alcohol, drug addiction and mental health services …

ALCOHOL, DRUG ADDICTION AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES BOARD

OF CUYAHOGA COUNTY

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

FOR

Behavioral Health Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Assessment and Strategic

Implementation Plan

July 27, 2021

ADAMHS Board RFP for Consultant to Complete a Behavioral Health Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Assessment and Strategic Implementation Plan

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Purpose:

The Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board of Cuyahoga County is soliciting proposals from consulting firms and/or independent consultants to provide diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) assessment and planning services.

Timeline and RFP Process:

The following are key dates for this RFP. The ADAMHS Board is committed to adhering to this schedule but reserves the right to make modifications.

Date Task

7/27/2021 • ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County Releases RFP for DEI consultant.

8/2/2021 • 10:00 a.m. deadline for submission of e-mailed questions related to RFP.• E-mail questions to [email protected]• E-mail subject line MUST READ: RFP Question – DEI Consultant.

8/5/2021 • 12:30 p.m. Bidder’s Conference on Zoom, to answer submitted and newquestions

https://adamhscc-org.zoom.us/j/87451099284?pwd=QTlQKzRVd1BiZ3RXVDZKc1c0SUd0QT09 Meeting ID: 874 5109 9284 Passcode: 158096

• All responses will be posted to the ADAMHS Board website by 5:00 p.m.8/20/2021 • 5:00 p.m. deadline for submission of RFP response.

• Proposal and all required documents shall be submitted via E-mail to [email protected]

• E-mail subject line MUST READ: RFP Response – DEI Consultant.• Proposals received after that date and time shall be rejected.

8/23/2021 – 9/3/2021

• Proposals will be reviewed. Vendors may be contacted for further clarificationof RFP submissions and vendor(s) may be chosen.

9/2021 • Recommendation for approval to contract with a vendor(s) made through the September 2021 ADAMHS Board of Directors meeting cycle, with a goal to initiate a contract in October 2021.

Preparation and Submission of Proposal

Proposals must be submitted in the manner prescribed in this RFP via e-mail to the ADAMHS Board’s [email protected] e-mail account.

All vendors submitting proposals must complete and attach the required RFP documents, including the Line-Item Budget as attachment(s) to their emailed submission.

Hand-delivered or mailed proposals will NOT be accepted. It is the sole responsibility of any vendor submitting a proposal to ensure it is submitted properly via email by the posted deadline.

mailto:[email protected]

https://adamhscc-org.zoom.us/j/87451099284?pwd=QTlQKzRVd1BiZ3RXVDZKc1c0SUd0QT09




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BACKGROUND

The Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board of Cuyahoga County is responsible for the planning, funding and monitoring of public mental health and addiction treatment and recovery services delivered to the residents of Cuyahoga County. Under Ohio law, the ADAMHS Board is one of 50 Boards coordinating the public mental health and addiction treatment and recovery system in Ohio.

The Board is a quasi-independent part of county government, governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. The Board contracts with provider agencies to deliver services that assist clients on the road to recovery.

Currently, the Board contracts with 68 provider agencies that provide a variety of services (see the Provider Directory: https://www.adamhscc.org/home/showpublisheddocument?id=3447). These agencies constitute the local publicly funded behavioral health network.

On June 24, 2020, the ADAMHS Board of Directors passed Resolution 20-06-01 declaring Racism as a Public Health Crisis. The ADAMHS Board committed to work with its partners to plan immediate, short-term and long-term goals for eliminating structural racism in the behavioral health community.

As stated in ADAMHS Board Resolution 20-06-01, we:

• Acknowledge racism as a public health crisis and build alliances and partnerships thatconfront and work collaboratively to end racism.

• Develop local solutions to address disparities and actively engage individuals andcommunities in racial and social justice work.

• Develop, implement, and support policies and practices to end the inequalities in thehealth of people of color and mitigate exposure to adverse childhood experiences andtrauma.

• Ensure health equity and cultural competence within all mental health and substanceuse disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery support programs, ensuring servicesmeet the local needs of diverse populations.

• Engage ALL communities to work with state and local behavioral health leaders todevelop and promote prevention and awareness efforts designed to reduce stigma,address trauma, and eliminate barriers to care.

