Attachment A rev 07142025.pdf

ATTACHMENT A

RFSQ-BHS-FY24-0084: Program Evaluator Services ATTACHMENT A: Scope of Work

SCOPE OF WORK

I. Purpose

A. The County of Santa Clara (County) is seeking statements of qualifications from qualified Offerors interested in providing evaluation services for various programs, including but not limited to programs that receive any of the following funding sources:

1. County General Fund (CGF);

2. State (e.g., Mental Health Services Act [MHSA], California Department of Public

Health [CDPH], California Department of Social Services [CDSS], California Department of Housing [CDH]); and/or

3. Federal (e.g., Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], National Institutes of Health [NIH], Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], Administration for Children and Families [ACF], and United States Department of Agriculture [USDA], among other relevant federal agencies providing funds for and overseeing social programs and services.

II. Background Information

A. CGF-funded programs include Board of Supervisors (Board) referrals or delegated items under the County administrator's authority. Board referrals or delegated items to the County are any requests for information made by a majority vote of the Board and subject to a 45-day report back or another strict timeline to the Board or Board Committee.

B. State and federal grant-funded programs may have grant funding conditions requiring external evaluation services to complete reports and assessments before program inception, or during/after program implementation, to monitor and assess program effectiveness.

1. MHSA evaluation services encompass the community program planning process and various and diverse MHSA Innovation, Prevention and Early Intervention, Community Services and Supports, and Workforce Education and Training projects, including developing an evaluation methodology, developing data tracking tools, data collection, analysis, and reporting.

2. The Prevention Services Division includes the Suicide Prevention and Substance Use Prevention programs and supports several prevention efforts and contracts that require periodic evaluation. The division’s program evaluation needs include, but are not limited to, logic model updates and alignment with evaluation surveys; evaluation design, data collection, and analysis; technical support to staff and stakeholders on evaluation designs; and producing and presenting reports and program recommendations.

3. The Social Services Agency (SSA) includes the Department of Employment and Benefit Services, the Department of Family and Children’s Services, the Department of Aging and Adult Services, and the Veteran Services Office which administer and oversee federal and state-funded social safety net programs and services. The agency’s evaluation needs include but are not limited to program evaluation design and implementation, primary and secondary data collection and analysis including impact analyses, and technical support needs.

III. Goals and Objectives

A. The County has recurring needs for comprehensive evaluation services and anticipates having a variety of distinct projects; evaluation services shall serve in assessing the efficacy of a minimum of one (1) County program and/or service. Services shall impact the following agencies and departments:

1. Behavioral Health Services Department (BHSD);

2. Social Services Agency (SSA); and

3. Other County agencies.

B. Each project shall be aligned to achieve the following goals and objectives, including but not limited to:

1. Identify key performance indicators incorporated into the planning, delivery, outcomes, and quality improvement of mental health and prevention services as well as enhanced economic and social supports for the community; and

2. Utilize partnerships (e.g., additional County-contracted providers and/or partners, etc.) to support at-risk populations and culturally sensitive or culturally appropriate services;

3. Increase access, engagement, and connection related to County programs and other services needed (e.g., behavioral health, safety net supports);

4. Increase community trust in accessing County services;

5. Elevate client voice;

6. Integrate data from multiple sources to examine the disparate needs of individuals and evaluate program impacts from differing perspectives.

7. Developing decision making tools; and

8. Identify or enhance appropriate and effective treatment and prevention programs as well as health, nutritional, and self-sufficiency supports that address the specific needs of individuals and families.

C. Offeror shall provide feedback, quantitative solutions (e.g., usage of evidence-based practices), and/or qualitative solutions (e.g., focus groups examining client needs);

community-defined strategies; supports for clients and their families) to address and/or positively impact topics that include but are not limited to the following:

1. Poverty and barriers to education and employment;

2. Food insecurity;

3. Medical care; and/or

4. Behavioral health issues, including, but not limited to:

a. Trauma (e.g., stigma, discrimination, violence, and poverty);

b. At-risk populations (e.g., homeless, justice-involved, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and more [LGBTQ+]);

c. Severe mental illness;

d. Co-occurring conditions (mental health and substance use); and/or

e. Developmental disabilities.

IV. Reporting and Data Collection Requirements

A. Offeror shall comply with the reporting requirements, including but not limited to:

1. The goals and objectives of the County program and satisfies applicable rules and regulations;

2. Create and manage data variables for analysis, data collection methods, data collection and management systems (e.g., tools and software), data visualization, and data storage systems that follow rules, laws, and regulations set forth by either the County, state, or federal agencies (e.g., Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act [HIPAA]);

3. Adherence to all program components;

4. Collect and analyze data and develop written draft/final reports and/or oral briefings (e.g., annually, quarterly, etc.) as required for the project or evaluation duration. Completed reports shall include, at a minimum:

a. Data on overall program goals and objectives as required by County, state, and federal guidelines; and

b. If applicable, literature review and aggregated data for clients served.

