RFP# 2026-012 Management of Multisystemic Therapy Program for Cherokee County Juvenile Justice

THE PROJECT: The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners Purchasing Department (County) is requesting competitive sealed proposals in support of Cherokee County Juvenile Justice’s Multisystemic Therapy (MST) program, funded by a State Grant administered by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), meeting the specifications and as described herein.

All times in the solicitation are local times to Cherokee County, Georgia in the Eastern Time Zone.

This Request for Opportunity Description is one of two documents making up this solicitation. The second document is Cherokee County Standard Solicitation Terms and Conditions, which contains all the standard forms potentially required to accompany a submission. Both of these documents together constitute the entire solicitation at the time of issuance.

The County reserves the right to reject any or all bids/proposals, to waive technicalities and to make a selection and final award as deemed to be in the best interest of the County, including using any form of contract it deems most advantageous to the County.

SCHEDULE:

Issued April 9, 2026

Questions Due April 23, 2026 by 2:00 pm

Answers Due April 30, 2026

Proposals Due May 12, 2026 by 10:00 am

Anticipated Award Date June 16, 2026

*THE COUNTY RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY THE ABOVE SCHEDULE AT ITS SOLE DISCRETION.

Cherokee County Board of Commissioners Purchasing Department

1130 Bluffs Parkway, Canton, GA 30114 Phone: (678) 493-6000

Fax: (678) 493-6035

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

THE EXPECTED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:

The base period of performance is broken down into two areas; Physical Delivery of Product(s) and Service Delivery. This is a function of the Statement of Work (SOW) and/or specification and reflects if there is physical item or items to be delivered and / or delivery of services. An X in the box corresponding to item 1 below, Physical Delivery indicates a physical item or items are to be delivered and an X in the 2. Delivery of Services indicates that Services are to be performed. Either or both may apply to the work contemplated by this solicitation.

Additionally, should there be an X in the box corresponding item 3. Option Grant, then the County requests the right to extend the period of performance beyond the Base Rate as specified.

1. NO PHYSICAL ITEMS/GOODS PHYSICAL DELIVERY OF ITEMS/GOODS REQUIRED:

For Physical Delivery solicitations, the period of performance for an award shall begin with either the placement of Purchase Order or the date indicated on the Agreement. All items to be delivered are to be FOB Cherokee County at the address indicated in the solicitation.

Performance shall be complete upon final acceptance by the County. Time is of the essence for the delivery of each item specified. Warranty requested as below:

Warranty Term Requested: ____

2. No SERVICES REQUIRED PERFORMANCE OF SERVICES:

For Performance of Services solicitations, the period of performance shall begin with the placement of either a Purchase Order or the date of the Agreement unless the Agreement, the SOW or the Solicitation Terms indicate that performance shall begin upon the issuance of a Notice to Proceed (NTP), in which case the NTP would represent the beginning of performance. Term of services requested are as below:

Services Term:

One Year Two Years Three Years Other: The initial term shall be for one (1) year, with up to four (4) additional one-year renewal options, exercisable at the sole discretion of the County, for a total possible term of five (5) years, subject to annual appropriation and continued grant funding.

3. OPTION GRANT:

This solicitation contains requested options; please see Statement of Work for details.

SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS:

Interested Bidders/Proposers should carefully review the requirements defined herein and provide complete and accurate submissions that should include the following items (only items indicated with an “X” in the corresponding boxes are required for this solicitation):

Information and Addenda Acknowledgement Form (Appendix A) Non-Influence and Non-Collusion Affidavit (Appendix B) E-Verify Affidavit (Appendix C) References* (Appendix D) Acceptance of County’ Standard Agreement**, as below: (Appendix E)

Professional Services Agreement (Sample provided) Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters

Primary Covered Transactions (Appendix F) Evidence of/ability to provide Insurance at the limits identified herein,*** Certifications, Licenses or Registrations as required by law and/or as requested Pricing on included MST-Pricing Sheet Any other requirements as requested under the scope of work

Notes:

*The County reserves the right to contact not only those references provided, but may also use previous performance for the County, other contacts it identifies and other sources of information believed to be viable to evaluate capability, viability and performance.

