Sacramento County Adult Correctional Health Operational Assessment and Medical Training, Policy Review, and Technical Oversight Independent Consultant

Post Information
Posted At:
Thu, Oct 15, 2026 8:00 AM
Sealed Bid Process:
Yes (Bids Sealed / Pricing Sealed)
Private Bid:
No

1. Introduction
   1.1. Summary

Sacramento County is seeking an experienced correctional healthcare organization to provide medical standard of care training, leadership coaching and support, policy revision recommendations, and technical assistance and oversight in the daily operations of the Adult Correctional Health (ACH) system at both of the County’s adult detention facilities, along with a global ACH organizational and process assessment focused on system, medical standard of care, and efficiency-based improvements.

Through this procurement, Sacramento County intends to contract with an organization capable of delivering comprehensive internal correctional health subject-matter expertise for Sacramento County’s ACH System (including the Sacramento Main Jail and Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center). Services range from on-site program mentorship to providing topic specific expertise in all functions and operations that fall within the scope of correctional healthcare delivery.

Successful respondents will demonstrate the ability to provide comprehensive system mentorship, the ability to assess current County policies and structures and make change-based recommendations rooted in the medical standard of care, and collaborate effectively with County correctional healthcare, custody staff, court-appointed subject matter experts, County legal counsel, class counsel, and County leadership.

1.2. Contact Information

Any inquiries or requests regarding this solicitation must be submitted via OpenGov. Contact with unauthorized County personnel during the selection process may result in disqualification.

Project Contact:
Michael Lorda
Contract Analyst
Email: lordami@saccounty.gov
Phone: (916) 875-1200

Procurement Contact:
Michael Lorda
Contract Analyst
Email: lordami@saccounty.gov
Phone: (916) 875-1200

Department:
Health Services

Department Head:
Tim Lutz
Director

1.3. Timeline
Release Project Date:
October 15, 2026
Pre-Proposal Meeting (Mandatory):
November 3, 2026, 1:00pm
https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/279208937088251?p=IJK94oedHpgDWVChgP
Meeting ID: 279 208 937 088 251
Passcode: Th6kz7XD
Question Submission Deadline:
November 4, 2026, 5:00pm
Proposal Submission Deadline:
November 13, 2026, 5:00pm
Proposal Screening:
November 16, 2026
Notice of Insurance Deficiencies Sent Via Email:
November 17, 2026
Insurance Deficiency Corrections Submission Deadline:
December 1, 2026, 5:00pm
Notice of Disqualification Emailed to Respondents:
December 2, 2026
Respondents Evaluations Complete:
December 8, 2026
Interview Process Complete:
January 8, 2027
Notice of Award Recommendation(s) Emailed to Respondents:
January 15, 2027, 5:00pm
Written Protest Deadline:
January 25, 2027, 5:00pm
2. Background
2.1. Background

The County of Sacramento (County) owns and/or operates two detention facilities in Sacramento County, including the Sacramento Main Jail and the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Facility (RCCC), which are collaboratively run by the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office (SSO) and the Department of Health Services (DHS), Division of Primary Care Services, ACH. Between both facilities, there is an average daily population of about 3,300 adults—with more than 34,000 individuals booked each year and roughly 2,400 monthly discharges.

ACH is housed within DHS and provides health care services to adults within both County detention facilities.  Services include primary care, women's health, behavioral health, pharmacy, ancillary, specialty, and hospital services.  Most of the specialty services and all of the hospital services are provided offsite.  On-site service delivery is provided through County staff and contracted providers. Primary health care in the correctional system is delivered through roughly 300 County full-time employees (FTEs).  Mental health care is administered via a contracted medical provider with roughly 155 FTEs. Of note, the County is also under a Federal Consent Decree (known as the “Mays Consent Decree”) and is in process of coming into compliance.

DHS is issuing this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to select a qualified and experienced individual vendor or organization to provide medical standard of care training, policy revision recommendations, coaching and mentorship to system leaders, and technical assistance and oversight in the daily operations of the ACH system at both detention facilities, along with a global  ACH organizational and process assessment focused on system, medical standard of care, and efficiency-based improvements.

ACH operates in a complex regulatory environment subject to state-based detention and medical standard of care requirements, various grant assurances, and regulations, as well as a broad range of federal, state, and local requirements tied to both the incoming California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) requirements and the Mays Consent Decree.

