08DOA-S2299 RFP Employee Assistance Program.docx

STATE OF NEVADA

DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION

Purchasing Division 515 East Musser Street, Suite 300 │ Carson City, NV 89701 Phone: 775-684-0170 │ Fax: 775-684-0188

Solicitation: 08DOA-S2299 For Employee Assistance Program

Release Date: 02/15/2023 Deadline for Submission and Opening Date and Time: 03/28/2023 @ 2:00 pm

Single point of contact for the solicitation:

Joel Smedes, Purchasing Officer Phone, 775-684-0172 Email Address, j.smedes@admin.nv.gov

(TTY for Deaf and Hard of Hearing, 800-326-6868 Ask the relay agent to dial, 1-775-515-5173/V.)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

APPLICABLE REGULATIONS GOVERNING PROCUREMENT

All applicable Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) and Nevada Administrative Code (NAC) documentation can be found at: www.leg.state.nv.us/law1.cfm.

Prospective vendors are advised to review Nevada’s ethical standards requirements, including but not limited to NRS 281A, NRS 333.800, and NAC 333.155.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The State of Nevada Purchasing Division, on behalf of Nevada Department of Administration (NDA), Division of Human Resource Management (DHRM) is seeking proposals from qualified vendors to provide off-site, statewide employee assistance program (EAP) services for State of Nevada executive branch agencies (except for the Nevada System of Higher Education) as well as the State of Nevada legislative branch and the State of Nevada Administrative Office of the Courts as described in the scope of work and attachments.

While the Nevada System of Higher Education and political subdivisions (e.g., counties, cities) are not part of this contract, they may individually choose to negotiate an addendum to this contract for services with additional terms and conditions.

The Division is seeking the most comprehensive program within budgetary constraints

The State intends to award one (1) contract in conjunction with this Request for Proposals (RFP), as determined in the best interests of the State. DHRM shall administer contract(s) resulting from this solicitation. The resulting contract is expected to be for a contract term of one year anticipated to begin on July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024 with an option to extend for one year, subject to Board of Examiners approval.

AGENCY BACKGROUND

Human Resource Management is a division within the Department of Administration. We operate under Chapter 284 of the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) and the Nevada Administrative Code (NAC). The Administrator is appointed by the Director of the Department of Administration. The various sections in the division include Central Payroll and Employee Records, Compensation, Classification and Recruitment, Employee and Management Services, Agency Human Resource Services, and Equal Employment Opportunity. We provide a full range of human resource services with the benefits and retirement programs administered separately by the Public Employees' Benefits Program and Public Employees' Retirement System respectively.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The goal of the State of Nevada EAP is to reduce losses in State employee work time, productivity, and effectiveness by providing qualifying employees (and their dependents) with assistance to improve their personal and professional lives through confidential, professional assessment and counseling and resources.

SCOPE OF WORK

PROGRAM MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Explain in detail, how services will satisfy the program minimum requirements. Indicate your organization’s willingness to accept these terms of programmatic requirements.

Provide counseling services

Assessment, short-term counseling, referral (as appropriate) and follow up services to address personal and work-related issues 24 hours per day, 7 days per week telephonic consultation access Intake assessments performed by masters-level clinicians.

Alternative contact method to telephone (e.g., web-based live chat) for situations in which telephonic contact is not viable

One (1) assessment session (not including phone intake/assessment) and two (2) additional counseling sessions per each qualifying employee and dependents per issue per the State of Nevada’s fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) Alternative session communication model (e.g., video) for when in – person sessions are not viable

At implementation, a network of providers that are capable of providing timely service to all State employees.

Critical incident stress management services. Explain any exceptions, limitations, or additional associated costs.

Requests for critical incident services shall require authorization/approval by the Division’s designated contact.

At no additional cost, provide pre-printed and electronic outreach and educational materials for distribution to State of Nevada (State) employees regarding the benefit. At minimum, to include brochures and posters.

Material content is subject to the Division’s approval.

