Psychological Counselling Services - Prince George, Kelowna and Kamloops

Psychological Counselling Services at Prince George, Kelowna and Kamloops

This requirement is for: The Correctional Service of Canada, Prince George, Kelowna & Kamloops

Trade agreement: This procurement is not subject to any trade agreement.

Tendering procedures: All interested suppliers may submit a bid.

Competitive Procurement Strategy: Lowest priced compliant bid.

Set-aside under the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business: This procurement is not subject to any set-asides for Aboriginal Suppliers.

Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: This procurement is not subject to a Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement.

Security Requirements: This contract includes security requirements.

Nature of Requirements:

The following is a summary of the statement of work for this requirement.

The Correctional Service Canada has a requirement to provide psychological assessment and/or treatment services to offenders and collaborate with the interdisciplinary health services team that includes, but is not limited to nursing, psychology, social work, occupational therapy and other allied healthcare professionals. Collaboration with the case management team is also essential and in community sites, the treatment/supervision team also includes the Parole Officer Supervisor, Parole Officer, and the CSC staff psychologist and/or the Project Authority.

Objectives: Provide essential and non-essential mental health and/or psychological assessment or psychological risk assessment services to offenders, as requested by the Project Authority, at Prince George, Kelowna and Kamloops Community site(s) and at the Contractor's business location (professional office) as a psychologist in the Pacific Region.

Deliverables:

The Contractor must provide mental health services to offenders, as requested by the Project Authority, in accordance with the National Essential Health Services Framework including any amendment to this Framework issued by CSC during the contract period and any optional period if and when exercised by CSC. 

These services include, but are not limited to the following:

Participate in meetings as a consultant including case conferences, the Interdisciplinary Mental Health Team or the Correctional Intervention Board and other related activities as requested;

Participate in CSC training, including orientation to CSC and CSC’s risk assessment requirements as requested;

Provide consultation services for the resolution of CSC internal offender grievance and investigative processes as requested; and

Prepare and submit psychological assessment and other reports as requested by the Project Authority.

Mental Health Screening and Assessment:

The Contractor must provide all assessment services on-site at the location designated by the Project Authority or designate;

The Contractor must obtain prior approval from the Project Authority or designate for all work related to follow-up interventions with acute cases;

The Project Authority will provide the battery of tests to be administered to offenders.

The Contractor must:

• Administer, as per the national guidelines and if required, the screening battery to new federal offenders within 72 hours to 14 days of admission;
• Provide interpretation of the screening tests as per the tests' respective manuals;
• Conduct follow-up interviews with offenders if indicated by the results of the screening battery in order to clarify the offenders' mental health needs;
• Based on the results of the screening battery, make the appropriate referrals for follow-up mental health services;
• Make recommendations to the Project Authority or designate on offenders concerning their suitability for normal association, transfer, specialized mental health treatment, risk of harm to self or others, and suitability for treatment and/or rehabilitation training;
• Provide professional advice to the Project Authority or designate on precautionary measures concerning the well-being of offenders (i.e. suicidal precautions, increased supervision and the safety of treatment staff);
• Provide consultative and emergency services up to an average of three hours per month at the request of the Project Authority or designate;

The Contractor must provide a type written summary based on the interpretation of the results of the screening battery ;

The Contractor must provide a typewritten psychological assessment of an offender's mental health needs if indicated by the results of the screening battery;

The Contractor must provide typed reports on their clinical activities with the offenders to the CSC staff designated by the Project Authority. These reports must be available to CSC staff members according to the time frames established by the national guidelines for the screening battery;

The Project Authority or designate reserves the right to request the above noted reports prior to the time frames established by the national guidelines for the screening battery in case of emergencies.

Mental Health Counselling and/or Assessment Process in Community Sites

Upon receipt of a referral to perform an evaluation for treatment, the Contractor is authorized a maximum of three (3) billable hours for an assessment to determine the offender's suitability for treatment. This three hour maximum is to cover a file review, an assessment interview(s) with the offender, and the time required to prepare a brief Treatment Plan report specific to the individual offender.;

The Treatment Plan must include the following as a minimum:

Tombstone Data;

Relevant Background;

Offender Presentation;

 Current Mental Health Status;

Recommendations to Manage Risk for Self Harm (if applicable);

Current Treatment Objectives;

Longer Term Treatment Objectives;

Current Risk Status (static/dynamic/actuarial/risk to staff (if applicable)); and

Risk Management Recommendations.

