TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE TRAINING AND ORGANIZATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION INITATIVE

Location:	New York
Posted:	Apr 16, 2026
Due:	Apr 27, 2026
Agency:	Erie County
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	U - Education and Training Services
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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ERIE COUNTY

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR

TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE TRAINING AND

ORGANIZATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION

INITIATIVE

RFP # 2026-030VF

3/27/2026

Commissioner Randall Hoak

Erie County Department for the Aging

EDWARD A. RATH COUNTY OFFICE BUILDING

95 FRANKLIN STREET

BUFFALO, NY 14202

COUNTY OF ERIE, NEW YORK

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (“RFP”)

RFP# 2026-030VF

FOR TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE TRAINING AND ORGANIZATIONAL

IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE

I. PURPOSE

The Erie County Department for the Aging (ECDFA), previously known as the Department of Senior

Services, seeks proposals from qualified organizations to provide trauma-informed care training,

professionally recognized credentialing, evaluation, and organizational implementation support for

Department staff and its nonprofit partner organizations serving older adults throughout Erie County.

The selected proposer will design and implement a trauma-informed staff development program that

includes:

• Trauma-informed care training

• Assessment and evaluation of the department

• Leadership staff development

• Coaching and consultations

• Professional certification of training completion and digital badges

• Identify small group of internal staff to be developed into specialists capable of sustaining

trauma-informed practices

The purpose of this initiative is to strengthen the capacity of the aging services network to deliver

trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and resilient services to older adults and caregivers.

II. BACKGROUND

The Erie County Department for the Aging administers programs funded through the Older Americans

Act, New York State Office for the Aging, and Erie County resources.

The Department collaborates with a network of nonprofit organizations providing services including:

• Case management and care coordination

• Caregiver support services

• Nutrition services including home-delivered meals

• Transportation services

• Community wellness programs

• Outreach and social engagement initiatives

Older adults receiving services may have experienced lifetime trauma, social isolation, health crises,

financial hardship, and systemic inequities.

Staff serving these individuals may also experience secondary trauma, compassion fatigue, and

burnout.

The Department seeks to strengthen and empower the system by adopting a trauma-informed approach

across the aging services network, promoting improved outcomes for both clients and staff.

III. PROJECT GOALS

The goals of this initiative are to:

1. Establish a shared trauma-informed system across the Erie County aging services network.

2. Assess organizational trauma-informed readiness and culture.

3. Provide training opportunities for leaders, supervisors, and frontline staff that will provide

professionally recognized certification through use of digital badges.

4. Strengthen trauma-informed leadership and supervision practices.

5. Equip frontline staff with trauma-responsive strategies.

6. Develop internal specialized staff capable of sustaining trauma-informed changes.

7. Evaluate outcomes and workforce impact after implementing proposed initiative.

IV. PROPOSALS

Proposers interested in providing services to the Department are invited to respond to this

request.

It is the County’s intent to select the Proposer(s) that provides the most thorough, efficient, and

cost-effective solution to meet the County’s needs.

The County reserves the right to amend this RFP. The County reserves the right to reject any or

all of the proposals, or any part thereof, submitted in response to this RFP, and reserves the right

to waive formalities, if such action is deemed to be in the best interest of the County. The County

reserves the right to request additional information from any proposer. The County reserves the

right to award negotiated contracts to one or more proposers.

This RFP is not intended and shall not be construed to commit the County to pay any costs

incurred in connection with any proposal or to procure or contract with any firm.

The County will only contract with firms that do not discriminate against employees or

applicants for employment because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability,

marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship status protected by New York State and Federal

laws.

V. PROPOSAL PROCEDURES

A. ANTICIPATED SCHEDULE OF PROPOSAL

The following schedule is for information purposes only. The County reserves the right to

amend this schedule at any time.

Issue RFP: 3/27/26

Non-Mandatory RFP Informational meeting: 4/7/26, 2:00-3:30 pm EST via Webex

MEETING INFO:

Join from the meeting link:

https://erie.webex.com/erie/j.php?MTID=mf 119e071b60063f 714227bc00c0ee317

Join by meeting number:

Meeting number (access code): 2485 274 9367

Meeting Password: WQvyBpFi435

Join from a mobile device or by phone:

1-716-858-2250 or 1-415-655-0003

Proposals Due: 4/27/2026

Selection Made: June 2026

Contract Signed: Following all necessary County approvals

Any questions or requests for clarification of this RFP must be written and submitted to

melissa.dentice@erie.gov and Jaclyn.strawbrich@erie.gov no later than 4:00 p.m. EST on

Friday, April 10th, 2026. Formal written responses will be distributed by the County on

approximately Wednesday, April 15th, 2026, and will be made available at

http://www2.erie.gov/purchasing/index.php?q=requests-proposals-amp-construction-bids

B. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Each proposal should be prepared simply and economically avoiding the use of elaborate promotional

materials beyond what is sufficient to provide a complete, accurate, and reliable presentation. One (1)

electronic copy of the service proposal and one (1) electronic copy of the budget proposal shall be

submitted. Proposals MUST be signed, including “Schedule A”. Unsigned proposals will be rejected.

No cost or budget information shall be provided within the service proposal. Proposals should be

limited to ten (10) pages.

• Proof of adequate insurance as shown in “Schedule B” must be provided with the

proposal.

• Electronic proposals must be submitted to melissa.dentice@erie.gov and

Jaclyn.strawbrich@erie.gov

All proposals must be electronically submitted to the e-mail address above on or before

Monday April 27th, 2026. Proposals received after this date and time will not be

considered. The County is under no obligation to return proposals.

• No communications of any kind will be binding against the County, except for the formal

written responses to any request for clarification.

• Proposers may be required to give an oral presentation to the County to clarify or elaborate on

the written proposal. Those Proposers will be notified to arrange specific times.

• No proposal will be accepted from nor any agreement awarded to any Proposer that is in

arrears upon any debt or in default of any obligation owed to the County. Additionally, proposals

from any Proposer that has failed to satisfactorily perform pursuant to any prior agreement with the

County, may be rejected. Any proposer who has had a Departmental contract terminated for

performance is required to provide evidence of significant improvement in each of the identified

problem areas. The Department reserves the right to complete further assessments, including on-

site assessment to determine satisfactory improvement.

• Certified Minority Business Enterprise/Women's Business Enterprise (MBE/WBE) Proposers

should include the Erie County certification letter with the proposal.

• If Proposer is a Veteran Owned Business, Proposer should include letter indicating company is

51% or more Veteran-owned.

• Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business (SDVOB) or “State-Certified Business” proposers

should include the New York State certification letter with the proposal.

• By submitting this proposal, the proposer understands and agrees there must be compliance

with federal, state, and local laws regarding privacy practices and safeguards. Therefore, the

proposal must include the proposer’s privacy practices and procedures, i.e., client confidentiality

policy. The proposer’s practices and procedures must thoroughly address possible breach

situations.

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

Department	Title	Submission Deadline	Additional files
DEPARTMENT OF AGING	TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE TRAINING AND ORGANIZATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION INITATIVE	Monday, April 27, 2026	q-a-rfp-2026-030vf.pdf