TRS000633 - Employee Assistance Program-RFP

The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) is soliciting proposals for Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Services through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP TRS000633) issued on January 26, 2026. The procurement seeks a qualified contractor to provide comprehensive evaluation, short-term counseling, and referral services to TRS employees and eligible family members (spouses, dependents, and parents) across multiple Texas locations, including Austin, El Paso, and a planned South Texas office. Required services include 24/7 phone-based counseling with multi-modality options (chat and text), assessment or referral within two calendar days for standard situations and two hours for crisis situations, a minimum of five counseling sessions per incident of at least 50 minutes each, and six months of follow-up services for serious incidents. Additional deliverables include on-site group facilitation and training sessions upon request, 12 annual complimentary service hours, printed materials in English and Spanish, and quarterly utilization reports with participant satisfaction surveys. The contractor must employ licensed professional counselors fluent in English and Spanish and provide staff from at least six Texas state regulating agencies (State Board of Medical Examiners, Board of Psychologists, Board of Licensed Social Workers, Board of Licensed Professional Counselors, Board of Marriage and Family Therapists, and Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse), with minimum staff holding at least a master's degree in behavioral science. Minimum qualifications include at least five years of experience providing EAP services to employers with 500+ employees and demonstrated ability to serve multiple Texas locations. The contract will be evaluated using best value standards weighted as follows: past performance and client references (35%), performance details (35%), key personnel (20%), and proposed pricing (10%). Key deadlines include a non-mandatory pre-proposal conference on February 4, 2026, at 2:00 P.M. Central Time via Microsoft Teams, a questions submission deadline of February 9, 2026, at 4:00 P.M. Central Time, and a proposal submission deadline of February 26, 2026, at 5:00 P.M. Central Time through the PAVES system. TRS may request presentations, demonstrations, interviews, and site visits from top-ranked respondents in mid-April 2026.

The procurement is subject to Veteran Heroes United in Business (VetHUB) subcontracting plan requirements, as the contract value is expected to exceed $100,000 over its life. Respondents must submit a VetHUB Subcontracting Plan and provide monthly Progress Assessment Reports due by the 5th calendar day of the following month. The contract effective date is September 1, 2026, with an initial two-year term through August 31, 2028, and includes two optional one-year renewal periods exercisable at TRS's discretion. Pricing must be fully loaded and firm fixed prices for the initial term with no escalation applied to optional renewal terms; annual pricing applies to any renewal periods. The contractor must maintain comprehensive insurance coverage, including workers' compensation, employer's liability of $500,000 per accident or $1,000,000 aggregate, and professional liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate. Contractor compensation will be based on TRS headcount and the number of actual employees on TRS payroll at the end of each fiscal quarter, with TRS's entire liability limited to payments based on this headcount metric. Additional requirements include background checks at the contractor's expense, E-Verify compliance for all personnel, HIPAA compliance through a Business Associate Agreement, comprehensive information security measures, and monthly reporting within 24 hours of identifying any service performance issues. No incumbent vendor or specific budget range has been identified in the available solicitation documents.