14-Specifications.pdf

SPECIFICATIONS

Sex Offender Treatment Services for the Harris County Community Supervision & Corrections Department

SCOPE

Harris County is seeking qualified vendors to provide sex offender treatment services for the Harris County Community Supervision & Corrections Department (HCCSCD) for a period of one (1) year, beginning on or about November 1, 2025, and ending twelve (12) months thereafter, or until all services ordered prior to the expiration date have been satisfactorily provided.

PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE

A pre-proposal conference is scheduled on August 12, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. CST. Attendance is not mandatory, but all vendors should attend in order to have a better understanding of the requirements of this RFP. Should you wish to attend, you must RSVP to Amber Seastrunk at Amber.Seastrunk@pur.hctx.net by August 8, 2025, no later than 12:00 p.m. CST. By RSVP request, you will be provided with the conference line number and access code to dial in to attend the meeting. Persons with disabilities requiring special accommodations should contact the Office of the Purchasing Agent at (713) 274-4400 at least two

(2) days prior to the conference.

It is the responsibility of each vendor to examine the entire Request for Proposal (RFP) package, seek clarification in writing, and review their offer for accuracy before submitting. Questions relating to this RFP must be submitted in writing through Bonfire. The deadline for submission of questions relating to this RFP is listed on the Event schedule within Bonfire of this project. All questions submitted in writing prior to the deadline will be compiled and answered in writing. A copy of all questions and answers will be released as a Public Notice within Bonfire to all firms. The County will not be bound be any information conveyed verbally.

RENEWAL OPTIONS

HCCSCD may consider four (4) one-year renewal options, renewable one (1) year at a time, based upon the same terms, conditions and pricing as the original year. Once renewal options are exhausted, the contract must be rebid. HCCSCD reserves the right to rebid at any time as is in its best interest and is not automatically bound to renew.

BACKGROUND

Harris County is an urban county located in Texas and is one (1) of the most populated counties in Texas and in the United States. Harris County’s seat is Houston, the largest city in Texas, which is among the largest cities in the United States.

HCCSCD is currently one (1) of the largest adult probation departments in the United States. HCCSCD offers a broad array of services including community supervision, outpatient counseling, cognitive -behavioral programming and residential treatment to increase the capabilities of clients so that they can be successful moving forward.

HCCSCD Mission Statement HCCSCD is committed to using evidence-based strategies to help individuals on community supervision eliminate future criminal behavior and become productive citizens, which in turn, creates a safer community with fewer victims.

mailto:Amber.Seastrunk@pur.hctx.net

HCCSCD Vision Statement HCCSCD strives to accomplish its mission by:

• Using interventions that are designed to effectively reduce criminal behavior.

• Using assessment to accurately identify and target criminal risk and needs.

• Recognizing the ability of individuals to change.

• Treating all individuals with respect and dignity.

• Creating an environment that encourages learning and professional growth.

HCCSCD Values Respect – HCCSCD believes all individuals deserve respect and dignity.

Knowledge – HCCSCD is dedicated to creating an environment that encourages learning and professional growth.

Ability to change – HCCSCD recognizes that all people can change regardless of their past.

Collaboration – HCCSCD acknowledges the importance in understanding our role and working with other community stakeholders to help address our clients’ holistic needs.

SPECIFICATIONS

Harris County is soliciting proposals from qualified firms to provide sex offender treatment services in a manner appropriate for criminal justice involved offender (client) populations. Client populations involved in the criminal justice system may have tri-occurring disorders (substance abuse, mental health, and criminality). This may, and often does, include clients who have committed violent or sexual offenses or who have mental illness.

To this end, a vendor submitting a proposal shall have a minimum of five (5) years of experience providing sex offender treatment services to adult clients and in working with adult client populations who are involved in the criminal justice system. Potential referrals to vendor shall be from HCCSCD’s Sex Offender Unit.

Exceptions to any client population(s) should be noted in vendor’s proposal response.

