DBH - Integrating Behavioral Health Emergency Preparedness into Ohio’s Statewide Emergency Management Curriculum

I. MISSION & GUIDING PRINCIPLES The mission of the Ohio Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) is to provide statewide leadership of a high-quality mental health and addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery system that is effective and valued by all Ohioans. DBH strives to be a national leader in implementing a comprehensive, accessible, and quality-focused system of addiction and mental health care and wellness for Ohio citizens.The mission of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency (Ohio EMA) is to coordinate activities to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. The Ohio EMA closely interfaces with local, state, and federal agencies to bring resources of recovery to support Ohioans impacted by disaster. Their activities include education, training, planning, and preparedness – strengthening Ohio’s first responder capabilities and improving communication across the state. PURPOSE The Ohio Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) is seeking proposals from qualified contractors to develop behavioral health focused training curricula that will be added to Ohio EMA’s training and exercise catalogue; provide project management; develop a behavioral health emergency preparedness/response toolkit to assist communities in sustaining their response infrastructure; and finalize the DBH Behavioral Health Emergency Response Manual. While DBH will oversee the contract and deliverables, Ohio EMA will serve as subject matter experts and provide support to the project. BACKGROUND The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) (P.L. 117-159) provides supplemental funding for the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHBG) to enable states, the District of Columbia, and territories to expand access to behavioral health care. Overseen by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the BSCA supplemental funding seeks to support state behavioral health systems in examining what is needed to address the behavioral health needs in the aftermath of traumatic events and natural disasters within our communities. To address the trauma caused by the massive disruption and loss of life, SAMHSA is recommending that states utilize this funding to strengthen and enhance behavioral health disaster preparedness and crisis response efforts. This funding provides a unique opportunity to develop improved and sustainable public behavioral health systems that are more adept at meeting the needs of vulnerable people, including those with more complex presentations. “Behavioral health disaster planning recognizes the unique ways mental health and substance use supports should be provided to people and communities after a natural or human-made disaster” both in the immediate and long-term (SAMHSA, 2024). Behavioral health disaster planning and response uses evidence-informed and evidence-based strategies and interventions to support all those affected. While behavioral health crisis services are focused on the psychological distress of an individual, behavioral health disaster planning and response is a coordinated effort to provide behavioral health supports to large groups of people affected by disasters while focusing on managing the widespread effects of trauma on the community as a whole. Each year, starting in SFY 2023, the Ohio Department of Behavioral Health has awarded funding to Ohio’s mental health boards to create, implement, and/or expand the integration of behavioral health within their county emergency response operations. Through these funding opportunities, communities have reinforced collaborations between behavioral health, emergency responders, and public health stakeholders; Conducted community needs assessments specific to behavioral health disaster preparedness; Developed policies and procedures that promote behavioral health disaster preparedness; Used evidence-based and evidence-informed models to develop readiness to respond to incidents of mass violence; Facilitated and provided disaster preparedness and response trainings for local behavioral health providers; Conducted cross-training and tabletop exercise opportunities with local emergency management systems; Implemented community education to expand knowledge of behavioral health services in the event of an emergency/disaster; and developed comprehensive and community-specific behavioral health disaster preparedness plans. In SFY 2025, a landscape analysis was completed identifying system gaps, promising practices, and priority recommendations to build a more coordinated and resilient behavioral health disaster response infrastructure across all regions of the state. The landscape analysis underscored the following: The critical need to fully integrate behavioral health considerations into county EMA and local health department plans ensuring clear operational guidelines, cross agency coordination, and regular plan updates to reflect partnerships and resources. Strengthening plan specificity, improving cross-system collaboration, and leveraging emerging funding are critical next steps for ensuring Ohio’s behavioral health system can effectively support communities before, during, and after disasters. While there is a broad spectrum of resources that can support behavioral health needs, strengthening local coordination with county EMAs and mental health boards and clarifying roles are key opportunities to improve Ohio’s behavioral health readiness in future emergency and disaster responses. DBH and Ohio EMA seek to complement these local efforts and fulfill the landscape analysis findings by integrating behavioral health concepts within Ohio EMA’s training and exercise catalog. This integration is critical because disasters consistently produce significant mental health, substance use, and stress reactions that affect both survivors and responders. These reactions influence the effectiveness of the overall response. When behavioral health is planned and managed alongside medical, logistics and operations functions, systems are better able to recognize common post-disaster reactions and connect people quickly with appropriate