Inmate Mail and Phone Services

Denton County, Texas is issuing Request for Proposal #26-2901 for comprehensive Inmate Mail and Phone Services to support all county jail facilities and juvenile detention centers. The procurement seeks a qualified firm with extensive experience to provide off-site inmate postal mail processing, electronic inmate mail systems via tablets and kiosks, and inmate telephone services including collect calls, debit time accounts, prepaid accounts, voice mail, and inmate email capabilities. The required infrastructure includes a minimum of 31 kiosks for the Main Jail/Pod Jail facility and 38 kiosks for the Pre-Trial/Tower Jail facility, with tablets required at a 1:1 ratio to the inmate population (currently averaging 1,309 inmates daily). The contract term is three years with two optional one-year renewal periods, with Denton County's current inmate mail contract expiring August 19, 2026, and phone services expiring October 31, 2026. Evaluation criteria are weighted as follows: 25% background and qualifications, 35% methodology and technical approach, 20% mail costs, and 20% phone costs, with the county reserving the right to conduct interviews and request best-and-final offers from competitive range proposers. A pre-proposal conference is scheduled for April 8, 2026, at 1:00 PM CST at the Denton County Law Enforcement Center; questions must be submitted by April 13, 2026, at 2:00 PM CST through the Bonfire Portal; and sealed proposals are due April 30, 2026, at 2:00 PM CDT, with electronic submissions required through https://dentoncounty.bonfirehub.com/opportunities/226222.

The solicitation documents do not specify set-aside designations or restrictions based on organization type or disadvantaged enterprise status. The incumbent provider for inmate phone services is Smart Communications, which currently provides on-site technician support five days per week for a minimum of 40 hours, and this existing infrastructure and service level may inform the technical and operational expectations for the new contractor. Proposers must submit pricing using the provided Cost Proposal Form with detailed disclosure of all rates, fees, and surcharges, with pricing structured on a per-minute basis for calls and itemized pricing for electronic mail features; Denton County will not accept proposals that include sales tax. The county requires a performance bond of $200,000 within ten days of award and cyber liability insurance with minimum limits of $5,000,000 per occurrence. The solicitation does not disclose specific budget ranges or award values; however, the three-year initial term with optional renewal periods and the large inmate population serviced indicate a significant contract opportunity. Vendors must acknowledge they have reviewed all specifications, understand the scope of work, and confirm pricing accuracy through the required Vendor Acknowledgement Form.