2023-1.v3.04082026 RFP – Agency Solicitation Specifications Page 1 of 6 Revised 4/8/2026

RFP27007072

AGENCY SOLICITATION SPECIFICATIONS

ON-SITE PSYCHIATRIC SERVICES FOR THE AWAITING-TRIAL AND

SENTENCED POPULATIONS AT THE RI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

SECTION A: BACKGROUND

The Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC) is a unified, centralized and comprehensive correctional system housing male and female incarcerated individuals, located on the Howard Complex in Cranston, R.I. There are approximately 928 awaiting-trail and sentenced individuals housed in the Intake Service Center. This facility is the State’s only jail for pre-trial detainees. There are approximately 1,366 incarcerated individuals in the four sentenced male facilities and approximately 151 incarcerated individuals in the female facility. The RIDOC facilities in Cranston are Rhode Island’s only jail and prison residential facilities. Approximately 13,000 men and women are committed not the system each year. The mission of RIDOC is to contribute to public safety by maintaining a balanced correctional system of institutional and community programs that provide a range of control and rehabilitative options for criminal offenders. The DOC Rehabilitative Services Division provides a comprehensive array of rehabilitative opportunities including but not limited to: GED, ABE, other educational opportunities; job training; domestic violence programming; re-entry and transitional services; religious services and counseling; sex offender treatment programming; and case management services.

Incarcerated individuals are also provided with a comprehensive range of healthcare services that are provided based upon community standards and national standards of correctional healthcare, including medical, dental and behavioral health services.

RIDOC provides access to substance use disorder education and treatment programs including a robust medication-assisted treatment program. RIDOC provides access to a comprehensive, coordinated continuum of mental health services for all incarcerated individuals and ensures quality, accessible and timely clinical care. A majority of incarcerated individuals return to the community, therefore re-integration into the community must be an integral focus of treatment during incarceration. Due to its public safety mission and the continuing responsibility for supervision through community corrections, access to treatment must be considered in all treatment decisions made. Additionally, as a publicly funded agency with fiscal accountability to the citizens of R.I., there is an inherent responsibility to provide the most cost-effective care.

Historically, psychotropic medications have accounted for approximately 30% of the dollars spent on pharmaceuticals, the largest single disease category in terms of pharmaceutical costs. Second generation antipsychotics account for almost 75% of the psychotropic pharmaceutical costs behind Hepatitis C medications, even though they

2023-1.v3.04082026 RFP – Agency Solicitation Specifications Page 2 of 6 Revised 4/8/2026 are the minority of written scripts. As a public agency, cost control should be an important consideration in prescriptive choices. Prescribing providers must also take into account that many individuals released from RIDOC are not covered by health insurance or community mental health agencies and thus their ability to continue on medications is not always assured.

SECTION B: SCOPE OF WORK AND REQUIREMENTS

The selected vendor will be required to provide on-site evaluation, assessment, and treatment to all awaiting trial and sentenced incarcerated individuals with mental health needs at RIDOC. The vendor shall also provide consultation to RIDOC behavioral health clinicians (master’s level clinicians) as well as primary care physicians and nurses.

The general scope of work includes providing on-site psychiatric services and evaluation to all individuals incarcerated at RIDOC who require treatment upon commitment and throughout their incarceration.

• Treatment for awaiting-trial incarcerated individuals will be provided at the Intake Service Center (male facility) and the Women’s facility. Note that the Women’s facility houses both awaiting trial and sentenced female incarcerated individuals.

• For incarcerated individuals who are sentenced, treatment will be provided in the facility they are housed in, i.e. Minimum Security, Medium Security, Maximum Security, High Security and Women’s Facility.

Deliverables: The selected vendor will be expected to provide a specific number of hours per week onsite of either direct service to patients or consultation with other members of the behavioral healthcare team in order to meet the clinical needs of patients remanded to the custody and care of RIDOC. Telehealth visits are an acceptable alternative on a case-by-case basis as approved by the Clinical Administrator. Psychiatrists may be called upon to prepare for and conduct testimony in mental health court for either civil commitment to the Rhode Island State Psychiatric Hospital for a hospital level of care or to seek a Petition for Instructions (PFI) for court-mandated treatment. All hours spent working in this capacity are reimbursable as part of the contract.

RIDOC Responsibilities: RIDOC will provide adequate clinic space, EMR access, training and direction when necessary.

