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REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: Perinatal Mental Health Services
Healthy Start San Diego & Riverside
A paid contracting opportunity for individual clinicians, small practices, group practices, and community-based providers
RFP Number | HSSD+R Mental Health RFP-26-08. |
Issue Date | August 27, 2026 |
Questions Due | September 4, 2026, at 5:00 PM Pacific Time |
Proposals Due | September 11, 2026, at 5:00 PM Pacific Time |
Global Communities is seeking licensed and licensed-eligible mental health providers to partner with our Healthy Start program in San Diego and Riverside Counties. We welcome responses from solo clinicians and small community practices as well as larger organizations. Providers with the ability to offer services in Haitian Creole, Spanish, Dari, and/or Pashto are highly encouraged to apply. We are particularly interested in expanding access to mental health services for linguistically diverse families enrolled in Healthy Start.
This is a paid opportunity. Selected providers will deliver culturally responsive clinical mental health services that support emotional wellbeing, strengthen families, and reduce the impact of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs).
About Healthy Start
Global Communities’ Healthy Start programs support families from pregnancy through the baby’s first year of life. Services include home visiting, health education, lactation support, care coordination, and mental health referrals for mothers and fathers/partners. We prioritize communities experiencing barriers to care and disparities in birth outcomes, including Black/African American families, refugee and immigrant communities, and other historically underserved populations.
Our goal: Make it easier for pregnant and postpartum families to receive timely, trusted, culturally responsive mental health care. |
Services We Are Seeking
We are looking for providers who can offer:
- Individual, couples and family mental health counseling to parents during pregnancy and up to one year postpartum
- Support for depression, anxiety, trauma, adjustment, and other perinatal mental health concerns
- Telehealth and/or in-person services
- Timely response to referrals
- Culturally responsive and trauma-informed care
- Optional: Participation in team and Consortium meetings, facilitation of staff training
Healthy Start may cover up to 15 therapy sessions per enrolled adult participant. If services continue beyond that period, the provider may use insurance, another funding source, or the practice’s regular payment arrangements. When a participant has applicable insurance or another funding source accepted by the provider, that source should be billed first.
Who We Encourage to Apply
- Licensed mental health clinicians, including those with licensed-eligible practitioners on staff
- Individual providers, small or group practices, and community-based organizations
- Providers with experience supporting pregnant, postpartum, parenting, or family populations
- Providers with PMAD-related training, certification, or specialized experience
- Providers with lived experience reflecting our priority communities
- Providers able to accept and respond to Healthy Start referrals
- Providers who offer services in Haitian Creole, Spanish, Dari, Pashto, or other languages spoken by Healthy Start families
What to Include in Your Proposal
Please send a clear, concise proposal. A response of approximately 2 to 5 pages, plus resumes and required attachments, is generally sufficient. You may use the headings below or answer in another easy-to-follow format.
1. About Your Practice or Organization
- Brief description of your practice or organization
- Number of years in practice
- Counties served
- Whether you provide telehealth, in-person services, or both; include in-person locations, if applicable
2. Relevant Experience
- Experience supporting pregnant and postpartum families
- PMAD-related training, certifications, memberships, or specialized expertise
- Communities and populations you most frequently serve
- Languages available
3. Referral Capacity and Service Approach
- Number of Healthy Start referrals you can reasonably accept each year; providers should be able to accept at least 10 new clients annually
- Typical wait time for a new client
- How you will contact a referred client within three business days
- How referrals will be received and managed using HIPAA-compliant communication
- How services will be documented and billed
- Any ability or interest in participating in partner meetings, staff training, or Healthy Start Consortium activities
4. Clinician Qualifications
- Name and role of each clinician expected to provide services
- Current licenses, credentials, and relevant supervision arrangements
- Resume or CV for lead clinicians or clinical director. Additional clinician resumes may be requested during the review process.
- How your practice supports quality, client safety, background checks, and supervision of licensed-eligible staff
5. Pricing Information / Cost Proposal
- Hourly rate for each clinician type, reflecting licensed and licensed-eligible providers
- Hourly rate for each therapy type (individual, couples, family, etc.)
- Any proposed administrative fees
- Hourly cost for participation in team and Consortium meetings, facilitation of staff training (optional)
- Please submit cost information separately from the narrative proposal, using the budget template if provided
6. References
- Please provide contact information for two to three professional references and/or other evidence that demonstrates the quality of your services. This may include references from partner organizations, client testimonials (with identifying information removed), public reviews, letters of recommendation, or similar materials.
