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Forensic Evaluations
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Request Date: 7/27/2020 8:59:36 AM
Open Date:
Closing Date: 8/20/2020 4:30 PM
Intent To Bid Deadline:
Est. Dollar Value: $0.00
RFQ Number: RFP60
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Department of Mental Health
280 State Drive
Waterbury,
VT
05671-2010
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Bid Type:
Request for Proposal
Locations:
State-Wide
Keywords:
Medical Services, Health Care Services
Bid Description:
STATE OF VERMONT
AGENCY OF HUMAN SERVICES
DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
FOR
FORENSIC EVALUATORS
RFP60
ISSUE DATE: July 27th, 2020
RFP RESPONSES DUE BY: August 20th, 2020
OVERVIEW
The Vermont Department of Mental Health (“DMH”) is soliciting competitive sealed, fixed proposals (Proposals) for individuals or companies to perform psychiatric examinations for the purpose of determining if criminal defendants are competent to stand trial and/or sane at the time the alleged crimes were committed. 13 V.S.A. § 4814. If suitable offers are made in response to this Request for Proposal (RFP), the DMH may enter into contract(s) to have the selected offer(s) perform all or part of the work.
REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSION
Please provide both an electronic and hard copy of the proposal by ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬August 20, 2020, to:
Jennifer Rowell, Administrator
Jennifer.rowell@vermont.gov
280 State Drive, NOB 2 North
Waterbury, Vermont 05671-2010
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANIZATION
DMH is the state mental health authority for public mental health policy, programs and services. DMH is responsible for providing services to adults who have a severe and persistent mental illness and children experiencing severe emotional disturbance. Additionally, DMH is statutorily responsible for the integration and coordination of these programs and services with those offered by other departments of the state, its political subdivisions, and private agencies in order to provide a flexible and comprehensive system of mental health services to those in need.
SCOPE OF SERVICES REQUESTED
The Contractor shall perform inpatient and outpatient examinations as specified. Video conferencing technology shall be utilized whenever possible to achieve both performance efficiencies and cost savings for evaluation time and travel.
A. Inpatient
Contractor shall examine the mental health conditions of criminal defendants (examinees) ordered to undergo inpatient psychiatric examinations by the Vermont Superior Court Criminal Division pursuant to13 V.S.A. § 4821. The purpose of the examinations is to provide an answer to the court’s question as to the mental state at the time of the alleged offense and/or the question of competence to stand trial. All evaluations must be completed, and the final reports delivered to the court within five (5) working days of the date of the examination.
B. Outpatient
Contractor shall examine the mental health condition of examinees as ordered to undergo outpatient examinations by the Vermont Superior Court Criminal Division pursuant to 13 V.S.A. § 4821. The purposes of these examinations is to provide an answer to the court’s question as to the mental state at the time of the alleged offense and/or the question of competence to stand trial.
Some examinees have been ordered by the Superior Court to undergo a forensic evaluation regarding their competence to participate in Superior Court proceedings (in the Criminal or Family Division) for either a Child in Need of Supervision (“CHINS”) or a Termination of Parental Rights (“TPR”) petition.
All evaluations must be completed, and the final reports delivered to the court within ten (10) working days of the date of the examination.
QUALIFICATIONS
1. License: Psychiatrists shall hold a current license to practice in the process of obtaining a license. Assignment of evaluations shall be contingent upon obtaining a license.
2. Board Certified: Psychiatrists shall hold a current certification by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN)
3. Additional Forensic Training: Psychiatrists shall satisfy one of the following:
A. Be currently board-certified in forensic psychiatry by the ABPN; or
B. Agree to complete all of the following before conducting evaluations. Assignment of evaluations shall be contingent upon demonstration of having completed the following:
i. Received additional training in forensic psychiatry by completing the review course such as the Forensic Psychiatry Review Course offered by the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL) or an equivalent course with a minimum of 20 hours of continuing medical education within the past five years.
