Mental Health Counseling / Clinician Services for NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services

*** 04/16/2026 - CR 2133700 has been updated, see Documents section for Q&A and Revised Attachment 1. *** The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) is re-soliciting bids for in-person and virtual Mental Health Counseling Services from vendors with current experience working with first line public safety and/or emergency response personnel. This re-solicitation is due to a change in scope. DHSES provides leadership, coordination, and support to prevent, protect against, prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate disasters and other emergencies. DHSES is looking for one (1) qualified vendor to provide two (2) clinicians (primary and secondary) to support DHSES’ need for mental health counseling services to DHSES staff. New Scope of Work (SOW) DHSES is seeking one (1) qualified vendor, with two (2) clinicians on staff, to provide the initial mental health counseling services for DHSES employees that may be experiencing a mental health crisis or need professional mental health services. From the time DHSES notifies the awarded vendor that a DHSES employee needs needs clinician services, the clinician is expected to make initial contact with the DHSES employee (virtually or in person) within three (3) hours, then be available for an initial counseling session as soon as practicable. In the event the primary clinician is not available when services are requested, then the secondary clinician shall provide the mental health counseling services. The vendor shall provide both a primary clinician (lead clinician) and a secondary clinician (backup clinician). The vendor shall have the same overall responsibilities as defined in this new scope of work, regardless of which clinician (primary or secondary) makes the initial contact with the DHSES staff. The clinician(s) will not be expected to provide ongoing therapy sessions to DHSES staff but should be able to help meet their immediate initial mental health needs, then refer the DHSES staff to other, suitable and culturally competent mental health professionals for longer term care, as necessary. The referrals must be to providers licensed to practice in New York State, in good standing and within the employee’s insurance network. The two (2) proposed clinicians must hold at least one of the following licenses: Licensed Master Social Worker/ Licensed Clinical Social Worker Psychotherapy (LMSW/ LCSW); Licensed Mental Health Counselor/ Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LMHC/ CMHC); Doctor of Philosophy/ Doctor of Psychology (Ph.D./ Psy.D.). If the clinician and DHSES employee mutually decide to engage in ongoing counseling sessions beyond the initial consultation, those subsequent sessions will be outside the scope of this solicitation, and any billing arrangements would be made between the clinician/vendor and DHSES employee.) In addition, the primary clinician is expected to provide technical assistance, training, and/or guidance to the Peer Support Team. In this role as Clinical Advisor to DHSES’ Peer Support team, the clinician will be expected to attend scheduled meetings to ensure the emerging standards of care in peer support and best practices are followed. The clinician may also provide support to a Peer Support Group and potentially help conduct Group Therapy sessions. As necessary, the primary clinician will participate in critical incident stress debriefing sessions if/when sessions are scheduled after DHSES staff are involved in the response to traumatic or stressful emergency response operations or situations. The vendor is expected to be able to provide virtual services to DHSES staff throughout the State of New York. DHSES anticipates the estimated workload for initial mental health counseling and meetings will be approximately a total of five to ten hours a month. However, since clinician services will be requested on an as-needed-basis, the estimated workload could be adjusted accordingly to meet the needs of DHSES. This solicitation does not allow for subcontracting. Insurance Requirements Prior to the start of the work, vendor shall procure at its sole cost/expense and shall maintain in force at all times during the term of the agreement, policies of insurance as detailed in the attached Insurance Requirements document. Upon notification of selection, vendor will be required to provide all necessary documentation in a form that is acceptable to DHSES. Administrative Proposal / Minimum Qualifications 1. The bidder/vendor must have a minimum of five (5) years’ experience in their current business structure and registered with the New York State Department of State (NYSDOS). The vendor must provide proof that its firm has been registered with the NYSDOS in its current business structure for a minimum of five (5) years. 