Opportunity Overview
Open now. Tompkins County Whole Health and the Tompkins County Legislature are seeking proposals for Utilization of Tompkins County JUUL Settlement Funds for Youth Vaping Prevention, Cessation and Treatment Initiatives, RFP JW-0000000135-RFP, cross-listed in the New York State Contract Reporter as CR 2138832.
The County is seeking a broad range of proposers, including nonprofit, for-profit, academic, healthcare and community-based organizations, for work that solely serves Tompkins County. The current RFP package states that Tompkins County received $473,932 in JUUL settlement funding through 2030 and that $75,000 is available through this RFP.
Deadline and Procurement Controls
The RFP package states that questions are due September 30, 2026 at 5:00 PM and proposals are due October 7, 2026 at 2:00 PM. NYSCR independently confirms the October 7 due date and explicitly labels the question cutoff as 5:00 PM ET. The RFP copy and public legal notice reviewed by Atlas do not expressly state a timezone for the 2:00 PM proposal deadline, so Atlas does not invent one. Bidders should verify the portal clock directly in BidNet Direct before submission.
The contract term is expected to run November 13, 2026 through December 31, 2027, with two optional one-year extensions by written mutual consent. An anticipated award date of November 6, 2026 appears in the RFP package.
Eligible Uses
Proposals must address at least one approved use: preventing youth and young adults from initiating vaping; community-, school-, college- or university-based anti-vaping programming; helping people quit vaping; enforcement of vaping laws and regulations; safe disposal of vaping products and related waste; or research and surveillance.
Examples in the RFP include digital/public-education campaigns, peer-led prevention, school/college Screening and Brief Intervention programs, outreach workers and school-health training, web-based educational resources, text-based cessation support, health-expert partnerships, enforcement activity, proper disposal of devices/batteries/liquids, and evaluation or epidemiological surveillance.
Eligibility and Fit
The RFP states that the County is seeking proposals from a broad range of entities, including nonprofits, for-profits, academic and healthcare institutions, and community-based organizations. Proposals must serve Tompkins County and must demonstrate the ability to deliver the proposed approved-use activity. Healthcare service providers are additionally required to certify that the proposer and relevant employees, directors, officers and subcontractors are not excluded individuals or entities.
No mandatory applicant match or cost-share requirement was identified in the 31-page RFP copy reviewed by Atlas. Because the Procurement Portal is expressly designated as the only official source for complete and updated RFP documents, proposers must recheck the live BidNet package and all addenda before relying on this point.
Submission and Required Materials
Responses and required documents must be submitted through the Tompkins County Procurement Portal, which routes to BidNet Direct. Proposers must use the complete official RFP set, answer all questions, complete all sections and attachments, submit all forms requiring signatures, and ensure the response is in Submitted status before the deadline. The RFP states that proposals over 30 total pages, incomplete forms, or late submissions may be excluded.
The package includes or requires, as applicable, the proposal response materials, signed Non-Collusive Bidding Certificate, anti-discrimination certification/terms, sexual-harassment certification, Tompkins County Livable Wage Attestation, vendor responsibility questionnaire, business demographic survey, insurance documentation/certificates, and any required debarment, lobbying and drug-free-workplace certifications. A proposer taking exceptions must identify and explain deviations separately. Addenda must be checked and acknowledged as required.
Contacts and Amendments
The RFP directs procurement questions and submission-access issues to the Tompkins County Purchasing Division at purchase@tompkins-co.org or (607) 274-5500, 125 East Court Street, Ithaca, NY 14850. The current BidNet-derived public listing also identifies Purchasing Manager Joyce Woodrome at jwoodrome@tompkins-co.org and (607) 274-5501. Formal specification questions must be posted through the BidNet Direct Q&A tab by September 30 at 5:00 PM.
The RFP states that all addenda are posted through the Procurement Portal and must be checked and acknowledged as required. No separate addendum was surfaced in Atlas’s accessible-source search as of September 11, 2026; bidders must still recheck the live portal immediately before submission because the portal is the controlling source.
Evaluation
The RFP scores organizational history/relevant experience, implementation capacity, program description and feasibility, alignment with approved uses, budget/value/cost and sustainability, and evaluation/reporting. The program-description/feasibility factor receives the largest stated weighting, followed by budget/value/cost/sustainability.
Insurance and Compliance
The package requires workers’ compensation and New York disability coverage or allowable exemption documentation, employers’ liability, commercial general liability, umbrella and business-auto coverage at the stated County limits. Proof of insurance is required before work begins and the package states that certificates are to be submitted with the RFP, bid and/or signed agreement. The County’s living-wage policy is not a mandatory wage floor for all covered employees, but payment of the stated living wage is highly encouraged and is an evaluation consideration.
Realistic Applicant Classes
Strong applicant profiles include organizations already delivering tobacco-control, youth-health, school-health, behavioral-health, cessation, youth-development, community education or public-health evaluation work in Tompkins County. Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County is a plausible youth-programming candidate because it operates county-based 4-H and youth-development programs; regional tobacco-control organizations serving Tompkins County and qualified school, healthcare, behavioral-health and academic organizations are also realistic candidates. Individual eligibility and organizational fit still require verification against the live portal package before outreach.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 91/100. This is a well-defined, locally actionable public-health and education opportunity with broad applicant eligibility, a concrete $75,000 funding pool, multiple allowable intervention models and enough runway for qualified organizations to prepare.
N9+ Fit Score: 0/100. The solicitation is focused on vaping prevention, cessation, enforcement, education and research rather than connected physical-exam technology. No N9+ fit is forced.
QC Healthcare / Dr. Miltie Direct-Vendor Fit: 10/100, conditional. For-profit and healthcare entities are not categorically excluded, but Atlas has not verified a Dr. Miltie/QC program capability that independently satisfies the solicitation’s tobacco-control or youth-vaping scope. No direct submission should be advanced without a specific compliant program model and current portal qualification review.
Source and Verification Status
Controlling source: Tompkins County Procurement Portal / BidNet Direct. NYSCR CR 2138832 independently verifies the issuer, open status, issue date and October 7 due date. Atlas reviewed a current copy of the 31-page County RFP package and the public legal notice, but the RFP itself warns that only the Procurement Portal carries the complete official set and addenda.
Tompkins County Purchasing Division / Open Solicitations | NYS Contract Reporter search for CR 2138832 | New York Attorney General JUUL Settlement