Trauma Informed Care

Location:	Iowa
Posted:	Jan 7, 2026
Due:	Feb 16, 2026
Agency:	Iowa Judicial Branch
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	65 - Medical, Dental, and Veterinary Equipment and Supplies
Solicitation No:	RFP JUV-27-CB-05-001
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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Iowa Judicial Branch

1111 East Court Avenue | Des Moines, IA 50319

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Administrative Information:

RFP COVER SHEET

Title of RFP:

Agency:

Trauma Informed Care

Iowa Judicial Branch (IJB or Agency)

RFP

Number:

JUV-27-CB-05-001

Number of years of the 1 year

initial terms of the

Contract:

Number of possible

annual renewals:

5 additional 1-year

terms exercisable

by the IJB in its sole

discretion

Anticipated Initial

Contract Term beginning:

July 1, 2026

Anticipated Maximum Annual Contract Budget:

Ending: June 30, 2027

$300,000.00

Issuing Officer:

Kelly Cox

515-561-5786

kelly.cox@iowacourts.gov

222 5th Avenue

Des Moines, Iowa 50309

PROCUREMENT TIMETABLE—Event or Action:

Agency Posts Notice of RFP on TSB website

Date/Time(Central time):

January 5, 2026

Agency Issues RFP

January 7, 2026

Letters of Intent to Bid: This is a mandatory requirement

RFP written questions, requests for clarification, and suggested changes from

Respondents due:

The IJB’s written response to RFP questions, requests for clarifications and

suggested changes due: (will be available on bidding website)

Proposals Due Date:

Proposals Due Time:

Anticipated Date to issue Notice of Intent to Award:

January 14, 2026

2:00 P.M.

January 14, 2026

2:00 P.M.

January 21, 2026

February 16, 2026

2:00 P.M.

March 3, 2026

Anticipated Date to execute Contract:

July 1, 2026

RFP JUV-27-CB-05-001

Relevant Websites:

Web-address:

Internet website where Addenda to https://www.iowacourts.gov/for-the-public/rfp/

this RFP will be posted:

https://bidopportunities.iowa.gov/

Internet website where General

Terms for Juvenile Court Services

(JCS) Services Contracts are located:

https://www.iowacourts.gov/static/media/cms/General_Terms_fo

r_JCS_Services_Cont_1257FB3D72AAA.pdf

Electronic Copies of Proposals Required to be Submitted to Issuing Officer.

Firm Proposal Terms

120 Days

Per Section 3.2.11, of the RFP the minimum Number of Days following the

deadline for submitting proposals that the Respondent guarantees all

proposal terms, including price, will remain firm:

Iowa Judicial Branch

JCS Update 10/15/25

Page 2 of 42

RFP JUV-27-CB-05-001

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 PURPOSE

The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to solicit proposals from Responsible Respondents to

provide the goods and/or services identified on the RFP cover sheet and further described in Section 4 of

this RFP to the IJB, as identified on the RFP cover sheet. The IJB intends to award a Contract(s) beginning

and ending on the dates listed on the RFP cover sheet, and the IJB, in its sole discretion, may extend the

Contract(s) for up to the number of annual extensions identified on the RFP cover sheet.

1.2 DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this RFP and the resulting Contract, the following terms are defined.

“Agency” means the agency identified on the RFP cover sheet that is issuing the RFP.

“Bid Proposal” or “Proposal” means Respondent’s proposal submitted in response to the RFP.

“Contract” means the Contract(s) entered into with Respondent(s) as described in section 6.

“Contractor” means the awarded business/person to provide the contractual services agreed upon.

“General Terms” and “General Terms and Conditions” shall mean the General Terms for Juvenile Court

Services service contracts as linked on the RFP cover page.

“IJB” shall mean the Iowa Judicial Branch.

“Invoice” means a Contractor’s claim for payment. At the IJB’s discretion, claims must be submitted on

an original invoice from the Contractor and on a claim form accepted by the IJB, such as a General

Accounting Expenditure (GAX) form.

“Juvenile Court Officer” or “JCO” means a person appointed as a juvenile court officer under section

602.7202 of the Iowa Code and also includes a chief juvenile court officer appointed under section

602.1217 of the Iowa Code.

