ASSISTED COMPETITIVE EMPLOYMENT (ACE)

Important Notice Responses submitted to any RFP (a list of defined terms appears below) become the property of the County and are subject to the County's Policy on Public Access to Records. Any confidential information, such as a Proposer's financial status, if required by the specifications, shall be uploaded as a separate file with the word “CONFIDENTIAL” in the file name. Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs), Women Business Enterprises (WBEs), Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs), Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (ACDBEs), Veteran Business Enterprises (VBEs), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses (SDVOBs), Small Business Enterprises (SBEs), and Majority Minority Lead Businesses, as applicable, are encouraged to respond. Tompkins County Whole Health (TCWH) was formed in January 2023 through the integration of the County’s Public Health and Mental Health departments, creating a unified organization with shared leadership, mission, and values. Proposers must show that their services and environment align with the vision, mission and values of TCWH. MISSION: The mission is to build a healthy, equitable community in Tompkins County by addressing the root causes of health disparities and integrating mental, physical, and environmental health. VALUES: Learning Innovation Collaboration Compassion Integrity Purpose Tompkins County is seeking one or two qualified agencies to be identified through the county’s Request for Proposal (RFP) process to provide new vocational services under Program Code 1380: Assisted Competitive Employment (ACE). Preference will be given to an agency or agencies with local community knowledge and a history of grassroots success in providing vocational services to individuals who may be justice involved, un-housed, and have untreated co-occurring substance use disorder in additional to their serious mental illness. Approximately $127,926 in funding from the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) is available for one or two agencies under a one-year contract, with yearly renewals based on program performance reviews conducted by the local government unit (LGU) and OMH. Background OMH funds several programs designed to assist adults (18+) with serious mental illness in achieving competitive employment. These evidence-based programs are primarily supported through non-Medicaid state funding and focus on skill development, job placement, and ongoing support to ensure long-term employment success. OMH-funded employment services are delivered by local community providers and are designed to assist individuals to overcome barriers pertaining to mental illness as they prepare for, pursue, obtain, and sustain integrated, competitive employment. OMH State Aid Funded Employment Programs (SAFEP) serve adults 18+ who have mental health barriers related to employment. Each of these vocational program types should provide employment services with a focus on addressing the impact the individual’s ongoing mental health needs have on sustaining employment. Each program will offer counseling on disability benefits and disability disclosure decisions. All OMH vocational program types shall adhere to full program definitions as described in the NYS SED Consolidated Fiscal Reporting and Claiming Manual. State Aid funding is intended to: · Support individuals 18+ years old who are experiencing psychiatric barriers to an employment goal · Directly link to appropriate mental health supports, as needed · Provide employment supports that lead to the attainment of integrated competitive employment with as-needed ongoing support to maintain employment · Address temporary barriers to the individual’s employment success including but not limited to initial and time-limited cost of transportation for interviews, orientation, onboarding, etc. Funding for Assisted Competitive Employment (ACE) Programming: The ACE program model offers short-term pre-employment services followed by ongoing supported employment to provide mental health supports to those seeking or working in competitive, integrated settings. ACE services are designed to assist people diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illnesses with choosing, finding, and maintaining employment in the competitive job market. These new vocational services will be provided to anyone age 18 and older diagnosed with a serious mental illness who experiences mental health barriers related to employment. However, data shows that justice involved and unhoused individuals have significant additional challenges in securing employment due to employer bias, skill gaps, and systemic barriers. Therefore, the chosen provider(s) should demonstrate preparedness to serve justice-involved and unhoused individuals through previous experience, efficacy and sensitivity to the extended timeframes often needed to achieve stability. While OMH certification is not a requirement to deliver ACE programming, OMH strongly recommends the implementation of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) in all employment and rehabilitation programs. IPS is an evidence-based approach proven to improve employment outcomes for individuals experiencing psychiatric barriers. IPS emphasizes rapid engagement and person-centered rehabilitation interventions. To learn more about IPS visit the IPS Employment Center Website. The Center for Practice Innovations (CPI) Learning Community offers online training modules on IPS that are available for all staff who work in OMH funded employment programs.The chosen Provider(s) should be prepared to complete relevant training modules. Oversight: OMH funding for employment services is allocated to the LGU fromOMH. Tompkins County Whole Health, as the LGU, provides oversight at the local level for contracts with OMH state passthrough funding. The provider(s) are responsible for completing the Consolidated Fiscal Report (CFR) annually. To ensure efficient use of these funds, the LGU and OMH Regional Field Office will communicate and collaborate to review expected outcomes. The Tompkins County LGU requires contracted providers to submit quarterly and annual program and financial performance data for review by the Tompkins County Community Services Board using a Results-Based Accountability (RBA) report, with measures to be co-developed during the contracting period. Preference is given to grassroots agencies working with adults with serious mental illness, preferably who are unhoused and/or justice-involved. In 2025-2026, sweeping changes have been enacted which impact the Medicaid eligibility4 of some of our community’s most vulnerable populations, particularly around work requirements for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD). Providers applying for this funding should be prepared to describe how they will: 1) support program participants in completing the minimum required work, volunteer, and/or education requirements to maintain their Medicaid coverage, and 2) provide supports to individuals who may participate in the program but are no longer receiving their Medicaid benefits. Business enterprises awarded an identical or substantially similar procurement contract within the past five years: None Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOB) SDVOB Goal: 0.00% Minority / Women Business Enterprise contracting goals (MWBE) MBE Goal: 0.00% WBE Goal: 0.00% Disadvantaged Business Enterprise contracting goals (DBE) DBE Goal: 0.00%