SCHOOL BASED BEHAVIORAL
HEALTH PROGRAM
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Issuing Office:
ALLEGHENY HEALTHCHOICES, INC.
ON BEHALF OF
THE BEAVER COUNTY
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH OFFICE
1040 Eighth Avenue
Beaver Falls, PA 15010
Project Officer: Stephanie Santoro
Request for Proposal (RFP
Beaver County Behavioral Health (BCBH)
School Based Behavioral Health Program
Purpose
Beaver County Behavioral Health (BCBH), Value Behavioral Health (VBH), the Beaver
Valley Intermediate Unit (BVIU) and The Prevention Network (TPN) are seeking an
organization to implement and manage a School Based Behavioral Health Program for
students in kindergarten through the sixth grade in collaboration with the Rochester Area
School District. The School Based Behavioral Health Program will be comprised of a
team of professionals trained to work with students who display behaviors that place
them at risk of out of classroom and/or school placement. The clinical team will work to
meet the needs of the students while also providing seamless transition between the
service and classroom.
Important Dates
Important dates in this process are as follows:
May 6th , 2009
RFP Released
May 13, 2009
May 20, 2009
RFP Question & Answer Session for interested parties
(see next section for additional details)
Letters of intent to respond to the RFP due
Noon on June 2, 2009
RFP Responses Due
Week of June 15, 2009 *
Proposal review by the Evaluation Committee
Week of June 22, 2009 *
Final candidate interviews (if necessary)
Week of June 22, 2009 *
Selections and notification by BCBH
TBA
Training
TBA
Services begin
*dates are subject to change
BCBH has asked Allegheny HealthChoices, Inc. (AHCI) to act as the facilitator of this
RFP. Responses to the Request for Proposal will be due at the Allegheny HealthChoices
Inc. (AHCI) office no later than noon on June 2, 2009. The AHCI office is located at
Gateway 4, 444 Liberty Avenue, Suite 240, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. BCBH will disqualify
any and all proposals received after this date and time.
Transmittal letter must accompany the proposal signed by an individual authorized to
represent and negotiate on behalf of the bidder.
RFP Question & Answer Session
BCBH plans to hold a Question and Answer session on May 13, 2009 from 1:30 PM to
2:30 PM at the Beaver County Behavioral Health office, 1040 Eighth Avenue, 2nd floor,
Beaver Falls, PA 15010.
Please note:

Candidates are asked to limit attendance to two (2) people from your
organization.

Candidates need to RSVP to the RFP project officer, Stephanie Santoro with the
names of the people planning to attend by close of business on May 11, 2009.
Stephanie can be contacted at ssantoro@ahci.org.

Questions for consideration at the RFP Q&A Session should be submitted to
Stephanie Santoro, by close of business on April 27, 2009. Questions should be
submitted in writing by email (ssantoro@ahci.org) or fax (412-325-1111).
Additional questions will also be accepted at the Q&A session.
Contact with any of the staff at BCBH, VBH, BVIU or TPN concerning this RFP, unless
occurring at the Q&A session or through the RFP project officer, are grounds for
disqualification. Funneling all questions through the RFP project officer, who will
disseminate all questions and answers to candidates that submit letters of intent, ensures
that all interested parties will all receive the same information.
Letter of Intent
All candidates interested in submitting a proposal to provide School Based Behavioral
Health services are required to submit a letter of intent by May 20, 2009. The letter of
intent should include, at minimum, the following:

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Name of the organization/s.
Affirmation that the organization intends to submit a proposal to provide School
Based Behavioral Health services.
Name, address, telephone number, and email address of the contact person for the
proposal.
Only proposals from candidates that have submitted letters of intent will be considered.
Proposal Submission
Proposals must be limited to 30 pages, double spaced; single sided with a font size 12, in
addition to any relevant attachments. Information should correspond with numbering
used on pages 6-9 of this RFP. All proposals must be received by 12:00 pm on June 2,
2009. Ten hard copies, one unbound copy and 1 CD/Disc copy of the proposal should be
mailed or delivered to:
Stephanie Santoro
Allegheny HealthChoices, Inc.
Gateway 4
444 Liberty Avenue, Suite 240
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Late proposals will not be considered regardless of the reason.
