Community Based Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Campaign

COUNTY OF ALAMEDA

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL No. 2026-SSA-CFS-CBCAPAC

for

Community Based Child Abuse Prevention

Awareness Campaign

For complete information regarding this project, see Request for Proposal (RFP) posted at County of Alameda Procurement Portal [ https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/acgov ] or contact the County representative listed below. Thank you for your interest! Contact Person: Ramil Rivera Phone Number: (510) 268-2441 Email Address: RCRivera@acgov.org Alameda County Social Services Agency – Finance/Contracts Office

RESPONSE DUE

by

2:00 p.m.

on

May 26, 2026

through

Alameda County Social Services Agency / Contracts Office

Attn: Ramil Rivera

1111 Jackson Street, 1st Floor, Suite 103

Oakland, CA 94607

or

Schedule an appointment to drop off your submission before May 14th.

Alameda County is committed to reducing environmental impacts across our entire supply chain. Please print only what you need, print double-sided, and use recycled-content paper if printing this document.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL No. 2026-SSA-CFS-CBCAPAC

COMMUNITY BASED CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

EVENT	DATE/LOCATION
Request Issued	April 22, 2026
Networking/Bidders Conference No. 1	April 28, 2026 @ 1:30pm TO ATTEND ONLINE: Join: Click here to join the online meeting Meeting ID: 219 046 610 531 244 Passcode: Vt7ma32U Dial in by phone 1-415-915-3950, 332184159# United States, San Francisco 1-888-715-8170, 332184159# United States Phone conference ID: 332 184 159# Join on a video conferencing device Tenant key: alamedacountyca@m.webex.com Video ID: 111 365 783 0
Networking/Bidders Conference No. 2	April 30, 2026 @ 1:30pm TO ATTEND ONLINE: Join: Click here to join the online meeting Meeting ID: 240 839 376 773 65 Passcode: kN7xq3v5 Dial in by phone 1-415-915-3950, 497842782 # United States, San Francisco 1-888-715-8170, 497842782 # United States Phone conference ID: 497 842 782# Join on a video conferencing device Tenant key: alamedacountyca@m.webex.com Video ID: 117 103 080 4
Written Questions Due via Email: RCRivera@acgov.org	May 1, 2026 by 5:00 p.m.
List of Attendees	May 4, 2026
Questions & Answers Issued	May 12, 2026
Addendum Issued [only if necessary to amend RFP]	May 12, 2026
Response Due and Submitted through 1111 Jackson Street, Suite 103 Oakland, CA 94607	May 22, 2026 by 2:00 p.m.
Evaluation Period	May 25, 2026 – June 5, 2026
Notice of Intent to Award Issued	June 12, 2026
Board Consideration Award Date	(This date has not been finalized. The actual date will be provided once available)
Contract Start Date	July 1, 2026

NOTE: All dates are tentative and subject to change.

COUNTY OF ALAMEDA

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL No. 2026-SSA-CFS-CBCAPAC

SPECIFICATIONS, TERMS & CONDITIONS

for

COMMUNITY BASED CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ATTACHMENTS

ATTACHMENT No. 1

BID RESPONSE PACKET

I. STATEMENT OF WORK

A. INTENT

It is the intent of these specifications, terms, and conditions to describe the Community Based Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Campaign services being requested by the Alameda County Social Services Agency (ACSSA). The qualified vendor will have the expertise and capacity to provide services that meet identified priority areas.

The County intends to award a three (3) year contract (with the option to renew for two (2) years) to the Bidder selected as the most responsive and responsible Bidders whose response conforms to the RFP and meets the County’s requirements.

