SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS/INSTRUCTIONS

All references to Harris County also include the Harris County Juvenile Board and the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department (HCJPD) where indicated.

The following requirements and instructions supersede General Requirements where applicable.

VENDOR INSTRUCTIONS

Responses to this Request for Proposal (RFP) shall be formatted and organized in the following order for consistency and easy screening:

Preferred submission is via Bonfire.

Vendors may submit electronically through Bonfire or via hardcopy to 1111 Fannin, 12th Floor, Houston, TX 77002 no later than the due date and time as stated on the Bonfire Opportunity.

All proposals must be typed, single spaced, and if submitting a hardcopy, printed single-sided on 8 ½” by 11” paper.

Each section of the vendor’s response should start on a new page. A tabbed divider page marked with the section number should separate each section.

Section I: Transmittal Letter - The transmittal letter should include:

Company name and address; name, title, email, telephone and fax number of person(s) to be contacted for clarifications or additional information regarding proposal;

Name, title, email, telephone and fax number of person authorized to contractually obligate vendor’s company with proposal and any future negotiations; and

A brief statement summarizing the vendor’s understanding of the project and relevant experience.

Section II: Scope of Services/Narrative of Proposed Services

Describe proposed methodology and approach to the project, including a description of your understanding of the project.

Provide the greatest amount of meaningful detail as possible to describe the proposed equipment and specific deliverables. Indicate if your firm can meet expectations described in specifications, or if specifications can only be met under certain conditions.

Provide a timeline indicating deliverables, vendor responsibilities and resources needed from Harris County.

Provide a detailed plan of services offered that improve educational engagement and support successful transitions to school or employment programs.

Demonstrate compliance with all applicable laws, outline process for submitting timely and accurate reports, and describe strategies for engaging families and coordinating community based services.

Mere reiterations of the specifications are strongly discouraged, as they do not provide insight into the vendor’s ability to meet the specifications.

Section III: Pricing Information

BidTable(s) shall be uploaded to Bonfire in an Excel format under the Requested Information section of this solicitation.

Section IV: Organizational Information/Qualifications/Experience

Vendor’s history, background, and principal officers Company organization chart Description of project team organization; names and resumes of team members and the role of each team member.

Please explain, describe, and provide examples of how the firm is qualified to provide the required services, with specific examples/references (excel questionnaire).

Past experience on projects of similar size and scope.

Licenses/accreditations Fill out, sign and upload the following documents:

o Eligibility to Receive State Funds/Child Support Affidavit o Conflict of Interest Certification Form o Conflict of Interest Questionnaire o Suspension and Debarment Certification Form

Section V: Legal Documents – Include any standard agreement(s) and/or contracts(s) associated with vendor’s response.

Section VI: Miscellaneous – State exceptions to any of the requirements in this RFP, if any. Company brochures, optional/value-added services, marketing materials, or any other information vendor deems appropriate to the RFP response may be included in this section.

Harris County will not be liable for any costs incurred by the vendor in preparing a response to this RFP. Vendors submit proposals at their own risk and expense. Harris County makes no guarantee that any products or services will be purchased as a result of this RFP and reserves the right to reject any and all proposals. All proposals and accompanying documentation will become the property of Harris County. All proposals are open to negotiation.

The vendor is expected to examine all documents, forms, specifications, and all instructions. Failure to do so will be at vendor’s risk.

At and after opening, proposals will NOT be part of the public record and subject to disclosure, but will be kept confidential until time of award and execution of an agreement. When an award is made and an agreement is executed, proposals are subject to review under the “Public Information Act”. To the extent permitted by law, vendors may request in writing non-disclosure of confidential data. Such data shall accompany the proposal, be readily separable from the proposal, and shall be CLEARLY MARKED “CONFIDENTIAL”. For those portions identified as confidential by the vendor, Harris County must rely on advice, decisions and opinions of the Attorney General of the State of Texas relative to the disclosure of data or information.

EVALUATION PROCESS

All proposals will be examined by an evaluation committee consisting of various Harris County personnel and Harris County Purchasing. Proposals that do not conform to the instructions or which do not address all the services as specified may be eliminated from consideration. However, Harris County reserves the right to accept such a proposal if it is determined to be in the best interest of Harris County.

