Music Therapy Services for The Blind Children’s Vocational Discovery and Development Program (BCVDDP)

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) is issuing Request for Proposals No. HHS0016728 to procure Music Therapy Services for the Blind Children's Vocational Discovery and Development Program (BCVDDP). HHSC seeks to award four separate contracts to qualified Texas-based contractors to provide specialized individual, group, and optional in-home music therapy sessions to blind and visually impaired individuals ranging from birth to age 22 across four distinct regional service areas: Central (Regions 7 & 8), North (Regions 3 & 4), South (Regions 5, 6 & 11), and West (Regions 1, 2, 9 & 10). Services must be delivered by Board-Certified Music Therapists (MT-BC) and must be accessible, multisensory experiences that promote cognitive, motor, speech, language, and social-emotional skill development. Minimum qualifications require respondents to demonstrate at least two years of experience providing music therapy to blind and visually impaired individuals, employ at least one Board-Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC), maintain financial solvency, and comply with all submission requirements. Evaluation criteria include Facility Requirements (10%), Experience (20%), Staffing Plan (20%), Project Work Plan (20%), and Cost (30%). The RFP was posted on March 19, 2026, with a pre-proposal conference held on March 20, 2026, and a deadline for questions on March 23, 2026. Responses to clarifications are scheduled to be posted by April 3, 2026, with proposal responses due on April 17, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. Central Time. Award notification is anticipated in August 2026, with a contract start date of September 1, 2026. The initial contract term is two years with HHSC holding the option to extend for up to three additional years plus one additional year for immediate operational needs.

No HUB Subcontracting Plan is required for this procurement, and there are no identified set-asides or restrictions limiting organizational types that may respond to this solicitation. Historical compensation for similar contracts has ranged from approximately $40,000 per fiscal year, though HHSC reserves the right to adjust amounts based on state funding availability and makes no guarantee regarding volume, usage, or total compensation. Pricing proposals must be submitted in Excel format with active formulas and must include all costs for providing required services, including travel expenses for in-home sessions in accordance with Texas Comptroller travel rates. Contractors must obtain Service Authorizations prior to providing services and submit invoices within 30 days of service completion with required documentation including progress notes for individual sessions and attendance reports with progress summaries for group sessions. HHSC reserves the right to cancel, partially award, or decline to award contracts at its sole discretion. Contractors handling confidential information, including Protected Health Information (PHI) and Personally Identifiable Information (PII), must comply with a comprehensive Data Use Agreement establishing procedural, administrative, physical, and technical safeguards, requiring designation of Privacy and Information Security Officials, completion of security assessments, and implementation of cybersecurity training certified under Texas Government Code, with contractors bearing full financial responsibility for breach investigations and notifications.