5. Submit raw data to the County and provide a detailed presentation as required;

6. As needed, identify, assess, and help integrate the proposed evaluation plan

(e.g., current data elements and key variables) into other systems. Plans regarding the County efforts may be developed in partnership with the County throughout the project or evaluation duration;

7. Develop and provide reports and user-friendly tools e.g., program tools, dashboards, and/or software) used by Offeror which shall follow state, federal, and local laws;

a. Any tools shall be made available to the County during and after the completion of the project or evaluation duration at no additional cost;

8. Continuously assess project status;

9. Provide ad-hoc reporting as needed;

10. Provide other project-related evaluation services required by the County; and

11. Monitor and evaluate client satisfaction and culturally responsive services and practices to continually improve service quality and use data to improve satisfaction with services.

B. Offeror shall work with the County Program Monitor to ensure evaluations follow state, federal, and local laws (e.g., California Welfare & Institutions Codes, California Code of Regulations [CCR] Title 9, Section 3580.01) rules, and regulations, including County policies and procedures, and timely written reports submittal.

C. Offeror shall adhere to MHSA and Substance Use Block Grant (SABG) funding requirements as applicable.

D. If applicable, Offeror shall include the code for dashboards developed within the project terms in an awarded contract.

V. Outcomes and Measurements

A. Each project shall be aligned to achieve the following outcomes, but are not limited to:

1. Conduct evaluations of the process, outcome, impact, and sustainability analysis;

2. Complete written evaluation reports and submit them to County Program Monitor within assigned deadlines;

3. Collaborate with the County, community partners, and other service providers and learn effective ways, which may be specific to target populations, to increase engagement and access to County programs/services; and

4. Conduct and/or support the County in conducting continuous quality improvement activities.

B. Each project shall be aligned to achieve the following outcome measurement methods, but are not limited to:

1. Offeror shall work with the County Program Monitor on the following:

a. Creating and implementing evaluation system(s);

b. Gathering process and outcome data from program participants;

c. Understanding data collection variables, tools, and methods;

d. Submitting data in a streamlined method;

e. Providing data analysis and reports;

f. Conducting literature reviews;

g. Identifying standardized and validated outcome measures; and

h. Initiate any other monthly, quarterly, and annual measurement tools and documents, which may include but are not limited to:

i. Microsoft Excel (e.g., spreadsheets, data exports); and

ii. Any reporting tool or templates as required and approved by the

County.

VI. Program Description

A. Service Delivery

1. Upon establishing the Qualified Pool (QP), the County shall reach out to the QP on an as-needed basis to provide comprehensive project evaluations, which include, but are not limited to a variety of deliverables:

a. Planning and implementing data collection and management systems;

b. Building or updating program logic models;

c. Data collection tools and conducting data analysis (e.g., process, outcomes, and impact analysis);

d. Evaluation of County needs;

e. Data visualization/dashboards on program data; and

f. Providing technical assistance and guides to the County with data collection, analysis, and submission process.

B. Staffing Requirements

1. Provide annual organizational chart updates to the County Program Monitor.

2. Lead evaluator shall have experience in evaluation, data collection, and research for a minimum of two (2) years post-graduate or five (5) years total.

3. Offeror’s organization shall maintain practices related to recruiting, hiring, and promoting bi/multi-lingual staff and/or a culturally or ethnically diverse workforce. Offeror’s organization shall have training requirements related to diversity, equity, and/or inclusion (e.g., LGBTQ+, cultural and linguistic capacity, racial equity).

C. Cultural Competency

1. Offeror’s organization shall be inclusive of promoting behaviors and practices towards a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive organizational mindset. Offeror shall have a leadership model of inclusivity and tools and support to improve their organization’s ability to identify and mitigate bias, respect differences, build empathetic relationships, and manage conflict.

2. Offeror shall monitor and evaluate client/family satisfaction and culturally responsive services/practices to continually improve service quality. Data shall be used to improve program satisfaction.

3. Offeror’s organization shall have a plan to address barriers when they do not have staff available to meet the seven (7) County threshold languages (e.g., Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, Farsi, and Russian) and a plan for actions and changes to ensure diversity and inclusion in service delivery.

4. Offeror’s organization shall provide outreach activities focused on reaching underserved, underrepresented, and/or multicultural populations.

VII. Public Health Emergency or Other Emergency Disaster Plan

A. Offeror shall have policies and procedures to address disaster preparedness during a Public Health Emergency or other emergency disaster. Offeror shall complete Appendix B, Evaluation Criteria and Qualifications and submit the following supplemental information:

1. Emergency and disaster plan to deliver services during a Public Health Emergency or other emergency disaster that includes, at a minimum, evacuation procedures, training for workforce members, and quarterly emergency drills;

and

2. Emergency and disaster plan to deliver services during a pandemic such as the COVID-19 pandemic.