Senior volunteer services

The New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department (ALTSD) is conducting an emergency procurement for senior volunteer services across multiple counties for a 60-day period from July 1 through August 31, 2026, with proposals due August 1, 2026. This is a continuation procurement necessitated by the requirement to maintain federal AmeriCorps Seniors program funding and state matching obligations; failure to continue funding would result in loss of federal grants and elimination of services to vulnerable populations.

Seven contractors have been selected to administer Foster Grandparent Program (FGP), Senior Companion Program (SCP), Care Companion Program (CCP), and RSVP volunteer services in their respective service areas: Chaves County Joy Center (Chaves County), Community Services Center (Roosevelt and Curry counties), Citizens for Developmentally Disabled (Colfax County), Deming/Luna County Commission on Aging (Luna County), Sierra Joint Office on Aging (Sierra County), Southeast NM Community Action Corp (Eddy County), and HELP New Mexico, Inc. (Mora, San Miguel, Rio Arriba, Guadalupe, Catron, McKinley, Dona Ana, and Grant counties). The scope requires contractors to recruit and place senior volunteers aged 55 and older to provide mentoring and companionship services to children with special needs, frail elderly adults, facility residents, and community organizations. Contractors must comply with AmeriCorps Seniors program requirements, conduct criminal background checks, maintain formal volunteer assignments with documented service hours and volunteer service years (VSY), and submit monthly invoices and quarterly and semi-annual reports.

The total emergency allocation is $177,862.85 across all seven contractors, with individual contract amounts ranging from $13,242.53 to $137,786.49. Compensation structure: $9,000 per VSY for FGP and SCP programs (with $4,176 per VSY mandatory for volunteer stipends at $4.00 per hour), and $1,000 per volunteer for RSVP programs. Monthly invoices are capped at 50 percent of total allocation expenditures during July through December 2026 per state budget division requirements. ALTSD intends to transition to a sole-source procurement award for September 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.