2025 Request for Proposals

Weld County Regional Opioid Council
National Opioid Settlement Funds

Prepared on behalf of the Weld Regional Opioid Council by the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment

Timelines

  • Request for proposal release date: 6/12/24
  • Submission Deadline: 7/8/24 (11:59 PM Mountain Time, 5pm if submitted in-person)
  • Announcement of funding: 7/26/24
  • Funding period distribution: 1/1/2025-12/31/2025

Glossary of Acronyms

  • OAF:    Opioid Abatement Fund
  • WCDPHE: Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment
  • HECP: Health Education, Communication, and Planning
  • COAC: Colorado Opioid Abatement Council
  • Colorado MOU: Colorado Memorandum of Understanding
  • WROC aka WR3 aka Region aka Council: Weld County Regional Opioid Council aka Weld Region 3 aka Region aka Council
  • RFP: Request for Proposals

Introduction and Background

The Weld Regional Opioid Council (WROC) is seeking proposals to address and abate the impacts of opioid misuse in Weld County including prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery among other areas.  WROC is a 14-member council consisting of elected officials, law enforcement officers, public health officials, legal representatives, and members of human services.

Use of Opioid Settlement Funds: Background  

Local governments throughout Colorado and the United States filed a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies seeking to hold them responsible for their contributions to the opioid epidemic.  Those lawsuits resulted in certain litigation settlements and the availability of funds that the Weld Regional Opioid Council now seeks to utilize to address and abate the impacts of opioid use in our communities.  Weld County and other local governments in Colorado are working in partnership with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office (“Department of Law”) to ensure that the Opioid Settlement Funds are allocated equitably and effectively.    

The Colorado Opioid Abatement Council (“COAC”) was created by the Department of Law with local governments to provide oversight of the opioid funds and to ensure the distribution of those funds complies with the terms of any settlement and the Colorado Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Understanding (“Colorado MOU”). The COAC is responsible for oversight of opioid funds from the regional share and for developing processes and procedures for the statewide infrastructure share.

The COAC works with the 19 Regional Opioid Abatement Councils in Colorado to distribute the regional share of the Opioid Settlement Funds for uses found to be compliant with the Colorado MOU, which includes substance use disorder treatment, recovery, harm reduction, law enforcement, and prevention/education programs. The COAC consists of seven members appointed by the state and six members appointed by local governments.

Weld County is one of the opioid abatement regions in Colorado and has established the Weld Regional Opioid Council (WROC).  The WROC is primarily responsible for engaging with COAC and following the procedures outlined in the Colorado MOU for requesting and administering the regional share of the Opioid Settlement Funds on behalf of Weld County.

WROC’s plan follows the sections and categories laid out in the Colorado MOU between the Department of Law and all counties, municipalities, towns, and county municipal corporations, including Weld County.  WROC is prepared to continue funding the activities and strategies that are included in its initial plan.

In addition to explicitly stated areas of use outlined by COAC and in the Colorado MOU, WROC explores innovative strategies to combat opioid use, improve treatment options and outcomes, and support activities or proposals that have the potential to impact opioid use in Weld County by changing the ways people who use opioids interact with systems and their community networks of treatment and support. 

RFP Submission & Contact Information

Please submit funding requests to: 

Contact: Kelley McCandless, Opioid Program Administrator
Email:kmccandless@weld.gov
Phone: 970-400-2123

Applications that are incomplete and/or not received by the deadline will not be considered. It is the responsibility of the applicant to verify that the proposal was received by the deadline.

All communications regarding this proposal shall only be through the designated representative listed above.  No communication is to be directed to any other personnel. Please be advised that only general inquiries and confirmation of receipt requests may be answered. No questions or insight into the RFP process will be answered in order to remain fair and compliant during the open proposal period. Any attempt to gain additional information that may be used to garner a competitive advantage may result in a rejection or disqualification of the proposal. 