2. The two (2) proposed clinicians must be in good standing and licensed to practice in NYS. Provide the clinician’s NYS license number and a screen shot of your license to practice in NYS. 3. Provide proof of the degrees or certifications for the proposed two (2) mental health counselors: Licensed Master Social Worker/ Licensed Clinical Social Worker Psychotherapy (LMSW/ LCSW-R); Licensed Mental Health Counselor/ Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LMHC/ CMHC); Doctor of Philosophy/ Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.); or similar. The clinician should be able to refer to following specialty areas, if needed: Trauma, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprogramming (EMDR), Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PET), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Forensic Evaluations, or other. The bidder should complete (or be willing to complete) assisting Individuals in Crisis and Group Crisis Intervention courses offered through the International Critical Incident Stress Foundations (ICISF). 4. The vendor must address the Revised Attachment 1 documents. Technical Proposals and Interviews The technical proposal shall not contain any cost information. The technical proposal should include the following: 1. a description of the vendor’s assessment process and the way the vendor intends to provide their services as described in the new scope of work; 2. The technical proposal should include and identify the lead clinician resume and the back-up clinician resume; 3. The clinicians must have a minimum of five (5) years’ current experience working with public safety and/or emergency response personnel; 4. The vendor must provide services that are tailored to the DHSES’ staff needs by implementing key components of evidence-based practices; 5. Clinicians should have expertise in broad areas including but not limited to anxiety, depression, grief and loss, sexual trauma, life transitions, relationships/ family/ couples, LGBTQIA+, substance abuse, veterans’ issues, and/or race, equity, and inclusion; 6. The technical proposal should include how the vendor anticipates mental health counseling services coverage will be met between the primary and secondary clinicians. 7. And, the clinicians should be able to refer to following specialty areas, if needed: Trauma, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprogramming (EMDR), Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PET), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Forensic Evaluations, and others. The bidder should complete (or be willing to complete) assisting Individuals in Crisis and Group Crisis Intervention courses offered through the International Critical Incident Stress Foundations (ICISF). This technical evaluation will be weighted 60 % and includes a shortlisting. The initial technical scores will be based on the information provided in the vendor’s technical proposal. Shortlisting will be limited to the top three (3) initial technical scores. Only the top three (3) shortlisted vendors will move forward to the technical interview with the two (2) proposed clinicians/service providers. Please note, only submit resumes of your proposed two (2) clinicians. Additional resumes of other staff clinicians are not necessary and will not be evaluated. The vendor must be compliant with HIPAA and other applicable state and federal privacy laws. Cost Proposal The cost proposal is weighed 40% and shall not contain any technical proposal information. The cost proposal is the bidder’s proposed all-inclusive hourly rate. Travel will be reimbursable separately from the hourly rate. Agency rights DHSES reserves the right to: award one or multiple contracts pursuant to this solicitation, or to cancel this solicitation; seek clarifications and revisions of proposals; amend the scope of work prior to bid opening; waive any requirements that are not material; negotiate with the successful proposer within the scope of work in the best interests of the State; extend the term up to five (5) years; in the event of unsuccessful negotiations with the selected proposers, conduct contract negotiations with the next responsive and responsible proposer; clarify and/or correct arithmetic or apparent errors assuring a full and complete understanding of a vendor’s proposal and/or to determine a vendor’s compliance with the requirements of the solicitation. Submission Each submission must include an administrative proposal, technical proposal, and a cost proposal. Each submission must be complete to be deemed responsive. Incomplete submissions may be deemed non-responsive. Proof of DHSES’ tax exemption status will be provided to the awardee. If you have any questions, submit your questions by 12:00 (ET), 04/14/26 to [email protected]. Answers will be provided by COB 04/21/26. Each submission should be sent to [email protected]. . Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOB) SDVOB Goal: 0.00% Minority / Women Business Enterprise contracting goals (MWBE) MBE Goal: 0.00% WBE Goal: 0.00% Disadvantaged Business Enterprise contracting goals (DBE) DBE Goal: 0.00%