While Harris County appreciates a brief, straightforward, concise reply, the proposer must fully understand that the evaluation is based on the information provided. Accuracy and completeness are essential. Omissions, ambiguous and equivocal statements may be construed against the proposer. The proposal response may be incorporated into any contract which results from this RFP, and vendors are cautioned not to make claims or statements it is not prepared to commit to contractually. Failure of the vendor to meet such claims will result in a requirement that the vendor provide resources necessary to meet submitted claims.

Harris County Purchasing may initiate discussions with selected vendors; however, discussions may not be initiated by vendors.

Harris County Purchasing expects to conduct discussions with vendor’s representatives authorized to contractually obligate the vendor with an offer. Vendors shall not contact any Harris County personnel during the RFP process without the express permission from the Office of the Harris County Purchasing Agent. Harris County Purchasing may disqualify any vendor who has made site visits, contacted Harris County personnel or distributed any literature without authorization from Harris County Purchasing.

All correspondence relating to this RFP, from advertisement to award shall be sent to Harris County Purchasing. All presentations and/or meetings between Harris County and the vendor relating to this RFP shall be coordinated by Harris County

Purchasing.

Selected vendors may be expected to make a presentation/product demonstration to an evaluation committee. Proposals, vendor presentations and product/service evaluations may develop into negotiating sessions with the vendor(s) as selected by the Evaluation Committee. Harris County expects to conduct negotiations with vendor’s representatives authorized to contractually obligate the vendor with an offer. If vendor is unable to agree to contract terms and conditions, Harris County reserves the right to terminate contract negotiations with that vendor and initiate negotiations with another vendor. In addition to a presentation, visits by the Evaluation Committee to representative vendor client sites may be conducted where the proposed solution can be demonstrated in a production environment.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Award shall be made to the responsible vendor whose proposal is determined to be the best evaluated offer resulting from negotiations and taking into consideration all aspects of proposal impact items and the following in order of relative importance:

• Education Specialist(s), support staff qualifications and experience providing education advocacy, training and supportive services, Offeror must have a minimum of four(4) years of relevant experience and demonstrated success in providing the services requested in this RFP ........................................................................................................................................... 30%

• Turnaround time for services requested and the ability to provide services during evening and weekend hour……….20%

• Ability to provide services location described in this RFP, satellite offices and area school districts……………….…15%

• Ability to provide multiple community resources to youth, families, and staff ……………………………………….15%

• Overall quality of organization’s proposals…………………………………………………………………………....10%

• Pricing ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...10%

Submission of a proposal implies the vendor's acceptance of the evaluation criteria and vendor’s recognition that subjective judgments must be made by the Evaluation Committee.

LOCATIONS

Community Unit Probation Services (CUPS) Therapeutic Connections Unit (TCU)

CUPS 1, TCU, RISE,

and Service Learning

2525 Murworth Houston, TX 77054

CUPS 2 9111 Eastex Freeway Houston, TX 77093

CUPS 3 101 S. Richey, Suite A Houston, TX 77506

CUPS 4 5815 Antione, Suite E Houston, TX 77056

CUPS 8 1721 Pech Road Houston, TX 77055

Juvenile Justice Center 1200 Congress Street Houston, TX 77002

YESS Empowerment Services and Supervision

2525 Murworth, Houston, TX 77054

The Opportunity Center 6500A Chimney Rock Houston, TX 77081

PROJECT II AND OTHER ELECTRONIC REPORTING

HCJPD utilizes Project II, which is a secure web-based system that documents vendor services and client participation. The centralized system allows HCJPD staff to refer clients to vendors and review client participation and allows vendors to accept/reject referrals and report client progress. HCJPD administration also uses Project II to verify invoice payments and perform internal audits of Juvenile Board and County funds. Use of Project II requires selected vendors to attend department-sponsored training and perform the functions required to input data into Project II.

Additionally, successful vendors must detail the following in their RFP response:

• Vendor shall demonstrate and verify that they have sufficient equipment and other resources to permit access to Project II.

Sufficient equipment includes a laptop or desktop computer and printer that allows selected vendor to accept/reject referrals, schedule appointments, submit reports, and provide invoice documentation to HCJPD administration. The department does not provide vendors with equipment to access Project II, nor does it permit vendors to use department equipment for such purposes.

• Vendors shall demonstrate that they have sufficient staff to perform required Project II functions in a timely manner. In addition, vendor shall demonstrate staff has the knowledge, expertise and abilities to understand and perform the functions required to utilize Project II. These skills and abilities include the ability to access the secure website, perform data entry functions, and understand scheduling processes.

Utilization of Project II is critical to departmental operations. Project II permits HCJPD to report information to the Juvenile Board, County, Legislators, and other funding entities. Failure to provide accurate data to these entities prohibits or limits the amount of funding received by the department and affects the amount of funds available to provide needed services. Vendor who does not accurately reflect or document services provided in Project II will not be paid for invoiced services that cannot be verified. As a result, any prospective vendor who cannot demonstrate the ability to use Project II in accordance with this RFP will not be selected.

AWARD

Harris County anticipates awarding to a single vendor. However, Harris County reserves the right to award to more than one (1) vendor if in the best interest of Harris County. Harris County reserves the right to review vendor facilities and/or mobile units for compliance prior to award.

No award can be made until approved by Harris County Commissioners Court. This RFP does not obligate Harris County to the eventual purchase of any product/service described, implied or which may be proposed. Progress toward this end is solely at the discretion of Harris County and may be terminated at any time prior to execution of an agreement.

CERTIFICATE OF INTERESTED PARTIES (FORM 1295)

Texas law requires all parties who enter into any contract with the County which must be approved by Commissioners Court to disclose all interested parties. Form 1295 must be completed in its entirety at the following website:

https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/filinginfo/1295/ prior to submitting your response. Failure to do so may result in disqualification of your response.

LEGAL DOCUMENTS

Vendor should submit any agreement for products/services which may be required by the vendor’s organization to enter into a contract with Harris County. The awarded vendor will be required to execute an agreement with Harris County which finalizes the terms and conditions set forth in vendor’s proposal, best and final offer, and any negotiations between vendor and Harris County.

The agreement is subject to review and amendment by the Harris County Attorney’s Office.

COMPLIANCE AND STANDARDS

County and its designee shall have the right to conduct examinations, studies and audits of the services, payments, and efficiencies provided under these specifications and County may make such examinations, studies, and audits at any time whether before or after payment. Vendor shall cooperate with such examinations, studies, and audits and provide County with such records, data, documents, including all of Vendor’s backup and support data for billings, and Vendor shall provide access to such records, data, documents and personnel as are requested by County or the County Auditor. All payments made by County are subject to re-evaluation and refund or withholding of future payments conditioned on the results of the audit. This section shall survive termination of this Agreement.

AUDIT RIGHTS

Audit Rights - The Vendor shall cooperate to the fullest extent with any and all federal, state, local, or County audits to this

Agreement. The Vendor’s cooperation shall include, but not be limited to access to all books, records, contracts, spreadsheets, correspondence, and documents, in whatever form, that are applicable to this Agreement and requested by any federal, state, local, or County entity that has rights or jurisdiction over any part of this Agreement or the funds applicable to this Agreement.

Record Retention - The Vendor agrees to retain within the boundaries of Harris County, for six (6) years after the expiration of this Agreement, all books, records, contracts, spreadsheets, correspondence, and documents applicable to this Agreement. The Vendor will retain and make available, and insert the requisite clause in each applicable subcontract requiring its subcontractors to retain and make available, the books, records, contracts, spreadsheets, correspondence, and documents applicable to this Agreement.

OPTIONAL/VALUE-ADDED SERVICES

Vendor may propose optional/value-added services. Vendor must identify the use, functionality and purpose of the optional/value-added item(s), and how Harris County would benefit from electing to procure those item(s). Pricing for proposed item(s) shall be clearly labeled as optional/value-added. Optional/Value-Added Fee Schedule shall be uploaded to Bonfire in an Excel format under the Requested Information section of this solicitation.

TOLL/PARKING FEES

Any and all toll/parking FEES incurred by the vendor during the term of this contract will be the responsibility of the vendor.

INVOICES

Vendor shall submit an invoice upon completion of each deliverable. Deliverables will be considered complete only upon written acceptance by Harris County. Each invoice shall include deliverable(s) completed and the price for each. Each invoice shall include deliverable(s) completed and the price for each. Invoice shall be submitted on a monthly basis for work performed during the previous month. All payment requests will be accompanied by applicable: weekly/monthly reports, backup tabulations, and copies of employee time sheets for hourly T&M (Time and Material) tasks. No charges may be billed to Harris County unless such costs are explicitly included in the agreement.

Invoices will be sent to the requesting department and Accounts Payable:

If emailed: VENDORINVOICES@HCTX.NET

If mailed: Harris County Auditor’s Office c/o Accounts Payable

1001 Preston, Suite 800 Houston, Texas 77002

The exact format for monthly invoices and other attachments will be agreed upon between the vendor and Harris County during contract negotiations.

PURCHASE ORDER

Services and/or products must not be provided, and invoices will not be paid without a purchase order, signed by the Harris County Purchasing Agent. Purchase orders will be written in annual increments when applicable. Once a purchase order is issued, the using department will contact the vendor directly to place service orders.

PAYMENTS

Vendor shall be compensated monthly based on a milestone or progress-payment basis. Payments will be provided for monthly progress based on completion of accepted milestones. Invoices shall contain a written report of the project progress and the progressed project schedule showing the completion percentages for each task and milestone.

POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Notwithstanding any other requirements contained in the General Requirements section, the Potential Conflicts of Interest section specifically disqualifies any consultant, contractor and or any other entity who may have been a contributor to the creation of this RFP from proposing on this RFP and shall constitute a “prohibited proposal”.

REFERENCES

Vendor must provide a minimum of six (6) references as letters of reference from companies for whom vendor has provided similar services in the past ten (10) years as demonstration of vendor’s prior experience. Letters must include the following information:

Organization/client name/address Name of contact person Telephone number for contact Vendor services provided to this client Professional relationship with the organization/client Description of vendor’s ability to fill recruitment requests Description of quality of personnel provided by vendor Whether the organization/client would recommend vendor

References provided must be current and verifiable. Harris County will conduct reference checks to verify and validate vendor’s past performance. Reference checks indicating poor or failed performance by vendor will be cause for rejection of the response submitted. In addition, failure to provide verifiable letters of reference or References, will be cause for rejection of the response submitted. References from large government entities are preferred.

PUBLIC INFORMATION CONSENT

The parties expressly acknowledge that each party is subject to the Texas Public Information Act, Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. §§

552.001 et seq., as amended, and notwithstanding any provision in this contract to the contrary, each party will make any information related to this contract, or otherwise, available to third parties in accordance with the Texas Public Information Act.

COUNTY NOT OBLIGATED TO THIRD PARTIES

Neither the County nor related agencies are obligated or liable under this contract to any party other than vendor. Nothing in this contract is intended to, or shall be deemed or construed to, create or enhance any remedies in any independent rights of any third party, including any subcontractors.

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (OSHA) COMPLIANCE

Vendor agrees that vendor is solely responsible for compliance by employees, or individuals performing services on its behalf under this contract with the final regulations issued by the OSHA governing employee exposure to bloodborne pathogens in the workplace under Section VI(b) of the OSHA Act of 1970, as amended, and regulations effective March 6, 1992, and as may be amended or superseded from time to time (the “Regulations”), including but not limited to responsibility as “the employer” to provide all employees with: (1) information and training about the hazards associated with blood and other potentially infectious materials; (2) information and training about the protective measures to be taken to minimize the risk of occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens; (3) training in the appropriate action to take in an emergency involving exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials; and (4) information as to the reasons the employee should participate in hepatitis B vaccination and post-exposure evaluation and follow-up. Vendor’s responsibility with respect to the Regulations also shall include the provision of the hepatitis B vaccination in accordance with the Regulations.

NON-DISCRIMINATION

The parties agree that they will not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, religion, creed, sex, age, veteran status, or handicap in either the selection of employees for provision of services under this contract, or as to any aspect of services provided pursuant to this contract; provided, however, that with respect to handicap, the handicap must be such as would, even with reasonable accommodation, in and of itself preclude the individual’s effective delivery of services under this contract.

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR

The parties hereby acknowledge that they are independent contractors, and neither the vendor nor any of its agents, representatives, personnel, staff, or employees shall be considered agents, representatives, or employees of Harris County. In no event shall this contract be construed as establishing a partnership or joint venture or similar relationship between the parties hereto. Vendor agrees that it is and shall be liable for its own debts, obligations, acts and omissions, including the payment of all required withholding, social security, and other taxes or benefits including worker’s compensation insurance.

Vendor agrees to assure that no employee or any other individual who performs services on behalf of vendor pursuant to this contract shall look to Harris County for any salaries, insurance, or other benefits whatsoever. The provisions of the paragraph shall survive expiration or termination of this contract regardless of the cause of such termination.

Criminal History Checks for Prospective Staff, Interns and Volunteers Vendor staff must be at least 21 years of age and submit to a criminal history check. Section 344.310 of the Texas Administrative Code requires criminal history searches for all personnel including interns and volunteers who may have direct contact with youth in juvenile justice facilities and programs prior to the commencement of services. HCJPD has a two (2)-tiered, and in some cases, a (3)-tiered criminal history check process. This process includes a Texas Crime Information Center/National Crime Information Center (TCIC/NCIC) check, a fingerprint-based check through a Texas Department of Public Safety contractor, and a Texas Department of Family and Protective Services check, if applicable. The fingerprint-based criminal history search will be conducted in accordance with HCJPD policies and procedures prior to service commencement. The fee for each criminal history search will be charged to the selected vendor(s). The current cost for a fingerprint-based search is $10.43 per individual; however, this cost is subject to change. Upon payment and processing, the criminal history results and future notifications will be sent to HCJPD. For each new employee hired or transferred to a juvenile justice facility or program a new search must be conducted and the vendor must pay the processing fee. The selected vendor(s) must include this cost in their budget as part of per unit costs. HCJPD will not reimburse or pay vendor for fingerprint processing.

Individuals who vendor invites for special programs, events or speaking engagements on a one-time annual basis will be required to undergo an abbreviated background check and vendor must work with HCJPD to complete the required forms.

Prospective Disqualifying Criminal Conduct or History Any vendor staff hired or employed who will have direct unsupervised contact with youth must not have any of the following criminal history as described under Section 344.400 of the Texas Administrative Code. A disqualifying criminal history includes any of the following:

• a deferred adjudication or conviction for a felony listed in Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 42A.054 or a substantially equivalent violation against the laws of another state or the United States, regardless of the date of disposition; or,

• a deferred adjudication or conviction for a sexually violent offense as defined in Article 62.001, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.

Under Section 344.410 of the Texas Administrative Code, any vendor staff hired or employed who will have direct unsupervised contact with youth must not have the following disqualifying criminal history:

• a deferred adjudication or conviction for a felony other than those referenced above or substantially equivalent violation against the laws of another state or the United Sates if the date of the deferred adjudication or conviction waws less than 10 years prior to the date of the review is requested; or

• a deferred adjudication or conviction for any Class A or B misdemeanor in Texas or a substantially equivalent violation against the laws of another state or the United States if the date of thee deferred adjudication or conviction was less than five years prior to the date the review was requested.

• regardless of the date of conviction or deferred adjudication, a review will be conducted if an individual was incarcerated or placed on community supervision for any of the above offenses and less than one year has lapsed since the completion of any period of incarceration, community supervision, or parole.

These provisions also apply to any interns, volunteers, or sub-contractors working with the vendor under this advertisement.

However, in an effort to implement the Credible Messenger approach and utilize individuals with lived experience, the HCJPD may, but is not required to grant an exemption after considering factors listed in Section 3444.420 of the Texas Administrative Code. Some of these factors include but are not limited to; the extent and nature of past criminal activity; the amount of time that has elapsed since the person's last criminal activity; evidence of the individual's rehabilitation and rehabilitative effort while incarcerated or after release; and any other evidence of the individual's fitness to perform the duties of the position requiring certification, including any letters of recommendation. This will be at the sole discretion of HCJPD.

Prospective vendor should be aware that they are responsible for the costs of each FAST fingerprint-based check conducted on new and current staff regardless of the criminal history results.

Training Requirements In order to provide high-quality and efficient services to youth under the department’s supervision, HCJPD requires vendor staff be trained on HCJPD policies and procedures and Texas Juvenile Law. This training must be attended by any vendor staff that provides direct services, or may access individually identifiable juvenile records. In addition, vendor staff may be required to attend HCJPD Project II or other training that will assist in facilitating contract compliance.

HCJPD Policies and Procedures Training This required training will cover topics that will assist vendor staff in providing a safe and secure environment for both HCJPD clients and vendor staff. Topics shall include, but are not limited to:

• General Overview of the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department (HCJPD)

• Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA)

• Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation Reporting

• Criminal History Check Policies and Procedures

• Confidentiality and Juvenile Records

• Department Media Policies and Procedures

• Other Topics

This training may take up to three (3) hours and costs will not be reimbursed to selected vendor.