Provide examples of materials, can be included as an attachment.

Provide mandatory not regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (non – DOT) substance abuse evaluations (required by Nevada Revised Statutes 284.4062 for substance abuse violations) to include evaluation, referral, case management and follow up to meet current State statutory and regulatory criteria, see NRS and NAC Regulations Attachment and section 3.4.4. Non – DOT substance abuse evaluation costs will be part of this contract.

Have providers who possess knowledge, training and required certifications to provide United States Department of Transportation (DOT) qualified Substance Abuse Professionals (SAP) services in compliance with United States Department of Transportation drug and alcohol testing requirements. DOT SAP costs will not be part of this contract.

Comply with all applicable federal and State statutes and regulations. The Division will endeavor to provide vendor with reasonable notice of applicable State statutory and regulatory changes.

A screening test to detect the general presence of a controlled substance or any other drug, must be conducted by an independent laboratory that is certified by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. (Nevada Revised Statutes 284.4067) Quarterly reporting with breakdowns per agency (approximately 37 agencies):

Total program usage Primary issue Referral source (e.g., self, management, mandatory) Qualifying employee utilization Dependent utilization Average number of sessions per individual Referrals to outside resources Critical incident stress debriefings, if applicable Training, if applicable

Referrals made to appropriately licensed, certified, and accredited professionals, programs, and facilities.

When applicable, provide transition assistance as requested by the Division to facilitate transfer of services to a new vendor to include technical and service support.

Provide a transition plan 90 days in advance of the contract end date to ensure continuity of services for State employees and their dependents.

Verify all licenses and/or certifications as required by the relevant state for each specific treatment area including certification requirements for individuals performing assessments. If service is provided to out of state qualifying employees or dependents, individuals doing assessments shall be licensed or certified by the applicable state in their specific treatment area. Credentials must be kept current and provided to the Division upon request.

All qualifying employee and/or dependent records and billing related to service provided through the employee assistance program and/or other referral resources shall be guaranteed as confidential material. Confirm that your organization certifies that it is in full compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s (HIPAA) regulations protecting the privacy and security of individually identifiable health information, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).

Comply with ADA accessibility rules for all services to include documents, telephone, web-based, and network provided services.

All data is the property of the State. Data cannot be shared, distributed, or used outside contract specification without permission from the Division. Subject to federal and State law, all data must be made available upon the Division’s request.

ADDITIONAL COMPONENTS

The Division is seeking a vendor who can provide the most comprehensive program within the budgetary constraints. If applicable, describe ability to provide the following services:

Legal consultation, resources, and referrals Financial consultation, resources, and referrals Work/life component “Soft skills” (e.g., communication, teamwork) training programs. Provide a sample of training materials, presentations, and other educational materials.

Access to a national network of providers Additional session models Other available options, please explain.

DESCRIPTION OF COMPONENTS AND PROCEDURES

Describe your implementation plan to meet an anticipated start date of July 1, 2023. Include steps required to implement the program such as notification to qualifying employees, providers, and other vendors and milestone dates. Please note that no implementation steps can be taken prior to contract approval by the State Board of Examiners.

Describe how you will provide a smooth transition with minimal impact to service for qualifying employees and dependents utilizing the service at the time of the transition.

Provide dates/timelines and resources that will be utilized.

Provide details on the roles and responsibilities of your organization and staff of the Division in the implementation process.

Describe the most frequent problems your organization has encountered during previous transitions for plans of this size. How were these resolved?

Describe the minimum qualifications of your:

Intake staff (e.g., answering initial calls) Counselors If applicable, trainers If applicable, financial consultation staff If applicable, legal consultation staff If applicable, work-life consultation staff

Describe how qualifying employees (and their dependents) with a need for additional counseling beyond the program benefit will be transitioned into ongoing or long-term care.

Will an employee’s or dependent’s insurance provider network be considered when making the initial referral for services?

Will an employee’s or dependent’s insurance provider network be considered when making a referral for continuing/long-term care?