It is BCBH’s policy to solicit proposals with a bona fide intention to contract with VBH.
This policy notwithstanding, any proposal shall be submitted with the following
expressed understanding:
This Request for Proposal is not subject to the competitive bidding process and
any contract entered into as a result of any proposal will not be based on the
concept of the “lowest cost applicant.” Furthermore, BCBH has the right to reject
any and all proposals.
BCBH may modify the selection process or the scope of the project or of the
required responses.
All costs of developing proposals and any subsequent expenses relating to contract
negotiations are entirely the responsibility of the applicant and may not be charged to the
County.
Rejection of Proposals
The County reserves the right to reject any and all proposals received as a result of this
RFP, and to negotiate separately with competing applicants. If all proposals are
unacceptable, the County reserves the right to reject the proposals and to issue a new
RFP. The County reserves the right to reject a proposal at any time during the process.
Background
There are 15 school districts in Beaver County utilizing many services for students with
behavioral health needs. The children with the most intensive behavioral and mental
health symptoms create challenges that are not readily addressed in the classroom by the
currently available mental health interventions. Some existing interventions involve
extensive periods of time in which children are removed from their home school. Others,
such as traditional BHRS, create classrooms with multiple adults intervening with
children without a centralized theoretical model and agreed upon approaches. Others,
such as outpatient therapy, are not able to impact the child in the natural environment.
Past attempts to address behavioral health needs in school have met with varying degrees
of success. Three partial hospitalization programs for youth have been implemented in
Beaver County in the past and have closed because of low utilization.
BCBH intends to pursue a proven model for providing mental and behavioral health
treatment in school, based on the following principles:
 Services should keep students in their classrooms and in the school district
whenever possible
 Services should be proactive and positive, building on the strengths of the student
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Service delivery should be well integrated into the school setting, making
treatment providers and school staff partners in creating a healthy environment for
all children.
Services must follow the mandate to be least intrusive, least restrictive and
responsive to the individual needs of the child within the school setting
Partnership of parents in the school community is key to successful outcomes for
students.
Nicholas Hobbs’ Re-Education philosophy has been chosen as the foundational model for
school based behavioral health services in Beaver County. Beaver County Behavioral
Health (BCBH), Value Behavioral Health-BE of PA (VBH), the Beaver Valley
Intermediate Unit (BVIU) and The Prevention Network (TPN) invited Rochester Area
School District to work collaboratively to develop the School Based Behavioral Health
Service.
Scope of Work
The following information is provided as a guide for potential candidates in developing
proposals for the School Based Behavioral Health service.
Program Objectives
 Develop in-school access to treatment services capable of providing interventions
and services at varying levels of intensity, based on the individualized needs of
the students, which are able to adjust as rapidly as the changing needs of the
students.
 Develop services that will create an integrated behavioral health team as an inschool resource for the students and their families.
 Develop educational environments where behavioral health treatment staff is fully
integrated into the school within a strengths-based classroom setting.
Tasks
 To reintegrate students who have been placed out of the school or in a specialized
classroom setting into a lesser restrictive classroom setting.
 To maintain current students in their community schools.
 To avoid out of school placement.
 To continue with the school districts efforts to create a culture within the school
of competence, growth and inclusion.
Requirements
 At the start of the 09/10 school year, implement a School Based Behavioral
Health Program in the Rochester Area School District for students (K-6) with
behavioral health needs. The intent is for this service to work in collaboration
with school personnel on meeting the needs of the students and families in the
district.
 Participate in training with school personnel in the summer/fall of 2009 as well as
all on going county mandated trainings.
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Provide services as needed in natural settings, which might include working non
traditional school hours.
Provide staff to work as the clinical team*:
a. Clinical Director (.25 FTE)
b. Clinical Manager (1 FTE)
c. Behavioral Intervention Specialists (4 FTE)
d. Behavioral Intervention Coordinator (1 FTE)
e. Parent Liaison ((2) .5 FTE)
* see Attachment A for descriptions of each role.
Rochester Area School District is responsible for developing and implementing
the academic daily schedule. All students in the School Based Behavioral Health
Service will attend educational programming that is supported by School Based
Behavioral Health Services. The educational program will be combined with the
daily activities of the School Based Behavioral Health Program as listed on
Attachment B.