HCCSCD will confirm that all counselors/therapists/programs providing evaluation and/or treatment services to clients shall be currently listed as approved provider(s) by the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) Regulatory Services, Council on Sex Offender Treatment. Treatment staff shall have all applicable licenses (individual and facility) commensurate with their job responsibilities and as required by the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS).

All clinical personnel conducting clinical services shall be qualified credentialed professionals or designated counselor interns by TDSHS Regulatory Services, Council on Sex Offender Treatment and be receiving direct clinical supervision. A qualified credentialed professional is defined as an individual who is either certified, licensed or approved or registered by the State of Texas as a licensed clinical social worker, licensed professional counselor, licensed marriage and family therapist, psychologist, physician, psychiatrist, or advanced nurse practitioner recognized as a psychiatric clinical nurse specialist or psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner who provides services for the assessment and treatment of adult sex offenders with sexual behavior problems. A counselor intern is defined as a student intern or trainee pursuing a course of study in sex offender treatment at a regionally accredited institute of higher education or training institute approved by the Council on Sex Offender Treatment.

Accessibility Vendor shall have bilingual counselors on staff, who are licensed to provide sex offender counseling, to meet the needs of Spanish speaking clients referred to the program. As requested by HCCSCD, vendor shall utilize interpretation services for spoken languages beyond Spanish and/or for American Sign Language during treatment sessions with referred clients.

Additionally, HCCSCD is also interested in vendors that provide sex offender treatment services for the hearing impaired, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ), and interfaith clients.

Locations, Hours, and Other Factors Vendor shall provide an established office or offices to conduct treatment for clients referred by HCCSCD.

Vendor’s locations available for treatment services shall also comply with the community supervision conditions issued by the Harris County Courts, including, but not limited to those regarding Child Safety Zones (CSZs), which may be five hundred (500) to one thousand (1,000) feet from designated locations, such as schools and daycare centers

If vendor is able to accept referrals of indigent clients on vendor’s own funding, such as vendor’s federal or state grant funding, vendor shall provide such details in its proposal response.

Program Content and Services The program shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

• Individual assessments by clinical interview shall use a minimum of one (1) recognized sex offender assessment instrument (i.e. Multiphasic Sex Inventory, Abel & Becker Cognitive Scale, Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, The Abel Assessment for Sexual Interest, Minnesota Sex Offender Screening Tool - MnSOST-R, Psychopathy Checklist-Revised - PCL-R, Rapid Risk Assessment for Sex Offender Recidivism - RRASOR) or other instrument approved by HCCSCD and the Texas Council on Sex Offender Treatment.

• Individual therapy, with individual treatment plan as approved by HCCSCD. The primary mode of treatment shall be cognitive behavioral group therapy, unless otherwise recommended by the treatment provider. A recommendation for individual treatment, rather than group treatment must be justified by the treatment provider and submitted in writing to HCCSCD, prior to pursuing individual therapy as the primary mode of treatment.

• Indicate whether or not your program utilizes clinical polygraph testing as part of the treatment program.

• Indicate whether or not your program utilizes the plethysmograph as part of the treatment program.

• Cognitive behavioral group therapy with individual treatment plans addressing the following components shall be part of the treatment program: review and discussion of current offense, thinking errors, cognitive distortions, the abuse cycle, denial, anger management, victim empathy and relapse prevention. Minimum of one (1) group session per week per participant. Groups may not be larger than ten (10) participants per group. Group sessions shall be a minimum of sixty (60) minutes per session.

• Family counseling, education sessions and parenting classes.

• A combination of educational, cognitive behavioral and family system interventions shall be provided.

Interventions shall include anger management, sexuality education, communications skills, sexual assault cycles, recognizing emotions and victimology.

• Social service referrals, as needed.

Vendor Requirements The selected vendor shall at a minimum:

• Participate in the HCCSCD Sex Offender Unit Interagency Coordinating Council on Sex Offenders meetings, no less than four (4) times per year.

• Provide written evaluations to the Supervision Officer, within thirty (30) days after the initial assessment of each client referred for services, which includes a treatment plan and the proposed length of treatment.

