Employee Assistance Program/Substance Abuse Professional

REQUEST FOR
QUALIFICATIONS
Monroe County
Water Authority
Employee Assistance Program /
Substance Abuse Professional
May 15, 2026
Monroe County Water Authority
475 Norris Drive
Rochester, New York 14610

Request for Qualifications
Employee Assistance Program/Substance Abuse Professional
Page 1
SECTION 1 - INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE
1.1 Purpose
The Monroe County Water Authority (MCWA) is soliciting proposals from providers for
the purpose of selecting a provider to handle the Employee Assistance Program for
MCWA.
Prospective Proposers must offer a proposal that will meet the scope of services,
qualifications and general description of work activities identified in Section 2 of this
document.
In responding to this RFQ, Proposers must follow the prescribed format as outlined in
Section 3. By so doing, each Proposer will be providing MCWA with comparable data
submitted by other Proposers and, thus, be assured of fair and objective treatment in
the MCWA review and assessment process.
1.2 RFQ Procurement Officer
The RFQ Procurement Officer identified below is the sole point of contact regarding
this RFQ from the date of issuance until the selection of the successful Proposer.
Diane Hendrickson
Monroe County Water Authority
475 Norris Drive
Rochester, New York 14610-0999
Email: diane.hendrickson@mcwa.com
Phone: (585) 442-2001 x215
1.3 Presentation and Clarification of MCWA's Rights and Intentions
MCWA intends to select a Proposer as its provider to supply the services described in
Section 2. However, this intent does not commit MCWA to award a contract to any
responding Proposer, or to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of the proposal in
response to this request, or to procure or contract for any services. MCWA reserves
the right, in its sole discretion, to (a) accept or reject in part or in its entirety any
proposal received as a result of this RFQ if it is in the best interest of MCWA to do so;
(b) award one or more designations of broker of record, albeit without overlapping
business segments, to one or more qualified Proposers if necessary to achieve the
objectives of this RFQ if it is in the best interest of MCWA to do so.
The Monroe County Water Authority will be offering it's Employee Assistance Program
with an effective date of June 15, 2026. If you are interested, your response to the
following questions should be directed to Diane Hendrickson and received no later
than 12:00 p.m. EST on Monday, May 29, 2026.
Your response to the following questions should apply to the local office that will be
servicing the Monroe County Water Authority.

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Employee Assistance Program/Substance Abuse Professional
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1. How many employees are in your office?
2. What is the annual premium of the Employee Assistance Program handled by
your office?
3. Provide a list of other authorities or major municipalities that your office
currently handles and identify which one is your largest.
4. Name(s) of person(s) who will handle the Employee Assistance Program as
follows and a brief resume of his or her qualifications.
a. Individual responsible for entire account
b. Individual(s) who will handle day-to-day account activities
c. Individual responsible for billing
5. Provide at least two (2) references (name, organization and telephone number)
from the above list of authorities or major municipalities that your office
handles.
6. Any other qualifications or pertinent information that you feel distinguishes your
Company above all others.
7. Provide the locations of your office where employees may schedule appointments
Please refer to the included Scope of Services, Section 2, for an outline of the services
expected by the Authority. Please provide a brief summary of your organization's
capabilities in meeting or exceeding the Authority's expectations.
Your responses should be by separate attachment, with the Company clearly identified
and the respondent's signature, title and date affixed.

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Employee Assistance Program/Substance Abuse Professional
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1.4 Time Line
The schedule of events for this RFQ is anticipated to proceed as follows:
* Interviews may be scheduled, as appropriate, with MCWA the week of June 1,
2026.
* It is the intent of MCWA for the Board of Directors to select a provider at its
meeting on June 11, 2026.
1.5 Overview of the Organization
MCWA provides high quality, safe and reliable water, in a financially responsible
manner.
MCWA was created by State legislation in 1950 to solve the water supply needs of this
community. In 1959, MCWA took over the assets of the private New York Water
Service Corporation and had 27,000 retail customers, serving just portions of the
County's inner ring towns and portions of the City. As surrounding towns and villages
faced new water supply challenges, the MCWA service area has steadily grown. Today,
MCWA serves over 191,000 customers in every town and village in Monroe County
(partially in the City of Rochester) plus towns, villages and other water authorities in
each of the five adjacent counties.
The MCWA system
infrastructure
includes the two
operations centers
and a meter shop;
two water treatment
plants, Shoremont
and Corfu; 47
remote pumping
stations; 51 tanks
and 2 storage
reservoirs; and over
3,495 miles of
transmission and
distribution water
mains.