B. SCOPE

ACSSA seeks proposals from qualified bidders to conduct a public awareness and education campaign that aims to increase awareness of strategies and resources to prevent child abuse and neglect among residents of Alameda County. Specifically, the campaign should increase public awareness of ways families can get concrete support, achieve and maintain economic stability, access to quality educations, access to quality health care, create and maintain safe spaces in their homes and community and have strong positive connections within their communities. These are the conditions that impact the well-being of children and their families. Strengthening a family’s ability to meet these needs and minimizes risks to children and reduces the likelihood of child welfare involvement. The proposed public awareness and education campaign strategy is at the discretion of the applicant bidder but must include clearly delineated timelines regarding all outcome efforts. Outcome efforts must include but are not limited to: multimedia approaches (e.g. print media, social media), ongoing CAPC website maintenance, and providing content for the Alameda County SSA Cal Prevents website (This is a private group for Alameda County providers).

The proposed public awareness and education campaign must include a community education event, and the proposal must clearly articulate how it will achieve the goals and outcomes specified in this RFP as well as address the priority service areas as outlined in this RFP. Proposals should include a detailed description of the countywide culminating event during Child Abuse Prevention Month in April. Proposals should describe how your agency will track the number of families attending the event and the number of fair attendees who become more informed about child abuse and the services available to assist families at risk.

The proposed public awareness and education campaign must also include information for audiences to learn more about child abuse prevention. The campaign must also provide information on how to connect families and providers with community-based resources through Community Pathways (see below) and other agencies in the prevention network service array. This includes collaborations with other organizations to lead the campaign into concrete outcomes

Another Road to Safety (ARS) Community Pathways is an alternative response program designed to prevent unnecessary child welfare agency involvement. By making referrals to ARS Community Pathways, families and providers can access resources through community supporting (510-244-3047) and prevent child maltreatment. ARS services are provided by A Better Way Inc.

The Contractor will attend the quarterly Comprehensive Prevention Plan (CPP) meeting to remain engaged in Alameda County’s System Improvement Plan (SIP) for prevention services. The Contractor is strongly encouraged to attend the Statewide Convening to collaborate with other Prevention providers.

The applicant bidder is highly encouraged to be creative and to provide strategies that are novel, unique, and that aspire to attract, engage, and refer for supportive services to the geographically widest and most diverse children and families in Alameda County. Applicant bidder’s engagement and support strategies should ensure that they are culturally and linguistically sensitive to the needs of the diverse residents of Alameda County.

The Contractor’s performance will evaluated at regular intervals, and at minimum, annually. Any contract renewal is subject to the availability of funding as well as acceptable contract performance. In consultation with the Agency, and with each annual evaluation of Contractor’s performance, the Contractor will be required to provide an updated public awareness and education campaign that is consistent with bettering the outcomes and data from the prior year’s efforts, including the planning and execution of the annual community education event recognizing Child Abuse Prevention Month.

1. Goals and Outcomes. Funding for this RFP is made available through the Community Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) program. The purpose of the CBCAP program is to:

a. Support community-based efforts to develop, operate, expand, enhance, and coordinate initiatives, programs and activities to prevent child abuse and neglect;

b. Support the coordination of resources and activities to better strengthen and support families to reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect;

c. Provide the community at large with information, resources, referrals, or access to services that will increase awareness and prevent child abuse and neglect issues from occurring;

d. Foster understanding, appreciation and knowledge of diverse populations to effectively prevent and treat child abuse and neglect; and

e. Support current Child Abuse Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment (CAPIT) service providers, our differentiated response program Another Road to Safety, and other community-based providers by increasing public and community awareness of their services, programs, and support available to children and families that prevent and mitigate issues related to potential child abuse/neglect.

Successful applications will demonstrate strong community partnerships, and measurable community impact that includes:

f. Providing linkage activities that are universal.

g. Promoting community inclusion.

h. Educating and informing community members about child abuse prevention and education increasing child abuse awareness.

i. Promoting healthy parenting skills and strengthening families via the support and development of one or more of the five protective factors (see S through W below).

j. Connecting with new partners, network services and referrals, thus avoiding wasteful duplication;

k. Improving access to other formal and informal resources available within communities;

l. Addressing social determinants of health and well-being that create an environment that can lead to child abuse and neglect

m. Fostering the development of a continuum of preventative services for children and families including collaboration at all levels – public, private, state, and local, including parents in leadership roles;

n. No barriers – all families are welcomed to seek support;

o. Providing linkages for parents seeking early comprehensive support services;

p. Increasing family stability, resilience and community connection;

q. Focusing on existing strengths and promoting continued growth and development.

r. Fostering parent leadership and empowering parents to identify existing resources in their community, support and strategies to help them parent more effectively.