Describe in detail the steps in the process from the time of the initial contact through any subsequent follow-up following the counseling sessions. Address the following issues:

Describe any identification/authentication process Describe the information that is provided to the qualifying employee or dependent on initial contact, assessment, each session, and referral.

Who performs the various functions?

Which, if any, functions are performed by an initial telephone contact representative and not by a licensed counselor?

Do you refer any services to a third-party organization? If yes, identify the organization referred to and the service(s) provided.

Timeframes involved in and between initial contact and referral for applicable services (standards and actual timeframes), including average time from the first request for services to a first visit with a program provider. Data regarding telephone consultations should be provided separately from data regarding onsite visits to local providers.

In an emergency, how quickly can you provide a counselor who can talk to a qualifying employee or dependent?

Explain how progress monitoring and follow up after referral shall be conducted.

Explain the EAP’s role as liaison with relevant community services (e.g., domestic shelters).

Describe how confidentiality is maintained and monitored regarding your own organization, subcontractors (if applicable), and providers. Address the following issues:

Written records/documentation Electronic records Authorizing release of information

Please describe your quality assurance/control programs, specifically regarding:

Staff Intake staff (e.g., call center staff) Local providers Customer satisfaction

Describe your disaster preparedness plan. Alternatively, the plan may be submitted as an attachment.

Is there a charge for ad hoc reporting?

Will your organization be able to assist the Division in developing and conducting outcome studies (i.e., correlations to improved employee performance, decreased health insurance claims)?

What are your critical incident procedures?

Explain how utilization rates are calculated (e.g., how a case is defined, what clinical mediums are included (e.g., internet, phone contact, referral)).

Please describe your experience providing services to staff in:

Public entities Law enforcement Correctional facilities Hospitals/nursing homes Psychiatric facilities In Nevada Nevada rural areas

What are the minimum training/education requirements of:

Intake staff (e.g., call center staff) Counselors Local providers

Do you obtain primary source documentation for licenses, board certifications, malpractice coverage, etc.?

Do you currently have in Nevada:

A local representative?

An established network of providers? Submit a list of current Nevada providers; this can be included as an attachment to your proposal.

Some qualifying employees are in areas where access to services is very limited. Describe, in detail, ability to provide services in Nevada rural areas at implementation.

Describe any materials/media that will be available for marketing/outreach purposes. Provide a sample of materials/media.

Will any online services be offered? If online services will be offered, provide five (5) logins/passwords to a sample for evaluation purposes.

SPECIFIC TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The State will provide on-site service locations only for critical incident services.

Should an assigned counselor be perceived as discourteous, rude, or incompatible with a qualifying employee or dependent, the Division reserves the right to have another counselor assigned upon request.

The Division must approve the person selected as account manager.

The Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) and Nevada Administrative Code (NAC), see NRS and NAC Regulations attachment, outline required interaction with an EAP under certain circumstances. For an employee who is referred to the EAP due to the reasons outlined in NAC 284.892 (e.g., positive result on a screening test, driving under the influence, unlawful acts involving controlled substances), an EAP provider must timely provide the following:

Written documentation of the employee’s attendance at EAP appointment(s).

Written recommendation(s) for the employee’s rehabilitation.

Written documentation that the employee can return to duty and perform the essential functions of his/her job, if the employee is able to perform the essential functions of his/her job and return to duty within the contractually agreed upon number of EAP sessions. If the provider determines that the employee is not able to return to duty and perform the essential functions of his/her job at the end of the contractually agreed upon number of EAP sessions, the provider will refer the employee to a program/provider that will be able to provide this documentation when (and if) appropriate.

Written documentation of any recommendations relating to treatment on a monthly basis (this may be provided by a recommended rehabilitation program).

Written documentation of completion of a rehabilitation program (this may be provided by a recommended rehabilitation program).

It is the employee’s responsibility to physically provide the documentation referenced in Section 3.4 to the employer. The EAP provider will give this documentation to the employee and the employee will be responsible for delivering the documentation to the employer.

