ESBD_485049_1771562227604_TRS000633-Addendum 2-FINAL.pdf

Solicitation Name: Employee Assistance Program Solicitation Number: TRS000633

Addendum Number: 2

Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)

February 19, 2026

ADDENDUM No. 2

TO

SOLICITATION NO. TRS000633

FOR

Employee Assistance Program

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF BIDS/PROPOSALS: FEBRUARY 26, 2026, @ 5:00 P.M., CENTRAL TIME

LISTED BELOW YOU WILL FIND RESPONSES TO SUBMITTED QUESTIONS TO THE

SOLICITATION

ISSUED BY:__________________________________________________________________________________

Dietrich Sanders, Contract Specialist Date: February 19, 2026

NOTE: VENDORS ARE REQUESTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF THIS ADDENDUM BY SIGNING AND DATING BELOW AND INCLUDING WITH SUBMITTED RESPONSE. RESPONSE MAY BE CONSIDERED NON-

RESPONSIVE IF THIS COVER PAGE IS NOT SIGNED AND RETURNED.

RESPONDENT SIGNATURE DATE

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. What is the total headcount of Employees wanting to be included for this benefit? It was not listed in any of the corresponding documents attached to the RFP.

TRS Response: Please see the Request for Proposals, Section III. Summary of Procurement Services, Item B. Background. And also, please see Request for Proposals, Solicitation Section IX. Draft Contract, Scope of Work, Letter A. Description of Work, Number 1. Overview.

2. Are Licensed Professional Counseling -Associate able offer services under the supervision of a license professional counselor supervisor with 10 years EAP experience.?

Item 5: Respondent shall provide counseling services staff possessing at least a master’s degree from an accredited college or university in a behavioral science.

Item 6: Respondent shall be able to provide at least one counseling services staff member licensed or certified by each of the following state regulating agencies and attach a copy of the actual staff member’s license or certification within the submitted proposal.

• Texas State Board of Medical Examiners

• Texas State Board of Psychologists

• Texas State Board of Licensed Social Workers

• Texas State Board of Licensed Professional Counselors

• Texas State Board of Marriage and Family Therapists

• Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse

TRS Response: Per the scope of work, counselors should be licensed.

3. How many employees, covered lives is this solicitation for?

TRS Response: Please see the answer to question 1.

4. Does TRS of Texas have a consultant?

TRS Response: TRS of Texas does not have a consultant.

5. Is the vendor required to provide services at multiple TRS offices only through in-person offices or can virtual services be provided?

TRS Response: Please see the Request for Proposal, Solicitation Section IX. Draft Contract, Scope of Work, Item A. Description of Work, Number 2. Required Services, Letter (q).

6. Is there a VetHUB requirement for this solicitation? Does a good faith effort need to be shown by the vendor in order to submit their bid?

TRS Response: The solicitation requires all respondents to submit a HUB subcontracting plan even if the respondent is a VetHUB or is not subcontracting. However, Respondents are not required to subcontract and are not required to subcontract with a VetHUB.

If a respondent is subcontracting, the HSP must demonstrate compliance with all applicable requirements, including a good-faith outreach to VetHUB vendors, when required.

Blender Hill, TRS’ HUB Coordinator, offers a cursory review of a draft HSP.

7. Page 20 of the RFP requires a copy of an actual staff member's license or certification.

We have a network of providers in TX but they are not actual staff members of our company. Is it acceptable to provide one of our TX network provider's license? If our legal team states we cannot provide this, will we be DQ'd?

TRS Response: Please provide all licensure available.

8. In the excel document named "EXPORT" there are multiple sections w/in each tab: 5.

Answer and 6. Comment. Can you please advise which of these fields needs to be completed to answer the questions? What is the purpose of these 2 open text fields?

TRS Response: The Excel file allows you to complete the questionnaire portion of the proposal offline and import those responses back into PAVES. If you download the Excel, Section 5 is for you to provide your answer. Section 6 is for you to provide any additional comments. However, the simplest way to complete the PAVES questionnaire is to do so within the PAVES application by clicking the Access Questionnaire button or by navigating through the left panel.