The Contractor must respond to a routine referral within ten (10) working days; the Contractor must respond to an urgent referral within five (5) working days. The Project Authority will advise the contractor when a referral is urgent. If treatment is not appropriate, the Contractor must send a signed letter summarizing the assessment and briefly outlining the reasons why treatment is not appropriate. The Contractor must submit this signed letter no later than three (3) weeks after the first Evaluation for Treatment Session. This letter is billable up to a maximum of one (1) billable hour. 

Upon submission of a Treatment Plan, the Project Authority or designate will authorize Contractor to proceed with a maximum of up to eight (8) treatment sessions. After the eighth (8^th) session, the Contractor must submit an interim treatment report on the offender's status to communicate to the Case Management Team an updated evaluation of the offender's current emotional/behavioural status, including a brief assessment of risk to reoffend (outlining static and dynamic risk factors), and the offender's progress toward the current treatment objectives. The Contractor must submit interim treatment reports in writing after every eighth (8^th) session or every four (4) months, whichever is sooner;

Prior to the last authorized session (the 8^th session if eight sessions were authorized), the Contractor must contact the Project Authority and seek authorization for an additional eight (8) sessions, if applicable, when submitting the interim report. The Project Authority, Case Management and mental health staff (if available) will review submitted case documentation and make a decision whether to continue treatment on the basis of all input in consultation with the Project Authority. At the discretion of the Project Authority, the Contractor may attend via teleconference where feasible. Barring operational difficulties, if there is a supportive assessment and the Contractor believes it appropriate, the Project Authority may authorize further treatment. The decision to continue treatment will be based on clinical and risk factors, but the final decision remains with the Project Authority. Each subsequent block of eight (8) treatment sessions (maximum) will be preceded by mandatory contact from the Contractor notifying that the eight (8) sessions have been reached. Then a formal or informal case review will be carried out prior to further treatment authorization being given by the Project Authority or designate. To avoid disruption in service, the Project Authority or designate may provide treatment authorization via fax. Unauthorized treatment sessions will not be remunerated. 

These case reviews are billable at a maximum of one (1) billable hour;

At the Project Authority's or designate's request, the Contractor must provide feedback and consultation to the Parole Officer, Parole Officer Supervisor or the Mental Health Team via brief informal telephone contact, case review meetings, or individual case conferences.

Brief informal telephone contacts are not billable;

In addition to the Case Review, circumstances may demand that a case conference be held. The Project Authority will decide whether a formal or informal case conference will be held, and will advise the Contractor. A case conference may be held with or without the offender being present, as determined by the Case Management and Mental Health Teams, in consultation with the Contractor. A case conference will involve the Contractor, Parole Officer, Parole Officer Supervisor, Project Authority and/or the Mental Health team. Upon prior approval by the Project Authority, the Case Management Team will be responsible for scheduling the case conference. Formal case conferences will be billed at a maximum of one (1) billable hour. Informal case conferences, defined as those via brief telephone contact that are fifteen (15) minutes or less, are not billable; otherwise they are billable to a maximum of one (1) hour;

The Contractor must immediately notify by direct contact, by telephone or by fax, the CSC staff responsible for the offender (this can vary by region, but includes the Parole Officer, the Parole Officer Supervisor, the Project Authority, or the Chief Psychologist, if the Parole Officer cannot be reached) if the offender presents any indication of a breach of a condition of release, any violation of the law (such as the use of illicit drugs), or any increased risk to re-offend, to behave violently, or to engage in self-harm or suicidal behaviors. If immediate notification is made by telephone, the Contractor must follow up within twenty-four (24) hours by faxing written notification to the Parole Officer using the Psychological Counseling: Communication Form found in Attachment 1. This service is not billable.