Information Required from Proposers
Candidates are required to submit information on the following: 1) background and
experience; 2) governance; 3) program design; 4) program implementation; and 5) cost.
At minimum, candidates’ proposals should address the items listed below.
Background and Experience
1.
Describe your organization’s history and relevant behavioral health and
education system experience.
2.
Describe your organization’s knowledge of the 12 Re-Education Principles by
Nicholas Hobbs.
3.
Describe your organization’s knowledge and experience with strength based
practices.
Governance
1.
Describe how the addition of this service to the continuum of services offered
by your organization is consistent with your organization’s mission and vision.
2.
Describe your organization’s governance structure.
3.
List your organization’s current Board of Directors.
4.
Describe how your organization will provide oversight and management of this
service internally and in collaboration with the school district, VBH and
BCBH.
Program Design
1.
Describe your organization’s strategies for delivering this service. Include
specific treatment interventions; clinical oversight (including the frequency
and duration of the clinical and administrative oversight and the general
availability of the agency to the program); and how Nicholas Hobbs’ ReEducation philosophy will be foundational to your services.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Describe your organization’s staffing plan for this service. Include: staffing
patterns, staff job descriptions, staff training plan (initial and ongoing), and
staff supervision requirements.
Describe how your organization will manage clinical consultation for cooccurring issues.
Describe how you will coordinate this service with other services the child
and/or family access, including crisis services, mental health services, drug and
alcohol services, case management, community/natural supports, etc.
Describe your organization’s strategy and handling of services provided during
non traditional school hours.
Describe your organization’s process for addressing consumer complaints and
grievances.
Describe how your organization will assess the quality of this service. Include
who will be responsible for this assessment and what it will entail.
Describe any experience your organization has in collecting and analyzing data
to produce outcome measures.
Please read the following two case scenarios and explain how your
organization would work with each child and his/her family through the School
Based Mental Health Service.
Case 1
Jonathan - Fifth grade
Jonathan expresses a belief that no one likes him; the teacher is always picking
on him. He is observed criticizing the work of peers, grabbing materials
during group work time, refusing to do his part of the work during group
activities and slamming books onto the table and chairs into the table. He also
has been observed making verbal threats to peers and teachers such as “I will
kill you all,” “I will burn down this school,” “I could bring a knife in and stab
you.” On three separate occasions he has loudly refused to participate in music
class saying “this stuff is dumb”, the “teacher is an imbecile”, “this music is
babyish”. During these and other behavioral episodes, Jonathan uses swear
language. When redirected by the principal, he says, “I can swear and do
whatever I want in the school. Everyone is ignorant and rude to me.”
If given a time out space, Jonathan throws furniture, books and other materials
around the room. During therapeutic rapport sessions, Jonathan has been
unable to recognize how his own behavior impacts situations. He continues to
express a belief that everyone has it out for him. When exploring reasons for
behavior, Jonathan continually says that he has no friends, his teacher hates
him, and he hates school. During recess, he has been observed walking around
the playground alone rather than participating with his peers in games and
other activities.
Jonathan does not have any difficulty with school work. He does demonstrate a
high level of achievement. His work has been adapted to meet his needs.
However, his behavior hampers work completion which is reflected in his
grades.
His teacher and parents have had meetings to discover the triggers for his
behavior. At this point, the data supports the hypothesis that when asked to
work in groups or to participate in an activity that Jonathan does not like or
think he can do well, he becomes both verbally and physically aggressive.
This behavior is used to escape uncomfortable situations. He requires support
to teach and practice the replacement skills of self-control, self-awareness of
situations and his role within them, social skills to interact with peers and
adults, and effective communication skills.
Although Jonathan sees an outside therapist, there is no communication with
the school team. Therefore generalization of skills is not evident and also the
therapist is not privy to the actual environmental situations. He takes
medication for his anxiety and anger management issues. Teachers do not
seem to have an understanding of how to react to Jonathan and have expressed
fear of his anger and physical outbursts. The team has begun to explore
outside placement to support Jonathan.
