26-236 OSLC - Public Notice of Intent to Award a Sole Source Contract.pdf

Public Notice of Intent to Award a Sole Source Contract

Eugene School District 4J

200 North Monroe St, Eugene, OR 97402 solicitations@4j.lane.edu

CONTRACT NO:

PROPOSED CONTRACTOR:

AUTHORIZATION:

MINIMUM NEED:

ESTIMATED PRICE:

PUBLIC POSTING DATE:

JUSTIFICATION:

#26-236

OSLC Developments, Inc

ORS 279B.075, Eugene School District 4J Board Policy DJCA.

Eugene School District 4J Instruction desires a partner who can clinical, evidence-based interventions for teens with substance use and co occurring mental health challenges.

$100,000.00

October 1, 2025

See attached.

CERTIFICATION BY PROGRAM MANAGER:

I hereby certify that the above findings are true, correct, and complete.

hayden_d Cross-Out

Eugene School District 4J's students have benefited from Oregon Social Learning Center's Adolescent & Family Services (AFS) and White Bird's Helping Out Our Teens in Schools (HOOTS) to assist students in our secondary schools for several years, specifically in a focused and expanded capacity for mental health and crisis support since 2022. AFS provides clinical, evidence-based interventions for teens with substance use and co-occurring mental health challenges and HOOTS provides short term counseling, crisis intervention, basic first aid, and community referrals.

Here is an overview of services for AFS and HOOTS presented in the their respective district reports and materials:

Adolescent and Family Services Overview:

The AFS Program offers on-site school-based support to teens (Grades 9-12) struggling with substance use. The AFS Program's harm reduction approach to substance use counseling utilizes a Contingency Management (CM) protocol. CM is an evidence-based approach that empowers students to adopt psychological and behavioral strategies to make healthier choices.

AFS counselors are qualified to address additional generalized mental health challenges when appropriate and provide effective safety planning to students in crisis. AFS counselors must protect the confidentiality of students in accordance with HIPAA. However, collaboration between counselors, school staff, and families is strongly encouraged and integral to the AFS Program's effectiveness.

Contingency Management:

Contingency Management (CM) has substantial research findings to support its use as an evidence-based approach to substance use in adults, and more recent findings suggest that it is effective in reducing youth substance use. CM is a set of psychological and behavioral strategies designed to 1) Identify the people, places, and things (including feelings and thoughts) that lead a person to use a drug and to want to continue using it; 2) Identify people, places, and things that are more satisfying or rewarding to the individual than drug use; 3) Detect instances of an individual's drug use in an objective and measurable way; 4) Deliver positive consequences when the person has not used drugs and negative consequences when drug use is detected; and 5) Develop effective self-management plans and drug refusal skills to reduce substance use or facilitate abstinence (depending on the treatment goals established between the student, their family, and the AFS counselor).

Mental Health Support & Outreach:

Challenges with substance use are often co-occurring with other mental health disorders. CM is combined with additional evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to provide optimal care to students. The AFS Program offers mental health assessments from ODI clinicians to students who may benefit from a diagnosis. Assessment results are then used to fine-tune a student's treatment goals or give AFS counselors insight into which community mental health providers may better suit their unique needs.

Safety Planning:

AFS counselors are AMSR (Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk) and ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) certified. They are trained to respond to crisis situations confidently and effectively while implementing best practices. AFS counselors are adept at recognizing the warning signs of suicidal/homicidal behavior in teens. They understand the elements of an effective safety plan, implement plans in a timely manner, and value creating a network of trusted adults to provide structure and support to students in crisis.

White Bird's Helping Out Our Teens in Schools Overview:

A mental health resource that supports high schools. The HOOTS program, a sister program to CAHOOTS, is in high schools each week for a free and confidential crisis clinic available to all students. The clinic contains a crisis worker and an EMT, who are able to provide short term counseling, crisis intervention, basic first aid and community referrals. They are in schools to provide extra support to students who are experiencing anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, difficulty meeting their basic needs, issues at school, at home, with friends or with family ... and so much more! The clinic can connect students to services in the community, long term counseling and even get them signed up for OHP on site. Anyone can access the clinic and they recommend students get connected through the counseling office at school.

As an offshoot program from White Bird's CAHOOTS, HOOTS offers services that are HIPM compliant, including short-term counseling, crisis intervention, basic first aid and community referrals. They can also get students signed up for OHP on-site and connect them to long term counseling. HOOTS accesses students primarily by referrals from counselors and teachers, though students can also self-refer. HOOTS clinics are intended for students who:

• Express suicidal ideation

• Have signs of self-harm or disclose self-harm

• Are struggling with anxiety, depression, extreme states or other mental health issues

• Are struggling with being in the classroom

• Are having family, friend, romantic or other interpersonal conflicts or issues

• Are struggling with substance use

• Need help accessing counseling or other social services

• Need support in discussing issues around LGBTQ identity

• Are facing homelessness or need resources for shelter

• Need food, clothing or other basic hygiene items

• Need basic medical support (there is an EMT or RN on each HOOTS clinic)

We would like to continue working with these two outside entities due to the unique nature of their program that focuses on assisting students in the school environment.

As for other services in our community that offer similar therapeutic options, we have other facilities that will see students and families to support mental health needs and/or are available for crisis response. Though these services are available to our students, they do not directly serve students in schools in the same way AFS and HOOTS are able to. An integral component of 4J's Student Well-Being and Prevention strategy is creating spaces of care and belonging in schools through direct connection with students. Offering clinics during school hours allows for students to know they have trusted adults and mental health support available during the day if a need arises.

Two alternative programs that support students mental health needs are:

1) Riverview Center for Growth: Riverview Center for Growth offers psychiatric, therapeutic and educational programs for individuals and families, often working in tandem with medical providers, schools, community partners, and state and local agencies. A primary way our district partners with them is through their crisis response services for acute mental health assessments and referral for community-based treatments. The current need in our high schools is for students to have an on-site clinic available for drop-in and ongoing therapeutic support, though we will still refer to Riverview as a partner for more acute needs.

2) Stronger Oregon: Stronger Oregon provides counseling and mental health services from a therapist/counselor for the treatment of depression, anxiety, trauma, PTSD, anger and more. Stronger Oregon largely supports telehealth services and does not have enough direct-service providers to allow for clinics open to students in school. Moreover, this would not be an ideal option for our students to get the support they need during the day, though we recognize their benefit to our students and families in other settings and will continue to refer families to their facility as needed.