Occasionally, the Project Authority or designate may request that the Contractor produce a special report (e.g., an updated assessment of risk or any new relevant information) for Case Management or Parole Board of Canada purposes. These reports should be based on an interview(s) with the offender, a file review, and consultation with CSC personnel regarding the offenders’ behaviour as requested. The specific tests used and/or administered by the Contractor must include the file based General Statistical Instrument in Recidivism - Revised (GSIR-R) (this is does not apply to Aboriginal and Women offenders), and upon request of the Project Authority at least one other clinician rated actuarial measure measuring risk and needs that has been shown to be reliable and valid for use with offender populations according to published work. The Contractor must also provide an estimate of dynamic risk in all special reports. When a clinician rated instrument and/or other psychometric instruments are used, these reports are billable to a maximum of four (4) billable hours. When no clinical rated instrument or other psychometric instruments are used and only GSIR-R is interpreted along with an estimate of dynamic risk, these reports are billable to a maximum of two (2) hours. Any testing/assessment not authorized in advance will not be remunerated. Unless pre-arranged with the Project Authority, these reports are due with four (4) weeks after the interview date of the offender. In some instances, reports maybe requested sooner from the contractor, but this will be done on mutual consent;

On termination of treatment (including, but not limited to formal discharge, transfer to another District, revocation, etc.) the Contractor must submit a Final Treatment Report within ten (10) working days after the offender is discharged. In the case of an offender completing their sentence, the Final Treatment Report must be submitted within five (5) working days prior to the Warrant Expiry Date. The Final Treatment Report is billable up to a maximum of one (1) billable hour;

Termination of treatment may occur at any time the Contractor deems that the offender is not benefiting from counseling. The Contractor may recommend discharging the offender after consulting with the Project Authority, Community Chief Psychologist, other delegated psychologist / Parole Officer Supervisor. Upon approval by the Project Authority or designate of the termination of treatment, the Contractor must complete a Final Treatment Report within two (2) weeks of the termination date;

Correctional Service Canada offenders undergo several batteries of vocational, educational, and psychological tests at various periods of their incarceration, and prior to being released into the community. The results of these tests are available to the Contractor. Given this, the Contractor may recommend additional testing to complete the Assessment for Treatment. The Project Authority must authorize any additional testing in writing before the Contractor proceeds. The Contractor must submit to a brief treatment rationale for the testing, list naming the tests to be administered, and the total cost preparing a vocational, educational, and/or other psychological assessment the Project Authority. Any testing/assessment not authorized in advance will not be remunerated. These reports will be billable as Special Reports and have a maximum of four (4) billable hours allowable in total and are due with four (4) weeks of referral unless otherwise requested and/or arranged with the Project Authority;

If an offender fails to attend a scheduled appointment without giving 24 hours notice, the Contractor must report the occurrence by fax or encrypted e-mail (see attachment 2 - Missed Appointment Form) within one (1) business day of the missed appointment. Should the offender display a pattern of cancelling more than one appointment, the Contractor must report this pattern to the Project Authority within five (5) days of the second rescheduled appointment. The Contractor can bill a fee of fifty (50) percent of a billable hour for the first missed appointment. For the second missed appointment, the Contractor can bill a fee of twenty-five (25) percent of a billable hour. The third missed appointment is not billable. The Contractor must notify the Project Authority of the missed appointment(s) within one (1) business day in order to request any compensation for missed appointments.

The Contractor must maintain individualized attendance sheets (see attachment 2 - Psychological Counseling - Offender Attendance Confirmation Sheet) for all of their cases. Invoices must be accompanied by signed attendance sheets.

Term of Contract:

Period of the Contract: The Work is to be performed during the period of April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 with the option to renew for three (3) additional one-year periods.

File Number: 21801-21-0015

Contracting Authority: Elise Salter

Telephone number: 604-870-2603

Facsimile number: 604-870-2444

E-mail: Elise.Salter@csc-scc.gc.ca

NOTE TO BIDDERS: Bidders can obtain the complete statement of work and evaluation criteria by downloading the solicitation document and associated documents from Buyandsell.gc.ca/tenders.

The Crown reserves the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada (English or French).

Given the nature of the requirements, proposals submitted by such means as facsimile or electronic mail will not be accepted.

After contract award, bidders may request a debriefing on the results of the bid solicitation process. Bidders should make the request to the Contracting Authority within fifteen (15) working days of receipt of the results of the bid solicitation process. The debriefing may be in writing, by telephone or in person.

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