supports to reduce long-term impairments. These impacts must be planned for with the same rigor as other core response functions. Integration of behavioral health in emergency/disaster response management strengthens preparedness before an emergency/disaster by normalizing skills such as psychological first aid, responder self-care, and risk mitigation while ensuring continuity of care for people with behavioral health conditions.The intent of this work is not to supplant existing state and/or local efforts but to support the enhanced integration of behavioral health within those efforts. This work would build the desired behavioral health disaster response foundation that Ohio can build upon in the future. The proposed deliverables would ensure a consistent, statewide emergency response in emergencies and/or disasters elevating behavioral health and integrated care. IV. SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLES All work outlined in the Scope of Work and Deliverables must be completed by September 29, 2027. Contractor will provide the following:Project Management Facilitate collaboration between DBH, Ohio EMA, and identified stakeholders (e.g. county mental health boards, county emergency management agencies, ancillary emergency/disaster response support organizations). Conduct regular project management activities including, but not limited to, scheduling meetings, leading meetings, creating agendas, taking meeting minutes. Develop and submit a timeline for benchmark completion. Regularly update this timeline throughout the project to reflect changes in timeline and/or benchmark completions. Regular meetings with DBH, Ohio EMA, and subject matter experts (e.g., identified stakeholders as mentioned above), to complete the scope of work and deliverables. Oversee management of qualitative and quantitative feedback towards deliverables. Monthly reporting that outlines the status of the scope of work and deliverables to the internal DBH and Ohio EMA team. Reports will include, but are not limited to, collected data, activities taking place to complete the outlined scope of work and deliverables, the status of completion of each deliverable, any outstanding items that need addressed, and needs of the Contractor to complete the scope of work. Curriculum Development Identify and develop curriculum and tabletop exercises that integrate behavioral health disaster preparedness and response according to best practices within Ohio’s robust emergency management and emergency response system. Adhere to DBH and Ohio EMA training policies and procedures. Integrated curriculum topics include, but are not limited to, community mass care, all-hazards emergency operations, hazardous weather, hazard mitigation, emergency planning for campuses, public information basics, planning for access and functional needs, family assistance center planning, and/or mass fatalities. Engage and lead a panel of subject matter experts identified by DBH and Ohio EMA in the development of the curriculum. Identify 2-3 counties for pilot curriculum and exercise testing with the assistance of DBH, Ohio EMA, and subject matter experts. Pilots must include a local steering committee comprised of county mental health boards, county emergency management agencies, local health departments, ancillary emergency/disaster response organizations and other identified partnerships. Conduct 2-3 pilot curriculum and exercise testing with feedback incorporated by the contractor. Include 2-3 activities in each training to engage participants. Include historical case studies pertaining to the topic in real emergencies within the training(s). Finalize the existing DBH Behavioral Health Emergency Disaster Response Manual that will include the above behavioral health emergency/disaster preparedness toolkit with the assistance of DBH, Ohio EMA, and identified subject matter experts. Behavioral Health Emergency/Disaster Toolkit Create a behavioral health emergency/disaster preparedness and response toolkit, with the assistance of DBH, Ohio EMA, and identified subject matter experts (i,e, county mental health boards, county emergency management agencies, local health departments), that can be used by communities for sustainable planning and response efforts. Engage DBH, Ohio EMA, and identified subject matter experts in creating and verifying relevant information to include in this toolkit. Oversee the development, dissemination, and editing of drafts. Incorporate feedback into drafts and final toolkit. Adhere to DBH and Ohio EMA communications policies, procedures, and branding guidelines. DBH Behavioral Health Emergency/Disaster Response Manual Engage DBH, Ohio EMA, and identified subject matter experts in creating and verifying relevant information to include in this manual. Oversee the development, dissemination, and editing of drafts. Incorporate feedback into drafts and final manual. Adhere to DBH and Ohio EMA communications policies, procedures, and branding guidelines. Finalize the DBH Behavioral Health Emergency Disaster Response Manual that will include the above behavioral health emergency/disaster preparedness toolkit. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTOR The Contractor must be able to provide the deliverables outlined within the Scope of Work and Deliverables section of this RFP. To be eligible to participate in this application process, the proposal must describe the Contractor’s qualifications to conduct the identified Scope of Work activities, expertise, knowledge, and experience. Experience must include examples of conducting similar or related work. The Contractor must have: Experience with Emergency Management including Emergency Planning and Response; Experience with Behavioral Health Emergency Preparedness and/or Response; Experience with project management; Knowledge and/or experience within the emergency management field and/or the behavioral health field; Crisis management experience; Experience in developing training for adult learners; Experience developing trainings for in-person and virtual learning environments; and Experience working with federal, local, and/or state government. Contractor shall not be subject to an “unresolved” finding for recovery under Section 9.24 of Ohio Revised Code.