Scope of Work
Selected contractor(s) will provide clinical mental health services to eligible Healthy Start participants. Referrals may be based on elevated depression or anxiety screening results, trauma history, or another identified mental health need.
- Respond to each new referral with an introductory call, email, or text within three business days and assist the client with scheduling.
- Provide services through appropriately licensed or licensed-eligible clinicians. Licensed-eligible clinicians must receive appropriate supervision and mentorship and meet applicable background-check requirements.
- Provide short-term counseling for up to 15 sessions per eligible adult participant funded by Global Communities.
- Plan for continuation or transition of care in advance of when short-term services end, as clinically appropriate.
- Maintain a HIPAA-compliant referral and communication process.
- Submit a monthly invoice by the fifth day of the following month showing the participant name, date of service, and whether the visit was in person or virtual.
- Provide telehealth and/or in-person services in the counties identified in the proposal.
- When feasible, participate in quarterly partner meetings, relevant staff training, and/or Healthy Start Consortium activities.
Required Documentation for Selected Providers
- Proof of current professional insurance and licensure, on an annual basis
- Completed Global Communities contracting forms, including Evidence of Responsibility
- Completed W-9 (upon contract signing)
- Direct Deposit Authorization form (upon contract signing)
Anticipated Contract
Global Communities anticipates awarding one or more cost reimbursement contracts. The anticipated performance period is October 1, 2026, through March 31, 2029, with funds obligated annually and contingent on the continuation of our federal Healthy Start grant. Final scope, service volume, rates, and available funding will be established in the executed contract, with limited opportunities for amendments.
How Proposals Will Be Reviewed
Global Communities will select the proposal or combination of proposals that provides the best overall value based on both service quality and cost. The lowest price will not automatically receive the award.
# | Review Criteria | Points |
1 | Service approach and understanding of the scope, including referral response, PMAD capacity, documentation, and service delivery | 25 |
2 | Qualifications and availability of proposed clinicians; Cultural responsiveness and experience with Healthy Start priority communities, including language capacity | 25 |
3 | Referral & Administrative Readiness, including systems in place to receive and respond to referrals in a HIPAA compliant manner (referral platforms, etc.) and proposed process for documentation of services and billing. | 20 |
4 | Partnership & Collaboration Capacity, including availability to participate in core partner meetings, Consortium activities, and/or staff trainings | 10 |
5 | Cost and overall value | 20 |
Total possible points: 100
How to Submit
- Email your proposal to Lisa Bain at lbain@globalcommunities.org by September 11, 2026, at 5:00 PM Pacific Time.
- Use the subject line: HSSD+R Mental Health RFP-26-08.
- Submit the proposal narrative and pricing information as separate attachments. Word, Excel, and PDF formats are acceptable.
- Please keep the submission concise. Elaborate design, bindings, or marketing materials are not needed.
- You may email lbain@globalcommunities.org to share your intent to apply. This is helpful but not required.
Questions
Submit questions by September 4, 2026, at 5:00 PM Pacific Time to Laura Herzig at lherzig@globalcommunities.org. Global Communities may share answers with all interested applicants when appropriate so that everyone receives the same information.
Standard Procurement Terms
- Submitting a proposal does not obligate Global Communities to award a contract or reimburse any costs of preparing a response.
- Global Communities may accept or reject any proposal, request clarification, conduct reference checks, negotiate with one or more applicants, make one or more awards, or cancel the solicitation before an award is made.
- Proposals should remain valid for at least 60 days after the submission deadline.
- The person submitting or signing the proposal must be authorized to commit the applicant to the proposed services and rates.
- Global Communities may determine that a proposal is nonresponsive if required information is missing or if proposed pricing is unrealistically high or low.
- Selected providers must comply with applicable laws, professional standards, federal funding requirements, U.S. sanctions and embargo regulations, and federal exclusion requirements.
- Applicants proposing a formal joint venture or partnership may be asked to provide an agreement explaining responsibilities, financial accountability, work allocation, and the relationship among the parties.
Proposal Checklist
Done | Include with your response |
☐ | Brief proposal narrative |
☐ | Clinician resume(s) or CV(s) |
☐ | License and credential information |
☐ | Pricing Information or rate sheet |
☐ | Professional references |
☐ | Contact information and authorized signature/name |
We value the expertise of community-based providers and have designed this process to be as clear and manageable as possible while meeting Global Communities’ procurement requirements.
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