Sobering Center Services

San Mateo County Health, Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS) is requesting proposals for Sobering Center Services, a 14-bed facility providing safe, voluntary, low-barrier, trauma-informed harm-reduction services for adults experiencing acute alcohol and/or drug intoxication in a less-than-24-hour setting, with proposals due August 7, 2026 at 2:00 PM. Local businesses and local non-profits receive procurement preference points under San Mateo County ordinance, with preference scoring of 5–10 points depending on business size classification.

Proposers must demonstrate three years of experience in substance use disorder or related services within the past five years, meet staffing requirements, and maintain registration with the System for Award Management (SAM). The scope includes 24/7 intake and admissions, medical and behavioral health monitoring, substance use assessment, case management, discharge planning, and warm handoffs to treatment and support services. The County owns the facility; the selected proposer must launch core services rapidly while building toward accreditation and Medi-Cal certification. Key administrative requirements include HIPAA compliance, Cal-OSHA COVID-19 prevention, confidentiality safeguards with 24-hour breach reporting, monthly credentialing checks and fingerprinting verification for staff with direct client contact, quality assurance processes with audit disallowance rates below 5%, cultural competency planning, and disaster and emergency response plans due within 90 days of contract commencement.

The contract term is three years with two optional one-year extensions at the County's discretion. The County anticipates funding through a braided funding model, with County BHRS supporting a portion of start-up and operational costs; the contractor must independently pursue funding from local law enforcement jurisdictions, Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans, grants, hospital community benefits, and philanthropy. Proposers must submit detailed start-up budgets, annual operating budgets, per-bed-day costs, and revenue assumptions; the County reserves the right to negotiate the final payment structure. Evaluation criteria are firm experience and qualifications (30 points), staffing (25 points), approach to services (20 points), fee and budget proposal (15 points), interviews if conducted (10 points), and local preference (5–10 points). Interviews are tentatively scheduled for the week of August 24, 2026, with anticipated award on December 1, 2026. Contractors must maintain $1 million minimum liability insurance and comply with California prevailing wage and living wage ordinances.