Project Information

Bid Title

2026-021 RFP Kitsap County Homelessness Assistance

Issuing Agency

Kitsap County

Location

Washington

Published Date

May 7, 2026

Closing Date

Jun 3, 2026

Government Level

State & Local

Status

Closed

Ref. #

2026-021

Original Source

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Project Description

2026-021 RFP Kitsap County Homelessness Assistance Closes 06/03/2026 @2:00 PM

​ 2026-021 RFP Kitsap County Honelessness Assistance

2026-021 Legal Ad ​

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Request for Proposals

2026-021

Kitsap CHG Homelessness Assistance

Proposal Deadline: June 03, 2026

Release Date

05/07/2026

Issuing Agency

This Request for Proposals (RFP) is issued by the Kitsap County Department of Human Services, herein

after referred to as “the County.”

Summary

Kitsap County is seeking qualified applicants to operate a homelessness assistance program, consisting

of a hotel/motel voucher program, as detailed below.

July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027

Budget

Funding for this contract shall come from the Consolidated Homeless Grant Program (CHG). Responses

to this RFP should include a specific annual program budget, including CHG Hotel/Motel Voucher

Program, CHG Program Operations, and CHG Administration. Anticipated funds available are $400,000

for the CHG hotel/motel voucher programs.

Timeline

05/04/2026 - 05/18/2026

05/25/2026 (2:00 PM PDT)

05/27/2026 (2:00 PM PDT)

05/22/2026

06/03/2026 (2:00 PM PDT)

06/03/2026 - 06/07/2026

06/07/2026

06/07/2026 - 06/30/26

07/01/2026

RFP issued & advertised

Letters of intent due

Questions due

Addendum posted (if questions received)

Proposals due

Proposal review & selection process

Announcement of winning proposal

Contracting process

Contract begins

Solicited Services

Management of Kitsap’s Consolidated Homeless Grant-funded hotel/motel voucher program, a form of

homelessness assistance program.

Funding for CHG homelessness assistance is provided through Washington State, administered by the

Department of Commerce, and granted to the Kitsap County Department of Human Services. The

Department of Human Services sub-contracts CHG funding that is designated for homelessness

assistance to a community-based organization through this RFP process.

Program Goals

The hotel/motel voucher program provides short-term, temporary shelter (lodging) for those

experiencing homelessness. The overall goal of the Hotel Voucher program funds is to reduce

homelessness through providing safe temporary housing as a stepping-stone to stable permanent

housing. This program is intended to be a supplement or substitute for emergency shelter beds. The

program is intended to include intensive housing stability case management, permanent housing

location assistance, system navigation assistance, evaluation of needs, connection with resources,

relationship-building, and conflict resolution with hotel owners. All households must be entered into

HMIS and Coordinated Entry.

The Department of Commerce determines eligible uses of funds and specific policies and procedures for

CHG programs, which are listed in the Guidelines for the Consolidated Homeless Grant and are updated

periodically.

Scope of Work

The following allowable uses of funds outline the elements of the scope of work, including specific

requirements. Additional details can be found in the Department of Commerce’s Guidelines for the

Consolidated Homeless Grant.

Hotel/Motel Voucher Program

Operate the Hotel Voucher Program, including providing hotel vouchers and intensive case management

for eligible households, working with these households to develop and carry out Housing Stability Plans.

Components of this program should include:

• Development and/or expansion of a hotel voucher program, wherein arrangements would be

made in advance with various hotels to accept vouchers or some sort of payment agreement in

exchange for providing rooms at a reasonable rate for households participating in this program.

• Ideally the program would include agreements with multiple hotel owners/operators throughout

Kitsap County to develop short-term temporary beds available as needed in different geographic

areas of the county.

• Building relationships with hotel owners to engage them in this program and to resolve potential

conflicts with program households as they arise.

• This program should work to coordinate with other funding sources that could provide additional

and/or future assistance for households enrolled in the hotel voucher program.

• Vouchers should be negotiated for fixed time increments, such as a week or a month.

• Households should be referred for a specific length of time for the voucher.

These hotel vouchers should be prioritized for households who are currently unsheltered and

moving inside.

• Intensive case management support should be provided for program households to make the

adjustment from living outside to living in a temporary hotel room situation.

• Case management should include working with households to identify needs, resources,

opportunities, and next steps through development of a Housing Stability Plan.

• Case management support should include housing location assistance for households' next

housing situation (after the hotel voucher), connection with resources and benefits, referrals for

behavioral health resources, and conflict resolution with hotel owners/operators.

Administration

Up to 15 percent of CHG Program costs over the course of the grant period may be used for

administration. This limit must be reconciled before the end of the grant period.

Allowable administrative costs benefit the organization as a whole and cannot be attributed specifically

to a particular program or to the homeless crisis response system. Administrative costs may include the

same types of expenses that are listed in program operations (such as IT staff and office supplies), in the

case that these costs are benefiting the agency as a whole and are not attributed to a particular program

or the homeless system. Administrative costs may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Executive director salary and benefits

• General organization insurance

• Organization wide audits

• Board expenses

• Organization-wide membership fees and dues

• Washington State Quality Award (WSQA) expenses

• General agency facilities costs (including those associated with executive positions) such as rent,

depreciation expenses, and operations and maintenance.

All amounts billed to administration must be supported by actual costs. If actual costs in the contract

period meet the budget cap, that amount may be charged in equal monthly amounts.

