Behavioral Health Workforce Data and Measurement Support for DBH

1. MISSION & GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The mission of the Ohio Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) is to provide statewide leadership of a high-quality mental health and addiction prevention, treatment and recovery system that is effective and valued by all Ohioans. DBH strives to be a national leader in implementing a comprehensive, accessible, and quality-focused system of addiction and mental health care and wellness for all Ohio citizens.

1. PURPOSE

The Ohio Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) is seeking proposals from qualified contractors to provide behavioral health workforce data, measurement, and strategic advisory support. This engagement will assist DBH in strengthening the data and measurement foundation of its behavioral health workforce initiatives, including workforce planning frameworks, workforce data and needs assessments, and measurement frameworks. It also includes data-driven employer and provider programs and workforce pipeline development across all levels of the behavioral health workforce, including paraprofessional roles. The selected contractor will bring national subject matter expertise in health workforce data and measurement to support DBH's ongoing efforts to build a sustainable, evidence-based approach to behavioral health workforce development.

1. BACKGROUND

Ohio, like many states, faces significant behavioral health workforce shortages that affect access to care across the continuum. In response, DBH has undertaken several foundational efforts to better understand, plan for, and address these workforce challenges. DBH has developed an internal strategic framework to organize its behavioral health workforce initiatives, spanning workforce awareness, pipeline development, employment placement, and retention. In parallel, DBH is finalizing a statewide behavioral health workforce needs assessment survey, designed to collect primary data directly from behavioral health professionals across the state to complement existing administrative and workforce data sources. These efforts have largely progressed as separate workstreams. DBH now seeks to bring them together into a cohesive, sustainable data and measurement approach; one that identifies what workforce data currently exists, where meaningful gaps remain, and how existing and future data sources can be integrated to support ongoing policy development, program evaluation, and workforce planning.

1. SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLES

The selected contractor will provide the following services in support of DBH's behavioral health workforce data and measurement efforts: 1. National SME Review: Provide a focused evaluation assessing whether DBH's behavioral health workforce framework structure is sound from a workforce measurement standpoint, benchmarked against comparable approaches used by other states. 2. Workforce Metrics and Indicators Crosswalk: For each component of DBH's workforce framework, identify recommended data indicators, assess existing Ohio data sources capable of supplying them, and identify gaps where no current source exists. 3. Needs Assessment Alignment: Review DBH's statewide behavioral health workforce needs assessment survey instrument to determine whether it will generate data aligned with the indicators identified above and recommend refinements or supplemental measures as needed to close identified gaps. 4. Ongoing Advisory Support: Provide periodic strategic advisory support and technical assistance to DBH throughout the engagement period on matters related to behavioral health workforce data, measurement, and integration of data sources, including workforce data considerations across the paraprofessional and professional continuum.

1. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTOR

To be considered responsive, respondents must demonstrate the following minimum qualifications: 1. Demonstrated organizational experience providing health workforce data, measurement, or policy consulting services, with health workforce data as a core service line. 2. Qualitative, demonstrated experience providing workforce data or measurement consulting services to state government agencies or comparable public-sector clients. 3. Demonstrated multi-state or national perspective, evidenced by experience benchmarking workforce data or measurement approaches across multiple states or jurisdictions. 4. Key personnel proposed for this engagement must have relevant subject matter expertise in workforce data, measurement methodology, or workforce planning, evidenced by relevant credentials, publications, or prior project experience. 5. Demonstrated experience integrating multiple data sources (e.g., administrative, licensure/certification, survey, labor market) to inform workforce planning or policy decisions. 6. At least 3 professional references from comparable engagements completed within the past 5 years. Contractor shall not be subject to an "unresolved" finding for recovery under Section 9.24 of Ohio Revised Code.