FY27 Cecil County Community Health Worker Community of Practice

The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to solicit proposals from organizations with experience working with and supporting Community Health Workers (CHWs) that can design, implement, and operate a CHW Community of Practice (CoP) in Cecil County in partnership with the Cecil County Health Department (“Department”).

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.

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.

Through the CoP, the Department seeks to:

1. Support the long-term professional growth and development of CHWs working in Cecil County.
2. Provide CHW retention support for community-serving organizations employing CHWs to build a stronger CHW workforce in Cecil County.

The Offeror shall provide a detailed description of the design of the CoP and the scope of services the CoP will provide. Please include all of the following elements in the description:

• CoP Administration & Governance (staffing, CoP charter, coordination with the Department’s Program Coordinator)
• Operational Workplan & Timeline
• Member Recruitment & Orientation Strategy
• Member Engagement Strategy
• Resource-Sharing Infrastructure
• Organization Support & Retention Strategy (for organizations that employ CHWs)
• Communication Strategy (internal for CoP members and external for community stakeholders)
• Education & Training Plan (learning objectives, delivery technology, CEU coordination, alignment with accredited CHW roles and skills, content serving both general and perinatal CHWs, support for organizations that employ CHWs)
• CHW Certification Pathway (Maryland-accredited program, secured free enrollments for up to eight (8) CoP CHWs, expected completion timeline)
• CoP Convenings & Peer Learning Sessions (in-person and virtual networking and mentoring sessions; at minimum monthly CHW meetings and semiannual trainings)
• Data Collection & Reporting Strategy (CoP participation tracking, performance analysis and outcomes reporting)
• Evaluation of Program Effectiveness (potential metrics: meetings, trainings, and education sessions held, CEUs earned, member engagement metrics, certifications completed, member churn, etc.)

Contract deliverables will include, but may not be limited to:

• Present a slide presentation to the Department’s contract monitor and team that describes the CoP design, including operations, CoP services, and the evaluation plan on or before January 6, 2027. Include the slide presentation with the first invoice.
• Complete and submit a progress report (Google Form) on March 15, 2027, and on June 15, 2027. Submit invoices after each progress report.

Proposals must be submitted via email to Lorayne Varaly at cchd.procurement@maryland.gov with the subject line “Response to RFP CCHD - 2027-007 - FY27 Cecil County Community Health Worker Community of Practice”

Proposals will be received via email at: cchd.procurement@maryland.gov until **5:00 PM, November 9, 2026** (local time – Eastern Daylight Saving Time). Proposals received after this deadline will not be considered for review.

Evaluation weights

• Description of Organization: 5%
• CoP Design & Scope of Services: 80%
• Budget: 15%

The single award contract will be awarded on a fixed-price reimbursement (fee-for-service) 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. The maximum funding for this contract is **$100,000**.

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

The Offeror shall provide the Department with a *Certificate of Insurance* for itself and any subcontractor under the agreement covering claims arising from the operations and services provided under the contract. Coverages include the statutory limit for Workers' Compensation coverage; 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.

Failure to include any of the proposal requirements shall render the Proposal non-responsive and require that the Department not consider the Proposal for the award.