COST SCHEDULE

The State is looking to enter into a fixed cost contract. Only a fixed cost program will be considered (e.g., cost per qualifying employee per month, monthly fixed cost, yearly fixed cost). If the fixed cost provided by the vendor is based upon per qualifying employee per month, the vendor will assume a base number of qualifying employees of 17,753 for cost evaluation only. Vendors must provide detailed fixed prices for all costs associated with the responsibilities and related services. Include implementation costs, programmatic costs, marketing costs and any other costs associated with the life of this contract. All costs/prices are assumed guaranteed unless otherwise noted. List any other related services that you offer that have not been requested. Provide charges and fees for these services. Cost breakdowns must be provided in the format indicated below.

If travel is required for the administration of this contract, the State uses the United States General Services Administration rates. Vendors must be willing to accept these rates as reimbursable for necessary travel. All vendors are required to include costs associated with travel in their proposal, if applicable.

The Division will assume that the fees that are submitted include all services and supplies that could reasonably be expected to be provided to the State during the term of this contract.

The cost of additional counseling/treatment sessions beyond the contract number of sessions shall be the sole responsibility of the qualifying employee or dependent, with due consideration given to the employee’s or dependent’s medical benefits.

If vendor anticipates costs prior to the program’s start, all anticipated costs must be clearly identified and outlined in cost proposal.

Provide costs in the Cost Schedule attachment.

ATTACHMENTS

ATTACHMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE. To be read and not returned.

Terms and Conditions for Services NRS and NAC Regulations Number of Qualifying Employees

ATTACHMENTS FOR REVIEW. To be read and not returned (unless redlining).

Contract Form Insurance Schedule

PROPOSAL ATTACHMENTS. To be completed and returned.

Cost Schedule Proposed Staff Resume Reference Questionnaire Attachments for Signature

Vendor Information Response Vendor Certifications Certification Regarding Lobbying Confidentiality and Certification of Indemnification

TIMELINE

QUESTIONS. All questions regarding this solicitation shall be submitted using the Bid Q&A feature in NevadaEPro.

TIMELINE. The following represents the proposed timeline for this project.

All times stated are Pacific Time (PT).

These dates represent a tentative schedule of events.

The State reserves the right to modify these dates at any time.

EVALUATION

Evaluation and scoring are conducted in accordance with NRS 333.335 and NAC 333.160-333.165.

Proposals shall be kept confidential until a contract is awarded.

In the event the solicitation is withdrawn prior to award, proposals remain confidential.

The evaluation committee is an independent committee established to evaluate and score proposals submitted in response to the solicitation.

Financial stability shall be scored on a pass/fail basis.

Proposals shall be consistently evaluated and scored based upon the following factors and relative weights.

Cost proposals will be evaluated based on the following formula.

Cost Factor Weight x (Lowest Cost Submitted by a Vendor / Proposer Total Cost) = Cost Score

Presentations

Following the evaluation and scoring process specified above, the State may require vendors to make a presentation of their proposal to the evaluation committee or other State staff, as applicable.

The State, at its option, may limit participation in vendor presentations to vendors above a natural break in the relative scores from technical and cost scores.

Following the presentations, the combined technical, cost, and presentation scores will become the final score for a proposal.

The State reserves the right to add additional criteria or presentations.

The State reserves the right to forego vendor presentations and select vendor(s) based on the written proposals submitted.

NEVADA-BASED BUSINESS PREFERENCE

The State awards a five percent (5%) preference to Nevada-based businesses pursuant to NRS 333.3351 to 333.3356, inclusive.

Nevada-based business is defined in NRS 333.3352(1).

The term ‘principal place of business’ has the meaning outlined by the United States Supreme Court in Hertz Corp v. Friend, 559 U.S. 77 (2010), typically meaning a business’s corporate headquarters.

To claim this preference a vendor must indicate it on their vendor account and submitted Quote in NevadaEPro.