PART FOUR: EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS Evaluation Process DBH’s evaluation process of responses submitted to this request may consist of up to four distinct phases: DBH’s initial review of all proposals for timely submission; An evaluation committee review of the proposals for defects and scoring; DBH’s request for more information (clarifications, interviews, presentations, and/or demonstrations); and, Negotiations or best offer requests. At its sole discretion, DBH will determine whether phases three and/or four are necessary under this RFP, reserving for itself the ability to eliminate or add phases three or four at any time during the evaluation process. DBH may add or remove sub-phases to phases 2 through 4 at any time if DBH believes doing so will improve the evaluation process. Proposal Evaluation Criteria In the proposal evaluation phase, DBH staff or reviewers selected by DBH (the committee) will rate the proposals submitted in response to this RFP based on the following criteria and weight assigned to each criterion.
Project administration or planning
Items I1_1 | Required Item | Total Project Cost
Inquiries Inquiry 83134 | What is the current status and approximate completion level of the DBH Behavioral Health Emergency Disaster Response Manual? Is a draft available for review by proposers? | Answer: The DBH Behavioral Health Emergency Disaster Response Manual is currently in draft form. It is expected that more content will be added to the manual during the contract period as input and information is gathered from partners, stakeholders, etc. Because of the expectation that more information will be gathered and added to the manual, we cannot provide an approximate level of completion at this time. A draft is not available for review by proposers. | Answered: 3/3/2026 Inquiry 83137 | Will the finalized Manual incorporate the toolkit as an embedded section, or will the toolkit be a standalone companion document? | Answer: Input and information will be gathered by the contractor, DBH, Ohio EMA, partners, and stakeholders during the contract period. It will be determined then if the toolkit needs to be an embedded section or a standalone companion document. It is important to know that this project is a collaborative effort between DBH, Ohio EMA, our state partners, and community partners. Decisions will be a group effort. | Answered: 3/3/2026 Inquiry 83140 | Does DBH have an existing list of approved or preferred pilot counties, or will the contractor have full discretion in proposing pilot sites? | Answer: This project is a collaborative effort. All decisions will need to be discussed with DBH, Ohio EMA, and identified stakeholders/partners to accomplish the goals of this opportunity. It is expected that these partners will be involved in these decisions. | Answered: 3/3/2026 Inquiry 83143 | Are there incumbent contractors or existing relationships with any entities currently supporting this work that proposers should be aware of? | Answer: As stated in the RFP, DBH is partnering with Ohio EMA as subject matter experts to fulfill the goals and objectives of this project. | Answered: 3/3/2026 Inquiry 83146 | Does DBH have an estimated budget or level of effort for this opportunity? | Answer: An estimated budget and level of effort is not available at this time. | Answered: 3/3/2026 Inquiry 83312 | Will contractor team members be required to undergo a background investigation and/or provide results of a negative tuberculosis test? | Answer: This will be determined upon award during contract negotiations. | Answered: 3/4/2026 Inquiry 83315 | Can the Affirmative Action Program Verification be completed upon award for firms not located in Ohio, or should it be submitted prior to potential award? | Answer: Please complete and submitt the Affirmation and Disclosure Form as part of your response to the sourcing project. | Answered: 3/4/2026 Inquiry 83318 | If a proposal interview is held, will it be held virtually or in-person? For preparation purposes, does the State have an approximate timeline for when these interviews would be conducted? | Answer: At this time, there are no plans to hold a proposal interview. | Answered: 3/4/2026 Inquiry 83321 | Does the State intend for this to be a single or multiple award contract? If multi-award, would