Eligibility

The WROC, is seeking proposals to provide opportunities for funding focused on addressing opioid misuse in Weld County.  Funding aims to increase and improve prevention, treatment options and outcomes, harm reduction, and supported activities or proposals that have the potential to mitigate the harmful effects of opioids within Weld communities.  This funding is open to all eligible entities with interest in partnering with the county to combat the current opioid crisis.

The following eligibility requirements must be met by proposing vendors:

  1. Funded entities must provide services or engage in activities that encompass work dedicated to substance misuse and behavioral health support.
  2. Funded entities must primarily serve Weld County residents with awarded funds.
  3. Funded entities must participate in the evaluation of their proposal and must have complied with all evaluation and data reporting requirements if previously funded.

Contract Terms & Conditions:

  1. Proposers are expected to examine the guidelines, specifications, schedule of delivery, and all proposal instructions. Failure to do so will be at the proposer’s risk.
  2. Each proposer will furnish all information required in the Request for Proposals.
  3. The funds will be awarded on the basis of conformation to the RFP, price, and ultimate benefit to the people of Weld County, among other factors.
  4. Late or unsigned proposals will not be accepted or considered. It is the responsibility of proposers to ensure that the proposal has been submitted by COB on June 28, 2024.
  5.  Application packages will not be accepted by fax or physical mail.  Proposals may be submitted via email or in person at the WCDPHE office located at 1555 North 17th Avenue in Greeley, Colorado, no later than close of business day on July 8, 2024.
  6. The WROC reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive informalities and minor irregularities in proposals received, and to accept any portion of or all items proposed if deemed in the best interest of the Weld County.
  7. A signed contract or MOU furnished to the successful proposer results in a binding contract without further action by either party.
  8. Confidential/Proprietary Information: Bids submitted in response to the “Request for Proposals” and any resulting contract are subject to the provisions of the Colorado Open Records Act, 24-72-201 et seq., C.R.S., as amended. Any restrictions on the use or inspection of material contained within the bid or resulting contract should be clearly stated in the bid and contract itself.  Confidential/proprietary information should be readily identified, marked and/or separated from the rest of the bid. Co-mingling of confidential/proprietary and other information is NOT acceptable. Vendors must answer whether line-item pricing information submitted with a bid is confidential or closely held. Bids that do not identify confidential/proprietary information may be released in their entirety. Pricing totals contained in a bid are not considered confidential. Weld County retains sole authority for determining whether the Colorado Open Records Act requires or permits the County to disclose proposal or bid documents, or any information contained therein, pursuant to an open records request. 

Contract Timeline

All awardees will be required to follow the Weld County’s contracting or MOU process which may take several weeks to complete. As such, it is recommended that this be kept in mind when a proposal includes timelines for goals, objectives, or deliverables. 

Scope and Use of Grant Funds:

Applying entities must show strong fiscal responsibility with costs that are reasonable, realistic, and justified. Funds must be used to supplement (not supplant, replace, or redirect) federal, state, and/or local funding currently provided to the organization for operating its respected program. The proposer agrees to comply with all federal, state, and local laws and regulations applicable to the funding source authorizing any program or activity funded through this RFP. Funds can only be used for the purposes outlined in the grant proposal contract’s Statement of Work. (See Exhibit E.)

Partnerships

Partnerships are highly encouraged. Please note that it is the grantee’s responsibility to ensure that all vendors or subcontractors meet the minimum requirements outlined in the RFP. Applicants that have elected to apply as a partnership must provide budget and cost breakdowns for each organization listed on the application. Each organization must meet all of the established eligibility requirements on their own. Failure to meet the requirements may: 1) result in the denial of the application as a whole, or, 2) result in a request for an updated submission with the violating partner removed.  

Pass-Through Of Funds

Due to the nature of the funding source, applicants acknowledge that they may not provide any of the funding awarded as part of this RFP to any other organization without the express approval of the WROC.  Any subcontracts related to the work outlined in the proposal must be included in the work plan and budget, even if a subcontractor has not been determined. The WROC reserves the right to deny requests that are missing information related to the need to subcontract work. 

