Behavioral Health, Peer Support, and Resilience Services

Proposal For Services

Due: 10/28/2026 - 5:00 p.m.

The City of Berkeley Fire Department seeks competitive written proposals for Behavioral Health, Peer Support, and Resilience Services

The City of Berkeley Fire Department seeks competitive written proposals from qualified behavioral health providers to support the Department's Peer Support/Peer Counseling Program and the behavioral health and operational resilience of Department members.

The service period is anticipated to be six months, beginning approximately December 1, 2026.

Scope of Services

The city seeks providers with demonstrated experience supporting firefighters, emergency medical personnel, public-safety employees, and their families. Services should be trauma-informed, culturally responsive to the fire and emergency services environment, and capable of addressing both acute critical incidents and cumulative occupational stress.

The approach should emphasize operational readiness, early recognition of stress reactions, practical coping and recovery skills, timely peer and clinical intervention, and connection to appropriate professional treatment when peer-level support is insufficient.

The goals of these services are to:

Strengthen members' ability to recognize and manage operational stress.

Promote early help-seeking and intervention.

Support recovery following critical or difficult incidents.

Strengthen the effectiveness and sustainability of the Peer Support Team.

Provide timely access to clinicians familiar with first-responder culture.

Connect members with appropriate ongoing behavioral health treatment when needed.

Proposers may submit proposals for one, several, or all of the service areas described below. Proposers are not required to provide the entire scope. The city may select one or more providers, divide services among providers, award only selected service areas, or make no award for an individual service area.

Each proposal should clearly identify the service area or areas being proposed and describe the proposer's qualifications, service model, availability, and pricing. Total price shall not exceed $50,000.

1. First Responder Behavioral Health Expertise

Provide licensed master's- or doctorate-level behavioral health clinicians with demonstrated experience working with firefighters, EMS personnel, public-safety employees, and their families to provide up to 145 counseling sessions.

Relevant experience should include assessment and support related to occupational trauma and cumulative stress, post-traumatic stress reactions, depression, anxiety, grief and loss, substance misuse, relationship and family stress, burnout, suicide risk, sleep disruption, and other behavioral health concerns commonly encountered within emergency services.

Providers should demonstrate an understanding of fire-service culture, shift work, confidentiality concerns, barriers to seeking care, and the operational demands placed on emergency responders.

2. Peer Support Team Clinical Consultation

Provide sixteen hours of ongoing clinical consultation and support to members of the Berkeley Fire Department Peer Support Team.

Consultation may include guidance regarding:

Difficult or complex peer contacts.

Recognition of behavioral health risk.

Appropriate peer-support boundaries.

Confidentiality and ethical concerns.

Suicide or self-harm concerns.

Referral decisions.

Situations that require immediate professional intervention.

Peer-supporter wellness and secondary exposure to trauma.

Clinical consultation should strengthen the skills and confidence of peer supporters while maintaining a clear distinction between peer support and the practice of professional mental health care.

3. 24/7 Clinical Consultation and Critical Incident Support

Provide timely access to clinical consultation for significant incidents, urgent behavioral health concerns, and other time-sensitive circumstances, including incidents occurring outside normal business hours.

Services may include:

Telephone consultation with Peer Support Team members or designated Department representatives.

Guidance regarding appropriate post-incident interventions.

Clinical participation in Critical Incident Stress Management activities when appropriate.

Support for defusings, debriefings, or other group interventions.

Individual follow-up with affected personnel when clinically appropriate.

Recommendations regarding additional behavioral health resources or treatment.

4. Assessment, Brief Support, and EAP Navigation

Provide confidential behavioral health assessment, brief intervention, consultation, and short-term support when appropriate.

When a Department member would benefit from ongoing psychotherapy, psychiatric services, substance-use treatment, or another level of behavioral health care, the provider shall assist the member in identifying an appropriate clinician or program available through the City's established Employee Assistance Program (provided by ) or other applicable benefits.

Particular attention should be given to locating providers with experience of treating firefighters, EMS personnel, or other first responders.

When appropriate and with the member's consent, the provider should facilitate a warm handoff to the treating clinician rather than only providing a telephone number or provider list.

These services are intended to complement the City's Employee Assistance Program and shall not unnecessarily duplicate or replace services available through the EAP.

5. Program Consultation and Development

Participate, as requested, in Peer Support Team meetings, steering committee meetings, or other program-development activities.

Consultation may include:

Peer Support Team protocols and procedures.

Critical-incident response practices.

Training priorities.

Team wellness.

Identification of emerging behavioral health needs.

Referral processes.

Program effectiveness.

Development or revision of educational materials.

Recommendations regarding behavioral health resources.

7. Confidentiality and Aggregate Program Reporting

Providers shall maintain all confidentiality required by applicable professional standards and law.

Providers shall clearly distinguish confidential clinical or peer-support communications from administrative program information.

The City shall not require personally identifying clinical information regarding individual Department members except where disclosure is legally required or expressly authorized by the individual.

Providers may be asked to provide non-identifying aggregate information such as:

Hours of services provided.

Types or categories of services delivered.

Number and type of training sessions.

General utilization trends.

Critical-incident responses.

Program-development activities.

General recommendations for program improvement.

Aggregate reporting shall not identify individual Department members or disclose information that would reasonably permit identification of an individual receiving services.

Sent to Vendors: 10/14/2026

Instructions to vendors:

On company letterhead, submit a proposal that includes:

Service area or areas being proposed.

Description of the proposer's approach to each service area.

Qualifications and licensure of proposed clinicians.

Experience working with firefighters, EMS personnel, or other public-safety populations.

Availability, including after-hours and emergency availability where applicable.

Proposed staffing model.

Pricing, including any lumpsum, hourly, on-call, training, or other applicable rates.

At least three references or examples of comparable work.

For questions related to the project contact Julian Christy via email

Proposals are due 10/28/2026 - 5:00pm via email to cc:

City terms: Net 30

Do you offer an early payment discount? If yes, _______

Do you offer a discount for early payment using a credit card? If yes ______________%

Is your firm based in Berkeley? ________

Is your firm an MBE? ________

Is your firm a WBE? ________

See the City's Purchase Order Terms and Conditions