Facilitating Organization for Student Assistance Programs

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Division for Behavioral Health, Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services is seeking a qualified vendor to serve as the facilitating organization for Student Assistance Programs (SAPs) statewide through RFP-2027-DBH-13-TECHN. The procurement seeks a single contractor to develop and maintain infrastructure supporting a minimum of 40 SAPs per school year, providing centralized coordination, technical assistance, oversight, back-office support services, training, and fostering collaboration among schools and partner entities. Key deliverables include facilitating at least five Communities of Practice focused on the Alcohol and Other Drug Continuum of Care system, developing and maintaining a public-facing website with Department-approved resources, providing systems development technical assistance, and delivering specialized support for substance use disorder treatment providers and youth behavioral health data analytics. Required qualifications include demonstrated experience providing facilitating organization services to community-based or school-based organizations, implementing school-based substance misuse prevention programming, and familiarity with local and regional New Hampshire partners. Performance outcomes require that 85 percent of technical assistance recipients report taking at least one action step resulting from services, 85 percent report satisfaction with services provided, and 35 percent of Student Assistance Program professionals receive training on the GAIN-Short Screener. The evaluation criteria allocate 700 points for technical response (comprising 250 points for vendor experience, 300 points for ability to perform all requirements, and 150 points for organizational capacity) and 300 points for cost proposal, with vendors scoring below 400 points in preliminary technical scoring subject to disqualification. Critical deadlines include a Letter of Intent submission deadline of March 11, 2026, vendor questions due by March 11, 2026 at noon, and proposal responses due April 1, 2026 at noon, with the contract anticipated to be effective July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028, and potential renewal options for up to two additional years.

The vendor must be located in New Hampshire and cannot receive SAP subawards or assist school districts in applying for SAP provider status during the contract term, though qualified vendors currently holding active SAP subawards may respond but would not be eligible to receive SAP subawards if selected. No specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises are identified in the procurement documents. A minimum of 85 percent of total available funding must be budgeted for distribution as grant agreements to participating organizations implementing SAPs, with the remaining funds supporting the facilitating organization's administrative and operational costs. Funding for the contract is anticipated at $4,950,000 for the first fiscal year (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027) and $3,475,000 for the second fiscal year (July 1, 2027 to June 30, 2028), for a total of $8,425,000, with funding sources including Federal and General funds from the Governor's Commission and Other Funds from Opioid Abatement under Assistance Listing 93.959 (Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant). Payment will be made monthly based on approved budgets, and all responses must be submitted electronically. The Department reserves the right to conduct site visits and request oral presentations at vendor expense, and the selected vendor must comply with extensive federal requirements including commercial general liability insurance of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, workers' compensation compliance, drug-free workplace certification, lobbying restrictions, and strict information security requirements regarding the protection of confidential data and personally identifiable information.