**If Acceptance of County’s Standard Agreement is checked, all work/items defined herein are to be quoted according to these requirements. Copies of these agreements can be located at the County’s Procurement web page.

***Insurance levels requested are those identified in the County’s Standard Agreement, section “I.”

****Standard Solicitation Terms Refer to Cherokee County Standard Solicitation Terms and Conditions

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS:

Proposals shall include the following information:

1. Experience Providing MST Services

• A brief description of the proposer’s experience delivering Multisystemic Therapy (MST) services

• Experience working with juvenile justice populations

• A list of current or recent contracts providing similar services, including client name and contact information

2. Staffing & Qualifications

• Resumes of therapists and supervisors proposed to provide services under this contract

• Documentation of MST training and certification status

• Description of the proposer’s capacity to serve up to sixteen (16) youth annually

3. Program Approach & Reporting

• Description of the proposer’s approach to maintaining MST model fidelity

• Description of supervision and quality assurance structure

• Description of data collection and reporting capabilities to meet grant requirements

4. Pricing Proposal

• A proposed all-inclusive per-case rate for MST services, as described in the Pricing Proposal section

Proposals must contain sufficient detail to allow the County to evaluate the proposer’s qualifications and capability to perform the services described in this solicitation.

EVALUATION CRITERIA:

Proposals will be evaluated by an evaluation committee in accordance with the criteria set forth below. The County reserves the right to award to the responsible proposer whose proposal is determined to be most advantageous to the County, price and other factors considered.

Total Possible Points: 100

Criteria Points

Price 50

Technical 50

Total 100

1. Price – 50 Points

Price proposals will be evaluated based on the proposer’s all-inclusive per-case rate for delivery of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) services.

The lowest responsive and responsible proposer will receive the full fifty (50) points. All other proposers will receive a prorated score calculated as follows:

Lowest Proposed Case Rate ÷ Proposer’s Case Rate × 50

Scores will be calculated to two (2) decimal places.

2. Technical – 50 Points

Technical proposals will be evaluated based on the proposer’s demonstrated experience, staffing qualifications, and ability to successfully manage and oversee MST services in accordance with the Statement of Work:

A. Experience Providing MST Services – 20 Points The County will evaluate the proposer’s experience delivering Multisystemic Therapy (MST) services and working with juvenile justice populations. Consideration will be given to the proposer’s demonstrated capacity to manage evidence-based programs, oversee subcontracted service providers, and administer programs similar in size and scope to those required under this solicitation.

• Demonstrated experience delivering Multisystemic Therapy (MST) services

• Experience working with juvenile justice populations

• Experience managing or overseeing evidence-based programs and subcontracted service providers

• Current or recent contracts providing similar services

B. Staffing & Qualifications – 15 Points The County will evaluate the qualifications and experience of the proposed staff and the organizational structure supporting service delivery and program oversight. The proposer must demonstrate that appropriately trained and certified personnel are in place and that sufficient staffing and supervision exist to serve up to sixteen (16) youth annually while maintaining program accountability and compliance with MST standards.

• Qualifications and experience of therapists and supervisors

• MST training and certification status

• Project management and supervisory structure supporting program oversight

• Demonstrated capacity to serve up to sixteen (16) youth annually

C. Program Approach & Reporting – 15 Points The County will evaluate the proposer’s overall approach to implementing and overseeing MST services in accordance with the Statement of Work. Emphasis will be placed on maintaining MST model fidelity, monitoring subcontracted service delivery, ensuring quality assurance, and providing accurate and timely data reporting to support grant compliance and program performance evaluation.

• Approach to maintaining MST model fidelity and quality assurance

• Oversight and monitoring of subcontracted service delivery

• Ability to provide required performance data, outcome reporting, and grant compliance documentation

Proposers must provide sufficient detail to demonstrate their qualifications under each of the above criteria. The evaluation committee will assign scores based on the completeness, relevance, and demonstrated capability presented in the proposal.

The County may consider only the information provided in the proposal in scoring technical merit.

The County may request additional information, conduct interviews, or request presentations if deemed necessary for final evaluation.

References may be contacted at the discretion of the evaluation committee.

Proposals will be scored on the above evaluation criteria. Failure to provide sufficient information necessary to evaluate the proposal may result in a lower score.