the contractors interact across deliverables to share information relevant to project components? | Answer: The State intends for this to be a single contract. | Answered: 3/4/2026 Inquiry 83327 | Did a contractor support development of the 2025 landscape analysis referenced under III. Background? If so, is this contractor eligible to bid on this effort? | Answer: The Ohio Department of Behavioral Health contracted with an entity to develop the 2025 Landscape Analysis and would be eligible to submit a proposal. | Answered: 3/4/2026 Inquiry 83330 | What is the desired cadence for project management and project/planning team meetings? Is virtual engagement acceptable to facilitate statewide participation? | Answer: Per the RFP, the identified contractor will need to “conduct regular project management activities including, but not limited to, scheduling meetings, leading meetings, creating agendas, and taking meeting minutes”. The RFP also states that the identified contractor will “develop and submit a timeline for benchmark completion and regularly update this timeline throughout the project to reflect changes in timeline and/or benchmark completions”. As stated in the RFP, this project is a collaborative effort. All decisions such as project management cadence, team meetings, and virtual vs. in-person engagement will need to be discussed with DBH and Ohio EMA leadership at the beginning of the project period. | Answered: 3/4/2026 Inquiry 83336 | For the training curriculum, is the State envisioning a central DBH training course with modular topics or a course per DBH topic? What is the approximate collective length of the training intended to be? What is the training’s intended delivery method (i.e., in-person instructor led, virtual instructor led, asynchronous eLearning, hybrid, etc.)? If eLearning, would the training be uploaded to a Learning Management System? | Answer: This project is a collaborative effort between DBH, Ohio EMA, and our stakeholders and partners. These are important topics that will need to be discussed with DBH, Ohio EMA, the identified stakeholders/partners, and the panel of subject matter experts during the project period. Per the RFP, the identified contract will need experience developing training for adult learners and experience developing trainings for in-person and virtual learning environments. | Answered: 3/4/2026 Inquiry 83339 | For the tabletop exercises, is the State envisioning a TTX in a box that would be designed once but delivered multiple time across entities, either led by the State or at the County level? What is the length of the TTX intended to be? | Answer: This project is a collaborative effort between DBH, Ohio EMA, and our stakeholders and partners. These are important topics that will need to be discussed with DBH, Ohio EMA, the identified stakeholders/partners, and the panel of subject matter experts during the project period. | Answered: 3/4/2026 Inquiry 83342 | Should pilots be delivered in-person or virtually? If held virtually, should the contractor include any other direct costs, such as venue rental, printed materials, or refreshments for participants? For the TTX pilots, will the contractor lead an exercise planning process to tailor the exercise to the particular jurisdiction and conduct a full AAR post-delivery? Will the contractor lead logistical coordination (i.e., outreach to participants, registration coordination, etc.)? | Answer: This project is a collaborative effort between DBH, Ohio EMA, and our stakeholders and partners. These are important topics that will need to be discussed with DBH, Ohio EMA, the identified stakeholders/partners, and the panel of subject matter experts during the project period. | Answered: 3/4/2026 Inquiry 83345 | Is the toolkit expected to be comprised of newly developed materials, publicly available materials, and/or a mix of both? | Answer: This project is a collaborative effort between DBH, Ohio EMA, and our stakeholders and partners. These are important topics that will need to be discussed with DBH, Ohio EMA, the identified stakeholders/partners, and the panel of subject matter experts during the project period. The toolkit should be comprised of materials that will be the most helpful for Ohio’s communities and vetted for their legitimacy. | Answered: 3/4/2026