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Employee Assistance Program/Substance Abuse Professional
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SECTION 2 - Scope of Services
SCOPE OF SERVICES
For Employee Assistance Program Effective: June 15, 2026
1. The selected provider must perform the services necessary to replace the Employee
Assistance Program expiring on March 31, 2026.
2. The provider must provide HIPAA compliant confidential short-term
counseling/assessment sessions.
3. The provider must provide Critical Incident Stress Debriefings when requested by the EAP
coordinator.
4. The provider must provide orientation to employee on the benefits of an EAP program and
how to use it.
5. The provider will provide referral to specialized services for employees and their family
members when necessary.
6. The provider will provide promotional materials including brochures, business cards and
posters to EAP coordinator.
7. The provider may provide management training on how to refer employees with workplace
performance problems.
8. The provider may act as Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) when necessary.
9. The provider will provide recommendations to coordinator for any MCWA policy
violation.
SECTION 3 - SPECIFIC PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS
3.1 Submission of Proposer's Statement of Qualifications and Proposal
A. Acceptance Period and Location: To be considered, respondents must
submit a complete response to this RFQ. Respondents not responding to
all information requested in this RFQ or indicating exceptions to those
items not responded to may have their submittals rejected.
Sealed Qualification submittal must be received at the address below on
or before 12:00 p.m. EST on May 29, 2026

Request for Qualifications
Employee Assistance Program/Substance Abuse Professional
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Monroe County Water Authority
Attn: Diane Hendrickson
RFP - Employee Assistance Program
475 Norris Drive - BLUE BOX @ DOOR #19
Rochester, New York 14610
There will be no public opening of the submittals.
B. Required Copies: Five copies of your proposal are due no later than 12:00
P.M. on Friday, May 29, 2026. Proposals received after the Proposal Due
Date will not be considered, nor will faxed or e-mailed proposals, whenever
received. Failure to submit a proposal on time will not be waived by
the Authority under any circumstances (e.g., traffic conditions, mail
or courier failure, etc.).
The MCWA reserves the right to reject any or all proposals submitted. Requests for
extension of the submission date will not be granted.
C. Economy of Preparation: To be considered, Proposers must submit a
complete response to this RFP. Proposers not responding to all
information requested, or indicating exceptions to those items not
responded to, may be rejected.
D. All proposals must be submitted in a sealed envelope clearly labeled "RFP -
EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM". All proposals must be addressed to
Diane Hendrickson and must be submitted via a delivery service, such as UPS or
FedEx. Delivery service must also be instructed to "Deliver to blue drop box
located at Employee Entrance - Door 19". MCWA cannot accommodate
deliveries requiring signatures to confirm receipt. Proposers shall have sole
responsibility to contact the Diane Hendrickson to confirm receipt of proposal.
Proposals hand delivered or submitted via US Postal Service will be returned
unopened.
To be considered, a sealed Qualification and Format Review must arrive on or before
the location, time and date specified in Section 3.1 A. Requests for extension of the
submission date will not be granted. Respondents mailing submittals should allow
ample delivery time to assure timely receipt of their responses.
3.2 Clarification of RFQ and Questions
Questions that arise prior to or during response preparation must be submitted in
writing or via email. Questions and answers will be provided to all potential
respondents who have received RFQ's and must be acknowledged in the RFQ
response. No contact will be allowed between the respondent and any other member
of MCWA with regard to this RFQ during the RFQ process unless specifically
authorized in writing by the RFQ Coordinator. Prohibited contact may be grounds for
respondent disqualification.

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Employee Assistance Program/Substance Abuse Professional
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3.3 Addenda to the RFQ
In the event it becomes necessary to revise any part of this RFQ, addenda will be
provided to all that received the basic RFQ. An acknowledgment of such addenda, if
any, must be submitted with the RFQ response.
3.4 Organization of Qualification and Proposal Statement
This section outlines the information that must be included in your Qualifications
Statement. Please respond with your information in the same order as the items in
the section.
A. Table of Contents: Include a Table of Contents at the beginning, which
clearly outlines the contents of your submittal.
B. Company Information: Provide a brief history of your company including
the number of years in business, identification of company ownership, and
the number of employees.
C. Project Team: List the specific project team members, including resumes.
Please note MCWA places great importance on the individual team members.
Those proposed should be available if selected. If in doubt, listing
"alternatives" is acceptable.
D. Scope of Services: Certify compliance with the scope of services as listed in
section 2, nine items.
E. References: Provide a minimum of two clients for whom your company has
provided similar services. Include the following information for each client:
i. Name and address of the client;
ii. Name and telephone number of contact person;
iii. Summary of the services provided.
F. Procurement Form: Include the procurement disclosure form contained in
Section 4.15
3.5 Organization of Fee Structure Response
This section outlines the information that must be included in your Fee Structure
Response.
A. Fee Structure Response: Please provide a detailed description of your fees
and how they are structured, earned and charged.