“Juvenile Court Services” or “JCS”, for the purposes of this RFP, means a unit of the Iowa Judicial Branch

in which juveniles adjudicated by the Iowa Juvenile Court as delinquent and youth at risk of entering the

court system receive services as directed by the Chief Juvenile Court Officer or designee.

“Respondent” means the company, organization or other business entity submitting a proposal in

response to this RFP.

“Responsible Respondent” means a Respondent that has the capability, as determined in the sole

discretion of the IJB, in all material respects to perform the scope of work and specifications of the

Contract. In determining whether a Respondent is a Responsible Respondent, the IJB may consider various

factors including, but not limited to, the Respondent’s competence and qualifications to provide the goods

or services requested, the Respondent’s integrity and reliability, the past performance of the Respondent

and the best interest of the IJB and the State.

Iowa Judicial Branch

JCS Update 10/15/25

Page 3 of 42

RFP JUV-27-CB-05-001

“Responsive Proposal” means a Proposal that complies, in the sole discretion of the IJB, with the material

provisions of this RFP.

“RFP” means this Request for Proposals and any attachments, exhibits, schedules or addenda hereto.

“State” means the State of Iowa, the IJB, and all state agencies, boards, and commissions, and any political

subdivisions making purchases from the Contract as permitted by this RFP.

“Vendor” means anyone who provides goods or services to another entity.

1.2.1 Additional Definitions specific to this RFP:

“Adverse Childhood Experiences” or “ACEs”, as defined by the ACEs Study, means the incidents that

dramatically upset the safe, nurturing environments children need to thrive.

“MAYSI-2” means the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument 2, which is a mental health screening

tool used for juvenile justice-involved youth, often at the initiation of a case or a youth’s entry into

detention centers or other residential programs. The MAYSI-2 is completed by the child, scored by

Detention Center staff, and scales 7 domains including Alcohol/Drug Use, Angry-Irritable, Depressed-

Anxious, Somatic Complaints, Suicide Ideation, Thought Disturbance and Traumatic Experiences. The

results can alert Detention Center staff to a youth’s potential mental or emotional distress and certain

behavior problems that might require immediate response.

“Detention” means a license and secure facility run by the county or consortium of counties for the safe

and secure holding for delinquent children or pre-delinquent children through a court order.

“Trauma-Informed Care” or “TIC” means the incorporation of an understanding of trauma and

traumatic experiences and the effect they can have on children in foster care into the care and services

provided to a child. These experiences may include, but not be limited to betrayal of a trusted person or

institution and a loss of safety; experiences of violence; physical, sexual, and institutional abuse, neglect

intergenerational trauma; and, disasters that induce powerlessness, fear, recurrent hopelessness, and a

constant state of alert. Trauma-informed is an approach to help engage people with histories of trauma

that recognizes the presence of trauma symptoms and acknowledges the role that trauma has played in

their lives.

“Trauma Specialist” means a mental health professional trained specifically to support people in

recovering from trauma. Trauma Specialists are equipped with specialized skills and therapeutic

approaches designed to address the unique challenges faced by trauma survivors.

1.3 OVERVIEW OF THE RFP PROCESS

The RFP process is for the IJB’s benefit and is intended to provide the IJB with competitive information to

assist in the selection process. It is not intended to be comprehensive. Each Respondent is responsible for

determining all factors necessary for submission of a comprehensive Proposal.

Respondent should review Attachment 3, Form 22 Request for Confidentiality, for more information if its

Proposal contains confidential information. Any Proposal marked “Confidential” or “Proprietary” on every

page may be disqualified.

Respondents will be required to submit their Proposals electronically via email to the Issuing Officer.

Iowa Judicial Branch

JCS Update 10/15/25

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RFP JUV-27-CB-05-001

1.4 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Early intervention and follow-up programs/graduated sanctions services are services to be provided to

children adjudicated delinquent and to children who have been referred to juvenile court services for a

delinquency violation or who have exhibited behaviors that put them at risk of a juvenile delinquency

referral. The services are directed to enhance personal adjustment to help the children transition into

productive adulthood and to prevent or reduce criminal charges, out-of-home placement, and

recidivism.