ii. Have experience in testifying in civil or criminal court as an expert witness
iii. Write a sample competency and sanity evaluation report to the Department of Mental Health that is evaluated to be sufficient by the Department. Elements required in a sample report include the following:
1) Introduction and Demographic information of the defendant
2) Opinion: separate sections on competency and sanity
3) Sources of information
4) Statement of non-confidentiality
5) Information about the event(s) that the defendant is charged
6) Past history (psychiatric and other medical history) including laboratory and radiology findings, if any
7) Mental Status Exam
8) Standards used to evaluate defendant’s competency and/or sanity
9) Opinion of sanity/competency and reasoning for the opinion
PROPOSAL FORMAT
Use standard 8.5” X 11” page size. Documents must be single-spaced and use not less than a twelve-point font. Pages must be numbered. The proposal should be comprehensive, yet concise. The proposal must follow the sequence of information requested in the “Bid Requirements” section below. State your organization’s name on each page of your program proposal/bid and on any other information you are submitting.
1. A brief description of the organization which includes its history, organization structure and size, and qualifications to provide the required services.
2. A statement and discussion of the Proposer’s analysis of the RFP requirements. This should include.
• How the staff and services needed will provided
• Statement and discussion of anticipated major difficulties and problem areas (if any), together with potential or recommended approaches to their solution.
3. Acknowledgement of agreement with customary State and Agency terms and conditions contained in Attachments C-F.
COVER LETTER
Please provide an introduction to your company and proposal via a cover letter. All bids submitted to the State are considered public records. Please note in your cover letter if any information in your proposal is considered proprietary and confidential.
a. Confidentiality. To the extent your bid contains information you consider to be proprietary and confidential, you must comply with the following requirements concerning the contents of your cover letter and the submission of a redacted copy of your bid (or affected portions thereof).
b. The successful response will become part of the contract file and will be a matter of public record, as will all other responses received. If the response includes material that is considered by the bidder to be proprietary and confidential under the State’s Public Records Act, 1 V.S.A. § 315 et seq., the bidder shall submit a cover letter that clearly identifies each page or section of the response that it believes is proprietary and confidential. The bidder shall also provide in their cover letter a written explanation for each marked section explaining why such material should be considered exempt from public disclosure in the event of a public records request, pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 317(c), including the prospective harm to the competitive position of the bidder if the identified material were to be released. Additionally, the bidder must include a redacted copy of its response for portions that are considered proprietary and confidential. Redactions must be limited so that the reviewer may understand the nature of the information being withheld. It is typically inappropriate to redact entire pages, or to redact the titles/captions of tables and figures. Under no circumstances can the entire response be marked confidential, and the State reserves the right to disqualify responses so marked.
QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD
Any vendor requiring clarification of any section of this RFP or wishing to comment or take exception to any requirements of the RFP must submit specific questions in writing no later than the deadline for questions indicated on the first page of this RFP. Questions may be emailed to: Matt Viens at Matt.Viens@vermont.gov, the point of contact. Any comments, questions, or exceptions not raised in writing on or before the last day of the question period are waived.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
The Department of Mental Health will review and evaluate the proposal based on the following criteria:
Criterion Maximum Possible Points
A. Experience/Qualifications 20
B. RFP requirements 20
C. Cost of Proposal 20
Maximum Points: 60
Each proposal will be independently evaluated on Criteria A through C by two or more qualified staff of DMH. A composite score will be computed based on those independent evaluations.
DELIVERY OF PROPOSALS
Please provide both an electronic and a hard copy of the proposal no later than at 4:30 pm EST on August 20, 2020 at the following address:
Jennifer Rowell
Jennifer.rowell@vermont.gov
280 State Drive, NOB 2 North
Waterbury, Vermont 05671-2010
Please use MS Office and/or standard PDF files.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
DMH reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids. If a contractor is selected, representatives will be invited to negotiate a contract.
DMH will not pay any bidder costs associated with preparing or presenting any proposal in response to this RFP.
The contractor will agree to the State of Vermont usual contract and payment provisions. These specifications are posted with this RFP and include:
• Attachment C: Customary Provisions for Contracts and Grants
• Attachment E: Business Associate Agreement
• Attachment F: AHS Customary Contract Provision
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