At a minimum, vendor(s) shall provide monthly progress reports via email to Supervision Officers for each client referred by HCCSCD, by the fifteenth (15th) day of each month, or as otherwise required by HCCSCD or law. HCCSCD may ask for more frequent (e.g., weekly progress reports) from vendor, if it is necessary for HCCSCD’s operational needs (e.g., reports required for courts, multiple clients referred for admission on the same day, etc.), or if it is necessary to determine a client’s participation and status with the vendor. Vendor shall also respond to all client status inquiries received from HCCSCD’s Supervision Officers at vendor’s earliest possible convenience; however, HCCSCD’s expectation is that vendor’s response time to such inquiries shall generally be within one (1) to three (3) business days. Vendor shall detail in its proposal how it proposes to handle communications regarding client status if vendor’s principal treatment provider(s) is/are unavailable.

• All treatment-related documents for clients that are sent to HCCSCD’s Community Supervision Officers shall include a separate Adobe pdf document for each client; treatment-related documents for multiple clients, shall not be combined into one (1) Adobe pdf document. This requirement shall not apply to invoices and billing-related documents.

• Notify the client’s Community Supervision Officer immediately, within twenty-four (24) hours or the next working day, of high-risk behavior and/or an absence from an evaluation or treatment session, by telephone and in written format by email.

• Provide treatment program discharge criteria to HCCSCD. In addition, each client exiting treatment will have a discharge plan completed and forwarded to HCCSCD within three (3) days of the client’s discharge. Prior to discharge, vendor shall schedule and coordinate with client’s Community Supervision Officer or designee to evaluate if any additional services are required for client. A copy of each client’s discharge plan and discharge summary shall be submitted to HCCSCD within three (3) days of such discharge. Under no circumstances, may vendor discharge any client without having furnished HCCSCD with prior written notification thereof.

• Provide Supervision Officers with a written copy of the relapse plan for each client who completes the treatment program at least thirty (30) days prior to discharge from the program.

• As required, vendor shall provide testimony in court, affidavits, and documents for any court proceedings and trials related to its treatment services for HCCSCD and its clients, at no additional cost to HCCSCD.

• Vendor shall share program data and statistics on community supervision clients referred to vendor’s program with the research and planning divisions of HCCSCD, via in-person or email in pdf, Word, or Excel format, and vendor shall allow representatives from HCCSCD and Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Criminal Justice Assistance Division (TDCJ-CJAD) to access client and program data for research purposes, as requested.

• Vendor shall provide Quality Assurance (QA) to ensure that vendor’s groups are being delivered with fidelity. HCCSCD will review the QA feedback and will provide additional monitoring by its QA personnel or other designees as needed. Vendor shall allow a HCCSCD contract monitor and/or representative from TDCJ-CJAD to review HCCSCD client files, and vendor shall have a representative from vendor’s program available to answer questions, receive feedback, and provide other information as needed.

Vendor(s) shall expect to be monitored by HCCSCD’s QA personnel at least annually, and HCCSCD may conduct additional QA monitoring, in its discretion, if the additional monitoring is necessary or desirable.

• Provide a minimum of six (6) hours of training for Supervision Officers, at HCCSCD facilities, on treatment and supervision of sex offender related topics, as requested by HCCSCD.

• Comply with any additional guidelines, policies, and standards developed by HCCSCD, including, but not limited to the Sex Offender Treatment Provider Responsibilities.

• Allow Supervision Officers to access treatment groups whenever possible.

• Be able to legally provide or refer probationers directly for medication, psychiatric needs and adjunctive treatments, when necessary.

• Be willing to serve a wide variety of client offense behaviors and risk levels, including male and female clients.

• Participate in specific training, as requested by HCCSCD, including, but not limited to, the development of collaborative working relationships.

• Require every client referred for evaluation and/or treatment to sign vendor’s documentation explaining vendor’s treatment/program rules, consent to treatment requirements, confidentiality, and limitations on confidentiality. Vendor shall provide a copy of such documentation with vendor’s Section V response.

• Provide on-site professional supervision when evaluating, assessing and treating clients referred by

HCCSCD. These services may not be provided in any private residence at any time. Provisions must be made to prevent contact with minors.