Budget and Use of Funds

  • The WROC has received 1.5million dollars to allocate for work beginning January 1, 2025, with the remaining set aside for programmatic sustainability and contractual obligations including, but not limited to, work proposed for future dates.   
  • Note that there may be future opportunities to apply for funds, and the focus of future Request for Proposals (RFPs) may shift based on data gathered through evaluation, as well as WROC, County, and community priorities.
  • RFPs may be open on either an annual or bi-annual basis or based upon the WROC’s discretion by need and funding availability.  Other funding sources may be added to this RFP in the future. Prequalified vendors would be eligible for those funds as well.
  • The WROC will receive additional settlement funding in future years and these funds will be withheld until one or more of the following conditions have been met: 1) there is an imminent need to distribute the funds in order to support new or ongoing programs related to the scope of this RFP, ) a new RFP is issued for expansion of the current goals associated with the WROC’s Opioid Abatement Plan, 3) WROC has determined a need to distribute these funds, or 4) there has been a change to either the strategic plan or abatement plan.  
  • All proposals will be evaluated for compliance with the goals outlined within the Request for Proposal and requests compared to the budget as part of the evaluation process. 

Multiple Funding Requests from the Same Entity

Entities may submit more than one response to this RFP. The following requirements are placed on entities submitting more than one proposal:

  1. Entities that are proposing the funds in order to (a) hire new employees to perform work associated with this proposal or (b) supplement the wages of an existing employee may not use multiple awards from this RFP to fund the same employee.
  2. Work plans submitted by the same entity under different responses may not have overlapping objectives as part of each individual work plan.

It is highly encouraged that entities submitting multiple proposals work internally to ensure that there is no overlap in work objectives or time commitments. As such, it is also recommended that organizations partner with other entities.

Minimum and Maximum Awards

The minimum reward for this RFP is $10,000 with no maximum amount. However, the Council and evaluation panelists will determine if the amount requested in the proposal is in alignment with overarching program goals, as set forth by the Council. The Council reserves the right to provide partial funding to grantees at its discretion.  

Proposals for less than $10,000 may not be considered unless there is an excess of funds, or it is determined that the value of services or activities outlined in the RFP constitutes an imminent need of the allocation of these funds. If you intend to submit a proposal for less than $10,000, please provide an additional justification letter explaining the need for funding. 

Allowable program costs include but are not limited to:

  • Facility infrastructure upgrades, such as plumbing, electrical, or renovations to improve the efficiency of operations, warehousing, and food storage, loading or packaging equipment, software, and other equipment or materials.
  • Storage, handling, processing, preparation, packaging, transportation, supplies; program operating expenses.
  • Equipment (may include vehicles and vehicle maintenance) and capital infrastructure costs.
  • Value chain management improvements (such as trucks, bikes, communications, routing systems or software to improve distribution routes or efficiency, etc.)
  • Transportation or loading improvements such as purchasing or leasing trucks, or other vehicles, or pallet jacks, forklifts, carts, conveyer belts etc.
  • Labor/staffing/personnel; program evaluation (including staff time for data collection and costs to compensate and incentivize community members to participate in data collection efforts); program outreach and community engagement (including language translation and interpretation costs).
  • Federal Benefit enrollment assistance and marketing costs (including printing, paid advertising, etc.).
  • Sub-awards or sub-grants (including contracts to hire experts in an area related to the proposal, including evaluation and quality improvement through surveys, focus groups, etc.).
  • Technical assistance, mentorship; professional development and training.
  • Operating costs, providing additional staffing support, reasonable transportation costs, and expenses for supplies and materials with appropriate justification. (If providing gift cards or other cash/negotiable items, please provide copy of agency policy on tracking and distribution.)
  • No more than 10% of the amount requested is allowed for indirect costs.
  • No more than 10% of the amount requested is allowed for administrative costs.
  • If proposing capital purchases, please include your organization’s purchasing policy for documenting the acquisition, tracking, and disposal of capital assets.