DHS is soliciting Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) from qualified correctional health organizations (aka “Respondent”) to provide a wide variety of correctional health clinical policy review and related technical services. Services under this RFQ will be administered by DHS and may include, but are not limited to, review and revision recommendations of all internal policies for medical standard of care, compliance (including quality improvement), relevant organizational process assessment and identification of operational efficiencies for proactive correction, design of responsive work flows, training protocols, and to be available to provide in-person active training, guidance, mentorship, effective cross-system collaboration with all relevant partners, and any/all other areas identified by County.

Services under this RFQ will require regular on-site access, familiarity with the unique operational, regulatory, safety, and security considerations associated with correctional health facilities, including medical care within detention facilities, ideally holds relevant clinical experience and California licensure, ideally holds federal Consent Decree experience related to correctional health, holds an ability to assist with Consent Decree and medical standard of care compliance requirements in the forms of policy correction, mentorship, and staff training, and the possession of an ability to effectively and proactively collaborate cross-system with all relevant partners (i.e. County correctional healthcare, custody staff, court-appointed subject matter experts, County legal counsel, County leadership, etc.)

2.2. Eligibility to Apply/Minimum Qualifications

Those individuals or organizations that meet all the following criteria are eligible to submit a proposal in response to this RFQ:

Have demonstrated subject-matter expertise and experience in the delivery of correctional healthcare delivery and process improvement.
Be able to provide the identified services outlined in this RFQ on-site at both Sacramento County correctional facilities and other County-identified locations.
Ability to develop strong relationships with Sheriff/custody leadership and staff, court-appointed subject matter experts, legal counsel, and County leadership.
Ability to bring key subject-matter expertise to fit the identified needs of the program. Examples may include quality assurance, death reviews, emergency medical response, medical staff efficiencies, and managing high-acuity populations.
Ability for staff assigned to the project to pass Sheriff background clearance for the County’s jail system.
Possession of a clinical license (such as Nurse Practitioner or Registered Nurse) and specialized certification in correctional healthcare for at least some of the consulting team is HIGHLY DESIRABLE.
3. Scope of Work
3.1. Services Description

Sacramento County seeks a qualified organization to provide medical standard of care training, policy review and development, coaching and mentorship for senior leadership, and technical assistance and guidance in the daily operations of the ACH system. The selected agency will support significant strengthening clinical and operational systems and advance best practice standards in correctional healthcare.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Coaching and Mentorship Support for System Leadership

The qualified organization or their appointed person for these services will:

Provide executive-level coaching and mentorship for leadership within the ACH team.
Deliver daily operational support and guidance to the Deputy Director, Health Services Administrator, Medical Director, Quality Assurance, and nursing leadership teams.
Assist Department leadership in conducting performance reviews and implementing personnel action for ACH staff, if necessary.
Quality Improvement (QI) Program Guidance

The qualified organization or their appointed person for these services will provide support and guidance to ACH’s QI program, including:

Coaching, mentorship and guidance for the ACH QI team.
Assessment of current quality measures, indicators, monitoring processes, and reporting systems.
Review, enhancement, or development of clinical and operational audit tools.
Development of corrective action plans and reporting templates grounded in evidence‑based practice.
Implementation support for QI-related improvements across medical, nursing, and administrative services.
Organizational Structure Assessment

The qualified organization or their appointed person for these services will:

Conduct assessment of ACH’s current organizational structure, staffing patterns, and reporting lines.
Evaluate operational efficiency, communication pathways, leadership alignment, and role clarity.
Produce recommendations for organizational restructuring grounded in correctional health best practices and national standards of care.
Provide proposals for department-wide restructuring, including alternative organizational models and implementation considerations.
Medical Services Assessment and System Improvement

The qualified organization or their appointed person for these services will perform a full assessment of ACH medical services, including:

Review of clinical workflows, patient intake processes, medication management procedures, chronic care management, and emergency response processes.
Evaluation of team structures, interdisciplinary collaboration, staffing allocation, and on-site clinical leadership.
Analysis of existing policies and procedures for compliance, efficiency, and alignment with current standards of care.
Collaboration with Department leadership to implement improvements designed to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of healthcare delivery.
Training Program Review and Expansion

