Sole Source - Goshen Consulting

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has issued a notice of intent to award a sole-source contract to Goshen Consulting for evaluation services under the School-Based Trauma-Informed Support Services (TISS) grant program, specifically for the REACH Out initiative. This federally funded procurement, posted February 2, 2026, with a deadline of February 18, 2026, seeks formative evaluation services to monitor progress toward the grant's goals and objectives serving a minimum of 6,750 students across alternative education systems and high-need referral districts in two geographic areas of Illinois. The scope of work includes administering standardized screening tools such as the Trauma Events Screening Inventory for Children (TESI-C) and Trauma Symptom Inventory (TSI), collecting student academic and attendance data, conducting annual surveys of school REACH team leaders, and ensuring all partner organizations provide required data to SAMHSA while maintaining privacy and confidentiality standards. Required qualifications include expertise in SAMHSA evaluation processes, 15 or more years of experience in community-based evaluation work, membership in the American Evaluation Association, and established relationships with the communities and school districts being served. The contract term runs from December 1, 2025 (or upon execution) through September 30, 2026, with zero renewal options. A public hearing opportunity was provided, with written comments or hearing requests required by Friday, February 13, 2026, at 4 p.m. The sole-source justification is based on Goshen Consulting's prior successful performance under Contract 24027 as a subcontractor from September 30, 2022, through June 30, 2024, their specialized knowledge of SAMHSA requirements, and their customized systems already developed for this initiative.

The contract is restricted to sole-source award to Goshen Consulting, with no open competition permitted. The justification for this restricted procurement emphasizes that transitioning to an alternative vendor would be impractical given the less than one year remaining in the federal grant term, as alternative vendors would face onboarding costs of $5,000 to $20,000 and would be unable to adequately replicate Goshen's complex systems and existing vendor-specific relationships with community partners. A contract lapse at the end of FY 2024 paused all evaluation work, and continuity of services is deemed critical to prevent loss of mental health services to thousands of students. The contract is entirely funded through federal grant funds provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The award value is $125,000 for the contract period, which ISBE has determined to be fair and reasonable through comparison with similar services purchased under other grants. The State Procurement Officer approved the sole-source determination on January 14, 2026, and the contract was ultimately approved on February 18, 2026.