Culturally Responsive Early Intervention Access

The County of Santa Cruz is seeking qualified organizations to provide culturally responsive early‑intervention behavioral health services to children, youth, and families in the South Santa Cruz/Pajaro Valley area. The program focuses on three priority streams: parent education, LGBTQ+ youth and family support, and language‑appropriate linkage to mental health and substance‑use services for monolingual Spanish‑ and Indigenous‑language‑speaking families. Applicants must demonstrate experience serving these underserved populations, outline a culturally responsive service delivery model, and provide data‑collection and reporting plans. Up to multiple vendors may be selected, and contracts will be awarded after a qualification review and possible presentations. • Target population: children & youth (0‑25) and families, especially Spanish‑only, Indigenous‑language, LGBTQ+, Black/African American, Multiracial, Native American. • Services: early behavioral‑health screening, brief interventions, referrals, parent education, culturally‑responsive outreach, and linkage to mental‑health/substance‑use resources. • Deliverables: culturally adapted materials, bilingual staff or interpreters, data collection on outcomes, regular reporting to the County. • Qualification criteria: organizational experience (≥2 years), demonstrated cultural competence, prior work with priority groups, data‑reporting capacity, and minimum scoring threshold (50 points). • Submission: electronic RFQ via OpenGov by Dec 4 2026 5 PM PT; optional pre‑qualification webinars on Oct 26 2026 (online) and Nov 5 2026 (in‑person).