The County reserves the right to reject the proposal of any vendor who has previously failed to perform properly or complete on time contracts of a similar nature, or who upon investigation is determined not to be in a position to perform the contract.

PRICING PROPOSAL

Proposers shall submit pricing based on a single, all-inclusive per-case rate for each youth served under the Multisystemic Therapy (MST) program.

The proposed per-case rate shall include all costs necessary to establish, manage, administer, monitor, report on, and close-out services in accordance with this Statement of Work and applicable grant requirements, including but not limited to:

• Direct clinical services

• Supervision

• Training and certification

• Model fidelity requirements

• Quality assurance

• Travel

• Reporting

• Administrative and management costs

Administrative and management costs associated with these services shall comply with applicable grant requirements and shall not exceed eleven percent (11%) of the proposed per-case rate, if such limitation is required under the grant.

The County does not guarantee a minimum number of referrals. The Estimated Annual Total reflected on the MST Pricing Sheet is for evaluation purposes only and does not represent a guaranteed quantity of services.

Total compensation shall not exceed the annual not-to-exceed amount established in the resulting Agreement and is contingent upon continued grant funding and annual appropriation.

Payment terms shall be governed by the resulting Professional Services Agreement.

HOW AND WHERE TO SUBMIT BIDS AND PROPOSALS:

The County has two methods for receiving bids and proposals that are mutually exclusive; either electronically or by physical receipt. The box with the “X” below indicates how and where bids or proposals are to be submitted. The County will NOT accept proposals by fax, or e-mail unless authorized, in writing, by the Procurement Director. The solicitation submission deadline will be strictly enforced; no late bids/proposals will be accepted for any reason, please plan accordingly.

A. Electronic Submissions Only:

Bids and Proposals are to be submitted electronically ONLY to BidNet Direct. Physical copies are not to be submitted unless approved in advance by the Purchasing Director.

Proposals and all requested documentation to be provided electronically should in the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) as ONE file unless otherwise indicated in these solicitation instructions. Documents provided in response to this solicitation are to be named according to the following naming convention:

a. [Solicitation Number]_[Vendor Name]_[Document Type] Example: “2017-111_ABC Company_Proposal”

QUESTIONS/ADDENDA:

Only written inquiries will be permitted during the solicitation period. Questions are to be submitted via BidNet Direct for this solicitation no later than the date and time indicated in the Schedule, as may be amended. Answers will be posted via formal Addendum and only released as part of the solicitation documents on BidNet Direct. All interested parties are instructed to monitor BidNet Direct on a regular basis throughout the solicitation period. The final date for posting of Addenda is per the Schedule, as may be amended.

STATEMENT OF WORK AND / OR SPECIFICATION LOCATED ON THE NEXT PAGE

STATEMENT OF WORK AND / OR SPECIFICATION

The Cherokee County Juvenile Justice System is seeking proposals from qualified entities to manage its Multisystemic Therapy (MST) program. The resulting contract shall be for an initial term of one (1) year, with the option to renew for four (4) additional one-year terms, subject to annual appropriation and continued grant funding. The services under this scope of work will be funded through the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC). If grant funding ceases, the contract may be terminated.

Role of Managing Entity - focused on management of evidence-based services in Juvenile Justice Systems

The purpose of the proposed project is to provide effective, evidence-based, community-based alternatives to incarceration for youth involved in the juvenile justice system. Youth who are referred to this project will be identified as being at moderate or high risk of recidivism; as being at high risk of violating their probation; or being at high risk of placement in a residential program and/or of continued. Services shall address the youth’s behavior or actions that have contributed to the violation of their probation or that have placed the youth at high risk of out-of-home placement. Such services shall be delivered in the community where the youth resides, thus permitting the youth to continue living at home and fulfilling any court-ordered sanctions.

• The Court/Department seeks proposals from qualified non-profit, for-profit, and governmental Management Entities (ME) that would develop and oversee an evidence-based continuum of care within Cherokee County, GA. This continuum of care will reduce recidivism by addressing the criminogenic needs of youth under the custody and/or supervision of the

Court and by strengthening family supports.

• Managing Entity services will include procurement of community-based service providers;

management of selected evidence-based program, contract, and fiscal operations; monitoring of fidelity of services and program implementation; engagement of key community partners;

and effective delivery of evidence-based or alternative family-centered interventions.