This preference cannot be combined with any other preference, granted for the award of a contract using federal funds, or granted for the award of a contract procured on a multi-state basis.

INVERSE PREFERENCE

The State applies an inverse preference to vendors that have a principal place of business in a state other than Nevada and that state applies an in-state preference not afforded to Nevada based vendors, pursuant to AB28 passed in the 81st session of the Nevada Legislature.

The amount of the inverse preference is correlated to the amount of preference applied in the other state.

Vendors who meet this criterion must indicated it on their submitted Quote in NevadaEPro.

This preference cannot be combined with any other preference, granted for the award of a contract using federal funds, or granted for the award of a contract procured on a multi-state basis.

MANDATORY MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Pursuant to NRS 333.311 a contact cannot be awarded to a proposal that does not comply with the requirements listed in this section. Proposal shall include confirmation of compliance with all mandatory minimum requirements.

NEVADA LAW AND STATE INDEMNITY. Pursuant to NRS 333.339, any contract that is entered into may not: (1) Require the filing of any action or the arbitration of any dispute that arises from the contract to be instituted or heard in another state or nation; or (2) Require the State to indemnify another party against liability for damages.

NO BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL. Pursuant to NRS 333.338, the State of Nevada cannot enter a contract with a company unless that company agrees for the duration of the contract not to engage in a boycott of Israel. By submitting a proposal or bid, vendor agrees that if it is awarded a contract, it will not engage in a boycott of Israel as defined in NRS 333.338(3)(a).

INDEMNIFICATION. Required contract terms on Indemnification: "To the fullest extent permitted by law, Contractor shall indemnify, hold harmless and defend, not excluding the State’s right to participate, the State from and against all liability, claims, actions, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, arising out of any breach of the obligations of Contractor under this contract, or any alleged negligent or willful acts or omissions of Contractor, its officers, employees and agents. Contractor’s obligation to indemnify the State shall apply in all cases except for claims arising solely from the State’s own negligence or willful misconduct. Contractor waives any rights of subrogation against the State. Contractor’s duty to defend begins when the State requests defense of any claim arising from this Contract."

LIMITED LIABILITY. Required contract terms on Limited Liability: "The State will not waive and intends to assert available NRS Chapter 41 liability limitations in all cases. Contract liability of both parties shall not be subject to punitive damages. Damages for any State breach shall never exceed the amount of funds appropriated for payment under this Contract, but not yet paid to Contractor, for the Fiscal Year budget in existence at the time of the breach. Contractor’s tort liability shall not be limited."

CONTRACT RESPONSIBILITY. Awarded vendor shall be the sole point of contract responsibility. The State shall look solely to the awarded vendor for the performance of all contractual obligations which may result from an award based on this solicitation, and the awarded vendor shall not be relieved for the non-performance of any or all subcontractors.

DATA ENCRYPTION. State IT requires that data be encrypted in transit and in rest.

STATESIDE DATA. State IT requires that State data assets must be maintained in the United States and data will not be held offshore.

NEVADA BUSINESS LICENSE. Pursuant to NRS 353.007, prior to contract execution awarded vendor must hold a state business license pursuant to NRS chapter 76 unless exempted by NRS 76.100(7)(b).

DISCLOSURE. Each vendor shall include in its proposal a complete disclosure of any alleged significant prior or ongoing contract failures, contract breaches, any civil or criminal litigation or investigations pending which involves the vendor or in which the vendor has been judged guilty or liable.

CRITICAL ITEMS

In addition to the Scope of Work and Attachments, the items listed in this section are critical to the success of the project. These items will be used in evaluating and scoring the proposal. Vendor proposal should address items in this section in enough detail to provide evaluators an accurate understanding of vendor capabilities. Proposals that fail to sufficiently respond to these items may be considered non-responsive.

CONTRACT FORM. The State strongly prefers vendors agree to the terms of the attached Contract Form as is. Ability to agree to contract terms is a high priority to the State. Vendors who cannot agree to the contract as is must include a redlined Word version of the attached Contract Form with their proposal response. To the extent a vendor has prior contractual dealings with the State, no assumption should be made that terms outside those provided herein have any influence on this project.