Disallowed program costs for this request for proposal:

  • Legislative policy and advocacy; IRS-defined lobbying; political activities or partisan causes; one-time events; membership drives; underwriting or fundraising events; endowments; loans or debt reduction; fellowships or scholarships.
  • Funds cannot be used to support religious practices, such as religious instruction, worship, or prayer. Faith-based organizations may offer such practices, but at a separate time as the program applying for funding.

Period Of Performance

Funding associated with this RFP will be made available on January 1, 2025.  Award performance periods are based entirely on the engagement period indicated in the proposal and Statement of Work.

Submission Requirements

All submissions must be completed and received by the submission deadline and no extensions will be granted. Incomplete packages may result in an immediate denial.  Also include a copy of the RFP Cover sheet. All required signatures must be original.

Cover Sheet

Below are all questions to be addressed in your cover sheet. 

  1. Organizational & Contact Information, Strategy Areas, Funding Being Sought 
  2. Name of the organization requesting funding
  3. Type of organization (i.e., government, non-profit, for profit).
  4. Name of entity Director and primary contact, and position title for proposal. A Director is someone who has authority for the organization. They are responsible for ensuring the content provided is true and accurate. The Director should have read through the entire proposal, and the terms related to the funding opportunity.
  5. Address, phone, and email of the Director and primary contact for the proposal
  6. Name of proposal(s) or program to be funded.
  7. Is this a new effort or expansion of ongoing efforts?
  8. Which strategy area(s) does your proposal address (prevention, treatment, harm reduction, recovery, and/or additional areas)?

Proposal Objectives and Work Plan, including Prior Experience

  1. Identify your key objectives for your proposal (up to 5).  If you’ve selected more than one strategy area, clarify which area(s) each objective addresses.  Include intended short-term and long-term outcomes. Provide additional narrative as needed.
  2. Outline your general timeline, indicating key dates and milestones.
  3. Identify any current or recent work related to the key strategy area(s) selected above, including work with partners in the community, as applicable.
  4. Where applicable, describe any challenges or barriers that your entity has experienced in making progress towards these key strategy areas or other considerations.
  5. If your proposal includes facility infrastructure upgrades and/or large capital purchases such as the purchase of land or buildings, provide a detailed and concise explanation about how such a proposed expenditure relates to and addresses your strategies to address and abate opioid use in the county.
  6. Describe the populations to be reached in terms of age, gender identity, race/ethnicity and other relevant information.
  7. Estimate the number of people to be reached with your program’s efforts over the whole grant period.
  8. Describe your organization’s capacity to access and engage people [being served/who use drugs] in a respectful and culturally responsive manner.
  9. Describe your organization’s capacity to deliver services in languages other than English.
  10. Describe your organization’s capacity to provide ongoing staff training, consistent with training required from a regulatory standpoint.
  11. Please elaborate on your current data management systems and whatever procedures and policies are in place to ensure confidentiality, security, as well as compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) and Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records in 42 C.F.R. Part 2 as applicable.
  12. ONLY if your organization will be providing direct health services (including behavioral health and/or substance use treatment): please describe your fee schedule, payors, if/how you serve uninsured and underinsured, type of services offered, and qualifications for providers (i.e., RN, LPC, CADC, LCADAC, etc.)
  13. Describe the evaluation plan for your proposed work. Include at least one evaluation question per objective. Describe how your proposal is informed by nationally recognized outcomes, best practices, established evidence, or supported by research. 
  14. Please include an outcome objective statement that describes how your plan affects/changes attitudes, knowledge, or behaviors in the community, and how this will be measured. 

Evaluation Plan

Evaluation plans assess both implementation and effectiveness of programs. Process evaluations describe the extent to which a program is implemented as intended. Outcome evaluations measure the effect(s) of a program on an intended population.  Outcomes take a longer period of time, therefore the WROC does not expect a change in outcomes after one term. Your evaluation plan may be revised after receiving a notice of intent to award.