The public awareness campaign and community education event should be guided and developed by supporting the five Protective Factors identified by the Center for the Study of Social Policy (http://www.cssp.org/reform/strengthening-families) regarding the prevention of child abuse and neglect:

s. Parental Resilience: Managing stress and functioning well when faced with challenges, adversity and trauma.

t. Social Connections: Positive relationships that provide emotional, informational, instrumental and spiritual support.

u. Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development: Understanding child development and parenting strategies that support physical, cognitive, language, social and emotional development.

v. Concrete Support in Times of Need: Access to concrete support and services that address a family’s needs and help minimize stress caused by challenges.

w. Social and Emotional Competence of Children: Family and child interactions that help children develop the ability to communicate clearly, recognize and regulate their emotions and establish and maintain relationships.

2. Priority Services. The following are the County’s priority service areas and proposals should demonstrate an understanding of the problem and provide compelling strategies that address these priority service areas.

a. Awareness and educational activities such as developing awareness campaigns, child abuse prevention fair and/or tabling at community events, expanding online/social media presence of community resources, community forums/events on child abuse prevention, expanding or increase advertising of supports and services available to families via print and online media (inclusive of the Child Abuse Prevention website redesign).

b. Outreach events and activities that provide primary prevention service linkages, which are universal programs and strategies that are available to all families.

c. Content development, update and redesign of the Child Abuse Prevention website (https://www.alamedacountycapc.com) with technical support from the County’s Information Technology Department (who will update and maintain the website as instructed). Content on the website shall focus on promoting awareness, education, and prevention of child abuse/neglect. Posted information should be current and accurate and provide active links to resources for families to access needed services and support to ensure child safety, permanence, and well-being and to prevent families from coming to the attention of the Department of Children and Family Services.

d. Activities that foster community engagement and networking through community projects and events that focus on strengthening bonds between families, neighbors, local government, school systems, and other community stakeholders. This includes active participation in the County’s Comprehensive Prevention Plan (CPP) Stakeholders group, which is a work group of community stakeholders engaged in providing prevention services in the county.

e. Activities that encourage participation from a variety of agencies and members of the community.

3. Target Populations. The services being procured in this solicitation are intended for the general population living in Alameda County as well as vulnerable families at risk of child abuse and neglect. Those families include but are not limited to the following:

a. Parents (all parents, new parents, teen parents, etc.)

b. Parents of and/or children with disabilities

c. Racial and ethnic minorities

d. Members of underserved and underrepresented groups

e. Fathers

f. Unhoused families and those at risk of homelessness

g. Unaccompanied homeless minors

h. Adult former victims of child abuse and neglect or domestic violence

i. Commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC)

j. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex youth and minors

C. BACKGROUND

The County of Alameda believes that children are its most precious resource and therefore endeavors to protect and support children and families throughout the County by working to reduce the prevalence of child abuse and neglect. Child abuse and neglect prevention and intervention programs help to protect children, stabilize families and assist children and youth to become healthy and productive adults.

The vision of the ACSSA is that all County children will have the opportunity to grow and develop in safe, healthy, nurturing and stable homes and that all children will receive the support and security that a family, an extended family, or an alternative family can provide.

The CBCAP program, through its community partners, helps educate and strengthen families to have concrete support in times of need, increases parental resiliency and reduces incidences of child abuse and neglect by acting as an information conduit or linkage to the community regarding available resources, supports, and services. In addition, the County is in the process of implementing a Comprehensive Prevention Plan (CPP) through collaboration with community stakeholders and County agencies such as Alameda County Probation, Alameda County Behavioral Health, Alameda County Office of Education, Alameda County Public Health, and others. CBCAP goals and outcomes are both informed and enhanced by this and other collaborations.