INSURANCE SCHEDULE

The State strongly prefers vendors agree to the terms of the attached Insurance Schedule as is. Vendors who cannot agree must explain which areas are causing non-compliance and attach a red line if necessary.

Awarded vendor shall maintain, for the duration of the contract, insurance coverages as set forth in the fully executed contract.

Work on the contract shall not begin until after the awarded vendor has submitted acceptable evidence of the required insurance coverages.

Failure to maintain any required insurance coverage or acceptable alternative method of insurance shall be deemed a breach of contract.

VENDOR BACKGROUND

Company background/history and why vendor is qualified to provide the services described in this solicitation.

Provide a brief description of the length of time vendor has been providing services described in this solicitation to the public and/or private sector.

VENDOR STAFF RESUMES

A resume shall be included for each proposed key personnel, see Proposed Staff Resume.

A resume shall also be included for any proposed key subcontractor personnel.

SUBCONTRACTORS

Subcontractors are defined as a third party, not directly employed by the contractor, who shall provide services identified in this solicitation. This does not include third parties who provide support or incidental services to the contractor.

Proposal should include a completed Vendor Information Response form for each subcontractor.

Vendor shall not allow any subcontractor to commence work until all insurance required of the subcontractor is provided to the vendor.

Vendor proposal shall identify specific requirements of the project for which each subcontractor shall perform services.

How the work of any subcontractor(s) shall be supervised How channels of communication shall be maintained How compliance with contracts terms and conditions will be assured Previous experience with subcontractor(s)

VENDOR FINANCIAL INFORMATION

The information requested in this section is designated as confidential business information by the Administrator pursuant to NRS 333.020(5)(b) and is not public information pursuant to NRS 333.333.

This information should be submitted as a separate attachment, flagged as confidential in NevadaEPro.

Proposing vendor shall provide the following financial information and documentation:

Dun and Bradstreet Number Federal Tax Identification Number

BUSINESS REFERENCES

The information requested in this section is designated as confidential business information by the Administrator pursuant to NRS 333.020(5)(b) and is not public information pursuant to NRS 333.333.

Vendors shall provide a minimum of three (3) business references from similar projects performed for private and/or public sector clients within the last five (5) years, see Reference Questionnaire.

The purpose of these references is to document relevant experience and aid in the evaluation process.

Business references should return Reference Questionnaire directly to Single Point of Contact via email.

Business references will not be accepted directly from proposing vendor.

The State will not disclose submitted references, but will confirm if a reference has been received.

The State reserves the right to contact references during evaluation.

SUBMISSION CHECKLIST

This section identifies documents that shall be submitted to be considered responsive. Vendors are encouraged to review all requirements to ensure all requested information is included in their response.

Proposals must be submitted as a Quote through NevadaEPro, https://NevadaEPro.com.

Vendors are encouraged to submit a single file attachment per proposal section if possible.

Technical proposal information and Cost proposal information shall not be included in the same attachment.

Cost proposal attachment shall not be flagged as confidential in NevadaEPro.

Additional attachments may be included, but are discouraged and should be kept to a minimum.

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

Title Page Table of Contents Response to Mandatory Minimum Requirements Response to Critical Items Response to Scope of Work Proposed Staff Resumes Other Informational Material

PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. If necessary. Attachment should be flagged confidential in NevadaEPro.

Title Page Table of Contents Trade Secret information, cross referenced to the technical proposal

COST PROPOSAL

VENDOR FINANCIAL INFORMATION. Attachment should be flagged confidential in NevadaEPro.

SIGNED ATTACHMENTS

Vendor Information Response Vendor Certifications Confidentiality and Certification of Indemnification Certification Regarding Lobbying

OTHER ATTACHMENTS. If necessary, not recommended.

REFERENCE QUESTIONNAIRES. Not submitted directly by vendor.

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