• Service providers shall employ evidence-based programs with proven results, including but not limited to Multisystemic Therapy (MST).

• Services shall be delivered in accordance with all relevant state statute(s), regulations and existing policies.

• The program shall begin serving youth no later than 01 July 2026 and shall serve up to 16 youth each year.

Functions/Goals of the Managing Entity Relationship

Managing Entity shall achieve several major program goals, including but not limited to the following:

• Implementation of evidence-based or alternative family-centered practices in services interventions that positively mitigate risk to re-offend.

• Procurement: A Managing Entity will be responsible for developing a process to procure contracts with direct service providers for the delivery of an evidence-based or alternative family-centered intervention., (In the proposal, the Respondent shall discuss the method(s) of procurement it will utilize, its experience procuring services, the qualifications of staff responsible for procurement activities, and its experience managing services similar in size and scope to those required in this RFP).

• Policy Development A Managing Entity will be responsible for developing policies and procedures to ensure sub-contractor performance is consistent with policies, regulations and statutes. Policies shall address youth rights and grievances, property management, contracting, program fidelity, transportation, data collection and maintenance, program fidelity, staff training, youth confidentiality, Medicaid, and adherence to federal employment laws including the Americans with Disabilities Act.

• Contract Management: A Managing Entity will be responsible for oversight of sub-contacted services to referred youth to ensure the appropriate use of public funds and adherence to contractual agreements.

• Program Fidelity: A Managing Entity will be responsible for ensuring sub-contracted providers deliver an evidence-based or alternative family centered practice to referred youth. Proposals and oral presentations should include discussion of how it will determine appropriateness of proposed evidence-based or alternative family-centered interventions, the community need for the proposed intervention, the entity identifying the practice as evidence-based, and how it will measure success and ensure sub-contractors’ adherence to the curriculum.

• Contract Monitoring: A Managing Entity will be responsible for monitoring of sub-contractor performance in meeting the terms and conditions of each contract. In part, this includes conducting a risk assessment, developing policies and monitoring instruments, imposing financial consequences, identifying staff to perform this function, imposition of consequences, and developing an annual schedule for site visits.

• Data Reporting: The Managing Entity will be responsible for collecting and reporting data to the Department regarding program outcomes, performance measures, demographic data of population served, and program fidelity and contract monitoring activities.

The County shall remain the grant recipient and shall retain final authority for youth eligibility determinations, approval of subcontracted service providers, submission of grant reports, submission of reimbursement requests to CJCC, budget approval, and overall program oversight. The Managing Entity shall operate under the direction of the County and shall provide all information and documentation necessary to support the County’s grant compliance responsibilities

Scope of Services:

Contractor will confirm a budget, assist with the selection of therapeutic service providers, manage the direct service providers, ensure fidelity of services implemented, provide reports showing results of the programs and meet the goals established by the State and the County for performance and delivery of services to the families as follows:

• Selection of and subcontracting with service providers. County will approve selections.

• Coordination with model dissemination organizations, including arranging for licensure of selected providers, training for front-line staff and supervisors, and ongoing consultation with provider agencies to ensure fidelity to proven program models.

• Web-based, system-wide data tracking to allow for program monitoring and continuous quality improvement.

• Regular (i.e., monthly, quarterly and annual) reporting on key performance indicators.

• Monthly reporting for grant requirements.

• Responsible for the oversight reporting requirements; ensuring proper collection of data and reporting of program outcomes are complete accurately and timely.

• Continually monitor and evaluate implementation of programs and data, and develop short- and long-term plans to address better implementation; provide project evaluation to stakeholders with outcomes.

• Collaboration with referral agencies and courts to ensure high utilization of model programs.

• Stakeholder communications and education to ensure sustainability of funding and effort.

• Contractor will provide training to key stakeholders, regional groups and/or circuits on evidence-based programming for juvenile offenders upon request. The training will include information on the research base behind each of the models, including program outcomes, cost-benefit analysis, program eligibility, referral criteria and other areas of interest as identified by the groups. These sessions will be open to all stakeholders, policymakers and practitioners.

• Contractor will assign a part-time project manager who will ensure strict adherence to each of the selected program’s established protocols.