In accordance with the allocation formula contained in California Welfare and Institutions (W&I) Code Section 18966.1(a), CBCAP funds are allocated annually to counties who have applied for the funds. The allocation formula is published in the annual County Fiscal Letter along with each county’s allocation. The CBCAP program is specifically authorized to foster the development of a continuum of preventative services for children and families through State and community-based partnerships and public-private partners.

CBCAP programs were established by Title II of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) Amendments of 1996, which was originally enacted in 1974. This Act was most recently amended and reauthorized on December 10, 2010, by the CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-320).

All services provided must adhere to program requirements and regulations set forth in an informational flyer by the California Department of Social Services through the Office of Child Abuse Prevention. CBCAP funds should be used to support primary prevention (universal) programs and strategies which are available to all families, as well as secondary (targeted) prevention efforts, which target children and families at risk of abuse or neglect.

County of Alameda Board of Supervisors are authorized to designate a local voluntary commission, board, or council to carry out the purposes of legislation establishing the Trust Fund. Accordingly, the Board appointed the Child Abuse Prevention Task Force, an advisory board, through the Alameda County Child Abuse Prevention Council, as the body responsible for administering funds through a competitive selection process (RFP). Final funding decisions are made by the Board.

To fulfill the requirements of the state legislation, the Alameda County Child Abuse Prevention Task Force participates in the following:

1. Conducting community needs assessments and site monitoring for contracts receiving funds.

2. Setting priorities for funding

3. Collaborating with the County to provide recommendations to the Board regarding funding priorities for child abuse prevention

D. BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS

1. BIDDER Minimum Qualifications

a. Bidder must be regularly and continuously engaged in the business of providing or supporting community-based child abuse prevention, intervention, and treatment services/efforts for at least five (5) years, which must be clearly stated or demonstrated in the bid response. OR

Bidder and all key personnel assigned to the project must be regularly and continuously engaged in the business of providing or supporting community-based child abuse prevention, intervention, and treatment services/efforts for at least five (5) years which must be clearly stated or demonstrated in the bid response.

b. Bidder must be an established community-based organization or public or private profit or non-profit organization with existing and developing relationships with other agencies whose focus is or actively supports the prevention of child abuse or neglect. All non-profit agencies must be incorporated in the State of CA and hold, or be in the process of securing, IRS 501c3 tax status.

c. Bidder must possess all permits, licenses, and professional credentials necessary to supply products and perform services specified under this RFP. Unless noted otherwise in the RFP, for example the item(s) stated above, including any Addendum, Bidder is not required to submit copies or verification of the permits, licenses and credentials; however, Bidder must provide such proof if requested by County.

E. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

1. Contractor must be responsible for developing and executing a public awareness and education campaign that includes a community education event to take place during Child Abuse Prevention Month in April of each year which is focused upon the achievement of the following outcomes:

a. Increased public knowledge, education, and awareness regarding child abuse prevention services, child abuse prevention efforts, and all support available within the county,

b. A plan and active efforts to assist local agencies in the increased level of collaboration, linkage, or service referrals across agencies operating to service families within Alameda County, inclusive of the CAPIT Service Providers,

c. Provide information available to the public regarding child abuse prevention efforts and services via various multimedia platforms (including social media). These public awareness efforts may include but are not limited to the following: promotional materials for distribution, bus and bench ads, billboards, tabling at events, murals, community workshops, social media posts, etc.

2. Contractor must act as an active liaison/resource navigator between the children and families within Alameda County and the various agencies within Alameda County providing child abuse prevention services (inclusive of the CAPIT Service Providers). Contractors must support linkages for services or support families by facilitating the referral process, active linkage support, or active resource navigation to empower families to seek and engage in the necessary services to prevent child abuse or neglect.