The qualified organization or their appointed person for these services will:

Review all existing ACH training programs, modules, competencies, and curricula.
Identify gaps in clinical, operational, and emergency response training.
Design and implement additional training in key areas including:
QI procedures and methodologies
Nursing process and documentation standards
Man-down response protocols
Intake screening and triage procedures
Monitoring procedures for patients with high medical needs
Provide guidance to ensure training aligns with accreditation standards and correctional healthcare best practices.
Death-in-Custody Review Expertise

The qualified organization or their appointed person for these services will provide subject matter expertise in the investigation and review of deaths of incarcerated individuals, including:

Facilitation or participation in root cause analyses.
Identification of system-level failures, process gaps, and individual performance issues.
Development of corrective action recommendations that strengthen clinical practice, emergency response, supervision, and cross-department coordination.
Contribution to formal reports and presentations to internal and external oversight bodies as required.
3.2. Performance Measures

Performance Measures may include, but are not limited to:

Coaching and Mentorship Deliverables
Development of individual development plans for ACH leadership including, but not limited to Deputy Director, Division Manager/Health Administrator (HSA), Medical Director, Quality Assurance lead, and nursing leaders.
Confidential coaching goals developed with leader and coach/mentor.
Weekly engagement with relevant ACH leaders, supporting goal development and system performance metric development.
QI Program Deliverables
Comprehensive assessment report of the existing QI program, including gaps, strengths, and recommended improvements.
Revised or newly developed audit tools for major clinical and operational areas.
Monthly QI performance dashboard tracking quality indicators, audit findings, and corrective actions.
Internal confidential Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) generated for identified deficiencies, including timelines and responsible parties.
Organizational Structure Assessment Deliverables
Organizational Assessment Report covering structure, staffing levels, role alignment, communication flow, and leadership gaps.
Recommendations for organizational restructuring, including alternative organizational models, rationale, and implementation considerations.
Presentation of findings to County leadership and ACH management.
Medical Services Assessment and Improvement Deliverables
Comprehensive Medical Services Assessment Report summarizing current system operations, workflows, policies, staffing models, and clinical processes.
Detailed workflow maps and recommendations for process improvements.
Updated or newly drafted clinical policies and procedures, aligned with correctional health best practices and Mays Consent Decree requirements.
Implementation Plan outlining priority improvements, timelines, and roles.
Training Review and Implementation Deliverables
Training Program Gap Analysis Report covering QI, nursing practice, emergency response, intake, and high‑medical‑need monitoring.
Training curriculum and modules for new or revised trainings, including learning objectives, materials, and competency checklists.
Documentation of training delivery, including schedules, attendance, and evaluations.
Sentinel Event and Death-in-Custody Review Deliverables
Root Cause Analysis (RCA) reports for assigned sentinel event and death‑in‑custody investigations, including system and individual findings.
Summary of recurring themes or systemic issues identified across cases.
Corrective action recommendations for clinical practice, policy improvement, training, and system communication.
Support for internal or external reporting bodies, such as briefings or written summaries.
Final Summary Report

At the conclusion of the engagement, the consulting agency shall provide a final report summarizing:

All assessments conducted
All improvements made, recommended, or in progress
Recommendations for long‑term sustainability
Priority next steps for Sacramento County ACH
3.3. Service Sites and Capacity

Successful Respondents must demonstrate the capacity to provide on-site team members and the ability to bring in spec

Attached documents:
• Sacramento_County_Adult_Correctional_Health_Operational_Assessment_and_Medical_Training,_Policy_Review,_and_Technical_Oversight_Independent_Consultant.pdf
• A - Exhibit A Proposal Certification of Intent to Meet RFQ Requirements
• B - Exhibit B Insurance Requirements
• C - Exhibit C County of Sacramento Contractor Certification of Compliance with Child, Family and Spousal_Support
• D - Exhibit D Certification Regarding Debarment and Suspension
• E - Exhibit E Budget Template and Justification
• F - Attachment 1 Mays Proposed Consent Decree
• G - Attachment 2 1st Memorandum of Agreement to Mays
• H - Attachment 3 2nd Memorandum of Agreement to Mays
• I - Attachment 4 Sample Agreement Boilerplate
• J - Attachment 5 Additional Provisions