Primary Substance Use Prevention Initiatives Service

The Marin County Department of Health and Human Services in San Rafael, California is seeking a vendor to provide primary substance use prevention initiatives. The agency aims to reduce past thirty-day use of alcohol, prescription drugs, and marijuana, as well as reduce heavy or binge drinking among youth. The initiative also seeks to delay the age of onset of substance use, change perceptions of harm, and reduce negative consequences such as overdoses, emergency room visits, and school impacts. The scope of work covers parent, caregiver, and community norms, alongside community and environmental prevention strategies. The selected vendor must increase caregiver knowledge of risks, improve parent-youth communication, strengthen community disapproval of youth substance use, and build adult capacity to support healthy youth decisions. Additionally, the project requires the adoption, strengthening, or enforcement of at least one policy or environmental strategy, measurable shifts in public awareness, increased coalition capacity, and reduced youth access to substances. Eligible bidders must be onshore organizations based in the United States. The agency requires the performance of all work to be completed offsite. The agency has not disclosed a specific budget and is looking for proposals to define the cost. The agency will hold a pre-bid meeting on July 1, 2026. Bidders must submit all questions regarding this opportunity no later than July 6, 2026. The evaluation criteria will be based on the submitted proposals, though specific scoring metrics are not detailed in the initial announcement.