Specific Activities/Tasks

Contractor Responsibilities:

1. Psychiatrists and/or appropriately supervised psychiatric clinical nurse specialists will evaluate and treat incarcerated individuals who are referred to them, within the limits of their professional licensure. They will appropriately document their treatment in the inmate’s Electronic Medical Record in accordance with RIDOC policy and procedure.

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2. It is expected that the vendor’s physicians and clinicians will see a patient for the amount of time clinically indicated for a particular service.

3. It is expected that the vendor’s physicians and clinicians will work with RIDOC behavioral health staff in case consultation and treatment planning.

The vendor shall designate one lead clinician.

4. It is expected that the vendor will work with RIDOC staff to establish a follow-up system of care for patients on the psychiatric caseload post-release who are not otherwise covered by the community mental health system. This may include writing bridge scripts for psychiatric medications.

5. It is also expected that the selected vendor will work in consultation with the RIDOC Clinical Administrator, the URI School of Pharmacy, the manager of the RIDOC pharmacy contract and pharmaceutical utilization to ensure that clinically appropriate and cost-effective treatment is being delivered. The vendor shall establish a process with the Clinical Administrator, the manager of the RIDOC pharmacy contract and the URI Pharmacy consultants for medication utilization review with established targets.

6. It is expected that the chosen vendor will identify measurable outcomes that support the public safety mission of RIDOC.

7. It is expected that the chosen vendor will be able to provide adequate onsite clinical coverage to all awaiting trial and sentenced incarcerated individuals on a weekly basis. On-call services are expected to be provided to RIDOC clinicians seven days per week.

8. It is expected that the chosen vendor will engage with the Clinical Administrator in exploring and utilizing HIPAA-compliant telehealth visits as an adjunct to onsite treatment when determined to be appropriate.

9. The selected vendor will be responsible for providing on-site coverage of at least one day at the Intake Service Center on weekends as well as on-call services for all facilities during evening hours, weekends and holidays. If the necessity arises, arrangements will be made for either an emergency room visit or onsite psychiatric consultation for acute psychiatric emergencies. The utilization of this use of the on-call service will be at the discretion of the Clinical Administrator.

10. The selected vendor will provide vacation an extended illness coverage (in excess of one week) for all physicians and clinicians under the contract providing direct service to RIDOC facilities.

11. The selected vendor will provide onsite treatment, services and evaluation to all incarcerated individuals in the custody of RIDOC’s jail facility (Intake Service Center) Monday through Friday between 6:00am through 7:00pm. The selected vendor will also provide onsite treatment, services and evaluation to all incarcerated individuals in the RIDOC sentenced facilities and Women’s facility, Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 4:00pm.

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12. The selected vendor will prepare court documents when necessary as required.

13. The selected vendor will provide onsite services to jail inmates and new commitments on a daily basis.

14. The selected vendor will provide psychiatrists licensed to practice in the State of Rhode Island (must possess M.D. and/or D.O.). Also, the selected vendor will provide Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist(s) licensed to practice in the State of Rhode Island in support of this contract.

15. The selected vendor will provide malpractice insurance for their providers.

At RIDOC’s request, proof of insurance coverage will be provided.

16. The selected vendor will employ Board certified or Board eligible physicians in Adult Psychiatry. Physicians who are Board certified or Board eligible in Forensic Psychiatry are preferred.

In addition to the programmatic requirements described, successful applicants will be required to adhere to the following assurances and contractual requirements:

Security Requirement: Vendor staff must complete all required RIDOC new employee training and adhere to RIDOC’s Policies and Procedures. Employees of contractors who must gain entrance into correctional facilities are subject to police background checks and RIDOC retains the right to refuse entrance to contractor employees with felony convictions.

Access to correctional facilities also requires adherence to rigid security rules as relate to property search, contact with incarcerated individuals etc. Final approval of vendor’s staff rests with RIDOC.

Additionally, vendors entering DOC buildings that are equipped with badge scanning capabilities, must scan their DOC identification badge upon each entry and exit.

Cultural Competency: The racial composition of staff for projects should also be consistent with the diversity of the current incarcerated population as much as is practical. The use of bilingual staff is highly desirable. Staff should be able to address the needs of individuals who have functional literacy and learning problems.

Vendors should be able to demonstrate that their staff is appropriately qualified and experienced to provide treatment to an incarcerated population.