Youth are detained if they meet criteria for placement in Detention pursuant to Iowa Code section 232.22.

The circumstances resulting in such action vary with each youth. Their behavior in the community that

resulted in being detained, and their behavior while in and because of Detention placement, is frequently

related to traumatic experiences. Rates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in juvenile justice-

involved youth are estimated between 3% and 50% (Wolpaw, J. M. & Ford, J. (2004). “Assessing exposure

to psychological trauma and post-traumatic stress in the juvenile justice population”), making it

comparable to the PTSD rates (12% to 20%) of soldiers returning from deployment in Iraq (Roehr, B.,

(2007) “High Rate of PTSD in Returning Iraq War Veterans”, Medscape Medical News). Juvenile response

to assessments and rehabilitation is also seen as likely to be affected by traumatic experiences.

Some of the known traumatic experiences of youth in Detention can involve experiences from having

been “on the run” for a length of time, including human trafficking. Often youth in Detention have

witnessed violent crime or have themselves been victims of violence. They may even be the perpetrator

of the violence. Although the ACEs questionnaire is not administered to youth in Detention, it is generally

assumed that they have experienced a high number of ACEs. Youth in Detention and other juvenile justice

settings also reportedly experience higher rates of bereavement and violent deaths than do youth in the

general population and, consequently, where maladaptive coping mechanisms have been adopted.

The MAYSI-2 is a simple mental health assessment completed by the youth within a day of their arrival in

Detention and provides JCS and Detention staff with very elementary information on the youth’s mental

health status. Information from this assessment tool can be shared with the Contractor to assist with the

best course of intervention for the youth and to retain and report trauma statistics for youth in Detention.

General information regarding this assessment may be found at the following link:

MAYSI-2: http://www.nctsn.org/content/massachusetts-youth-screening-instrument-2-maysi-2

Youth who are behaviorally out of control or experiencing suicidal ideations and who do not meet criteria

for hospitalization may be held in Detention until the youth is able to improve self-regulation. Providing

Trauma-Informed Care to these youth early in their Detention placement could allow the youth to be

released to community based services or alternate suitable placement without a lengthy stay in

Detention.

Youth in Detention often feel a great deal of anxiety about appearing in court for a variety of reasons but

mostly because they are unsure if they will be released back into the community or sent to placement

elsewhere. Youth who attend court appear in their detention garb which can provide a sense of shame

and general anxiety about being in a room full of professional adults and a judge; they may feel that their

lives are out of their control. Psychological safety is a requirement to be able to attend court successfully,

able to understand what is happening, and able to contribute to the outcomes.

Iowa Judicial Branch

JCS Update 10/15/25

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This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.

Title of RFP:	Trauma Informed Care	RFP Number:	JUV-27-CB-05-001
Agency:	Iowa Judicial Branch (IJB or Agency)
Number of years of the initial terms of the Contract:	1 year	Number of possible annual renewals:	5 additional 1-year terms exercisable by the IJB in its sole discretion
Anticipated Initial Contract Term beginning:	July 1, 2026	Ending:	June 30, 2027
Anticipated Maximum Annual Contract Budget:	$300,000.00
Issuing Officer:	Kelly Cox 515-561-5786 kelly.cox@iowacourts.gov 222 5^th Avenue Des Moines, Iowa 50309

PROCUREMENT TIMETABLE ? Event or Action:	Date/Time (Central time):
Agency Posts Notice of RFP on TSB website	January 5, 2026
Agency Issues RFP	January 7, 2026
Letters of Intent to Bid: This is a mandatory requirement	January 14, 2026 2:00 P.M.
RFP written questions, requests for clarification, and suggested changes from Respondents due:	January 14, 2026 2:00 P.M.
The IJB’s written response to RFP questions, requests for clarifications and suggested changes due: (will be available on bidding website)	January 21, 2026
Proposals Due Date: Proposals Due Time:	February 16, 2026 2:00 P.M.
Anticipated Date to issue Notice of Intent to Award:	March 3, 2026
Anticipated Date to execute Contract:	July 1, 2026