9. The sample contract document states the following: Participants who contact the Contractor’s EAP staff will be seen by the assessment or referral specialist within two (2) calendar days. Can this be for telehealth?

TRS Response: Yes, this could include telehealth.

10. Per the sample contract, it speaks to 12 hours for training options. Can you confirm this is the total # of hours per year TRS would like for training?

TRS Response: 12 hours of training is the total amount desired in this solicitation.

11. How many hours does TRS want for Critical Incident Events?

TRS Response: Asking respondents to be available to provide on-site counseling for Critical Incident Event. Timing is event specific.

12. These are all listed in the sample contract:

The name of Contractor key personnel who shall be responsible for the activities, if known.

(f) The name and contact information for Contractor’s account manager or assigned contact for facilitation of Services, including questions from TRS, inquiries regarding resources, and escalation contacts.

(g) The name and contact information of the contact assigned for resource, referral and reporting statistics.

Can these individuals be named if we are chosen for finalist stage?

TRS Response: The individuals must be at least named when reporting Deliverables.

13. Who is the incumbent and how long have you been with them?

TRS Response: TRS has a formal process for submitting an open records request. To be considered, all requests must comply with the Texas Public Information Act (the Act) (Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code) and related TRS policy.

Under Section 552.301(c) of the Act, TRS’ Officer for Public Information has designated the Public Information Coordinator as the TRS person authorized to receive written requests for information by:

electronic submission via the TRS Public Access Link at: Electronic submission via the GovQA link at: https://trstexas.govqa.us/WEBAPP/_rs/.

You can submit the request, check the status, and receive documents. You may also submit it by email at PublicInformation@trs.texas.gov or by U.S. mail or hand delivery at 4655 Mueller Blvd., Austin TX 78723. For more information, please refer to the information on our website at: https://trstexas.govqa.us/WEBAPP/_rs/.

14. Does the AIAF form need to be completed?

TRS Response: If the Respondents proposal contains an Artificial Intelligence “AI” component, the Respondent shall download, complete and submit an attachment titled “Artificial Intelligence Assessment.”

15. Will you accept electronic signatures on all proposal forms?

TRS Response: Electronic signatures are acceptable.

https://trstexas.govqa.us/WEBAPP/_rs/ mailto:PublicInformation@trs.texas.gov https://trstexas.govqa.us/WEBAPP/_rs/

16. Who is the current EAP provider and how long have they been providing services to the organization?

TRS Response: Please see the answer to question 13.

17. Please confirm that pricing should be based on 1,300 employees.

TRS Response: Pricing should be based of the Scope of Work Services that TRS is looking for within this Request for Proposal.

18. Do you have employees who reside in California? If yes, how many employees?

TRS Response: TRS currently does not have employees who reside in California.

19. What is the current number of counseling sessions allowed per member per issue per year?

TRS Response: Five per member of the household per issue.

20. Please provide the current rate and a rate history throughout the contract term for the

EAP.

21. How many hours of the following services are included within the current EAP contract per year?

•Onsite training/orientation/educational seminars •Onsite health fair/event participation •Onsite critical incident support events (# events/# hours) •Webinar training

22. How many total hours of the following services were utilized in each of the last two (2) years?

•Onsite training/orientation/educational seminars •Onsite health fair/event participation •Onsite critical incident support events (# events/# hours) •Webinar training

23. Please provide copies of 2024 and 2025 EAP utilization reports.

24. If reports are not available, please provide the following for each of the last 2 years.

•Number of employees on which the report is based •Total number of clinical cases •Total number of work-life cases •Total number of clinical sessions

25. On a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest, how would you rate your current vendor?

TRS Response: Please visit the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts website for information regarding ratings. It may be found at: https://www.txsmartbuy.gov/vpts

26. What are the three components that are most important to you in an EAP?

TRS Response: Please see Solicitation Section IX. Draft Contract, Scope of Work.

