188543-0 Notice of Sole Source - JAWS.pdf

SOLE-SOURCE DETERMINATION MEMO

FOR SUPPLIES AND SERVICES

Date: 10/02/26 Sole source number: S-10000-00018112

To: Kirk N. Rhoades, Designated Procurement Officer

ODHS Office of Contracts & Procurement

Requestor: Jessica Radel

Agency/division: Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), herein after referred to as “Agency”

Program/office: Oregon Eligibility Partnership (OEP)

Contract specialist: Burke Barnett

Agency Sole source rule: Sole source authority:

DHS OAR 125-247-0275 OAR 125-246-0170(2)

DAS Delegation 649-11, as amended

Estimated total contract value: $28,024.73

Description of goods or services: JAWS Enterprise Perpetual Software Licenses

1. Background: The Oregon ONE Eligibility System provides members of the public with access to health and human services programs, including the ability to apply for and manage benefits. Because ONE delivers State government services electronically, the system must remain accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision and use screen-reading technology.

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires state and local government web content and mobile applications to conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA, subject to limited exceptions. For public entities serving populations of 50,000 or more, the federal compliance date was April 24, 2026. The rule applies to content made available directly by a public entity and through contractual or licensing arrangements.

JAWS—Job Access With Speech—is a proprietary Windows screen reader developed by

Freedom Scientific. It provides speech and Braille output and supports applications and browsers used to access the ONE system, including Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and

Firefox.

2. Prospective contractor/vendor:

Legal entity name: Freedom Scientific, Inc..

DBA:

Address: 17757 US Highway 19 N, Suite 200, Clearwater, FL 33764

Contact person: Douglas Gerry

Phone:

Email: dgerry@vispero.com

Protests are due by 3:00 PM within seven (7) calendar days after the first date the notice is posted on OregonBuys. Protests via telephone will not be accepted. Protests must be sent via email to the following address:

Oregon Department of Human Services

Office of Contracts and Procurement

ATTN: Burke Barnett

Address: 500 Summer St., Suite E03 Salem, OR 97301

Phone: 503-910-7821 Fax: 503-378-4324

Email: Burke.C.Barnett@odhsoha.oregon.gov

Agency reserves the right to purchase additional goods or services, and acknowledges that the services will include maintenance.

3. Written findings of fact (market research):

The findings below must include factual information supporting the determination that meet the sole source requirement in statute.

Pursuant to ORS 279B.075, Agency must conduct market research that supports the assertion that there is only one source that can provide the goods or services. Market research includes utilization of the internet, trade journals, agency vendor lists, professional organizations, studies, catalogs/industrial periodicals, vendor sources, yellow pages, etc.

For information technology contracts, any ownership or proprietary issues should be fully addressed with written documentation to support facts.

Agency must select at least one of the findings and prepare the determination as it specifically relates to the good or service being procured. More than one finding can be addressed. The findings are as follows:

Pursuant to ORS 279B.075 (2)(a): Provide findings supporting the determination that the efficient utilization of existing goods requires the acquisition of compatible goods or services from only one source.

The agency has determined that JAWS licenses and the associated manufacturer maintenance or subscription are available only from the manufacturer or its authorized distribution channel and are necessary to test the ONE system’s compatibility with JAWS.

Other screen readers cannot reproduce or validate JAWS-specific behavior.

Screen readers differ in how they interpret HTML, Accessible Rich Internet

Applications attributes, dynamic content, forms, focus management, error messages, and other application components. An application may function correctly with one screen reader and browser combination while producing different results with JAWS. Accordingly, testing solely with NVDA, Microsoft

Narrator, VoiceOver, or automated accessibility tools would not establish that ONE is usable with JAWS. The system must be tested with all commonly used screen reader tools to best serve Oregonians.

