Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) Trainings for DBH

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

SRC0000034886

11/14/2025 2:00:00 PM

1. 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.

1. PURPOSE

The Ohio Department of Behavioral Health ( DBH ) is seeking proposals from qualified contractors to conduct two virtual Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Trainings (TF-CBT) and expand knowledge of this evidence-based treatment approach for children and adolescents impacted by trauma.

1. BACKGROUND

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) (P.L. 117-159) provides supplemental funding for the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHBG) to enable states, the District of Columbia, and territories to expand access to behavioral health care. Overseen by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the BSCA supplemental funding seeks to support state behavioral health systems in examining what is needed to address the behavioral health needs in the aftermath of traumatic events and natural disasters within our communities. To address the trauma caused by the massive disruption and loss of life, SAMHSA is recommending that states utilize this funding to strengthen and enhance behavioral health disaster preparedness and crisis response efforts. This funding provides a unique opportunity to develop improved and sustainable public behavioral health systems that are more adept at meeting the needs of vulnerable people, including those with more complex presentations. This opportunity will provide funding to a qualified contractor to conduct virtual Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) trainings.

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is an evidence-based treatment that has been evaluated and refined during the past 30 years to help children and adolescents between the ages of 3-18 recover after trauma. TF-CBT is a structured, short-term treatment model that effectively improves a range of trauma-related outcomes with the child, adolescent, and caregiver. According to the Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy National Therapist Certification Program, “TF-CBT also effectively addresses many other trauma impacts, including affective (e.g., depressive, anxiety), cognitive and behavioral problems, as well as improving the participating parent’s or caregiver’s personal distress about the child’s traumatic experience, effective parenting skills, and supportive interactions with the child.”

This funding opportunity seeks to hire a qualified contractor to provide two virtual TF-CBT trainings for up to 120 individuals who are either currently enrolled in a Master’s level behavioral health-related program or have a  Master’s degree or above in a behavioral health discipline and provide consultation on a twice a month basis for at least six months to each trainee to prepare eligible trainees for obtaining their TF-CBT Certification under the Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy National Therapist Certification Program.

1. SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLES

All work outlined in the Scope of Work and Deliverables must be completed by September 29, 2026 . Contractor will provide the following:

Trainings
Consultation Call Series
Contractor Responsibilities

DBH Responsibilities

1. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTOR

The Contractor must be able to provide the trainings outlined within the Scope of Work section of this RFP. To be eligible to participate in this application process, the proposal must describe the contractor’s qualifications to conduct the identified scope of work activities, expertise, knowledge, and experience. Experience must include examples of conducting similar or related work. The selected Contractor must be a clinician with a master’s degree and an approved national TF-CBT trainer and a graduate from the TF-CBT National Certification Program TTT Program. The Contractor will include in their proposal experience with the behavioral health field, in particular county ADAMHS boards, local health departments, emergency management systems, and first responders.

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

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

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

At its sole discretion, OhioMHAS 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. OhioMHAS may add or remove sub-phases to phases 2 through 4 at any time if MHAS believes doing so will improve the evaluation process.

1. Proposal Evaluation Criteria

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