Frederick County Public Schools is seeking proposals from qualified firms for the provision of employee assistance program services for eligible employees and their immediate family members (spouse and children) in accordance with the terms, conditions and specifications of this solicitation. a. General Program Requirements: The Contractor must agree to provide FCPS eligible employees and their immediate family members (spouse and children) the following minimum services: 1. Short term counseling (5, 50-minute, sessions per issue, per participant, per year) 2. 24/7/365 telephone helpline and crisis counseling 3. Coordination/case management of drug/alcohol rehabilitation programs 4. On-site training seminars and web-based training seminars covering topics such as Work/Life Balance, Wellness, Supervisory skills, Legal, Financial, etc. 5. On-site Critical Incident Stress Debriefings (CISDs) 6. Employee website for access to web-based resources 7. Management consultation services b. Service Area: EAP services shall be provided outside of FCPS’ offices, or normal place of employment for the individuals for whom the services are being provided. Since over ninety percent (90%) of the County employees work in locations either within or very close to the Frederick City area, EAP services must be readily available within 10 miles of Frederick City. Additionally, since a significant number of our employees reside in surrounding counties, it is important that EAP services be readily available to them in the following areas: Carroll, Howard, Montgomery and Washington Counties in MD; Berkeley and Jefferson Counties in WV; Loudon County in VA and Adams County in PA c. Contractor Requirements: Contractor must provide services within the following parameters: 1. Contract shall make Counselors immediately available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via a single toll-free number, live-answered, with no voice prompt system. Counselors providing such services must be physically located within the 50 United States. 2. Short-term counseling may be provided telephonically if the employee requests such counseling. Otherwise, counseling services will be provided in person. 3. For employees who require referrals for additional counseling beyond the short-term EAP counseling benefit, the Contractor will coordinate referrals with the participant’s health plan so that referrals are covered by the participant’s health plan as much as possible. Contractor will have knowledge of FCPS’ health plan and the availability of counseling resources in the areas covered. 4. Contractor will assist FCPS with on-going promotion of the EAP by providing brochures and other marketing literature. Contractor may provide materials in electronic format but also must provide printed materials because not all FCPS employees have computer access. The Contractor shall initially provide approximately 6,000 brochures describing the Contractor’s services available to FCPS employees. FCPS shall distribute these brochures to all eligible employees within 60 days of the contract term and to all new employees attending Employee Orientation sessions during the contract period. 5. Contractor will assign an Account Representative or Contract Representative to work with FCPS on day-to-day issues. FCPS strongly prefers a representative who has direct contact with the Contractor’s home office/corporate headquarters to facilitate the handling of any problems that may be difficult to resolve. 6. When a program participant is a Public Safety employee and makes an initial call to the Contractor for personal or professional issues, participant is able to specify that all interaction be with a care coordinator and counselor experienced with the special situations of someone working in/with a background in the Public Safety sector.
