Project Information

Bid Title

Amendment 1 to?RFP JUV-27-CB-06-001 STEP Intervention Services

Issuing Agency

Iowa Judicial Branch

Location

Iowa

Published Date

Apr 24, 2026

Closing Date

May 15, 2026

Government Level

State & Local

Status

Closed

Original Source

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Project Description

Amendment 1 to RFP JUV-27-CB-06-001 . Posted 4/24/26.

Attachment Preview

Iowa Judicial Branch

1111 East Court Avenue | Des Moines, IA 50319

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

RFP COVER SHEET

Administrative Information:

Title of RFP:

Agency:

STEP Intervention Services

AMD 1

Iowa Judicial Branch (IJB or Agency)

RFP Number: JUV-27-CB-06-001

Number of years of the 1 year

initial terms of the

Contract:

Number of possible

annual renewals:

5 additional 1-year

terms exercisable

by the IJB in its sole

discretion

Anticipated Initial

Contract Term Beginning:

July 1, 2026

Anticipated Maximum Annual Contract Budget:

Ending: June 30, 2027

$600,000

Issuing Officer:

Mary Loops

Mary.Loops@IowaCourts.Gov

211 8th Ave. SW

Cedar Rapids, IA 52404

PROCUREMENT TIMETABLE—Event or Action:

Agency Posts Notice of RFP on TSB website

Date/Time(Central time):

April 1, 2026

Agency Issues RFP

April 3, 2026

Letters of Intent to Bid

April 13, 2026 3:00 p.m.

RFP written questions, requests for clarification, and suggested changes from

Respondents due:

The IJB’s written response to RFP questions, requests for clarifications and

suggested changes due: (will be available on bidding website)

Proposals Due Date:

Proposals Due Time:

April 17, 2026 3:00 p.m.

April 24, 2026

May 15, 2026

3:00 p.m.

Anticipated Date to issue Notice of Intent to Award:

May 29, 2026

Anticipated Date to execute Contract:

July 1, 2026

RFP# JUV-27-CB-06-001

AMD 1

Relevant Websites:

Web-address:

Internet website where Addenda to https://www.iowacourts.gov/for-the-public/rfp/

this RFP will be posted:

https://bidopportunities.iowa.gov/

Internet website where General

Terms for Juvenile Court Services

(JCS) Services Contracts are located:

https://www.iowacourts.gov/static/media/cms/General_Terms_fo

r_JCS_Services_Cont_1257FB3D72AAA.pdf

Electronic Copies of Proposals Required to be Submitted to Issuing Officer.

Firm Proposal Terms

120 Days

Per Section 3.2.11, of the RFP the minimum Number of Days following the

deadline for submitting proposals that the Respondent guarantees all proposal

terms, including price, will remain firm:

Iowa Judicial Branch

JCS Update 3/30/26

Page 2 of 50

1 INTRODUCTION

RFP# JUV-27-CB-06-001

AMD 1

1.1 PURPOSE

The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to solicit proposals from Responsible Respondents to

provide the goods and/or services identified on the RFP cover sheet and further described in Section 4 of

this RFP to the IJB, as identified on the RFP cover sheet. The IJB intends to award a Contract(s) beginning

and ending on the dates listed on the RFP cover sheet, and the IJB, in its sole discretion, may extend the

Contract(s) for up to the number of annual extensions identified on the RFP cover sheet.

1.2 DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this RFP and the resulting Contract, the following terms are defined.

“Agency” means the agency identified on the RFP cover sheet that is issuing the RFP.

“Bid Proposal” or “Proposal” means Respondent’s proposal submitted in response to the RFP.

“Contract” means the Contract(s) entered into with Respondent(s) as described in section 6.

“Contractor” means the awarded business/person to provide the contractual services agreed upon.

“General Terms” and “General Terms and Conditions” shall mean the General Terms for Juvenile Court

Services service contracts as linked on the RFP cover page.

“IJB” shall mean the Iowa Judicial Branch.

“Invoice” means a Contractor’s claim for payment. At the IJB’s discretion, claims must be submitted on

an original invoice from the Contractor and on a claim form accepted by the IJB, such as a General

Accounting Expenditure (GAX) form.

“Juvenile Court Officer” or “JCO” means a person appointed as a juvenile court officer under section

602.7202 of the Iowa Code and also includes a chief juvenile court officer appointed under section

602.1217 of the Iowa Code.

“Juvenile Court Services” or “JCS”, for the purposes of this RFP, means a unit of the Iowa Judicial Branch

in which juveniles adjudicated by the Iowa Juvenile Court as delinquent and youth at risk of entering the

court system receive services as directed by the Chief Juvenile Court Officer or designee.

“Respondent” means the company, organization or other business entity submitting a proposal in

response to this RFP.

“Responsible Respondent” means a Respondent that has the capability, as determined in the sole

discretion of the IJB, in all material respects to perform the scope of work and specifications of the

Contract. In determining whether a Respondent is a Responsible Respondent, the IJB may consider various

factors including, but not limited to, the Respondent’s competence and qualifications to provide the goods

or services requested, the Respondent’s integrity and reliability, the past performance of the Respondent

and the best interest of the IJB and the State.

