The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, through the State Procurement Services Division, has opened a revised competitive procurement for development and implementation of one certified Systemic, Therapeutic, Assessment, Resources, and Treatment (START) Program and START Resource Center.
Opportunity: SYSTEMIC, THERAPEUTIC, ASSESSMENT, RESOURCES, AND TREATMENT (START) PROGRAM AND START RESOURCE CENTER, DPHHS-RFP-2027-0699NAV.
Schedule: the RFP opened September 8, 2026 at 2:00 PM MDT and proposals close October 21, 2026 at 2:00 PM MDT. Questions and requests for clarification must be submitted through the eMACS Q&A Board by the event’s published question deadline; the current event materials identify September 30, 2026 at 2:00 PM MDT as that cutoff.
Program purpose: Montana DPHHS states that its Behavioral Health System for Future Generations work will create a certified START resource center and clinical team to provide technical assistance and crisis response to existing 0208 Comprehensive Waiver providers serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and complex behavioral or medical needs. DPHHS’ September 2026 implementation update says the revised clinical-services RFP is intended to secure a provider to hire clinical and therapeutic coaching teams and begin START certification.
Funding / value: offerors must submit an itemized annual project budget with narrative justification. DPHHS states that it expects the awarded contract amount will not exceed $1,350,000 annually. This is a services procurement, not an applicant grant; no applicant match or cost-share requirement is identified in the current public event export.
Mandatory response components: offerors must complete and upload the Business Information document, thoroughly address the Scope of Services, complete the Cost Proposal, and thoroughly address the Offeror Qualifications. Failure of any mandatory requirement removes the proposal from further consideration. Contract exceptions must use the State’s prescribed template and be submitted by the applicable deadline. Confidential/proprietary claims require the Trade Secret Affidavit and a redacted response.
Federal and vendor requirements: federal funds are involved. The awarded contractor must have an active Unique Entity ID and SAM.gov registration and complete the required NDAA Section 889 certification. The event also requires review of state and federal terms, IT terms, insurance, Montana prevailing-wage requirements where applicable, Secretary of State registration requirements, debarment requirements, and Montana eMACS vendor registration. Responses are submitted electronically through Montana eMACS/JAGGAER. Patrick Navarro, Patrick.Navarro@mt.gov, is the listed procurement contact; solicitation questions must be routed through the eMACS Q&A process.
Other required disclosures: the event includes Montana’s firearms-entity nondiscrimination certification or an applicability statement, an artificial-intelligence disclosure with human subject-matter-expert validation of AI-generated proposal content, and a required response regarding pre-existing partnerships. The current public export shows no amendment or addendum changing the October 21 deadline.
Eligible respondent profile: the controlling public event does not limit respondents to Montana entities, but the successful offeror must be able to satisfy the full mandatory Scope of Services and Offeror Qualifications and implement the certified START clinical and resource-center model. The public export does not expose the substantive attached Scope of Services or Offeror Qualifications, so any prospective respondent must retrieve and review those controlling documents in eMACS before deciding to bid.
Atlas Opportunity Score: 92/100. This is a newly reissued statewide Montana behavioral-health and developmental-disability procurement with a defined $1.35 million annual expected ceiling, a six-week response window, federal funding requirements, and direct alignment with a funded DPHHS system-transformation priority.
N9+ Fit: 12/100. Nonagon N9+ could be conceptually relevant only as an ancillary remote physical-examination, vitals, or telehealth-enabled tool within a broader clinical model if the controlling Scope of Services expressly permits and supports that use. The public event does not establish technology procurement, remote examination, or N9+ as an allowable or required component, so Atlas is not forcing fit.
QC Healthcare / other Dr. Miltie fit: 5/100 on currently verified information. The procurement is centered on certified START implementation, IDD/behavioral-health crisis response, and clinical/therapeutic coaching capacity. Atlas has not verified that QC Healthcare or Dr. Miltie possesses the required START program qualifications, workforce, regional crisis-response relationships, or other mandatory credentials.
Dr. Miltie direct-prime determination: No Bid / 0/100 on the currently verified record. Dr. Miltie, LLC should not represent itself as qualified to prime this procurement without independently verified START-specific qualifications and the complete eMACS scope. A limited technology subcontract or partner role should be considered only if a qualified prime identifies a lawful need and the controlling documents support it.
Controlling source: Montana Acquisition & Contracting System (eMACS), solicitation DPHHS-RFP-2027-0699NAV. Program context is also confirmed by Montana DPHHS’ Behavioral Health System for Future Generations implementation update.