LOS ANGELES COUNTY
DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH
  Policy 1002.01 Request for Proposals Contract Selection/Award
 
  PROCEDURES
  1. The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH/Department) reserves the sole right to evaluate proposals submitted and to select contractors based upon the evaluation outcome.
     
  2. An Evaluation Committee shall be appointed, based on the technical expertise, background, and experience of Committee members.
     
  3. The Evaluation Committee shall evaluate proposals in accordance with the established evaluation criteria.
     
    1. If DMH determines that additional information is required or desirable beyond what was provided in the proposals, the Evaluation Committee shall have the authority to invite bidders to make oral/written presentations and/or to make site visits to the bidders' agencies before deciding on a final score.
       
    2. Each proposal shall be evaluated with a total numerical score and shall be ranked according to priority, from high to low scores. 
       
    3. The Evaluation Committee shall provide written documentation, justifying the total numerical score for each proposal and also the evaluation outcome.
       
  4. The Evaluation Committee shall submit to the Director of Mental Health the results of the Committee’s evaluations and the recommendations of proposals to be selected for contract award.
     
    1. If the highest-rated bidder or a higher-ranked bidder is not selected for contract award, the Evaluation Committee shall provide written documentation in the proposal evaluation files, justifying why a lower ranked bidder was selected.
       
    2. The DMH shall mail out certified letters to all bidders in the Request for Proposals (RFP) process regarding the evaluation outcome.
       
  5. Selection of contract award shall be made by the Director of Mental Health and shall be considered final.
     
  6. After contractors have been recommended by the Evaluation Committee and selected by the Director, the DMH shall negotiate a contract with each Contractor and submit the recommendations to the Board of Supervisors to approve new contracts.
     
  7. If a contract cannot be satisfactorily negotiated, in accordance with the evaluation criteria, the Director may, in his/her sole discretion, select another Contractor to enter into contract negotiations.
     
  8. Within five (5) days after an unsuccessful bidder receives a certified letter from the Director of Mental Health informing the bidder that its proposal was not selected, the bidder may appeal the decision to the Director. The appeal shall be in writing and shall be limited to the following grounds:
     
    1. The DMH failed to follow RFP procedures that affected the proposal’s scoring.
       
    2. The RFP evaluation criteria were not appropriately applied.
       
  9. The Director shall respond to the written appeal within 15 days, unless such period is extended by the Director in his/her sole discretion.
     
    1. The written response shall be maintained in the RFP files.
       
    2. The decision of the Director shall be final and shall not be subject to further review.