REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Court-based Substance Abuse Assessment Services

For Adults

in Baltimore City District Courts,

Baltimore City Circuit Courts,

And

Baltimore City Detention Center

Timeline:

RFP Issued:February 1st, 2013

Pre-Offer Conference Call:February 11th, 2013

Proposal Due Date:March 6th, 2013

Awards Announced: March 27th, 2013

Services Begin: July 1st, 2013

Issued By

BALTIMORE SUBSTANCE ABUSE SYSTEMS, Inc.

1 North Charles Street, Suite 1600

Baltimore, MD 21201

410-637-1900

Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems, Inc.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTIONPAGE

Title Page………………………………………………………1

Table of Contents……………………………………………… 2

1.Overview……………………………………………………… 3-4

2.Background………………………………………4-5

3.Provider Qualifications……………………………………… 5-6

4.Scope of Work…………………………………………….. 6-12

5.Staff Requirements………………………………12-13

6.Data Management Requirements………………………………13-15

7.Performance …………………………………….. 15-16

8.Payments to Providers………………………………………16-17

9.Term of Agreement …. …………………………………….17-18

10.Administrative Requirements……………………………… 18

11.Technical Proposal Requirements………………………………18-20

12.Price Proposal Requirements……………………………………20

13.Evaluation of Offers………………………………………20

14.Oral Presentation………………………………………………20

15.Funding Availability………………………………………21

16.Pre-Offer Conference Call………………………………………21

17.Questions & RFP addenda ……………………………………21

18.Submittal Process and Copies Required………………………21-22

19.Attachments………………………………………………23

1)RFP Cover Sheet………………………………………23

2)RFP Cost Proposal………………………………………24

3)RFP Salary Schedule………………………………………25

4)CJ Assessment Itemized Invoice Example ………………. 26

BALTIMORE SUBSTANCE ABUSE SYSTEMS, INC.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

COURT-BASED SUBSTANCE ABUSE ASSESSMENT SERVICES

FOR ADULTS IN BALTIMORE CITY DISTRICT AND CIRCUIT COURTS AND BALTIMORE CITY DETENTION CENTER

  1. OVERVIEW

Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems, Inc., (BSAS), the substance abuse authority for Baltimore City, is committed to preventing and reducing substance abuse and its adverse health and social consequences in the City of Baltimore.

This request for proposals is being issued in order for BSAS to contract with a state certified substance abuse treatment program(s) for the purpose of hiring and supervising clinical staff to perform substance abuse assessments for the adult population at five of the City’s Courthouses and one detention center.

This Request for Proposal (RFP) describes the required assessmentand placement processes. Assessments will be provided for all eligible nonviolent offenders who have been court-ordered for substance use disorderassessments by the courts.

BSAS may issueawards to one or more treatment providers to ensure that services are available throughout Baltimore City. BSAS seeks qualified and certified providers to perform substance abuse assessments for approximately 1,350 adults per year.

The selected treatment programwill use the Statewide Maryland Automated Record Tracking (SMART) computer system to enter assessment data and communicate electronic referrals to treatment agencies. The program will also utilize the BSAS Information and Referral service to identify possible placement resources for the offender. The identification of a placement from the BSAS treatment provider network will depend on the offender’s insurance status, level of care recommendation and availability of a treatment slot.

Consistent with recent trends in the behavioral health service field, all services are expected to be consumer-driven, recovery-oriented, and guided by best practices. Additionally, services are to be delivered in a manner which is culturally and linguistically competent, gender-specific, and individualized.

Providers are expected to meet a set of performance standards outlined in Section 7.

In order to be consistent with best practices in health care financing, and to help providers be competitive in ever tightening fiscal markets, BSAS may change the method of payment during the course of any contract arising from this RFP.

BSAS reserves the right to amend this RFP at any time prior to BSAS’ announcement of awards. BSAS reserves the right to reject any or all of the proposals, or any part thereof, submitted in response to this RFP. BSAS reserves the right to request additional information from any offeror. BSAS reserves the right to award negotiated contracts to one or more offerors.

This RFP is not intended and shall not be construed to commit BSAS to pay any costs incurred in connection with any proposal or to procure or contract with any firm. BSAS will only contract with treatment programs that do not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship status or any other status protected by the State of Maryland and Federal laws.