The maintenance or subscription component is necessary to keep the testing environment aligned with supported versions of JAWS, Windows, and the browsers used to access ONE. The ONE system, web browsers, operating systems, accessibility frameworks, and JAWS itself are updated over time. Testing only with an outdated JAWS version could fail to identify accessibility barriers affecting users running current supported software or could report behavior that has already changed.

Maintenance or subscription coverage provides access to applicable JAWS updates, upgrades, compatibility improvements, and vendor support.

Because those services relate to Freedom Scientific’s proprietary software, they cannot be provided independently by another screen-reader manufacturer. Maintaining supported versions also preserves the consistency and repeatability of the ONE accessibility testing program.

JAWS is proprietary software developed and controlled by Freedom

Scientific. Only Freedom Scientific can modify the underlying product, issue

JAWS version upgrades and compatibility updates, authorize licenses, and provide the associated manufacturer maintenance rights. The agency is purchasing usage and maintenance rights and will not acquire ownership of the JAWS software or source code.

or

Pursuant to ORS 279B.075 (2)(b): Provide findings supporting the determination that the goods or services required for the exchange of software or data with other public or private agencies are available from only one source.

or

Pursuant to ORS 279B.075 (2)(c): Provide findings supporting the determination that the goods or services are for use in a pilot or an experimental project.

or

Pursuant to ORS 279B.075 (2)(d): Any other findings that support the conclusion that the goods or services are available from only one source.

APPROVED:

By:

Signed by DPO electronically via OregonBuys

Kirk N. Rhoades or acting DPO

BRAND NAME DETERMINATION:

If a brand name is involved, Agency must also satisfy the requirements of OAR 125-247-

0691 by completing Attachment 1.

ATTACHMENT 1

DETERMINATION OF BRAND NAME SPECIFICATION

Requestor: Jessica Radel

Agency/division: Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), herein after referred to as “Agency”

Program/office: Oregon Eligibility Partnership (OEP)

Agency Brand name statute/rule: Brand name authority:

DHS OAR 125-247-0691 OAR 125-246-0170(2)

Total estimated cost: $28,024.73

1. Background: The Oregon ONE Eligibility System provides members of the public with access to health and human services programs, including the ability to apply for and manage benefits. Because ONE delivers State government services electronically, the system must remain accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision and use screen-reading technology.

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires state and local government web content and mobile applications to conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA, subject to limited exceptions. For public entities serving populations of 50,000 or more, the federal compliance date was April 24, 2026. The rule applies to content made available directly by a public entity and through contractual or licensing arrangements.

JAWS—Job Access With Speech—is a proprietary Windows screen reader developed by

Freedom Scientific. It provides speech and Braille output and supports applications and browsers used to access the ONE system, including Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and

Firefox.

2. Brand name to be acquired:

Legal entity name: Freedom Scientific, Inc..

DBA:

Address: 17757 US Highway 19 N, Suite 200, Clearwater, FL 33764

Contact person: Douglas Gerry

Phone:

Email: dgerry@vispero.com

3. Findings to satisfy required standards:

Use of a brand name specification is unlikely to encourage favoritism in the awarding of public contracts or substantially diminish competition for public contracts because:

or

Use of a brand name specification would result in substantial cost savings to the agency or the public because: Based on the market research and findings described above, JAWS is the only product capable of satisfying the specific requirement to test the ONE system’s operation with the JAWS screen reader. The corresponding maintenance or subscription is necessary to keep the product supported and compatible with the operating systems and browsers used by ONE customers and testers.

The procurement therefore supports a sole-source determination under ORS

279B.075(2)(d) because the documented findings establish that the required JAWS specific testing capability is available from only one source. To the extent existing

JAWS licenses, test procedures, trained staff, and testing configurations require compatible maintenance or additional licenses, the procurement may also be supported by ORS 279B.075(2)(a) or

There is only one manufacturer or seller of the product of the quality, performance or functionality required; because:

or

The efficient utilization of existing goods requires the acquisition of compatible goods or services because:

FINDINGS

The findings are accepted, adopted, and incorporated by reference herein.