Pursuant to ADAMHS Board Resolution 20-06-01, on October 5, 2020, the Board convened the first Eliminating Structural Racism (ESR) in Behavioral Health Care Work Group. The Work Group has the following subcommittees: Workforce, Health Equity, Policy and Advocacy, Data and Research, Community Collaboration/Education and Stigma. Information from the Work Group is available: www.adamhscc.org/workgroup.

The Board also included DEI work as part of its 2021-2025 Strategic Plan, specifically Strategy 1.3: https://www.adamhscc.org/home/showpublisheddocument?id=3160.

A tenet of the ADAMHS Board ESR work has been educating on how using a European-centric model of providing behavioral health services may not fully meet the needs of clients from various cultural backgrounds. For example, the European-centric model is based on biases and

https://www.adamhscc.org/home/showpublisheddocument?id=3447

https://www.adamhscc.org/about-us/current-initiatives/task-forces-and-coalitions/eliminating-structural-racism-in-bh-work-group

https://www.adamhscc.org/home/showpublisheddocument?id=3160


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assumptions of normalcy and behavior that do not take into consideration the heritage or differing values and beliefs of other cultures.

The ADAMHS Board goal is to move toward a culturally competent, culturally appropriate and diverse behavioral health system that delivers treatment, recovery and prevention services that prioritize equity and inclusion to meet the needs of the residents of Cuyahoga County.

To assist in reaching this goal, the ADAMHS Board seeks a consultant to conduct an analysis that identifies issues of discrimination and structural racism in its behavioral health system and develop a Strategic Implementation Plan for implementing solutions to eliminate structural racism in behavioral health care provided in the local publicly funded network.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The ADAMHS Board is seeking the services of a consultant (individual or firm) to provide:

• An assessment of the local publicly funded behavioral health network that will give theADAMHS Board Eliminating Structural Racism (ESR) in Behavioral Health Care WorkGroup baseline data, as well as identify issues and priorities to focus its efforts.

• A Strategic Implementation Plan with clearly defined action steps and timelines that theADAMHS Board and its ESR Work Group can use to develop policies and practices for aculturally competent, culturally appropriate and diverse behavioral health system thatdelivers treatment, recovery and prevention services that prioritize equity and inclusionto meet the needs of the residents of Cuyahoga County.

SCOPE OF WORK (NOTE: Be sure to include a detailed timeline for each phase of the scope of work)

Phase 1: Assessment

Consultant will:

• Review the work of the ESR Work Group and its subcommittees and the ADAMHSBoard Strategic Plan to provide a summary of the progress to date.

• Conduct an analysis and develop a baseline assessment report that identifies issues ofdiscrimination and structural racism within the ADAMHS Board and its behavioralhealthcare provider network in addition to the level of DEI awareness and competency.In the proposal, detail the method(s) in which the analysis will be conducted.

• Lead monthly ESR meeting and participate in subcommittees as needed, providinginsight and knowledge on DEI best practices with a particular focus on non-profit andgovernment agencies. Please specifically provide the time commitment involved in doingthis work. Currently the ESR main committee and subcommittees meet monthly for acombined estimated total of 6.5 hours per month, not including work or preparation thathappens between meetings. See www.adamhscc.org/workgroup for a meeting schedule.

Phase 2: Planning

Consultant will:

http://www.adamhscc.org/workgroup


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• Draft a three-year (36 month) DEI Strategic Implementation Plan addressing thepriorities, strengths and weaknesses revealed through the analysis that the ADAMHSBoard and the ESR Work Group can use to develop policies and practices for aculturally competent, culturally appropriate and diverse behavioral health system thatdelivers treatment, recovery and prevention services that prioritize equity and inclusionto meet the needs of the residents of Cuyahoga County.

• Conduct at least two feedback sessions regarding the draft Strategic ImplementationPlan: one especially for ADAMHS staff, Board members and ESR Work Groupmembers; and one for providers, clients, family members and the general public.Document input gathered during the sessions and incorporate in the StrategicImplementation Plan as needed.

• Finalize the Strategic Implementation Plan and present to the ADAMHS Board ESRWork Group and Board of Directors.

• Continue leading ESR meetings for a minimum of three months, guiding theimplementation of the action steps in the Strategic Implementation Plan.