3. Contractors must provide content development, updates and design solutions for the Child Abuse Prevention website with technical support from Alameda County’s internal Information Technology Department (who will update and maintain the website as instructed). Efforts regarding website content, updates, and redesign should focus on: promoting awareness, education, and prevention of child abuse/neglect through ensuring current and accurate information on the website as well as providing active links to additional resources for families to access needed services and supports to ensure children’s safety, permanence, and well-being and to prevent families from coming to the attention of the Department of Children and Family Services.

4. Contractor must partner with the Child Abuse Prevention Task Force and Alameda County Child Abuse Prevention Services to develop a mutually agreed upon public awareness and education campaign that address all the above-mentioned priority service areas and goals for this funding source (please refer to Scope of Work and Goals & Outcomes for additional information).

5. Contractor must be able to meet all deliverables as specified in Section G., Deliverables and Reports, below.

6. The Contractor’s administrative team must have the experience and capacity to work collaboratively with ACSSA team and communicate timely and effectively. ACSSA departments include Children and Family Services, the Contracts unit, the Budget/Fiscal team, the Program Evaluation group, and other teams as needed.

7. Additional Requirements for All Contractors.

a. Successful bidders must have in place a written complaint resolution process that is in alignment with SSA’s Grievance Resolution Policy. Under the policy’s provisions, all contractors whose services are contracted by SSA shall establish a written grievance process for reviewing and attempting to resolve complaints that at a minimum must include the following:

(1) Time frames within which a complaint will be acted upon,

(2) Written notification to the complainant of the results of the review, including a statement that the complainant may appeal to the SSA Director if dissatisfied with the results of the service provider’s preview,

(3) Confidentiality provisions to protect the consumer’s right to privacy. Only information relevant to the complaint may be released to the responding party without the complainant’s consent,

(4) Posting and advising consumers of the complaint resolution process.

b. Successful bidders must have procedures to protect the confidentiality and privacy of information about, or obtained from, participants or consumers.

c. Successful bidders must adhere to SSA’s Master Plan on Language Access to ensure its limited-English proficient (LEP) clients are provided with language accessible services and communications. Under the plan’s provisions, all contractors whose services are contracted by SSA:

(1) Shall clearly disclose language access capabilities in relationship to the population served,

(2) Shall have a plan in place—available for review upon request by County staff—for referring clients whose language needs the contractor can’t accommodate,

(3) Shall permit County staff to conduct ongoing monitoring of contracted services for compliance with provisions of the County’s Language Access Plan,

(4) Shall provide the County with a list and copies of all printed contract-related marketing/promotional/education-related materials (including languages materials are printed in).

F. APPLICABLE REGULATIONS FOR ALL CONTRACTORS

1. All Contractors must comply with Federal and State regulations and County policies regarding child abuse programs.

2. The CAPTA, originally enacted in 1974 (P.L. 93-247) has been amended several times and was most recently amended and reauthorized on December 10, 2010, by the CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-320).

G. DELIVERABLES / REPORTS

1. Contractor must be responsible for developing and executing a public awareness and education campaign that includes a community education event to take place during Child Abuse Prevention Month in April of each year which is focused upon the achievement of the following outcomes:

a. Increased public knowledge, education, and awareness regarding child abuse prevention services, child abuse prevention efforts, and all support available within the county,

b. A plan and active efforts to assist local agencies in the increased level of collaboration, linkage, or service referrals across agencies operating to service families within Alameda County, inclusive of the CAPIT Service Providers,

c. Provide information available to the public regarding child abuse prevention efforts and services via various multimedia platforms (including social media). These public awareness efforts may include but are not limited to the following: promotional materials for distribution, bus and bench ads, billboards, tabling at events, murals, community workshops, social media posts, etc.

2. Contractor must act as an active liaison/resource navigator between the children and families within Alameda County and the various agencies within Alameda County providing child abuse prevention services (inclusive of the CAPIT Service Providers). Contractor must support linkages for services or support families by facilitating the referral process, active linkage support, or active resource navigation to empower families to seek and engage in the necessary services to prevent child abuse or neglect.

3. Contractor must provide content development, updates and design solutions for the Child Abuse Prevention website with technical support from Alameda County’s internal Information Technology Department (who will update and maintain the website as instructed). Efforts regarding website content, updates, and redesign should focus on: promoting awareness, education, and prevention of child abuse/neglect through ensuring current and accurate information on the website as well as providing active links to additional resources for families to access needed services and supports to ensure children’s safety, permanence, and well-being and to prevent families from coming to the attention of the Department of Children and Family Services.

4. Contractor must partner with the Child Abuse Prevention Task Force and Alameda County Child Abuse Prevention Services to develop a mutually agreed upon public awareness and education campaign that address all the above-mentioned priority service areas and goals for this funding source (please refer to Scope of Work and Goals & Outcomes for additional information).

5. Contractor must be able to meet all deliverables as specified in Section G., Deliverables and Reports, below.

6. The Contractor’s administrative team must have the experience and capacity to work collaboratively with ACSSA team and communicate timely and effectively. ACSSA departments include Children and Family Services, the Contracts unit, the Budget/Fiscal team, the Program Evaluation group, and other teams as needed.

7. Additional Requirements for All Contractors.

a. Successful bidders must have in place a written complaint resolution process that is in alignment with SSA’s Grievance Resolution Policy. Under the policy’s provisions, all contractors whose services are contracted by SSA shall establish a written grievance process for reviewing and attempting to resolve complaints that at a minimum must include the following:

Time frames within which a complaint will be acted upon,

Written notification to the complainant of the results of the review, including a statement that the complainant may appeal to the SSA Director if dissatisfied with the results of the service provider’s preview,

Confidentiality provisions to protect the consumer’s right to privacy. Only information relevant to the complaint may be released to the responding party without the complainant’s consent, (4) Posting and advising consumers of the complaint resolution process.

b. Successful bidders must have procedures to protect the confidentiality and privacy of information about, or obtained from, participants or consumers.

c. Successful bidders must adhere to SSA’s Master Plan on Language Access to ensure its limited-English proficient (LEP) clients are provided with language accessible services and communications. Under the plan’s provisions, all contractors whose services are contracted by SSA:

(1) Shall clearly disclose language access capabilities in relationship to the population served,

(2) Shall have a plan in place—available for review upon request by County staff—for referring clients whose language needs the contractor can’t accommodate,

(3) Shall permit County staff to conduct ongoing monitoring of contracted services for compliance with provisions of the County’s Language Access Plan,

(4) Shall provide the County with a list and copies of all printed contract-related marketing/promotional/education-related materials (including languages materials are printed in).

8. Contractor must attend meetings as required and participate in regular site visits.

9. ACSSA has adopted the Results-Based Accountability (RBA) framework to strengthen our partnerships and improve contract performance. The RBA framework utilizes performance measures to track the benefits and improve the impact of service by focusing on three critical questions: How much work was done? How well was it done? Are clients better off?

10. Contractor(s) shall submit a monthly report detailing their efforts and activities via the Scorecard reporting system or other method identified by ACSSA by the 10th of the following month (for example: month of May data will be provided on June 10th report).

11. Contractor(s) will use Clear Impact Results Scorecard, a cloud-based RBA reporting platform, to enter performance measures and related data. ACSSA will provide access and training for the Scorecard system. Contractors may also use the County-provided Excel report template as a worksheet to compile data prior to entering it into Scorecard. A link to further information on RBA implementation can be found online at: http://www.raguide.org/ .