Contract Monitoring: The appropriate vendor staff will participate in quarterly scheduled meetings with RIDOC staff to monitor the status of the contract.

SECTION C: PROPOSAL MATERIALS

1. Technical Proposal

Narrative and format: Bidders must submit a technical proposal which addresses each of the following elements and is limited to ten (10)__ pages (this excludes any appendices and as appropriate, resumes of key staff that will provide services covered by this request):

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A. Staff Qualifications – Provide staff resumes/CV and describe qualifications and experience of key staff who will be involved in this project, including their experience in adult psychiatry and/or forensic psychiatry.

Qualifications should include those outlined above in Contractor Responsibilities #14 and #16.

B. Capability, Capacity, and Qualifications of the Vendor - Please provide a detailed description of the Vendor’s experience in providing psychiatric services to adults in a correctional setting. List a minimum of three (3) relevant professional client references, to include client names, addresses, contact names with emails and phone numbers, dates of service and type(s) of service(s) provided.

C. Work Plan - Please describe in detail, the framework within which requested adult psychiatric services will be performed in the awaiting trial and sentenced RIDOC facilities. The following elements should be included:

plan for providing face-to-face clinical encounters as well as telehealth visits with this population. The plan should address topics 1-13 of the above Contractor Responsibilities

D. Approach/Methodology – Define the methodology to be used for the tracking of billable time for patient encounters whether onsite or telehealth visits.

Also include the process for on-call coverage, administrative oversight and handling of any court-related activities.

2. Cost Proposal

Detailed Budget and Budget Narrative:

Vendor must submit a completed Exhibit A: Cost Proposal that clearly identifies all costs associated with providing services under this RFP.

The Proposal shall:

• Be presented in a clear, detailed format.

• Include detailed rates for all personnel identified.

Vendor staff are only paid for hours worked. The RIDOC does not pay for vendor sick, vacation and/or other paid time off. This includes lunch breaks during a scheduled shift

Vendors are expected to propose hourly rates which allow them to pay for PTO and breaks as required by law.”

3. Supplemental Bidder Attestation Form

See Appendix A on the “Overview” tab in Ocean State Procures™ for information. Vendors are required to complete, sign and submit this form with their overall proposal.

4. ISBE Proposal

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See Appendix B on the “Overview” tab in Ocean State Procures™ for information and the MBE, WBE and/or Disability Business Enterprise Participation Plan form(s). Vendors are required to complete, sign and submit these forms with their overall proposal. Please complete separate forms for each MBE, WBE, and/or Disability Business Enterprise subcontractor to be utilized on the solicitation.

SECTION D: EVALUATION AND SELECTION - SOLICITATION SPECIFIC

Technical proposals must receive a minimum of 55 (78.5%) out of a maximum of 70 points to advance to the cost evaluation phase. Technical proposals scoring less than 55 points shall not have the accompanying cost or ISBE participation proposals opened or evaluated; such proposals shall not receive further consideration.

Technical proposals scoring 55 points or higher shall have the cost proposals evaluated and assigned up to a maximum of 30 points bringing the total potential evaluation score to 100 points.

As total possible evaluation points are determined, vendor ISBE proposals shall be evaluated and assigned up to 6 bonus points for ISBE participation.

Proposals shall be reviewed and scored based upon the following criteria:

Criteria Possible Points Staff Qualifications 10 Points Capability, Capacity, and Qualifications of the Vendor 10 Points Work Plan 30 Points Approach/Methodology 20 Points

Total Possible Technical Points 70 Points Cost Proposal 30 Points

Total Possible Evaluation Points 100 Points ISBE Participation 6 Bonus Points

Total Possible Points 106 Points

Additional evaluation criteria can be found at:

• For those with an OSP account, see the “Requirements” tab of this solicitation in OSP for additional information on the evaluation and selection process in the “RFP Standard Specification” section.

• For those without an OSP account, public access to the full bid can be found at https://ridop.ri.gov/vendors/bidding-opportunities. Search for this solicitation, open the record, click on the “Print/Download Solicitation Summary” button in the upper right corner for all the solicitation requirements and supporting documents are found at the bottom of the page in the “Solicitation Attachments” section.

https://ridop.ri.gov/vendors/bidding-opportunities

SECTION D: EVALUATION AND SELECTION - SOLICITATION SPECIFIC