Based on a sole source exemption, Pierce County intends to contract for Designated Crisis Responders for a co-responder program with Pierce County Sheriff's Office by direct negotiation. The County has determined that Multicare Behavioral Health Network is the only entity capable of meeting the County's need as described below.

Capability statements must be submitted in OpenGov and should use the .docx or .pdf file type, or any other standard file type that can be opened in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat. There are no strict formatting requirements for capability statements. To be properly evaluated, a capability statement must include the following information:The name of the individual or organization submitting the capability statement.The name, email address, and phone number of the primary contact.A description of how the entity meets the County's need.The capability statement must directly address any minimum requirements described in the public notice. Any capability statement offering to provide items or services other than those specifically requested must demonstrate that they are of matching specifications and compatible with any systems with which the items or services will be integrated.

The contract amendment awarded as a result of this exemption will have an initial term 24 months and an estimated cost of $4,399,520 over the initial term. The County may, at its discretion and for a commensurate cost, extend the contract for a maximum term not to exceed 5 years.

Pierce County posts public notice of all sole source, special facility, and special market condition procurement exemptions for 10 business days. Interested vendors have 5 business days to submit questions in OpenGov. A public notice is not a competitive bid or solicitation, and any bids or proposals submitted during this process will not be accepted. At minimum, the public notice will explain the following information:The scope of the purchase.The estimated cost of the purchase.The estimated term of the exemption.The intended vendor for the purchase.The justification for the procurement exemption.Any minimum requirements for a vendor to meet the County's need.Any entity who believes they are qualified to meet the County's need as described in the public notice may submit a capability statement by the submission deadline. The Pierce County Purchasing Agent, or designee, will evaluate the capability statement in consultation with subject matter experts as appropriate to determine whether the submitter has demonstrated that they can meet the County's need.If the capability statement demonstrates that the submitter can meet the County's need, the County will cancel the public notice and proceed with a competitive procurement. If the County determines that the capability statement has not demonstrated that the submitter can meet the County's need, the County will proceed with the procurement exemption. Entities who submit a capability statement will receive a letter explaining the County's decision.The County reserves the right to contact entities who submit capability statements to request more information about their capabilities and qualifications.

The County has identified the following minimum requirements to meet the County's need:The entity employes Designated Crisis Responders as defined by the region's BH-ASO.The entity is authorized by the region's BH-ASO to provide Designated Crisis Response to adults.The entity obtains all necessary licenses and certifications necessary to maintain DCR status and lawfully provide behavioral health and intervention services.The entity has the experience and ability to operate a DCR program in coordination with local law enforcement.

To identify qualified vendors, support the justification of this exemption, and determine the minimum requirements to meet the County's need, the County performed the following market research:Contacting other local government agencies.Consulting with HCA and Carelon and reviewing their publicly available materials.Online research of providers in the area.

The services to be purchased via this exemption include the provision of multiple Designated Crisis Responders (DCRs) designated by the region's Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organization. DCRs are requested to respond to a scene involving citizens who may require behavioral health intervention to conduct assessments, provide crisis intervention on scene, coordinate referrals and services, and follow up with individuals as appropriate. Services related to the co-responder program, such as training, outreach, and education, are included in the scope of this exemption.The County has historically contracted with Multicare for these services and anticipates amending its current contract with Multicare to make this purchase.

The Washington State Health Care Authority has designated Carelon as the Behavioral Health - Administrative Services Organization (BH-ASO) for Pierce County. BH-ASOs are responsible for administering the region's mental health treatment network and crisis response system. Currently, Multicare Behavioral Health is the only entity employing Designated Crisis Responders (DCRs) authorized by the BH-ASO.Designation as a DCR by the BH-ASO is necessary for these services due to the risk, complexity, and rapidly-evolving nature of the scenes to which they are called. Additionally, DCRs are the only entity with the authority to civilly detain individuals, in collaboration with law enforcement, when the individuals or those around them are in imminent danger.More information regarding Pierce County's crisis response system and DCRs is attached to this public notice and available on the public websites of Carelon and the Health Care Authority.