The Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) is initiating this Request for Proposals (RFP) for a qualified bidder to provide an Infant-Early Childhood Mental Health Workforce Collaborative (IECMH-WC) that supports the implementation of House Bill 1325 (HB1325) through providing professional development and workforce enhancement opportunities including the Diagnostic Classification (DC) of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood training. The bidder will manage an IECMH professional development platform with the capacity to provide intensive and robust opportunities with experienced IECMH professionals- including Certified DC 0-5 trainers, and with demonstrated expertise in IECMH best practices and a strong statewide network of connections to providers and allied professionals in this field.

HCA intends to award one contract to provide the services described in this RFP.

Purpose

The purpose of the IECMH-WC is to partner with the HCA to support and expand the Washington Apple Health IECMH workforce. The Contractor will be responsible for managing a professional development program that provides DC:0-5™ trainings to mental health providers and allied professionals across the state. The Contractor will be responsible for all facilitation and coordination aspects of the professional development program, as well as data management, evaluation, and quality improvement. The Contractor will center principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of the professional development program.

Background

Washington’s youngest children and their families are identified as needing ongoing and increased quality and access to mental health services. Mental health professionals need access to training and other professional development opportunities to support their practice in implementing developmentally appropriate services for infants, young children, and their families. HB 1325 was signed into law in April 2021 to address this need by supporting use of the DC: 0-5 for the mental health assessment and diagnosis of children from birth through five years of age. Because providers may not receive training in the DC: 0–5 as a part of their education, a professional development enhancement is needed to support implementation.

HCA is taking steps to build workforce knowledge and capacity through collaboration with external partners. Funds for this training have been directed to HCA to support HB 1325 through Section 215 Proviso 43; however, HCA does not have the capacity to manage an effort of this scope; nor the expertise or network to provide IECMH training in an effective way.

For this reason, HCA is seeking to identify a Contractor to fully manage this IECMH-WC.