Iowa Judicial Branch

JCS Update 3/30/26

Page 3 of 50

RFP# JUV-27-CB-06-001

AMD 1

“Responsive Proposal” means a Proposal that complies, in the sole discretion of the IJB, with the material

provisions of this RFP.

“RFP” means this Request for Proposals and any attachments, exhibits, schedules or addenda hereto.

“State” means the State of Iowa, the IJB, and all state agencies, boards, and commissions, and any political

subdivisions making purchases from the Contract as permitted by this RFP.

“Vendor” means anyone who provides goods or services to another entity.

1.2.1 Additional Definitions specific to this RFP:

“Carey Guides” refers to a set of evidence-based cognitive -behavior tools developed by The Carey Group

to help probation officers work with individuals in the justice system. These guides are designed to be

practical, concise and rooted in research to support probation officers in addressing risk factors, building

skills and promoting long-term positive change for clients.

“Carey Guides BITS” means Brief Intervention Tools by the Carey Group which are short one page,

evidence-based cognitive-behavioral worksheets. They serve as quick, structured interventions to help

clients build skills, address criminogenic needs and avoid relapse, often supplementing the Carey Guides.

“Case Plan” refers to the document prepared by the referring JCO detailing Youth’s identified

criminogenic risk factors and select interventions intended to address risk factors.

“Circumstances Response Form” refers to a document completed by the referring JCO outlining

appropriate responses to further delinquencies and resulting notifications to significant behavioral events.

See also Attachment 8.

“Crisis Plan” refers to the document created by STEP Facilitators outlining responses to critical situations

in an effort to ensure safety and stability. See also Attachment 6.

“Crisis Supports” refers to immediate, short-term help for overwhelming emotional distress, mental

health emergencies, or client or parental support disruptions within the household.

“Discharge Plan” refers to a summary of service noting all Deliverables that were attempted, met as

outlined in the service Contract.

“EPICS-I or EPICS-Influencer” refers to an extension of the Effective Practices in Community Supervision

(EPICS) Model, an approach that teaches community supervision staff how to apply the core principles

of effective intervention to community supervision. The goal of EPICS-I is to identify prosocial support

(an “Influencer”) in an individual’s life, teach those Influencers core skills used within the EPICS-I model

to identify risky situations and practice these skills with their individual to help successfully manage

these challenges.

“Formal Youth” refers to Youth under the supervision of JCS via formal court proceedings.

“Informal Youth” refers to Youth under the supervision of JCS via informal adjustment agreement.

Iowa Judicial Branch

JCS Update 3/30/26

Page 4 of 50

RFP# JUV-27-CB-06-001

AMD 1

“Level Contract” refers to the agreement that the Youth, referring JCO, and STEP Facilitators review

together, outlining the details and frequency of service. See also Attachment 5.

“Motivational Interviewing” refers to an evidence-based approach to behavior change. It is designed to

help people find the motivation to make a positive behavior change. The client-centered approach is a

guiding style of communication with can empower people to change by drawing out their own meaning,

importance, and capacity for change.

“Referral” means the document provided to the Respondent to initiate services.

“STEP Intervention Services”, or “STEP” refers to a sequence of intervention events set forth by the

Respondent’s Facilitators – identified as Say the problem, Think of solutions, Explore consequences, and

Pick the best solution.

“STEP Facilitator(s)” or “Facilitator(s)” refer to the Respondent’s staff.

“Youth” refers to individuals ranging in age from 12-18 who are served by JCS.

“Youth Centered Goals” refers to individualized goals that prioritize the young person’s choices,

strengths, and desired outcomes.

“Unsuccessful” refers to the instance when a Youth is charged with an aggravated misdemeanor or

felony offense and is moved to a higher level of care throughout the life of the services.

1.3 OVERVIEW OF THE RFP PROCESS

The RFP process is for the IJB’s benefit and is intended to provide the IJB with competitive information to

assist in the selection process. It is not intended to be comprehensive. Each Respondent is responsible for

determining all factors necessary for submission of a comprehensive Proposal.

Respondent should review Attachment 3, Form 22 Request for Confidentiality, for more information if its

Proposal contains confidential information. Any Proposal marked “Confidential” or “Proprietary” on every

page may be disqualified.

Respondents will be required to submit their Proposals electronically via email to the Issuing Officer.

1.4 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Early intervention and follow-up programs/graduated sanctions services are services to be provided to

children adjudicated delinquent and children who have been referred to Juvenile Court Services for a

delinquency violation or who have exhibited behaviors that put them at risk of a juvenile delinquency

referral. The services are directed to enhance personal adjustment to help the children transition into

productive adulthood and to prevent or reduce delinquent acts, out-of-home placement, and recidivism.

Juvenile Court Services (JCS) within the Sixth Judicial District (D6) is seeking one or more vendors

to provide “STEP” Intervention Services throughout all of JCS D6, which includes the counties of

Benton, Iowa, Linn, Jones, Johnson, and Tama. “STEP” refers to a sequence of intervention events

Iowa Judicial Branch

JCS Update 3/30/26

Page 5 of 50

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