• Provide a copy of the treatment provider’s treatment contract with clients outlining any treatment requirements that the treatment provider expects to see clients follow or adhere to during treatment (e.g., communication requirements, attendance policies, behavioral expectations with staff and members of the community, restrictions on interactions with victims, etc.).

• Provide a copy of vendor office’s release of information form.

TDCJ-CJAD Requirements Vendor(s) awarded an agreement shall agree to the TDCJ-CJAD Group 3 Other Treatment Services contract terms and conditions and to the contract performance measures outlined therein. A sample Services Operations Agreement containing the TDCJ-CJAD Group 3 Other Treatment Services contract terms and conditions and contract performance measures is available for review in Bonfire under Supporting Documentation. If vendor has any exceptions to the terms and conditions in the sample Services Operations Agreement or to these RFP Specifications, vendor shall explain any such exceptions in its proposal response and also add comments to the Exceptions Questionnaire (Q-04QW).

Prior to the employment of a counselor, and at least on an annual, or more frequent basis thereafter, the vendor shall conduct national and state criminal background checks in accordance with HCCSCD standards and Texas law on each contract vendor staff member. Such background checks shall be undertaken by vendor at vendor’s sole cost and expense. Copies of the criminal history shall be retained in the individuals’ personnel files and be available for review by HCCSCD. In the event that a vendor’s employee becomes unsatisfactory for any reason, HCCSCD reserves the right to request the employee be replaced.

Vendor Operational Plan and Budget If a contract is offered and furnished by HCCSCD to proposer, it is anticipated that the RFP Specifications, Sections I-IV of the RFP Special Requirements, vendor’s proposal as finally negotiated, vendor’s Best and Final Offer (“BAFO”), and the related operations and budget information submitted by vendor in response to this RFP, shall become part of the Vendor Operational Plan, which shall be attached and incorporated by reference into such contract, as entered into and executed by the parties. The Vendor Operational Plan shall also include the performance measures outlined in the sample Services Operations Agreement and HCCSCD’s Sex Offender Treatment Standards, copies of which are available in Bonfire for vendor review.

Under these circumstances, the Vendor Operational Plan and Budget, as included in vendor’s proposal and/or vendor’s Best and Final Offer, shall become legally binding upon execution of an agreement by vendor and HCCSCD. The Vendor Operational Plan and Budget shall be included among the processes, circumstances, and terms under which the proposer’s treatment services shall be provided.

The Vendor Operational Plan shall be used in annual contract monitoring by HCCSCD. At all times, HCCSCD retains control over the clients that may be referred by vendor to government agencies or to third parties to provide other or additional treatment services. If a client is determined by vendor to need additional or different treatment services, such client is to be referred back to HCCSCD for a determination as to what, if any, further action, or treatment should occur. The policies and procedures that pertain to the circumstances for these additional and other referrals, if any, that may occur shall be addressed by the vendor in its proposal.

If vendor has a preferred policy or practice of handling such situations, vendor shall describe its policies and/or practices in its proposal.

Vendors shall ensure that only reasonable and allowable costs are used in the cost justification set forth in the Vendor Program Budget and other provisions of their proposals submitted in response to this RFP. If, during the term of any contract that may be offered and furnished to proposer, unallowable or unreasonable costs or monies are expended by proposer in contravention of the requirements and specifications contained in this RFP, proposer may be subject to contractual liabilities and damages, in addition to criminal sanctions, under certain circumstances.

Vendors with multiple contracts with state or local governments or other agencies are required to develop budgets, accounting processes, and records that allow for the verification of rates by HCCSCD, TDCJ-CJAD, and any government auditors. This obligation for verification of vendor rates shall include information regarding a vendor’s indirect cost rates, overhead, and cost pooling practices.

