Youth Behavioral Health

Pierce County, Washington is soliciting proposals for youth behavioral health promotion, prevention, and early intervention services for youth aged 25 years or younger, with proposals due November 2, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. and an estimated award announcement on December 7, 2026. Eligibility is restricted to organizations that submitted but did not receive funding under the 2026–2027 Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account (PSTAA), Youth Violence Prevention, or Behavioral Health and Therapeutic Court (BHTC) Tax RFPs — a significant gatekeeping constraint.

The scope encompasses behavioral health promotion, prevention, and early intervention designed to strengthen social-emotional skills, reduce violence and substance use risk factors, and improve access to behavioral health care. Applicants must hold a Washington State Business License and Federal Tax ID Number, demonstrate organizational experience in behavioral health services, and comply with federal confidentiality requirements including 42 CFR Part 2 and HIPAA. All applicants must complete a Financial Risk Assessment and demonstrate capacity to begin services immediately upon contract execution. Contractors will be required to submit monthly client service data (demographic, enrollment, and satisfaction information) in standardized formats and comply with comprehensive insurance requirements including commercial general liability, sexual abuse and molestation liability, cyber liability ($2 million per occurrence), and professional liability.

Pierce County anticipates awarding approximately ten contracts totaling $750,000, with no individual award exceeding $100,000 in BHTC Tax funds. Contracts run January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2027 with no renewals or extensions. Direct program costs are eligible; administrative and indirect costs are capped at 15 percent. Ineligible costs include construction, employee commuting, entertainment, and lobbying.

A non-mandatory pre-proposal meeting is scheduled for October 7, 2026 at 11:30 a.m. via Zoom. Questions are due October 19, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. Evaluation includes scoring by an Application Evaluation Committee (100 points) followed by Department Director Review (50 points), with final recommendations based on system need, strategic value, organizational capacity, and implementation readiness.