12. Contractor can expect to be asked how they measure whether clients are better off and the quality of the delivered services. Contractor must include unduplicated counts of individuals served. Contractor(s) will be required to show that their work incorporates best or promising practices, or evidence-informed or evidence-based practices. ACSSA will work with Contractor(s) to develop appropriate metrics, indicators and outcome measures. http://www.raguide.org/h

13. Contractor shall follow specific reporting requirements and performance measures based on the RBA Performance Measures listed below:

	Performance Measures	Target Goal	How to Calculate
How Much?	# of hours spent on public awareness campaigns	600	# of hours spent on public awareness campaigns to prevent child abuse
How Well?	# of hours spent on April Child Abuse Prevention Month Activities and Events	200	# of hours spent on child abuse prevention activities for April Child Abuse Prevention Month
Better Off?	# of individuals referred to services or linkages	723	# of individual calls to helpline who were referred to services or linked with services
	# of events and/or activities held for Child Abuse Prevention Month	1	# of unduplicated events

H. BIDDERS CONFERENCE(S)

1. The Bidders Conferences held on the dates specified in the Calendar of Events will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Bidders can participate via a computer with a stable internet connection (the recommended Bandwidth is 512Kbps) by clicking on the meeting links provided in the Calendar of Events.

2. To participate via phone for audio access only, a call-in option is available.

3. Information regarding the RFP will be presented during the conferences. To get the best experience, the County recommends that Bidders who participate remotely use equipment with audio output such as speakers, headsets, or a telephone.

4. Bidders’ conferences will be held to:

a. Provide an opportunity for Small Local Emerging Businesses (SLEBs) and large firms to network and develop subcontracting relationships to participate in the contract(s) that may result from this RFP.

b. Provide an opportunity for Bidders to request clarification on this RFP and ask specific questions about the project, goods, and services.

c. Provide an opportunity for Bidders to ask specific questions about the project and request RFP clarification.

d. Provide the County with an opportunity to receive feedback regarding the project and RFP.

5. The Bidders Conferences Attendees List will be released in a separate document.

6. Written questions submitted via email by the stated deadline will be addressed in a posted RFP Questions and Answers document following the Bidders Conference(s). Should there be a need to amend or revise the RFP, an Addendum will be issued. Any verbal statements, including at any Bidders Conference(s), are not binding. Only the written documents will be binding.

7. Questions regarding these specifications, terms, and conditions are to be submitted in writing via email by 5:00 p.m. on the date specified in the Calendar of Events to:

Ramil Rivera, Program Financial Specialist

RFP No. 2026-SSA-CFS-CBCAPAC

Alameda County Social Services Agency / Contracts Office

E-Mail: RCRivera@acgov.org

8. Attendance at a Bidders Conference is highly recommended but is not mandatory. Vendors who attend the Bidders Conference(s) will be added to the Vendor Bid List.

II. COUNTY PROCEDURES, TERMS, AND CONDITIONS

I. EVALUATION CRITERIA / SELECTION COMMITTEE

1. Initial Evaluation (Completeness of Response and Debarment and Suspension). All proposals will first be reviewed to determine if they pass the initial Evaluation Criteria (Section A: Completeness of Response), which are determined on a pass/fail basis.

2. Evaluation by County Selection Committee. All proposals that have passed the initial Evaluation Criteria will be evaluated by a County Selection Committee (CSC). The CSC may be composed of County staff and other parties that may have expertise or experience related to transitional shelter services that are being procured. The CSC will score the proposals according to the Evaluation Criteria set forth in this RFP. Other than the initial pass/fail Evaluation Criteria, the evaluation of the proposals shall be within the sole judgment and discretion of the CSC.

3. Unrealistic Bids. Bidders should bear in mind that any proposal that is unrealistic in terms of the technical or schedule commitments or unrealistically high or low in cost will be deemed reflective of an inherent lack of technical competence or indicative of a failure to comprehend the complexity and risk of the County’s requirements as set forth in this RFP.

4. Evaluation Criteria Descriptions. The items listed in the Evaluation Criteria should be considered as minimum requirements. All information contained in a proposal and presented in vendor interviews (if there are interviews) will be considered during the evaluation process and included in scoring within the appropriate Evaluation Criteria.

