TRANSMITTAL LETTER FOR BOARD MEETING OF APRIL 21, 2022
COMMITTEE ON PROCUREMENT
Mr. Brian A. Perkovich, Executive Director
Title
Issue purchase order and enter into an agreement for Contract 22-RFP-01 Employee Assistance Program with ComPsych Behavioral Health Corporation d/b/a ComPsych Corporation in an amount not to exceed $190,000.00, Account 101-25000-612260, Requisition 1571717
Body
Dear Sir:
Authorization is requested to issue a purchase order and enter into an agreement with ComPsych Behavioral Health Corporation d/b/a ComPsych Corporation to provide a comprehensive employee assistance program (EAP) to the District’s approximately 1,900 employees and their family members for the period from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2027.
On January 12, 2022, request for proposal for Contract 22-RFP-01 Employee Assistance Program was publicly advertised. One hundred thirty-five (135) firms were notified and twenty-five (25) requested proposal documents. On February 18, 2022, the District received four (4) responsive proposals from the following vendors: ComPsych Behavioral Health Corporation d/b/a ComPsych Corporation; Employee Resources Systems; Humana EAP and Work-life Services; and Inova Employee Assistance.
The proposals were evaluated by staff from Human Resources, Maintenance and Operations, and the Procurement and Materials Management departments. The criteria for these evaluations were outlined in request for proposal for Contract 22-RFP-01 and included: experience; programs and services; network provider capabilities; program administration; financial stability; compliance with insurance and licensure requirements; and cost.
Following the preliminary evaluation of proposals, excluding cost, all four proposers were deemed to be finalists and were invited to interviews conducted March 16 - 17, 2022. On March 25, 2022, a solicitation was sent to the finalists requesting an unqualified “best and final” offer. The “best and final” offers were received on April 1, 2022.
Based on the evaluation of proposals, finalist interviews and pricing, the Human Resources Department recommends ComPsych Behavioral Health Corporation d/b/a ComPsych Corporation as the selected vendor. ComPsych Behavioral Health Corporation d/b/a ComPsych Corporation is the largest EAP provider in the market serving over 60,000 organizations including 2,425 in Illinois and 1,100 in the public sector. They are a local company with headquarters located in Chicago. The program includes telephonic counseling, tele-behavioral health services, and up to 8 face-to-face counseling sessions per employee or family member at no cost to the employee. The EAP call center is available to District employees 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with all calls being answered by Masters-level clinicians. Counselors speak multiple languages including Spanish, French, Polish, Arabic, Tagalog, and others. The toll-free number is unique to the District allowing counselors to immediately identify the caller as a District employee or family member. Services can also be accessed via a co-branded website, mobile app, or via live chat. The website includes a unique self-service option that allows employees to select a counselor based on their area of need and various counselor preferences such as language, gender, race, and religious faith. The employee can view a profile of the counselor, select the preferred appointment type (ex. in-person, telephonic, virtual), and schedule an appointment right from the website. The network includes more than 28,000 providers in Illinois with 100% of employees having access to at least one counselor within 10 miles of their home. The robust suite of work-life services includes FamilySource® (resources for child/elder care, adoption, education, relocation, event planning, pet care, etc.), LegalConnect® (resources and referrals for family law, estate planning, landlord issues, consumer issues, civil law, etc.), and FinancialConnect® (resources for advice for budgeting, planning, credit issues, debt/bankruptcy, money management, etc.). The program also includes critical incident response services; services to support managers in their role; access to webinars and other trainings; employee orientation sessions; and tailored communication campaigns.
The Diversity Section reviewed the request for proposal and concluded that the contract does not provide practical opportunities for subcontracting. Fees for the employee assistance program are assessed on a per-employee-per-quarter basis. This fee encompasses any services provided by the plan and does not change regardless of the number or type of services rendered during that time period. There is no way to anticipate the number of services that will be utilized or where in the independent provider network those services will be accessed. As such, Appendix A and Appendix V were not be included.
In view of the foregoing, it is requested that the Director of Procurement and Materials Management be authorized to issue a purchase order and enter into an agreement with ComPsych Behavioral Health Corporation d/b/a ComPsych Corporation for Contract 22-RFP-01 in the amount of $190,000.00. The estimated annual expenditures are as follows: $19,000.00 in 2022, $38,000.00 annually from 2023 through 2026, and $19,000.00 in 2027.
Funds for the 2022 expenditure are available in Account 101-25000-612260. Funds for the 2023 through 2027 expenditures are contingent on the Board of Commissioners’ approval of the District’s budget for those years.
Recommended, Beverly K. Sanders, Director of Human Resources
Recommended, Darlene A. LoCascio, Director of Procurement and Materials Management
Respectfully Submitted, Barbara J. McGowan, Chairman Committee on Procurement
Disposition of this agenda item will be documented in the official Regular Board Meeting Minutes of the Board of Commissioners for April 21, 2022
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