The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Division for Children, Youth and Families (“Department”) is seeking responses to this Request for Proposals (“Solicitation” or “RFP”) from qualified Vendors to recruit and train foster caregivers to support teens in the juvenile justice system across New Hampshire. The Department anticipates awarding one (1) contract for the services in this Solicitation.

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Division for Children, Youth and Families is requesting proposals to recruit and train foster caregivers to support teens in the juvenile justice system statewide, with proposals due August 31, 2026 and vendor questions due August 10, 2026. The Department anticipates awarding one contract. Vendors must complete a mandatory four-factor organizational assessment for Title VI compliance regarding language assistance services for limited English proficiency populations and respond to six required questions on culturally and linguistically appropriate services; successful awardees must submit detailed language assistance service descriptions within ten days of Governor and Executive Council approval.

The scope requires building a sustainable statewide foster caregiver pool to serve justice-involved teens with mental health and behavioral needs in community-based rather than secure detention settings. Year-one targets are 10–15 new inquiries yielding 5–7 licensed homes; subsequent years target 20–30 inquiries yielding 10–15 licensed homes. Services must be available statewide during business hours (Monday–Friday, 8:30 AM–5:00 PM) with evening and weekend training and outreach as needed. Deliverables include recruitment strategy and digital and traditional materials development, lead tracking and follow-up systems, peer support model development, pre- and post-training survey administration, coordination with the University of New Hampshire's Child Welfare Education Partnership on curriculum, and transition planning for services to revert to the Department upon contract conclusion. The contractor must provide stipends for training completion and placements, work with an established Advisory Group monthly, and comply with federal and state data security, HIPAA, background check, and civil rights requirements. All original materials created vest copyright ownership in the Department.

The estimated funding is approximately $150,000, inclusive of media advertising costs, from the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention program (Assistance Listing 16.540). This is not a low-cost award; cost proposals will be scored. The contract is anticipated to be effective December 2026 with an end date of September 30, 2028, with optional extension for up to two additional years. Evaluation is based on a maximum of 1,000 points: technical response (700 points across four mandatory questions on work plan, strategies and methods, experience, and capacity) and cost proposal (300 points). Vendors must achieve a minimum of 400 points during technical review to have cost proposals opened. The Department will publish responses to vendor questions by August 24, 2026. Contractors must maintain commercial general liability insurance of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate.