1-AI Dictation Software for OCY.pdf

RFP # 62 OF 2026

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) ASSISTED DICTATION SOFTWARE FOR THE

ERIE COUNTY OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH

RFP RECEIPT

CONFIRMATION

PAGE

BY SIGNING AND FAXING THIS PAGE TO

(814) 451-6065

YOU ARE CONFIRMING RECEIPT OF THE ATTACHED RFP

YOU CAN ALSO EMAIL TO JWAGNER@ERIECOUNTYPA.GOV

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IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE CALL

(814) 451-6244

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DATE:

CONTACT NAME:

PHONE #:

FAX:

E-MAIL:

mailto:jwagner@eriecountypa.gov

COUNTY OF ERIE

DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION

BUREAU OF PURCHASING

RFP DOCUMENTS

FOR

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) ASSISTED DICTATION

SOFTWARE

FOR

ERIE COUNTY OFFICE OF CHILDREN & YOUTH

ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA

TO BE OPENED ON: OCTOBER 16TH, 2026

LEGAL NOTICE

The Erie County Manager of Procurement, Room #106, Erie County Courthouse, 140 W 6th St., Erie PA, 16501, will receive RFPs electronically via PennBid and open sealed RFPs on October 16th, 2026 at 10:30 AM, at the Office of the County Controller, Erie County Courthouse, 140 West 6th St., Room 107, Erie PA, 16501 for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Assisted Dictation Software for the Erie County Office of Children & Youth.

Specifications and RFP requirements are available at no cost on PennBid at https://pennbid.bonfirehub.com.

Erica Coe Manager of Procurement

Advertise: October 1st, 2026 October 5th, 2026

Please charge to Account #L0960556 – Thank you!

https://pennbid.bonfirehub.com/

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) ASSISTED

DICTATION SOFTWARE FOR THE ERIE COUNTY

OFFICE OF CHILDREN & YOUTH

GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

FAILURE TO ADHERE TO THESE GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS WILL

RESULT IN YOUR RFP BEING REJECTED

1. It is the intent of the County to RFP – Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Assisted Dictation Software for the Erie County Office of Children & Youth.

2. All RFPs must be submitted electronically via PennBid at https://pennbid.bonfirehub.com on or before October 16th, 2026 at 10:30 AM. RFPs will be opened at that time.

3. The County of Erie reserves the right to accept or reject any or all

RFPs, to waive any defects in form or technicalities or to advertise for new RFPs where acceptance, rejection, waiving or advertising of such would be in accordance with the best interest of the County; also, to sit and act as the sole judge of the merit and qualifications of the equipment, supplies or services offered.

Any interpretation of equivalency shall be determined finally and conclusively by the County of Erie.

4. RFPs hand delivered, faxed or emailed will not be accepted under any circumstances.

5. The contract will be awarded at the time of opening of the RFPs or at a subsequent time and place to be announced at the time of opening.

6. The RFP shall disclose any conflict of interest that arises or may arise with regard to the potential contract. Conflict of interest arises if any County official or employee has any financial interest, direct or indirect, in the potential contract.

7. The successful bidder will be required to sign a contract containing the following provision: Equal Employment Opportunity Clause. (a) (1) The contractor shall not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, disability of the person, religious creed, ancestry, age, familial status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, criminal history or source of income. The contractor shall take affirmative action to insure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, color, disability of the person, religious creed, ancestry, age, familial status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, criminal history or source of income.

As used herein, “treated” means and includes, without limitation, the following: recruited, whether advertising or other means;

compensated, whether in the form of rates of pay or other forms of compensation; selected for training, including apprenticeship;

promoted; upgraded; demoted; downgraded; transferred; laid off;

and terminated. The contractor agrees to and shall post in conspicuous places, available to employees and applicants for employment, notices to be provided by the contracting officers setting forth the provisions, of this nondiscrimination clause. (2) The contractor shall in all solicitations or advertisements for employees place by or on behalf of the contractor, state that all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, disability of the person, religious creed, ancestry, age, familial status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, natural origin, criminal history or source of income.

(3) The contractor shall send to each labor union or representative of workers with which he has a collective bargaining agreement or other contract or understanding, a notice advising the labor union or worker’s representative of the contractor’s commitment under the Equal Employment Opportunity Clause of the County, and shall post copies of the notice in conspicuous places available to employees and applicants for employment. (4) The contractor shall furnish all information and reports requested by the County Executive or the County Council to ascertain compliance with the program. (5) The contractor shall take such action with respect to any subcontractor as the County may direct as a means of enforcing the provisions of subsections (a)(1) to (8) hereof, including penalties and sanctions for noncompliance, provided, however, that in the event the contractor becomes involved in or is threatened with litigation as the result of such direction by the County, the County shall enter into such litigation as is necessary to protect the interests of the County to effectuate the County’s Equal Employment Opportunity Program, and in the case of contracts receiving federal assistance, the contractor or the County may request the United States to enter into such litigation to protect the interests of the United States. (6) The contractor shall file and shall cause his subcontractors, if any, to file compliance reports with the County. Compliance reports filed at such times as directed shall contain information as to the employment practices, policies, programs, and statistics of the contractor and his subcontractor’s. (7) The contractor shall include the provisions of subsections (a) (1) through (8) of the Equal Employment Opportunity Clause in every subcontract or purchase order so that such provisions will be binding upon each subcontractor or vendor. (8) Refusal by the contractor or subcontractor to comply with any portion of this program as herein stated and described will subject the offending party to any and all of the following penalties: (a) Withholding of all future payments under the involved public contract to the contractor in violation until it is determined that the contractor or subcontractor is in compliance with the provisions of the contract; (b) Refusal of all future bids for any public contract with the County or any of its departments or divisions until such time as the contractor or subcontractor demonstrates that he has established and shall carry out the policies of the program as herein outlined. (c) Cancellation of the public contract ad declaration of forfeiture of the performance bond; (d) In cases in which there is substantial or material violation or the threat of substantial or material violation of the compliance procedure of as may be provided for by contract, appropriate proceedings may be brought to enforce those provisions, including the enjoining, within applicable law, of contractors, subcontractors, or other organizations, individuals, or groups who prevent directly, indirectly, or seek to prevent directly or indirectly, compliance with the policy, as herein outlined.

8. The vendor shall not be allowed to take advantage of any errors, inconsistencies, irregularities or omissions in the specifications.

Where errors, inconsistencies, irregularities or omissions appear in the specification, the vendor will promptly notify the County of same prior to the time set for the RFP opening.

9. All RFPs must be made on the RFP Form furnished by the

County. No RFP will be considered unless the RFP Form is complete.

10. THE RFP PACKAGE MUST INCLUDE THE RFP FORM AND NON-

COLLUSION AFFIDAVIT.

11. The County is not liable for non-receipt of RFPs if submitted in any other manner than required or submitted after the due date and time.

12. The County will not be responsible for any costs incurred by the vendors in responding to this RFP Form or any costs incurred in responding to any demonstrations or samples required.

13. Any discounts or terms must be shown on the RFP Form. Such discounts, if any, may be computed and considered in tabulating of the RFPs.

14. All freight and other costs shall be included in the RFP price.

15. In consideration of furnishing the equipment and/or performing the services called for herein, the supplier will be paid within thirty (30) days of invoice receipt.

16. Any questions with respect to the General Specifications or

Technical Specifications contained in this bid should be submitted via the “Ask a Question” feature in PennBid at https://pennbid.bonfirehub.com. Deadline to submit questions is October 12, 2026, 5:00pm. EST.

17. The County is exempt from all State of PA sales tax by State law.

18. The Non-Collusion Affidavit attached to these specifications must be completed and submitted with the RFP Form. Failure to do this will result in disqualification of the RFP. Instructions are as follows:

a. This Non-Collusion Affidavit must be executed by the member, officer or employee of the vendor who makes the final decision on prices and the amount quoted in the RFP.

b. RFP rigging and other efforts to restrain competition and the making of false sworn statements in connection with the submission of RFPs are unlawful and may be subject to criminal prosecution. The person who signs the Affidavit should examine it carefully before signing and assure himself or herself that each statement is true and accurate, making diligent inquiry, necessary, of all other persons employed or associated with the vendor with responsibilities associated with the vendor with responsibilities for the preparation, approval or submission of the RFP.

c. In the case of a RFP submitted by a joint venture, each party to the venture must be identified in the RFP documents and an Affidavit must be submitted separately on behalf of each party.

d. The term “complementary RFP” as used in the Affidavit has the meaning commonly associated with that term in the RFP process and includes the knowing submission of RFPs higher than the RFP of another firm, any intentionally high or non-competitive RFP and any other form of RFP submitted for the purpose of giving a false appearance of competition.

19. The County reserves the right to purchase additional RFP items at the RFP price, within 90-days of delivery and installation.

20. The vendor shall include in the RFP all costs of labor, materials, equipment, allowances, fees, permits, applicable taxes, insurance and contingencies with overhead and profit necessary to produce those portions of work covered by the specifications without further cost to the owner.

21. RFPs shall include the complete fabrication, finishing, delivery and setting in place ready for use of the equipment herein specified, all in accordance with these specifications. Any part or accessory not specifically mentioned herein, which is normally part of the equipment or necessary to complete installation of same, shall be included in the RFP price. The County will be responsible for supplying adequate electrical power at the installation site.

22. The vendor may include with the RFP a brochure containing photographs, technical specifications and any other features of the RFP equipment to completely inform the County of Erie concerning the equipment the vendor proposes to furnish and install.

23. RFPs may be held by the County for a reasonable amount of time, to be determined by the County, for the purpose of reviewing the RFPs and investing the qualifications of vendor prior to awarding the contracting.

24. The awarding of the contract shall be contingent upon the approval of funds by the County of Erie or any other governmental agencies or any other necessary source.

25. The following are absolute minimum specifications. The County requests that the vendor not bid on any machine that does not meet specification without condition.

RIGHT-TO-KNOW LAW

1.1 The Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law (RTKL), 65 P.S.§ 67.101-67.3104, applies to this agreement.

1.2 Unless the Vendor provides the County, in writing, with the name and contact information of another person, the County will notify the provider using the

Vendor information provided by the Vendor in this Agreement if the County needs the Vendor’s assistance in any matter arising out of the RTKL. The Vendor must notify the County in wiring of any change in the name or the contact information within a reasonable time prior to the change.

1.3 Upon notification to the Vendor that the County has received a request for records under the RTKL related to this Agreement that may be in the Vendor’s possession, constituting or alleged to constitute a public record in accordance with the RTKL (“Requested Information”), the Vendor must

1.3.1 provide the County, within five business days after receipt of the County’s written notification, access to, and copies of, any document or information in the Vendor’s possession arising out of this Agreement that the County reasonably believes is Requested Information and may be a public record under the RTKL; and

1.3.2 provide other assistance that the County may reasonably request, in order to comply with the RTKL with respect to this Agreement.

1.4 If the Vendor considers the Requested Information to include a request for a

Trade Secret or Confidential Proprietary Information, as those terms are defined by the RTKL, or information that the Vendor considers exempt from production under the RTKL, the Vendor must notify the County and provide, within five business days of receiving the County’s written notification, a written statement signed by a representative of the Vendor explaining why the requested material is exempt from public disclosure under the RTKL.

1.5 The County will rely upon the written statement from the Vendor in denying an

RTKL request for the Requested Information unless the County determines that the Requested Information is clearly not protected from disclosure under the

RTKL.

1.6 If the Vendor fails to provide the Requested Information within the time period required by these provisions, the Vendor must indemnify and hold the County harmless for any damages, including any statutory damages assessed against the County, penalties, costs, detriment, or harm that the County may incur as a result of the Vendor’s failure to perform any actions as required in this section, which may include the public release of Requested Information.

1.7 The County will reimburse the Vendor for any costs associated with complying with these provisions only to the extent allowed under the fee schedule established by the Office of Open Records or as otherwise provided by the RTKL if the fee schedule is inapplicable.

1.8 The Vendor may file a legal challenge to a decision by the County to release a record to the public in Pennsylvania courts, however, the Vendor must indemnify the County for any legal expenses incurred by the County as a result of such a challenge and must hold the County harmless for any damages, penalties, costs, detriment, or harm that the County may incur as a result of the Vendor’s failure, including any statutory damages assessed against the County, regardless of the outcome of such legal challenge. As between the parties, the Vendor agrees to waive all rights or remedies that may be available to it as a result of the County’s disclosure if Requested Information pursuant to the RTKL.

1.9 In the event that an appeal is filed with an Appeals Officer designated under 65

P.S. § 67.503(a) or a court, the County will notify Vendor of the appeal and inform Vendor of its ability to participate in the appeal pursuant to 65 P.S §

67.1101(c). To the extent that a request involves the confidential proprietary information or trade secrets of Vendor, County and Vendor agree that County has no obligation to take any steps, other than notifying Vendor of the appeal, with respect to defending the release of such records.

1.10 The Vendor’s duties relating to the RTKL are continuing duties that survive the expiration of the Agreement and will continue as long as the Vendor as Requested Information in its possession.

NON-COLLUSION AFFIDAVIT

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Assisted Dictation Software for the

Erie County Office of Children & Youth

State of ___________________________:

: s.s.

County of _________________________:

I state that I am ______________________ of ___________________________ and

(TITLE) (NAME OF FIRM)

that I am authorized to make this affidavit on behalf of my firm and its owner, directors and officers. I am the person responsible in my firm for price (s) and the amount of this RFP.

I state that:

1. The price (s) and amount of RFP have been arrived at independently and without consolation, communication or agreement with any other contractor, vendor or potential vendor.

2. Neither the price (s) nor the amount of this RFP and neither the approximate price (s) nor approximate amount of this RFP, have been disclosed to any other firm or person who is vendor or potential vendor and they will not be disclosed before RFP opening.

3. No attempt has been made or will be made to induce any firm or person to refrain from responding on this contract or to submit a RFP higher than this RFP or to submit any intentionally high or noncompetitive or other form of complementary RFP.

4. The RFP of my firm is made in good faith and not pursuant to any agreement or discussion with or inducement from any firm or person to submit a complementary or other noncompetitive RFP.

5. __________________________, its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors

(NAME OF FIRM)

and employees are not currently under investigation by any governmental agency and have not in the law four years been convicted or found liable for any act prohibited by State or Federal Law in jurisdiction, involving conspiracy or collusion with respect to responding on any public contract except as follows:

I state that ______________________________ understands and acknowledges that

(NAME OF FIRM)

the above representations are material and important and will be relied on by the County of Erie in awarding the contract (s) for which this RFP is submitted. I understand and my firm understands that misstatement in this affidavit is and shall be treated as fraudulent concealment from the County of Erie of the true facts relating to the submission of RFPs for this contract.

NAME

COMPANY POSITION

SWORN TO AND SUBSCRIBED

BEFORE ME THIS __________DAY

OF _______________, 20__________

Notary Public

My commission expires:___________

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) ASSISTED

DICTATION SOFTWARE FOR THE ERIE COUNTY

OFFICE OF CHILDREN & YOUTH

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

INTRODUCTION

The Erie County Office of Children and Youth (Erie OCY) is soliciting proposals for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Assisted Dictation Software for Erie County Office of Children and Youth.

Length of Contract: This will be a one (1) year contract with the option of three

(3) one (1) year renewals.

• The applicant agrees to assume responsibility for beginning the process for providing service offered in the proposal by an agreed upon date and for maintaining all aspects of the contract agreement and subsequent amendments.

SCOPE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Erie County Office of Children and Youth (Erie OCY) is requesting proposals for an artificial intelligence–assisted recording, transcription, and documentation platform for use by approximately 100 to 150 Agency employees during contacts with children, youth, parents, caregivers, and other case participants.

Work occurs in the office and in the field. The selected solution shall:

1. Securely capture an audio recording of the interaction in both settings, including when no internet connection is available.

2. Produce an accurate, AI-assisted transcript that can distinguish multiple speakers.

3. Use artificial intelligence to format the captured content into approximately 20 to 30 Erie OCY–defined templates.

4. Allow the employee to edit the transcript and any generated template and manually copy approved text into Erie OCY’s system of record. The solution shall not automatically interact with, connect to, or share information with that system.

5. Store the audio recording securely for 60 days.

6. Protect all client-related audio, transcripts, and generated documents under HIPAA, the Pennsylvania Child Protective Services Law, 55 Pa.

Code Chapter 3130 (including confidentiality of family case records), and other applicable federal, state, and county requirements.

7. Provide multilingual support.

8. Be offered by a vendor with a demonstrated record of company performance in comparable deployments.

This RFP covers software, hosting, implementation, template configuration, training, and ongoing support. It does not include replacement of, or technical integration with, Erie OCY’s system of record. Agency staff will remain responsible for obtaining consent where required, reviewing AI-generated output, and placing the approved record into the official case file.

DESCRIPTION OF SERVICE:

The Contractor shall provide a secure platform that authorized Erie OCY staff can use on Agency-issued phones, tablets, and computers during office interviews, home visits, field contacts, and other in-person or virtual interactions.

Recording in the office and in the field.

The employee starts a session and records the conversation. The platform shall work in typical child-welfare environments, including private homes and other community locations with background noise. Offline recording is required. If the device has no signal or Wi-Fi, the employee shall still be able to start, pause, and complete a recording. The proposal shall explain where audio is held on the device, how it is protected before upload, and how it is transmitted for transcription when a connection returns.

Audio retention.

Each recording shall be stored securely for 60 days and then deleted or otherwise disposed of according to Erie OCY direction. During that period, authorized staff shall be able to replay the audio to check accuracy, support supervision, or complete quality review. To ensure voice data is never used to improve the vendor’s product or stored longer than 60 days to output the text. Vendor shall process audio files and transcripts solely for the purpose of executing the dictation service. Vendor is strictly prohibited from using Agency Data, Voice Recordings or Resulting transcripts to train, refine or improve its machine learning models.

Transcription and multiple speakers.

After the session is available for processing, the system shall produce a full transcript of the interaction and distinguish multiple voices so staff can tell, to a reasonable degree of accuracy, who said what. The transcript shall remain available with the audio during the retention period.

Templates.

Using the transcript, the system shall generate a first-draft document in an Erie OCY–approved format. Erie OCY expects approximately 20 to 30 templates, which may include case notes, home-visit summaries, assessment write-ups, family-meeting notes, service-plan updates, and other child-welfare formats designated by the Agency. The Contractor shall configure these templates with Erie OCY and allow the Agency to add, revise, and retire templates as practice and state requirements change.

Employee editing and the system of record.

Every transcript and every generated template shall be fully editable by the Erie OCY employee. After review and correction, the employee shall be able to copy the approved text into the Agency’s system of record. The AI-assisted dictation software shall have no automatic interaction with that system and shall not exchange information with it. Copy-and-paste or an equivalent manual export is sufficient.

Multilingual support.

The platform shall support interactions in more than one language so staff can record, transcribe, and produce usable draft documentation when participants speak languages other than English. The proposal shall identify supported languages and how mixed-language conversations are handled.

Human review.

AI output is a draft only. Authorized staff must compare the draft to the audio and transcript, edit as needed, and place only the approved text into the official case file.

Confidentiality.

Vendor acknowledges that all data handled under this agreement constitutes highly confidential child welfare records protected under state law and Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. Vendor agrees to maintain the absolute confidentiality of all PII and Protected Health Information and shall sign a BAA if applicable.

Data Sovereignty and Hosting Access.

All data processing, routing and temporary storage must occur exclusively within the geographic boundaries of the United States. Vendor must host services on a certified government cloud infrastructure platform (e.g. AWS, GovCloud or MS Azure Government that complies with Fed Ramp Moderate or High basslines.

Encryption and Security.

Vendor shall encrypt all Agency Data using AES-256 at rest and TLS 1.2 or higher for transit. Vendor shall provide the Agency with an annual un-redacted SOC2 TYPE II audit report covering security, confidentiality and privacy principles conducted by an independent certified public accounting firm.

Company performance.

The Contractor shall demonstrate a record of successful performance delivering comparable recording, transcription, and template-based documentation services to government, child-welfare, human-services, or similarly regulated agencies.

References, deployment scale, and a description of outcomes or continuity of service are expected.

Scale and support.

The service shall support 100 to 150 Agency users, with template setup, end-user and supervisor training, administrator support, documented uptime, incident response, and change-control practices.

SCORING CRITERIA:

Proposals will be reviewed with regard to the following guidelines:

1. Solution fit and workflow — 20 points Evaluators will consider whether the product supports office and field recording; a simple start, pause, and save process; audio plus transcript plus template draft; copy-ready output; a consent workflow; and practical use in child-welfare casework rather than generic meeting notes.

2. Offline and field operation — 15 points Evaluators will consider the vendor’s description of on-device capture, protection of audio before upload, ability to continue after a lost signal, and processing once connectivity returns. Preference will be given to a method that does not depend on staff workarounds.

3. Transcription, speakers, and templates — 20 points

Evaluators will consider multi-speaker accuracy; an editable transcript;

configuration of approximately 20 to 30 Erie OCY templates; the employee’s ability to revise drafts against the audio; and the Agency’s ability to add or change templates after go-live.

4. Security, privacy, and records — 15 points Evaluators will consider encryption in transit and at rest, including audio held on a device pending upload; role-based access; audit logs; 60-day audio retention and deletion; the Business Associate Agreement; United States data residency; a prohibition on using Erie OCY content to train models; and incident response.

5. Multilingual capability — 10 points

Evaluators will consider languages supported; handling of mixed-language conversations; whether a draft can be produced in English for the case file; and any limits the vendor states clearly.

6. Company performance — 10 points

Evaluators will consider comparable deployments in child welfare, human services, or other regulated public agencies; references; continuity of service; and evidence that the vendor can support a county agency of 100 to 150 users.

7. Implementation, training, and support — 10 points

Evaluators will consider the template setup plan; training for workers and supervisors; administrator support; uptime and support hours; timeline to go-live; and a named support path for Erie OCY.

Total: 100 points

RFP FORM

Having carefully studied the preceding specifications and being thoroughly familiar with all requirements set forth herein, all attendant conditions, the undersigned agrees to supply all services and materials required therein for the following sum (s):

Year 1 $ _________________________

Optional Year 2 $__________________________

Optional Year 3 $__________________________

Optional Year 4 $__________________________

Total for all Four (4) Years $___________________

The undersigned further agrees to sign the contract within seven (7) days of the date of the Purchase Order issued by the County of Erie. The undersigned acknowledges the right of the County of Erie to reject any or all RFPs and to waive any defects in form.

I (we) certify that this RFP was prepared independently and without collusion with any known vendors.

Company Name: __________________________________________

Contact Name: __________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________

Phone: __________________________________________

Fax: __________________________________________

Email: __________________________________________

The undersigned acknowledges receipt of the addenda, if any:

Addendum No. __________, dated __________