The Project Manager is responsible for:

o Providing overall project oversight and management with a rigorous focus on meeting or exceeding expected outcomes o Facilitating stakeholder collaboration and management to ensure continuous buy-in and support for the diversion initiative and evidence-based services o Ensuring an adequate number of referrals and point in time utilization of slot capacity for all provider agencies, and working with the Court as needed to resolve referral issues o Overseeing the procurement, hiring, orientation, training, model adherence, administrative management, and accountability of all provider agencies and clinical teams, and sharing outcome data and improvement plans with key stakeholders.

Staff Orientation and Training

All evidence-based program therapists, supervisors and facilitators will receive required initial and ongoing training in the models from the respective national dissemination organizations to ensure model adherence. Contractor will broker this training for all selected service providers, and engage in additional provider readiness, technical assistance, and support activities to ensure provider effectiveness, including:

• Contractor will send all providers an organizational checklist that includes all administrative, programmatic, and purchasing requirements for model implementation with an associated timeline, and oversee adherence to this timeline.

• Meet with the agency executive directors to review and approve their plans for integrating the new teams into their organization, and establishing the appropriate structures and organizational culture needed to support model adherence

• Assist and oversee the hiring of all supervisors and therapists, and help providers recruit and retain staff more effectively

• Monitor model adherence and case outcomes, and work with national evidence-based program consultants and providers to implement ongoing training and technical assistance to address improvement needs.

Subcontractor will deliver the following services:

Multi-systemic Therapy A. MST services shall consist of intensive family- and community-based treatment that addresses the multiple determinants of serious antisocial behavior in juvenile offenders.

B. The multisystemic approach shall view individuals as being nested within a complex network of interconnected systems that encompass individual, family, and extra-familial (peer, school, neighborhood) factors. Intervention may be necessary in any one or a combination of these systems.

C. MST shall target chronic, violent, or substance abusing juvenile offenders at high risk of out-of-home placement and their families.

D. MST shall address the multiple factors known to be related to delinquency across the key settings, or systems, within which youth are embedded.

E. MST shall strive to promote behavior change in the youth’s natural environment, using the strengths of each system (e.g., family, peers, school, neighborhood, indigenous support network) to facilitate change.

F. The major goal of MST shall be to empower parents with the skills and resources needed to independently address the difficulties that arise in raising teenagers and to empower youth to cope with family, peer, school, and neighborhood problems.

G. Within a context of support and skill building, the therapist shall place developmentally appropriate demands on the adolescent and family for responsible behavior.

H. Intervention strategies shall integrate into a social ecological context and include strategic family therapy, structural family therapy, behavioral parent training, and cognitive behavior therapies.

I. MST shall be provided using a home-based model of services delivery.

J. This model shall strive to overcome barriers to service access, increase family retention in treatment, allow for the provision of intensive services (i.e., therapists have low caseloads), and enhance the maintenance of treatment gains.

K. MST treatment shall average approximately 4 months.

L. MST program implementation shall target clinical teams of up to 4 clinicians who shall work together by regularly staffing cases, attending follow-up training, and participating in weekly telephone supervision.

M. Therapy shall be documented in a progress/treatment note which provides a description of the treatment session/activity and the youth’s and family’s participation in the treatment session/activity.

Evaluations of MST will demonstrate:

A. Reduced long-term rates of criminal offending in serious juvenile offenders, B. Reduced rates of out-of-home placements for serious juvenile offenders, C. Extensive improvements in family functioning, D. Decreased mental health problems for serious juvenile offenders, E. Favorable outcomes at cost savings in comparison with usual mental health and juvenile justice services.

Objectives Program Objectives include:

A. Reduce felony commitments and admissions to secure placement consistent with current CJCC grant objectives.

B. Reduce the rate of annual Secure Confinement.

C. Reduce the rate of annual Secure Detention.

D. At least 75% of the youth participants will complete the program successfully as defined in

Exhibit A below. The successful completion rate is calculated as the number successful divided in the total of successful and unsuccessful.

E. At least 60% of youth completing services will no re-offend as calculated using the following recidivism definition;

a. A new charge (within 3 years of the initial post –adjudication community placement) which results in a juvenile court delinquency adjudication OR adult criminal court conviction.