Hints for completing your evaluation plan: What metric(s) do you currently measure? Do you have any additional data you want to collect?  If this is ongoing work, include some baseline figures to indicate progress made and/or how any goals are being set.

Program Application Narrative:

Narrative formatting requirements:

  • Font: 12-point Calibri or Arial
  • Page size: Standard 8 ½ x 11, Portrait layout
  • Spacing: Single-spaced, with paragraphs, and 1” margins on all sides
  • Page numbering: Bottom right-hand corner (Include Program Name on each Page), following the format of “Page __ of __”
  • Each document should be saved as its own PDF.
  • Each document should be numbered and titled with the applicant’s name and document title (example: 1_ProgramX_Budget.pdf; 2_ProgramX_OrganizationalNarrative.pdf, etc.).
  • No formatting modifications to the Application Questions or Budget document should be made.

Proposal Review Process:

Each proposal will undergo a technical review to ensure the application meets the minimum requirements. Incomplete applications or those that do not follow instructions will not be accepted and will be automatically disqualified. There is no guarantee that submission of a proposal will result in review, or funding at the requested level.

  • All proposals will be reviewed by a diverse application evaluation committee, which could be comprised of WROC members in addition to other individuals with relevant expertise.
  • Reviewers will be asked to self-identify all conflicts of interest before the process begins. A conflict of interest exists when a reviewer is employed by volunteers for, serves on the Board of, consults with, or has founded an applicant organization. Reviewers with conflicts will not review those applications and adhere to the applicable provisions governing conflicts of interest in WROC’s bylaws.
  • Each member of the review team may independently review and score each application assigned to them for review using a rubric based on the RFP. Due to the number of applications expected in response to this RFP, not all applications will be reviewed by every member of the review committee and each member may only review a small sample of the overall total number of applications.
  • The review team will meet to discuss each application, may review final scores, and make funding recommendations to WROC for final approval.
  • The award(s) will be made to the Applicant(s) whose proposal meets the requirements of the RFP and is determined to be most responsive, responsible, and best value to the county, in accordance with the provided scoring criteria, and community needs.
  • The WROC reserves the right to conduct negotiations with one or more applicants.
  • All application decisions are final. The WROC reserves the right to make smaller discretionary awards to support specific portions of a proposal that is not being considered for fully proposed funding.
  • Qualified respondents may be invited to enter into an agreement with the WROC. Any award(s) provided to selected respondents shall be contingent upon the execution of an appropriate contract.

Proposal Scoring Criteria: 

Final evaluation and application selection may be based on, but is not limited to, any or all the following listed scoring criteria: 

Scoring Rubric

The WROC has provided the following scoring matrix which may be used in the evaluation and selection process:

Scoring Scale for Reviewers

Scores for open response items will be based on a 0-5 scale.  In instances where there is only one bulleted item, the score is doubled to equal up to the maximum value of 10 points:

0 = No Response - left blank or did not respond
1 = Unsatisfactory Response - Minimally Addressed or Does Not Meet Criteria (relevant information not provided)
2 = Minimum Response - Met Some but Not All Identified Criteria (requires additional clarification or development)
3 = Adequate Response/Meets Requirements - Addressed Criteria but Did Not Provide Thorough Detail (adequate response, but not thoroughly developed or high-quality response)
4 = Response Exceeds Requirements - Addressed Criteria with Medium Quality (clear response, but could have been further developed)
5 = Exemplary Response - Met All Criteria with High Quality (clear, concise, and well thought out response)

Scoring Criteria

 A strong application meets most elements listed below:                

Proposal Objectives and Work Plan, Including Prior Experience = 40 points

  • The proposal clearly identifies the organizations key objectives within its proposal (up to 5). If there has been more than one strategic area selected for this proposal overall, the application effectively clarifies which area(s) each intended objective will address. Intended outcomes, both short and long term, are successfully highlighted as well. (10 Points)
  • The proposal clearly outlines the general timeline, indicating key dates and milestones for work. (10 Points)
  • The proposal provides detail regarding any current or recent work related to the key strategy area(s) selected, including work with partners in the community, as applicable. (10 Points)
  • The proposal describes any challenges or barriers that the entity has experienced in making progress towards these key strategy areas or other considerations that have affected current capacity. (10 Points)