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Employee Assistance Program/Substance Abuse Professional
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3.6 Method of RFQ Evaluation
A. RFQ Evaluation Committee: Selected personnel from MCWA will form the
evaluation committee for this RFQ. It will be the responsibility of this
committee to evaluate all properly prepared and submitted responses for
the RFQ and make a recommendation for selection.
B. RFQ Evaluation and Selection Criteria: All properly prepared and
submitted Qualifications Statements shall be subject to evaluation deemed
appropriate for the purpose of selecting the respondent to whom a selection
may be made. Evaluation of the submittals will consider several factors,
each of which has an impact on the relative success of the respondent to
provide the services as outlined in Section 2. Responses to this RFQ will be
evaluated according to, at least, the following criteria:
Qualifications
Staff assigned
Fee structure
Relevant experience
C. Submittal Approval Process: Respondents must be aware that any
selection resulting from this Request for Qualifications is subject to
approval by the MCWA Board. MCWA anticipates making a selection at the
June Board meeting to be held on June 11, 2026.
3.7 Oral Presentation
Respondents who make a submittal may be invited to make a presentation of their
qualifications to the evaluation committee. These presentations will provide an
opportunity for the respondent to clarify their qualifications to ensure a thorough
mutual understanding. At the same time, MCWA is under no obligation to offer any
respondent the opportunity to make such a presentation.
3.8 Investigations
MCWA reserves the right to conduct any investigations necessary to verify information
submitted by the respondent and/or to determine the respondent's capability to fulfill
the terms and conditions of the scope of services that is described herein. MCWA
reserves the right to visit a prospective respondent's place of business to determine the
existence of the company and the management capabilities required to administer this
agreement. MCWA will not consider respondents that are in arrears to MCWA, in
bankruptcy, or in the hands of a receiver at the time of responding or at the time of
selection.

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Employee Assistance Program/Substance Abuse Professional
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SECTION 4 - GENERAL INFORMATION FOR THE PROPOSER
4.1 Reservation of Rights
MCWA reserves the right to refuse any and all responses, in part, or in their entirety,
or select certain aspects from various respondents, or to waive any informality or
defect in any response should it be deemed to be in the best interest of MCWA. MCWA
is not committed, by virtue of this RFQ, to select a broker of record. The responses
submitted become the property of MCWA. If it is in its best interest to do so, MCWA
reserves the right to:
A. Make selections based solely on the responses or negotiate further with
one or more respondents. The respondent selected will be chosen on the
basis of greatest benefit to MCWA as determined by an evaluation
committee.
B. Negotiate with the selected respondent
C. Award contract to more than one Proposer.
4.2 Acceptance of Response Content
The contents of the response of the successful provider may become contractual
obligations. Failure of a respondent to accept these obligations may result in
cancellation of the award.
4.3 Property Rights
For purposes of this RFQ and for the contract, the term "Work" is defined as all data,
records, files, information, work products, discs developed, produced or generated in
connection with the services to be provided by the respondent. MCWA and the
Respondent intend the selection to be for services, and each considers the Work and
any and all documentation or other products and results of the services to be rendered
by the respondent to be a work made for hire. In making a submittal in response to
this RFQ, the respondent acknowledges and agrees that the Work (and all rights
therein) belongs to and shall be the sole and exclusive property of MCWA.
The Respondent and the Respondent's employees shall have no rights in or ownership
of the Work and any and all documentation or other products and results of the
services or any other property of MCWA. Any property or Work not specifically
included in the submittal as property of the respondent shall constitute property of
MCWA.

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Employee Assistance Program/Substance Abuse Professional
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4.4 Incurring Costs
MCWA is not liable for any costs incurred by respondent prior to the effective date of
the selection.
4.5 Material Submitted
All right, title and interest in the material submitted by the respondent shall vest in
MCWA upon submission of the response to MCWA without any obligation or liability
by MCWA to the respondent. MCWA has the right to use any or all ideas presented by
a responder.
MCWA reserves the right to ownership, without limitation, of all responses submitted.
However, because MCWA could be required to disclose responses under the New York
Freedom of Information Law, MCWA will, to the extent permitted by law, seek to
protect the respondent's interests with respect to any trade secret information
submitted as follows:
Pursuant to Public Officers Law 87, MCWA will deny public access to
Respondent's response to the extent the information constitutes a trade secret,
which if disclosed would cause substantial harm to the respondent's competitive
position, provided the respondent identified the information it considers to be a
trade secret and explains how disclosure would cause harm to the respondent's
competitive position.
4.6 Procurement Policy
Pursuant to State Finance Law 139-j and 139-k, this Request for Qualifications
includes and imposes certain restrictions on communications between a
Governmental Entity (including the Authority) and Bidder/Offerer during the
procurement process. A Bidder/Offerer is restricted from making contacts from the
earliest notice of intent to solicit offers through final award and approval of the
Procurement Process by the Authority to other than the Authority's Procurement
Officers unless it is a contact that is included among certain statutory exceptions set
forth in State Finance Law 139-j(3)(a). The Authority's Procurement Officers for this
Governmental Procurement, as of the date hereof, are identified herein. Authority
employees are also required to obtain certain information when contacted during the
restricted period and make a determination of the responsibility of the Bidder/Offerer
pursuant to these two statutes. Certain findings of non-responsibility can result in
rejection for contract award and in the event of two findings within a four (4) year
period; the Bidder/Offerer is debarred from obtaining government Procurement
Contracts. Further information about these requirements may be obtained from the
Procurement Officers.
The Authority reserves the right to terminate this contract in the event it is found that
the certification filed by the Bidder/Offerer in accordance with State Finance Law
139-k(5) was intentionally false or intentionally incomplete. Upon such finding, the