FY27 Building a Cecil County Community Health Worker Workforce

The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to solicit proposals from Cecil County community-serving organizations that want to hire Community Health Workers (CHWs) into navigation roles to support clients who are impacted by social and environmental factors that make it more difficult to access health care, supportive services, and community resources.

Funding for this RFP is supported through the Maryland Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), whose mission is to improve access to care, strengthen rural health infrastructure, improve health care quality and outcomes, and transform the health care delivery ecosystem for rural communities. [...] With its portion of the funding, the Department will develop a Community Health Worker (CHW) Network.

The Department, a unit of the Maryland Department of Health, desires competitive proposals to obtain the service(s) described in PART III of this solicitation.

Collaborating with contracted community-serving organizations, the Cecil County Health Department ("Department") seeks to:

1. Build a stronger CHW workforce in the Cecil County community.
2. Collaborate with local community service organizations to better support access to care needs in Cecil County.
3. Extend the reach and impact of service and resource navigation within Cecil County.

The goals of the CHW Network are to:

• Eliminate system fragmentation by improving resource and service coordination between clinical providers, socioeconomic support services, and consumers.
• Enhance advocacy, support, and empowerment of rural and underserved populations to effectively navigate the social determinants of health (SDOH) and improve health outcomes.
• Increase support for women by providing perinatal resource navigation.
• Increase professional development opportunities, shared learning, and competency for CHWs as they help consumers navigate complex health, behavioral health, and social care systems.
• Build a viable, scalable CHW workforce focused on connecting people to the resources they need at the right time and in the right settings.
• Support community-serving organizations who utilize CHWs.
• Advocate for a sustainable reimbursement model for certified CHWs.

Funding will be awarded to at least one and up to eight Offerors who provide the best comprehensive proposal. Each Offeror may submit a proposal to hire up to two CHWs, including perinatal CHWs (navigation work focuses on clients needing perinatal resources). The maximum annual funding amount per CHW is **$62,500**.

The Offeror must respond to all questions in Sections A–D of the *Scope of Work Questionnaire*: Organizational Readiness; Recruiting, Onboarding & Supervision; Team Integration & Workflow Design; Performance Evaluation & Data Reporting.

Proposals must include a CHW budget with a description and justification for each line item. Grant funds cannot be used for indirect costs. Budgets must include the following elements:

• Hiring costs (including criminal background check)
• Personnel Salary and Fringe
• Cell Phone
• Mileage Reimbursement

Proposals must be submitted via email to Lorayne Varaly at cchd.procurement@maryland.gov with the subject line "Response to RFP CCHD - 2027-006 - FY27 Building a Cecil County Community Health Worker Workforce". Proposals received after the deadline will not be considered for review.

Offerors may submit proposal questions to the Procurement Officer at cchd.procurement@maryland.gov with the subject line "Questions to RFP CCHD-2027-006 - FY27 Building a Cecil County Community Health Worker Workforce". Answers to submitted questions will be posted to the procurement portal.

The contract will be awarded on a cost reimbursement basis. Funds may not be carried over beyond the term of the contract; therefore, the budget shall include only expenses incurred by June 30, 2027.

**Evaluation weights:** Description of Organization (5%), Scope of Work Questionnaire (80%), and Budget (15%).

**Required** supporting documentation: *Certificate of Insurance*, *Proposal Affidavit*, Proof of Fiscal Integrity, Legal Action Summary, Past State Experience (if applicable), Minority Business Enterprise Documentation (if applicable). Failure to include any of the proposal requirements shall render the Proposal non-responsive.

Insurance includes the statutory limit for Workers' Compensation; Broad Form Comprehensive General Liability Insurance with a minimum bodily injury limit of **$300,000** for each person and **$500,000** aggregate for each; Professional Liability Insurance with a minimum limit of **$1,000,000** per incident and **$3,000,000** aggregate for each occurrence; and Automobile Liability, if applicable.

The contract resulting from this RFP will expire on June 30, 2027. Contractors may renew for up to four 1-year terms depending on funding availability, satisfactory performance, and the continued need for services.