Population Served and Organizational Capacity = 40 points

  • The proposal clearly identifies the populations to be reached – including age, gender identity, race/ethnicity and other relevant information. (5 points)
  • The proposal provides an estimate with clear methods for number of people to be reached/impacted by the program to be funded.     (5 Points)
  • The proposal successfully details the organization’s capacity to access and engage people being served in a respectful and culturally responsive manner. (10 Points)
  • The proposal effectively explains the organization’s capacity to deliver services in languages other than English and to be able to access translation services for languages other than English.  (10 Points)
  • IF applicable – if your organization will be providing direct health services (including behavioral health and/or substance use treatment); the proposal clearly describes the capacity to provide ongoing staff training, consistent with training required from a regulatory standpoint; and the proposal clearly describes current data management systems and whatever procedures and policies are in place to ensure confidentiality, security, and HIPAA and Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Record compliance as applicable. (10 Points)  

Evaluation Plan 20 points

  • The proposal clearly describes the organization’s evaluation plan for your proposed work. If applicable, the plan identifies specific models or theories from which the intended activities were developed. (10 Points)  
  • The proposal clearly describes the metrics in which it intends to capture, this includes both process and outcome metrics where possible. (10 Points)

Total Points Possible = 100

Required documents for submission:

All items below are required to be fully completed and included with your submission package. 

See the below summary for what is required for each item.  Refer to the “Program Application Narrative” section in the RFP for additional information on how to name and number your submission pieces:

  • Cover sheet with contact information, Director signature, and date.
  • Proposal objectives,  work plan, and evaluation plan.
  • Proposed Budget spreadsheet with narrative descriptions to make a clear connection between requested expenses and project activities.   

Contract Award Requirements

By submitting a proposal in response to this RFP, the vendor, if selected for award, shall be deemed to have read and accepted the terms of this RFP.  The final award recipients will be required to enter a contract or MOU with Weld County on behalf of the WROC.

The County reserves the right to terminate, modify, or suspend any or all parts of the RFP process and can reject any or all proposals at its sole discretion, and to waive informalities and minor irregularities in proposals received and to accept any portion or all items proposed if deemed in the best interest of the WROC.  Expenses for developing a proposal are entirely the responsibility of the proposer, and the WROC shall not be liable in any manner for any costs incurred in connection with preparation, submittal, or subsequent negotiation. As the WROC determines appropriate, it may issue additional requirements to this RFP.

The WROC may invite one or more of the successful respondents to execute an agreement with the County for the provision of the services required. The County reserves the right to negotiate the final terms of the proposed contract with one or more of the highest rated responsive respondents. All respondents are strongly advised to seek legal counsel related to the preparation and execution of any such agreement and the WROC reserves the right to modify any term or condition of the proposed agreement and to add, delete or modify terms and conditions as deemed necessary, prior to execution of a final agreement. If the WROC is unable to reach an agreement as to final contract terms with any selected respondent, the WROC expressly reserves the right to terminate negotiations and enter contract negotiations with one or more of the other ranked finalists. As the best interests of the WROC may appear in the WROC’s sole judgement, the WROC reserves the right to reject any or all proposals at any time during this selection process or terminate, cancel, or modify this selection process.  

Minimum Contract Requirements

  • Organization’s must track deliverables in the Scope of Work and outcomes – measured success towards stated goals.
  • Quarterly progress reports must be submitted to Kelley McCandless by March 31st, June 31st, September 30th, and December 31st.
  • Invoices must be submitted on the required submittal date, with appropriate back-up documentation provided, unless otherwise agreed upon.
  • Funded organizations will be required to develop a language access plan to explain how they will meet the needs of limited English proficiency (LEP) populations that they serve with the provided funds. 
Back to top