QUALIFICATIONS

Consultant will:

• Have knowledge of the analysis and application of racial equity, anti-racist, anti-discrimination and racial justice frameworks.

• Have an understanding of models of behavioral health treatment and health caresystemic structures and be able to expose biases within European-centric approaches tocare and offer ideas on developing a culturally competent, culturally appropriate anddiverse behavioral health system that delivers treatment, recovery and preventionservices that prioritize equity and inclusion to meet individual needs of clients.

• Have a minimum of three years of experience organizing and leading DEI or strategicplanning work for government and/or nonprofit entities, with experience in behavioralhealth preferred.

• Be able to demonstrate fiscal and business acumen, and a track-record of successfullycompleted consulting projects.

• Demonstrate an understanding of project resource management by providing a detailedbudget identifying staffing, number of hours required to complete the scope of theproject, task tools and/or equipment needed.

• Preferably have an understanding of the diverse Greater Cleveland/Northeast Ohiocommunity


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ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County RFP Behavioral Health Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Assessment and Strategic

Implementation Plan Responses Due No Later than 5:00 p.m. on August 20, 2021

Name of consultant or consulting agency.

1. Have you been a consultant or agency funded by the ADAMHS Board in the past? (0 pts)

1a. If so, when? What amount were you funded?

2. How would you define and describe diversity in the behavioral health system of care? (20pts)


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3. What are the essential elements/goals of the program/services that you are proposing? (25pts)

4. What method(s) will be used to achieve the goals of this program? Please address both theAssessment and Strategic Implementation Plan phases of the project. (20 pts)


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5. What strategies would you employ to develop a three-year Strategic Implementation Plan toenhance, expand and support diversity, equity and inclusion in all aspects of behavioralhealth as it relates to service delivery and client rights? (20 pts)

6. Describe in detail your plan to address diversity in the procurement process of thebehavioral health system’s provider agencies, including cleaning crew, building services,food, equipment, supplies, etc. (20 pts)


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7. In the area of workforce, the behavioral health system does not reflect the population itserves. What steps would you recommend taking to solve this challenge? (20 pts)

8. How will your agency measure success? (20 pts)


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9. What are your specific measurement methods, processes, and tools? And what is yourexperience using these tools with other entities? (20 pts)

10. What local data sources will you be utilizing? And what data sources do you expect to beprovided, or need access to? (20 pts)


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11. Describe your current and/or previous experience in working with a behavioral healthsystem, including lessons learned. (15 pts)

12. The selected consultant would be expected to lead the Eliminating Structural Racism (ESR)group and encourage buy-in and support. What strategy would you employ to engage thecommittee and partners? (15 pts)


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13. How do you handle systemic and individual resistance to implementing DEI practices? (15pts)

14. The ADAMHS Board is very interested in action. Can you give examples of action-orientedwork products or activities that you have accomplished with other clients that moved thework forward? (15 pts)


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15. List any needs and accommodations required by the agency/consultant to conduct thiswork. (0 pts)

16. What is your and/or your staff’s titles, credentials and/or licensures? (5 pts)

17. Provide a description of your agency/consultant’s past Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)and/or strategic planning projects, with contact information for references. (20 pts)


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18. Do you have an internal diversity, equity, and inclusion policy for your own staff andoperations? (10 pts)

18a. If yes, provide your internal diversity, equity, and inclusion policy response along with your RFP submission.

19. What is your and/or your staff’s gender and racial demographics? If applicable, what are thegender and racial demographics of your Board of Directors? (0 pts)

20. Describe why you and/or your firm would be the best candidate/organization to lead, inspire,impact and give direction to this project? (20 pts)


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Budget and Fiscal Review (30 pts)

21. How does your agency ensure financial resiliency?

22. Does your agency have a dedicated accountant or bookkeeper?

23. Funding amount requested

24. Download the Line-Item Budget Spreadsheet here. Once you have completed the spreadsheet, attached it to your e-mail response along with your RFP submission.

https://www.adamhscc.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=3569


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25. Describe the line items in your budget and how you arrived at them.

26. Describe who will accomplish what and when.


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27. Describe how you arrived at your budgeted costs.

Name of Person Completing this application

Email Address of Person Completing this Application

Telephone Number of Person Completing this Application

Date Completed

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