Community Based Peer Support Services

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services is requesting proposals for community-based peer support services to serve mental health provider shortage areas designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration, with proposals due August 4, 2026 under RFP DHHS26131. This is restricted to emerging organizations with no more than 10 full-time employees currently engaged in mental health or substance use recovery services — a hard eligibility gate.

The contractor must serve populations in HRSA-designated shortage areas and deliver mental health prevention, treatment, and recovery services with a minimum of 60 percent of the agency's service population seeking these services. The scope includes hiring and deploying peer support specialists; delivering direct peer support services, recovery coaching, psychoeducation, crisis support, and linkage to treatment; and providing supervisor training to peer support staff. Peer support specialists must have lived experience with mental illness or substance use disorders, peer specialist certification or equivalent training, and cultural competency skills. Contractors must maintain client confidentiality, comply with state and federal regulations, and participate in ongoing professional development.

The contract term is five years. Performance metrics and outcome measures will track service effectiveness and client engagement in recovery-oriented activities. Funding is contingent on established fee schedules and client census reports.

Evaluation criteria include four allowable activities scored as follows: hiring at least one full-time peer support specialist (2 points); providing direct peer support services (6 points); providing supervisor training to peer support specialists (8 points); or establishing a family-run organization within Utah (10 points). Budget justification is weighted at 10 points. Applicants must also demonstrate plans for peer support specialist participation in the Peer Support Steering Committee or Utah Behavioral Health Advisory Council and engagement with national substance use or mental health technical assistance providers. Proposals undergo two-stage evaluation: non-responsive proposals are eliminated in initial review; responsive proposals are evaluated against technical criteria. Questions and addenda will be posted on Utah Public Procurement Place (U3P). Award is subject to successful contract negotiation and compliance with Utah Procurement Code and applicable federal and state law. All proposal preparation costs are the offeror's responsibility.