  1. BACKGROUND

In 1983, a joint venture was entered into between the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, and the Maryland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration to design an assessment unit to conduct drug and alcohol abuse screening services in court settings. The “assessment units” were institutionalized and expanded to include services at all District and Circuit Courts of Baltimore City, Baltimore City Detention Center and throughout the Central Region of the Department of Corrections.

Comprehensive substance abuse assessments of offenders are intended to lead to short or long-term intervention efforts to minimize the re-occurrence of criminal activity. A comprehensive substance abuse assessment confirms the presence of a problem, identifies a diagnosable substance use disorder, and helps illuminate other problems connected with an offender’s substance use disorder. The purpose of a comprehensive assessment includes:

  • To document in detail the presence, nature, and complexity of substance use
  • To determine the specific treatment needs of the offender if substance abuse or dependence is confirmed so that limited resources may be directed most appropriately
  • To develop a written report for use by the forensic (court) system that
  • Identifies and accurately diagnoses the substance use disorder and its severity,
  • Identifies factors that contribute to or are related to the substance use disorder.
  • Identifies problem areas including somatic, mental health, developmental, and social issues, and
  • Makes recommendations for referral to agencies or services.

The results of these clinically driven substance abuse assessments are released to the Courts of Baltimore City as public record with written consent from the defendant. The consent will allow the release of assessment findings and proposed treatment recommendations to the defendant’s attorney, the arraignment judge and the States Attorney. This service is offered to individuals who are detained, bonded or released from custody.

Assessments are multi-axial diagnostic impressions based on the client’s self-report, counselor’s professional knowledge and corroborating medical/legal documents on all five DSM-5axes.

The court locations that apply to the RFP include:

Circuit Courts

Clarence Mitchell Courthouse

100 N. Calvert Street

Baltimore, MD 21202

Courthouse East

111 N. Calvert Street

Baltimore, MD 21202

Projected # of Assessments to be completed yearly at both locations: 300

District Courts

Borgerding District Court Building

5800 Wabash Avenue

Baltimore, MD 21215

Projected # of Assessments to be completed yearly: 100

John R. Hargrove, Sr. Building

700 East Patapsco Avenue

Brooklyn, MD 21225

Projected # of Assessments to be completed yearly: 300

Eastside District Court Building

1400 E. North Avenue

Baltimore, MD 21213

Projected # of Assessments to be completed yearly:150

Baltimore City Detention Center

401 W. Eager Street

Baltimore, MD 21202

Projected # of Assessments to be completed yearly:500

Total projected # of Assessments across 6 locations = 1,350

3. PROVIDER QUALIFICATIONS

3.1 Offerors must have at least one year of documented experience providing substance abuse assessments and one year of documented experience providing criminal justice assessment services.

3.2 Offerors’ program must be certified by the State of Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) for at least two years prior to the provision of services.

3.3 The past records of offerors’ performance of work of the type and magnitude required herein shall be considered when making the award. If offerors are not currently funded by BSAS, offerors must have at least three references, preferably from purchasers of similar services and similar sized contracts provided during the past 24 months.

3.4 Prior to awarding this contract, BSAS reserves the right to inspect the operations of any responsive offeror.

3.5 In order to avoid any actual or perceived conflicts of interest BSAS requires that the selected vendor will not refer clients to the offeror’s own treatment program unless no other services in the desired level of treatment are available at the time the client is being referred to treatment.

3.6 Offerors must have the ability to provide continuous assessment and placement services such as in the case of staffing absence or illness.

4. SCOPE OF WORK

4.1 The responsibilities of the assessor (also referred to as “assessment unit”) will be to receive the referral, conduct the forensic assessment, and submit recommendations to all appropriate court personnel and BSAS care coordination staff. When recommended, the assessor will find a treatment placement for the offender, communicate date and time of intake appointment or admission to court personnel and BSAS care coordination staff.

4.2 It will be the responsibility of the BSAS care coordination staff to assist with ensuring appropriate documentation of the offenders treatment progress is provided to court personnel, refer offenders enrolled in treatment who need stabilization in a higher level of care or facilitate step down into lower levels of care.