F. Demonstrate a cost-savings through the provision of research-informed, community-based services to youth in the juvenile justice system

Managing Entity Contractor Qualifications:

• The selected Managing Entity shall have demonstrated experience overseeing/managing operations for the statewide implementation of evidence-based programs i.e., with multiple community-based mental/behavioral health providers in multiple jurisdictions.

• The selected Managing Entity shall have demonstrated experience monitoring and managing the fidelity of evidence-based programs in statewide project.

• The selected Managing Entity shall have demonstrated experience coordinating training, coaching, certification and technical assistance for evidence-based programs in a statewide project.

• The selected Managing Entity shall have demonstrated capability in the development of data management systems with the ability to compile, analyze and present data related to statewide project management and outcome of each evidence-based program being delivered.

Proposal Requirements:

1. Proposals shall include a brief statement/documentation evidencing their experience with the multiple aspects of providing Multisystemic Therapy for Juvenile Justice Programs. Proposals must also include the following:

• Licensing and Program

• Staff Training

• Service Plan Development

• Program Evaluation

2. Documentation that entity meets Qualifications listed above in “Managing Entity Contractor Qualifications”

3. Pricing Proposal: Pricing shall be submitted on a per-case basis and shall be all-inclusive. The proposer shall submit a proposed case rate for each youth served under the Multisystemic Therapy (MST) program.

The proposed case rate shall include all costs necessary to establish, manage, administer, oversee, monitor, report on, and close out services in accordance with this Statement of Work and applicable grant requirements, including direct service delivery, supervision, training, model fidelity oversight, data management, quality assurance, travel, and administrative and management costs.

Administrative and management costs associated with these services shall comply with applicable grant requirements and shall not exceed eleven percent (11%) of the proposed case rate, if such limitation is required under the grant.

Total compensation shall be subject to the availability of grant funding and annual appropriation and shall not exceed the not-to-exceed amount established in the resulting Agreement.

This proposal and resulting contract shall be subject to the requirements of the annual CJCC Award and all applicable grant conditions.

EXHIBIT A

Data Definitions “Successful” is defined as a youth upon discharge: who is not slated to attend a commitment program and the JPO/Judge is not considering recommending a short-term program admission or commitment for any charges.

“Unsuccessful” has two sub categories:

Non-Compliance-Referred back to Court:

• Family started services, but now states they do not want to continue

• Youth or Family fails to comply with program requests and activities.

• Youth absconds/runs away and cannot be located within 2 weeks

• Family started services, but now home visits cannot be scheduled with the family for 2 weeks or more

• For SFP a family started services and has missed more than two consecutive sessions.

Exception: For FFT, a case staffing must be held with Consultant or Lead Therapist in order for the therapist to continue trying to engage the family past the two-week mark. If it is determined that further effort that is unique and distinct from what was attempted previously is prudent, then the case can remain open for another two weeks. Each week after the case staffing, progress in engaging the family must be reviewed by the Consultant or Lead Therapist and needs to be documented in the case file

Terminated/court order:

• Committed Status (review the court order)

• In Detention awaiting commitment

• Youth participation ended due to court action

• Direct filed to Adult Court (circuit decisions may override this)

“Administrative Discharge” is defined as a family who has started treatment (signed consent) but does not complete:

1. Inactive Status (MH/SA/Medical or Detention): For detention only if the family is not able to meet at the detention setting for sessions and the stay is projected to be more than 2 weeks, with the understanding upon release youth will be readmitted to FFT or MST.

2. Death: youth died while being served

3. Lost Jurisdiction: DJJ jurisdiction is terminated by the Judge; or a youth has a charge that occurred prior to starting services and s/he is committed for that offense during treatment

4. Program Terminated Inappropriate Placement: a youth whose referral was pulled back by the JPO. To use this reason the discharge must not be any later than 7 days into treatment.

5. Unable to Initiate Services: Referral accepted and attempts made to start with family are unsuccessful, or for whom the Judge discontinues further treatment / disallows the original referral to GAJJIP. To use this reason the discharge must not be any later than 7 days into treatment.

6. Moved from the area prior to completing treatment

END OF STATEMENT OF WORK/SPECIFICATION