• Billed directly such as IT services that are billed by the hour.

• Shared costs that are allocated directly by means of a cost allocation plan.

• Costs related to executive personnel such that a direct relationship between the cost and the

benefit cannot be established must be charged indirectly by use of an indirect cost rate which

has been appropriately negotiated with an approved cognizant agency or by use of the 15

percent de minimus rate.

Evaluation

The CHG Homelessness Assistance Program should be considered a “work in progress,” with frequent

internal evaluations to make necessary adjustments to ensure the efficacy of the programs. In addition,

periodic “check ins” with partner agencies should be used to ensure that those partnerships support the

efficacy of the program and that it is working for all parties.

• Implement program evaluation tools to measure client satisfaction and program effectiveness.

• Submit quarterly reports to Kitsap County. Provide additional reports and data as requested by

Kitsap County.

• Annual on-site monitoring and evaluation by the County.

• Periodic monitoring and evaluation by the Washington State Department of Commerce.

Expectations of Contractor

• Flexibility – these programs are works in progress. Policies, procedures, and tools will need to be

adjusted and refined over time.

• Collaborative Approach – the provider(s) must have the ability to build and maintain strong and

effective working partnerships homeless service providers, housing providers, and landlords.

• Communication – staff must have the ability to communicate how the system works to people

experiencing homelessness, service providers, and the public.

• Objectivity – successful operation of the program requires that the provider use consistency and

fairness in applying all policies and procedures and use of tools.

• Problem Solving – the program provider must embrace a problem-solving approach to ending

homelessness. To be effective, the provider must employ staff who are skilled at problem-solving

and understand how to adopt a strengths-based and client-centered approach to all aspects of

service delivery.

• Housing First – the organizational mission and philosophy of the provider must be aligned with

Housing First principles: everyone is housing ready and there should be minimal barriers or service

participation requirements imposed on homeless people as a condition of entering housing.

• Low Barrier - Low barrier projects have realistic and clear expectations. Rules and policies are

narrowly focused on maintaining a safe environment and avoiding exits to homelessness. Low

barrier projects do not have work or volunteer requirements. The Consolidated Homeless Grant

(CHG) guidelines include a definition of low barrier programs as it relates to this program.

• Voluntary Services - Programs must not terminate or deny services to households based on refusal

to participate in supportive services. Supportive services are helping or educational resources that

include support groups, mental health services, alcohol and substance abuse services, life skills or

independent living skills services, vocational services, and social activities.

• Progressive Engagement - Whenever possible, households experiencing a housing crisis should be

diverted from entering homeless housing programs through problem-solving conversations, linkages

to mainstream and natural supports, and/or flexible, and light-touch financial assistance. Initial

assessment and services should address the immediate housing crisis with the minimal services

needed, and frequent re-assessment determines the need for additional services. Services are

individualized and responsive to the needs of each household.

• Systems Thinking – the Program is an essential component of the County’s homeless response

system. To successfully operate the Program, the selected provider must embrace a systems-

thinking approach.

• Data-informed – the data collected will be used for ongoing and continuous system improvement.

The provider must have strong commitment to data quality and a willingness to make data-informed

decisions.

Performance Measurement

The following outcomes/outputs will be used to assess the performance of the CHG Homelessness

Assistance Program:

• Emergency Shelter (ES) – the goal is to increase exits to permanent housing, with a target of 50%

exiting to a permanent housing destination.

• All Interventions – Equitable outcomes across racial and ethnic demographics should not be

significantly less than the overall rate.

• All interventions – Provide complete, accurate, and timely entry of participant data.

Additional performance measures may be added, or the above performance measures may be modified,

with agreement between the County and the Program provider.

Evaluation of Proposals

Letter of Intent

In order to be an applicant for this RFP, the applicant must submit a Letter of Intent no later than 3:00

PM 05/19/2026, using the instructions below, stating the intention to submit a proposal in response to

this Request for Proposals. The Letter of Intent must be accompanied by a summary of the applicant’s

experience in providing the types of services outlined in this Request for Proposals.

If only one qualified applicant submits a Letter of Intent, Kitsap County reserves the right to substitute

the bid proposal and review process with a sole-source contract process. In this event, the sole bidder

will be contacted to initiate the sole-source contract process.

Proposal Information

Proposals should include:

1) Introductory Letter including the organization name, address, contact person, email, and reason your

organization should be selected for this work.

2) Statement of qualification, including:

• Organizational experience and workload – include a detailed description of similar programs

successfully undertaken and implemented.

• Program supervisory personnel experience.

3) Project Approach: A written description (2 - 4 page narrative) of your approach to designing,

implementing and operating this program. Proposals should respond with specific details about

how each of the listed elements of the CHG Homelessness Assistance Program will be addressed.

Include information about:

• program philosophy and methodology;

• program management;

• staffing levels, including job descriptions of personnel planned for the programs;

• anticipated partnerships with other Kitsap agencies;

• data collection methods;

• and program evaluation methods.

4) Program Implementation and Operation Timeline

5) Budget Proposal on an annualized basis, including CHG Homelessness Assistance Program

(hotel/motel voucher) operations costs, personnel costs, hotel assistance costs, and administration

costs.

6) References

7) Exhibit A Bidders Certification

Kitsap County encourages disadvantaged, minority, and women-led organizations to respond. Two (2)

copies of Proposal with the solicitation number and name clearly indicated must be submitted to:

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