4.3 Assessors will be required to attend initial case review meetings and arraignment hearings for the offender’s case and present treatment recommendations for review and discussion. Assessors will also attend other District and Circuit DrugCourt meetings as required by the court.

4.4 TheAssessor shall provide a clinically driven forensic substance abuse assessment of defendants who are detained, bonded or released from custody. The services provided by this individual(s)mayinclude but are not limited to, Health General Article 8-505, Drug Court, Pre-sentence, post-sentence and custodyassessments. In addition, the Assessor will work closely with the Mental Hygiene Administration (MHA) and the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) when performing assessments for defendants with multiple occurring disorders.

4.5 When the Assessor’s recommendation for placement is accepted by the court; the Assessor shall exhaust all private and public health insurance benefits for which the client is eligible first, then BSAS-funded treatment services secondarily before accessing ADAA contracted services for committed individuals.

4.6 The forensic assessment will include:

4.6.1 The use of the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM-5) to determine a provisional diagnostic impression.

4.6.2 A multi-axial diagnostic impression based on the client’s self-report, counselor’s professional knowledge and corroborating medical/legal documents on all fiveDSM-5 axis:

i. Clinical Disorder/ Psychiatric Diagnosis

ii. Personality Disorder/ Mental Retardation

iii. Medical Conditions

iv. Psychosocial and Environmental Problems

v. Global Assessment of Functioning

4.6.3 Evidence that the recommended substance abuse treatment placement was based on the American Society of Addiction Medicine Patient Placement criteria (ASAM-PPC-2R);and that traumatic brain injury was screened for and taken into consideration when recommending placement with the ASAM-PPC-2R.

4.6.4 Collaborate to establish and link appropriate services with the public mental health system providers, Baltimore Mental Health Systems (BMHS) and/or the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) for defendants with multiple occurring disorders.

4.7Each Assessor shall completethe following:

4.7.1 For Circuit and District Drug Treatment Court

  • For District Drug Treatment Court - Complete assessment within 24 hours of assessment request. If assessment request is received after 3pm on Friday, next business day.
  • For Circuit Drug Treatment Court (Track A & Track B) Complete assessment on morning of court arraignment.
  • 90 minutes per assessment (estimated time to perform interview)
  • Enter assessments conducted into SMART under the Assessor agency, in the facility designated for assessments
  • Assessment tool: Treatment Assignment Protocol (TAP), mental health screening and traumatic brain injury screening.BSAS reserves the right to add or modify any assessment tool with reasonable notice and explanation. The written evaluation must be forwarded to Court and BSAS no later than seven (7)business days following the assessment.
  • Treatment recommendation can be hand delivered or emailed to Court as soon as the clinical assessment is complete.
  • Sample email
  • Subject: DTC Assessment - Case No. _____, SID# _____
  • The above-mentioned defendant’s case was referred to the Assessment Unit at ______. The defendant wasevaluated on (date) for a DTC substance abuse assessment and placement recommendation.
  • According to the information gathered at the time of the assessment, it is recommended that (defendant name) be considered for ASAM Level ______(name of level).
  • The completed assessment was consented to Maryland Division of Parole & Probation, State’sAttorneys’ Office,defendant’s Attorney, and Drug Court on (give date).
  • Completed assessment is required to be entered in to the State of Maryland Automated Record Tracking system (SMART) within seven (7) business days of assessment date.

4.7.2 For Health General Article 8-505

  • Complete assessments within 24 hours of assessment request. If assessment request is received after 3pm on Friday, next business day.
  • 90 minutes per assessment (estimated time to perform interview)
  • Enter assessments conducted into SMART under ADAA (MD-100200), Catonsville
  • Assessment tool: Treatment Assessment Protocol (TAP), mental health and traumatic brain injury screen.BSAS reserves the right to add or modify any assessment tool with reasonable notice and explanation.
  • Treatment recommendation forwarded to Court and BSASno later than 12 pm (noon) on the seventh business day following the assessmentunless the offender is participating in the Felony Drug Initiative (FDI) in which case the timeframe for delivery of a treatment recommendation must follow the FDI protocol.
  • Completed assessment entered in to SMART no later than seven (7) business days from assessment date.

