and Three (3) exact copies of the
original by hand, as instructed above.
Proposers submitting proposals electronically will only be required to send one signed copy.
Proposers are asked to direct all inquiries related to the project(s) to Sarah Collard, Ph.D. by
email, rfp_rfb_submissions@co.siskiyou.ca.us.
Late proposals may not be accepted.
The County will provide the following to assist the selected entity(s):
* Designate a person to act as the County's point of contact with respect to the work
performed under the contract.
* Information, as legally allowed and reasonably attainable, in possession of the County
that relates to the requirements of the project(s) or which is relevant for the project(s).
* Facilitate coordination with other entities, local agencies, organizations, and
individuals if necessary.
* Advice on the project scope of work.
* Review and validation of project deliverables.
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