UPDATE: CSS is postponing our announcement of the award from 11/17/25 to 11/24/25.  Thank you for your patience.

The Community Service Society of New York (CSS) invites non-profit community-based organizations (CBOs) to participate in this Request for Proposals (RFP) for one new subcontractor to provide Independent Consumer Advocacy Network (ICAN) services in New York City. CSS particularly seeks an organization with established connections to communities in NYC whose preferred language is Spanish, Chinese, or Haitian Creole; and/or communities in the Bronx and upper Manhattan.

ICAN helps New Yorkers who need long-term care services navigate the Medicaid managed care system. Covered Programs consist of: Managed Long-Term Care plans (MLTC); Medicaid Advantage Plus (MAP) plans; Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE); Health and Recovery Plans (HARPs); and beneficiaries of Long-Term Support Services (LTSS) in Mainstream Managed Care (MMC) plans.

The contract period will start as soon as possible upon selection of a winning applicant, no earlier than December 1, 2025, and will end April 30, 2026. The maximum annual grant award under this RFP is $180,000 with an initial award to be pro-rated based on the contract’s actual start date, up to $75,000.

Applications will be due on November 3, 2025 with an anticipated start date of December 1, 2025. More detail on RFP timeline is provided below.

Important Dates

ICAN 2025 NYC RFP

Questions and Answers

CSS received the following questions from potential applicants.  Our answers follow below:

Is having office space in NYC an eligibility requirement? Will Home visits and virtual meetings suffice? 

The CBO does not necessarily need to have a designated office space in the five boroughs of NYC; however, there must be a public facing location in which ICAN consumers can meet privately with counselors in person.  This may be a location in which you have a space use agreement with another organization/entity.    

In addition, a preference will be given to CBOs that are embedded in one of the communities where we seek to expand our  services.  Successful applicants will be able to demonstrate deep connections to consumers and potential referral sources within the geographic and demographic communities targeted by this RFP. 

Generally, regular communication with consumers will be held over phone/email.   

There is also a requirement that the sub-contractor must be able to meet clients in their homes if requested and appropriate.   

If awarded a contract, is the applicant granted access to CSS’s Salesforce account, or will they be required to have their own subscription? 

ICAN staff who are providing direct services to consumers, and their supervisors will be granted Salesforce accounts through CSS.  There is no cost associated with these accounts for subcontractors, and they do not need to be considered in your budget.  

Are the ICAN coordinator program meetings online or in person?  

Monthly ICAN Network meetings are held remotely via Microsoft Teams. At least 1 person from each agency is required to attend each month.  Preferably all staff providing ICAN education or consumer advocacy services should attend these calls.  

Should applicants provide a line-item budget for the 5-month project period, in addition to the 12-month term, and whether the budget narrative should cover both the 5-month term and the subsequent 12-month term. 

Propose a grant amount for the 5-month contract period. Provide a 12-month budget & narrative for each line.   

The 12-month budget will be prorated for the 5 months of the proposed contract period of 12/1/25 – 4/30/26.  

Our organization contracts with managed care companies to provide home care services, and our Chief Operating Officer chairs the Board of Directors of the Home Care Association which includes managed care entities. We do not provide health care, but we do provide home care.  

CSS’s contract with NYS Department of Health stipulates that all subcontractors must meet the same eligibility criteria as CSS did pursuant to the state’s Request For Applications reprocuring the ICAN program in 2024, which include the following: 

• Applicants must not have a personal, professional or financial relationship with any of the MLTC-Partial Capitation, MAP, PACE, LTSS MMC, FIDA-IDD, and HARP plans or sponsoring entities; 

• Applicant must not be affiliated with any MLTC-Partial Capitation, MAP, PACE, LTSS MMC, FIDA-IDD, and HARP plans, any service provider, any entity funding or administering the MLTC-Partial Capitation, MAP, PACE, LTSS MMC, FIDA-IDD, and HARP plan programs, or any entity making eligibility or enrollment decisions for participants. 

In general, this excludes entities that contract with Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) of any kind, which would include Licensed Home Care Services Agencies and Certified Home Health Agencies, for example.   

However, CSS has in the past subcontracted with non-profit organizations that have subsidiaries or affiliates that contract with MCOs, for example as CDPAP Fiscal Intermediaries or Health Homes.  In these situations, the subcontractors have provided written conflict of interest mitigation plans that address any actual or potential conflicts of interest that could arise from such a relationship.  Therefore, CSS would welcome proposals from organizations with such relationships, as long as they can establish adequate firewalls and procedures to mitigate any potential conflicts of interest.  Please include a description of the firewalls/procedures in your proposal.