Vendor budgets included in proposals prepared in response to this RFP shall follow all applicable TDCJ- CJAD, requirements. The prices quoted by vendors in a response to this RFP shall be the full cost of the subject treatment. If a contract is offered and furnished by HCCSCD to a vendor related to this RFP, any other funds (including client participant fees) available to the vendor from public or private sources, shall be deducted from the total billable amounts submitted to HCCSCD by vendor. Before the award of any contract related to this RFP, vendors shall be required to furnish HCCSCD with satisfactory evidence as to the pecuniary and financial resources and insurance coverages that are available to them in order to fulfill contract terms and conditions. HCCSCD may also elect to further require that all financial reports or statements furnished reflect a vendor’s current financial status and are certified as to accuracy by a certified public accountant.

Pricing and Invoicing All TDCJ-CJAD proposal and budget guidelines must be utilized. Budget information must be completed and submitted with proposals, and a copy of Vendor’s Justification for Fee for Service Budget is available in Bonfire for vendor review and completion. Vendors shall specify and complete a separate Justification for Fee for Service Budgets for each type of service provided (i.e., one each for individual assessments, individual therapy, group therapy), and vendors shall specify if unit cost will vary based on the number served (i.e., ten (10) served will cost X, twenty (20) served will cost XY). Vendors shall complete the Justification for Fee for Service Budget forms to substantiate how unit costs were determined for each service.

All proposed costs must be reasonable and necessary for providing the services stated in the RFP, and Vendor’s Justification for Fee for Service Budget documentation shall not include any of the potential Unallowable Costs (a list of Unallowable Costs is attached to the Justification for Fee for Service Budget forms and is available in Bonfire for vendor review).

If a vendor proposes any pricing structure other than the per person/per hour structure requested by the Bid Table in Bonfire, HCCSCD may, in its discretion: require vendor to agree to a pricing structure that is consistent with HCCSCD’s operational needs (e.g., if vendor proposes a per group/per session rate, HCCSCD may require that there be a minimum number of HCCSCD client participants per each group session and/or require that group sessions be canceled if the minimum number of HCCSCD client participants are not available to attend a particular group session).

Under any contract that may be awarded related to this RFP, by the seventh (7th) day of each month, vendor shall be obligated to submit one (1) electronic copy of a single, consolidated, written, itemized invoice for payment for all services provided to HCCSCD clients during the prior month to vendorinvoices@aud.hctx.net and to HCCSCD’s designees. Vendor’s consolidated monthly invoice documentation shall include a single-page summary invoice in pdf format that includes an aggregated total due for all services provided by vendor to all HCCSCD clients during the particular month, along with a single Excel spreadsheet containing vendor’s supporting invoice detail for all services provided by vendor to all HCCSCD clients during the particular month. Vendor’s supporting invoice detail contained in the single Excel spreadsheet submitted for each month shall include, at a minimum, the identities of all clients served, all clients’ System Person Numbers (SPNs) and tracer numbers, the dates of service for all clients, and a description of the services provided to all clients for each date of service. Vendor shall not submit per client or per date of service invoices to HCCSCD for its services. Vendor shall submit invoices with HCCSCD’s verification forms (samples are available for review in Bonfire), documenting each unit of service provided, with the client’s signature, and the date the unit of service was provided. HCCSCD and the Harris County mailto:vendorinvoices@aud.hctx.net

Auditor also have the right to request attendance records from the vendor to substantiate vendor’s invoice charges.

Contracts are subject to availability of TDCJ-CJAD funds. Services provided will be paid for from the appropriate fiscal year funds provided by TDCJ-CJAD. All representations made by HCCSCD are subject to the availability of legislative appropriations and do not represent an obligation on the part of the State of Texas, the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, or TDCJ-CJAD.

Access to Records and Information Vendors agree to furnish to HCCSCD and/or TDCJ-CJAD such information as may be requested which relates to the services provided. Vendors shall permit HCCSCD and/or TDCJ-CJAD to audit/inspect records and reports, review services and/or evaluate the performance of these services at any time. Vendors shall provide reasonable access to all the records, books, reports and other necessary data and information needed to accomplish reviews of program activities, services, and expenditures. HCCSCD shall conduct site visits, and a vendor will receive site visit procedures from HCCSCD prior to the first scheduled visit. HCCSCD reserves the right to conduct random site visits, without prior notification to a vendor.