5. Evaluation Scores. Proposals will be evaluated and scored on the zero to five-point scale within each Evaluation Criteria below, with the exception of Reference Checks. Scores for all Evaluation Criteria (see the section below) will then be added, according to their assigned weight (below), to arrive at a weighted score for each proposal. A proposal with a higher-weighted total will be deemed of higher quality than a proposal with a lesser-weighted total. The preliminary score will be based on the total points, with the exception of points allocated to References.

6. Shortlist Process. The evaluation process may include a two-stage approach including a preliminary evaluation of the written proposal and preliminary scoring to develop a shortlist of Bidders that will continue to the final stages of the optional vendor interview and reference checks. The preliminary scoring will be based on the total points, excluding any points allocated to references and optional vendor interview. The Bidders receiving the highest preliminary scores may advance to the next evaluation phase. All other Bidders will be deemed eliminated from the process. All Bidders will be notified of the shortlist participants; however, the preliminary scores at that time will not be communicated to Bidders.

7. Reference Checks. The County reserves the right to conduct reference check(s) on all Bidders who submitted a bid proposal. The CSC will then score the reference check(s), as identified in the Evaluation Criteria below, which will then be included in the final score.

8. Optional Vendor Interviews. The County may, in its sole discretion, conduct vendor interviews. Should the County opt to conduct a vendor interview, the interview may include responding to standard and specific questions from the CSC regarding the Bidders’ proposal. Whether or not a shortlist process is used, the score of any evaluation criterion below may be revised or informed based on the vendor interview.

9. Final Score: The final maximum score for any procurement is 525 points, including the possible 25 preference points derived from either Certified Small or Certified Emerging local preference (maximum 5% of the final score). Proposals will be ranked by their final scores.

a. Without Vendor Interview. In procurements where there are no vendor interviews, the score received by the evaluation of the written proposal with the references score added will be the final score.

b. With Vendor Interview. In procurements where there are vendor interviews, the CSC will consider the interview and may adjust the scores received by the evaluation of the written proposal which, with the reference scores added, will be the final score.

10. Contact During Evaluation Process. All contact during the evaluation phase must be through the ACSSA Contracts Office only. Bidders must neither contact nor lobby the CSC during the evaluation process. Attempts by Bidders to contact and/or influence members of the CSC may result in disqualification of Bidders.

11. Determining Award. As a result of this RFP, the County intends to award a contract to the highest-ranked responsible Bidder(s), as determined by the combined weight of the Evaluation Criteria, whose response conforms to the RFP and whose bid presents the greatest value to the County considering all Evaluation Criteria. The combined weight of the Evaluation Criteria is greater in importance than the cost in determining the best value to the County. The County may award a contract of higher qualitative competence over the lowest priced response.

12. The zero to five-point scale range is defined as follows:

0	Not Acceptable	Non-responsive, fails to meet RFP specifications. The approach has no probability of success. If the unmet specification is a mandatory requirement, this score may result in the disqualification of the proposal.
1	Poor	Below average, falls short of expectations, is substandard to that which is the average or expected norm, has a low probability of success in achieving objectives per RFP.
2	Fair	Has a reasonable probability of success; however, some objectives may not be met.
3	Average	Acceptable and likely to achieve all objectives in a reasonable fashion per RFP specification. This will be the baseline score for each item with adjustments based on the interpretation of the proposal by CSC members.
4	Above Average / Good	Better than that which is average or expected as the norm. Excellent probability of success in achieving all objectives of the RFP requirements and expectations.
5	Excellent / Exceptional	Exceeds expectations, is very innovative, clearly superior to that which is average or expected as the norm. Excellent probability of success in achieving all objectives and meeting RFP specifications.

13. The Evaluation Criteria and their respective weights are as follows:

	Evaluation Criteria	Weight
A.	Completeness of Response: Responses to this RFP must be complete. Responses must address all the requirements identified within this RFP and all related documents, including any Addenda. Failure to meet the Bidder Minimum Qualifications may also be considered an incomplete response and may result in the disqualification of the Bidder. ...