JFS Soft Skills Training for County Job and Family Services Case Workers

The State requires a solution that will create a set of soft skills trainings for County Job and Family Services case workers. ODJFS is seeking one (1) qualified vendor experienced in training development for health and human service professionals with knowledge of adult learning. This solicitation is a 100% MBE set‑aside. Only Offerors **currently certified** by the State of Ohio as Minority Business Enterprises may submit a Proposal. Certification must be active at the Proposal due date, at Contract award, and throughout the term of the Contract. The State’s MBE set‑aside procedures follow R.C. 125.081. If no Proposal is submitted by a certified MBE, the State may proceed according to usual procedures. Proposals must clearly demonstrate the vendor’s capability of providing services as described in this RFP. ODJFS is committed to supporting Ohio’s families by shifting from transactional service delivery to a transformational model. This shift emphasizes the importance of caseworkers building stronger, trust-based relationships with clients—enabling more effective, personalized support. The proposed training modules should be engaging, accessible, and grounded in adult learning theory to ensure that learners can apply these skills in real-world settings. Additionally, trainings should be designed for seamless compatibility with the existing Learning Management System (LMS) used by ODJFS and its county partners. The solution will create training modules that help Job and Family Services (JFS), and county partner caseworkers build important soft skills to improve service to human services and child support program recipients. These trainings will cover: Empowering clients to manage their finances and build long-term self-sufficiency Motivational interviewing Calming tense situations (de-escalation) Understanding trauma (trauma-informed care) Recognizing and responding to family violence Awareness of behavioral health (including mental health, and substance use) An additional goal is to help caseworkers and supervisors handle stress better, reduce burnout, and lower staff turnover. The training will be designed to work well for people of all ages and experience levels in the workplace. The training modules will be short, easy to use, and available on-demand through the current Learning Management System (LMS). The solution will also include a “train-the-trainer” program so that ODJFS or county trainers can teach others how to deliver the training. Trainings should be fully documented and supplemented with simple guides and reference resources. All materials must be owned by JFS in an editable format as well as in final format. In addition, the training modules must include tools to assess what participants have learned and collect feedback on how effective the training is. This should help ensure the training is meeting the identified goals and can be improved over time. The Scope of Work is provided in further detail in Part 1 – Scope of Work.