Case 2
Emily- Fourth Grade
Emily has exhibited several behaviors in the classroom and in other settings
within the school building. She arrives at school late (9:00 AM) on Mondays,
Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On these days she misses the breakfast program
that she participates in on Thursdays and Fridays. When she enters the
classroom, reading instruction has already begun. Emily attempts to talk to the
teacher and to her peers. She cannot find her books or writing tools. It takes
her 10 minutes to join her reading group. When she joins the group, Emily
refuses to read aloud when asked. She turns her seat around and crosses her
arms. Reading is a weak area for Emily and Tier 2 support is being provided
to her for this. She is making progress. It should be noted that her work is
adapted by level, depth and size to accommodate her needs. Despite this,
Emily continues to demonstrate work refusal, verbal aggression towards peers
and adults and some physical aggression of hitting, kicking and throwing.
There have been documented incidents of peers and adults being bruised by
these behaviors.
During cooperative learning activities, Emily will participate if she is in a
group with her friend Joe. If not, she moves about the room, sharpens her
pencil, and asks to use the rest room. The other peers in the group remind her
that she has work to do. At these times, Emily screams at them, hits the person
talking to her and uses profanity. When redirected by the teacher, Emily tells
the teacher to “shut the hell up and leave me alone”. At these times, Emily is
sent to the principal’s office. Attempts to reach her mother are usually
unsuccessful.
Emily also receives support in speech and language. When the speech
therapist comes to pick her up for small group intervention time, Emily throws
herself on the floor and refuses to go with her. The duration of these episodes
ranges from 3-5 minutes in length. After the speech therapist talks to her softly
and offers her points for calming down and coming to speech and language,
Emily complies. During the sessions, however, Emily refuses to participate in
group activities.
Emily demonstrates impulsive behavior, for example, saying unkind things to
her peers, taking food from lunch boxes that are in the hallway, kicking peers
while waiting in line, taking materials off of peers’ desks. During counseling
times, Emily offers no explanation for her behavior. Her mother and father are
also seeing very impulsive and defiant behavior at home. Mr. Jones has
recently lost his job and insurance. Mrs. Jones is working night shifts at the
local hospital. They both admit that the home is disorganized and that they do
not know how to work with Emily for her behavior and usually yell at her and
lock her in her room for time out.
Emily cries for as long as ten minutes when redirected or when asked to
perform a task that she does not want to do. At these times, she is given a quiet
place to recompose. There is little time for the teacher to de brief with her
because she is teaching.
The in school team has hypothesized, based upon their observation data that
Emily’s behavior serves the purpose of escape from tasks that she finds
difficult. Her poor social skills have impeded her social connections with peers.
Her behavior is impeding her own learning but also the learning of other
students. At this point the team is seriously considering a more segregated
setting.
Program Implementation
1.
Describe your organization’s strategy for implementing this service. Provide a
detailed implementation plan that includes activities, staff responsible, training
needs and timeframes for start and completion of each activity.
2.
Affirm your organization’s commitment to work with BCBH, VBH, BVIU and
TPN on any necessary service modifications based upon implementation
experience.
Cost
1.
Provide a detailed budget of the first 12 months of service operations to
include all start-up costs, as well as a projection for costs for the service after
implementation. The template provided in Attachment C is the required form
for the budgets. Also, include a narrative that details your assumptions for
these budgets.
Selection Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated using the following process.
BCBH will convene an Evaluation Committee that will include, at a minimum,
consumer/family members, BCBH staff, representatives from AHCI, representatives
from VBH, and other education and behavioral health stakeholders. Selection of
Evaluation Committee members is the sole discretion of the BCBH and VBH. Every
effort will be made to ensure that the Evaluation Committee members are not biased
toward a particular model or candidate.
The following criteria will be used by the Evaluation Committee to review each proposal:
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Experience and background
Program design
Program implementation
Cost
20%
35%
30%
15%
The proposals receiving the highest rating by the Evaluation Committee will be identified
and, if deemed necessary by BCBH, these candidates will be invited to an interview.
Candidates will be evaluated on their response to questions posed by the Evaluation
Committee. The interview format and questions posed will be at the sole discretion of
BCBH.
The Evaluation Committee will make a recommendation to Gerard Mike, Administrator,
Beaver County Behavioral Health. BCBH is responsible for the final selection of the
candidate for this project. BCBH reserves the right to amend the evaluation and selection
process as needed.