4.7.3 For Pre-sentence, Post-sentence and Custodyassessments

  • Complete assessments within 24 hours of assessment request. If assessment request is received after 3pm on Friday, next business day.
  • 60 minutes per assessment (estimated time to perform interview)
  • Enter assessments conducted into SMART under the Assessor’s agency, in the facility designated for assessments
  • Assessment tool: Treatment Assignment Protocol (TAP), mental health and traumatic brain injury screen. BSAS reserves the right to add or modify any assessment tool with reasonable warning and explanation.
  • Treatment recommendation forwarded to Court personnel by trial date.
  • Completed assessment entered into SMART no later than seven (7) business days from assessment date.

4.8Placement recommendations will be clinically driven and derivedfrom diagnostic impressions, criminal and medical history. Placements for each court and type of assessment take place as follows:

4.8.1 For District Drug Treatment CourtDistrict Mental Health Court

  • The Assessment Vendor selected through this RFP is not responsible for identifying treatment placements for District Drug Court and District Mental Health Court clients.
  • With the proper releases, the Assessment Unit will consent and refer SMART data to Baltimore City District Drug Treatment Court, State’s Attorney’s Office, defendant’s Attorney, Maryland Division of Parole & Probation and BSAS.
  • Based on the assessed treatment recommendation, the Drug Court Coordinator or Drug Court Case Manager will identify a provider and schedule an intake appointment.
  • The Maryland Division of Parole & Probation will monitor community supervision compliance.

4.8.2 For Circuit Drug Treatment Court (Track A & Track B)

  • The Assessment Vendor selected through this RFP is not responsible for identifying treatment placements for Drug Court clients.
  • Defendant is assessed on the morning of their arraignment.
  • With the proper releases, the Assessment Unit will consent and refer SMART data to Baltimore City Circuit Drug Treatment Court, State’s Attorney’s Office, defendant’s Attorney, Maryland Division of Parole & Probation and BSAS.
  • Based on the assessed treatment recommendation, the BSAS Criminal Justice Care Coordinator will identify a provider and schedule an intake appointment.
  • The treatment placement will be communicated immediately to the Circuit Court Drug Court Administrator, States Attorney and defendant’s Attorney, Parole and Probation and BSAS.
  • After the defendant pleas into Circuit Drug Treatment Court, the defendant signs the contract and is placed into treatment the next business day.
  • Assessment and placement recommendations related to offenders with an 8-507 will be communicated to Baltimore City Circuit Drug Treatment Court, States Attorney, defendant’s Attorney, Maryland Division of Parole & Probation and BSAS.

4.8.3 For Health General Article 8-505 & 8-507

  • The Assessment Vendor selected through this RFP is responsible for identifying treatment placements for Health General 8-505 clients.
  • With the proper releases, the Assessment Unit will consent and refer SMART data to Maryland Division of Parole & Probation and BSAS.
  • Based on the assessed treatment recommendation, the Assessment Unit will submit a treatment recommendation to the court. If accepted by the court the Assessor will proceed with the treatment placement. If rejected by the court, the case will be closed in SMART.
  • The Maryland Division of Parole & Probation and BSAS will monitor and track the clients when recommendations are accepted.

4.8.4 For Pre-sentence, Post-sentence and Custodyassessments

  • The Assessment Vendor selected through this RFP is responsible for identifying treatment placements for Pre-sentence, Post-sentence and Custody assessment clients.
  • With the proper releases, the Assessment Unit will consent and refer SMART data to treatment provider, Maryland Division of Parole & Probation and BSAS.
  • Based on the assessed treatment recommendation, the Assessor will identify a provider and schedule an intake appointment to begin after the scheduled trial date.
  • The Maryland Division of Parole & Probation will monitor and track the clients.

4.8.5The Provider will contact BSAS immediately regarding any assessment cases that result in the Assessment Unit receiving a court subpoena, and/or cases that result in situations that are more involved than simply doing the assessment. (e.g. requires linkages to Mental Hygiene Administration, Developmental Disabilities administration, petition for emergencyevaluation for dangerousness).

4.9 Listed below are the components of a comprehensive forensic substance abuseassessment.