Statewide Maternal Health Access and Services Assessment

The South Dakota Department of Health is issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP #26-09RHT-013) to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the maternal health landscape in South Dakota as part of the Rural Health Transformation initiative. The procurement seeks a contractor to evaluate strengths, gaps, and opportunities across prenatal and postpartum care, clinical access, insurance coverage, telehealth availability, mental health and substance use services, social services, and policy factors. The assessment will inform the Maternal and Infant Health Hub Initiative and support the work of the Maternal and Infant Health Task Force with the goal of improving maternal and infant health outcomes and access to services. Key deliverables include reports, findings, and software documentation that will become the property of the State of South Dakota. Qualified offerors must demonstrate specialized expertise in maternal health assessment, environmental scanning, and stakeholder engagement, and must provide at least three references from previous similar contracts. The evaluation criteria include technical competence, available resources, past performance record, project management approach, and familiarity with the project locale. Critical deadlines include Letters of Intent due March 13, 2026; offeror questions due by March 20, 2026 with State responses by March 27, 2026; and completed proposals due April 10, 2026, with an anticipated award decision and contract negotiation scheduled for May 4, 2026. The contract term runs from June 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027 with no renewal options.

The RFP document does not specify set-aside designations or restrictions limiting responses to particular types of organizations or disadvantaged enterprises. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are identified in the procurement materials, nor are there references to existing infrastructure or technology that requires integration. The maximum budget for this procurement is $576,150, and the cost proposal must be itemized to include personnel salaries, fringe benefits, travel and training, supplies, contractual and operating expenses, and administrative costs. The State reserves the right to reject any proposals, negotiate with successive ranked offerors if initial negotiations fail, and award the contract based on subjective evaluation of technical merit and cost reasonableness. All inquiries concerning the RFP should be directed to Katelyn Strasser at Katelyn.Strasser@state.sd.us with the subject line "RFP #26-09RHT-013," and interested parties can obtain additional information about the Rural Health Transformation program at ruralhealthtransformation.sd.gov.