27. The RFP states the following, “The HSP form and instructions for how to complete it may be accessed at: https://comptroller.texas.gov/purchasing/vendor/hub/forms.php. If a Respondent intends to subcontract any portion of Services to a subcontractor other than a certified VetHUB, Respondent must retain documentation reflecting that it conducted a solicitation as part of a good faith effort to locate a certified VetHUB to provide the Service.” Is this requirement applicable to book-of-business operational subcontractors such as after-hours call answer or does it only pertain to contract-specific subcontractors i.e. a subcontractor brought on specifically for the TRS contract. It is not feasible to overhaul our long-term operational subcontractors for one contract.

TRS Response: HUB Subcontracting Plan (HSP) requirements apply to any subcontractor performing work under this specific TRS contract as defined in Texas Administrative Code §20.282. Respondents are not required to replace operational subcontractors;

however, all subcontractors performing work under the contract must be disclosed in the HSP.

28. The RFP states, “Item 6: Respondent shall be able to provide at least one counseling services staff member licensed or certified by each of the following state regulating agencies and attach a copy of the actual staff member’s license or certification within the submitted proposal. Is this specifically for vendor staff or does it include contracted affiliate providers who will be providing EAP counseling sessions to members?

https://www.txsmartbuy.gov/vpts

TRS Response: Any staff or contracted affiliated provider who provides EAP counseling services must be licensed.

29. The RFP states, “Contractor shall conduct a customer service satisfaction survey of all Participants utilizing the EAP services provided under the agreement. Contractor shall conduct the survey by means of a confidential comment card or similar survey instrument given to participants at the time the services are provided. The participant must have the option of submitting the survey instrument to someone other than the assigned counselor without inconvenience. The survey instrument must include space for comments about the quality of services by the individual who received them.

Information from the completed surveys must be included in the quarterly utilization report submitted to TRS and provide sufficient detail to permit TRS to routinely assess the level of participant satisfaction with the Contractor’s services.” Our current process is as follows: AllOne Health employs a comprehensive quality assurance plan to monitor program participation, service quality, and staff interactions. Our proactive approach ensures clients and their employees consistently receive the highest standard of care.

Members are invited to provide feedback throughout their engagement. For EAP counseling, with client consent, pre- and post-service surveys assess satisfaction, service quality, and clinical outcomes. For financial, legal, and work-life services, a work-life survey is sent 90 days after case initiation to confirm satisfaction and identify additional needs. We also conduct an annual customer survey (2024 results provided below). We maintain a structured grievance process to address concerns efficiently. Members may initiate grievances via our toll-free EAP line or their Client Relations Manager. Cases are reviewed promptly, beginning with the assigned manager and escalating if needed to the Executive Director, Regional Vice President, and ultimately the CEO/President. If the concern involves the client relations manager, the process begins with the Executive Director to ensure impartiality. Most grievances are resolved within one week, with urgent matters prioritized for resolution within 24–48 hours. If we cannot meet to exact requirements of TRS is that cause for elimination?

TRS Response: Requirements outlined should be met.

30. Please provide the previous PEPM (Per Employee Per Month) rate for the following years:

- 2025

- 2024

31. What was your annual 2025 EAP cost?

32. Can you provide a utilization report for the following years:

• 2025

• 2024

33. The report should provide a breakdown of EAP services supported by current vendor.

34. How many onsite critical responses did you have in the following years:

• 2025

• 2024

TRS Response: There were zero onsite critical responses for the following two years.

35. How many training hours of the following services were supported last year?

- Onsite?

- Health fair?

- Webinar Training?

TRS Response: There were zero onsite and health fair training services last year, and three hours in Fiscal Year 2025.

37. Can you provide eligible employees' city, state, and zip code? We will provide a coverage map of service providers in your area.

38. Can you confirm the EAP session model?

TRS Response: There is not a prescriptive session model. Licensed counselors should provide appropriate and customized counseling converations based on the needs or situations presented by individual employees.