2025.453 BLOCK RFA CHILD AND WELFARE BLOCK GRANT RFA PROGRAM.pdf

Adams County Finance Department Purchasing Division

4430 South Adams County Parkway Brighton, Colorado 80601

REQUEST FOR APPLICATION

COVER SHEET

RFA Issue Date : April 11, 2025

RFA Number: RFA-MR-2025.453

RFA Title: CHILD WELFARE BLOCK GRANT RFA PROGRAM

Questions due: April 18, 2025 5PM MST

Application will be received until: May 9, 2025 5PM MST

**If you have applied for Core Services in 2024, please note that this is for Block Funded Services only. If you want to participate in Block Services, you will need to submit an application**

Applications will be received at: https://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado/adams-county

For additional information please contact: MICHELE RIGGIN, Contract Specialist I Email Address: MRIGGIN@adcogov.org

Documents included in this package: Application Instructions

General Terms and Conditions

Scope of Work (SOW)/ Specifications

Submission Check List

Contractor’s Statement

Reference Form

Term of Acceptance Form

Attachment A– Sample Agreement

Attachment B- RFA Block Application https://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado/adams-county mailto:MRIGGIN@adcogov.org

4430 South Adams County Parkway Brighton, Colorado 80601

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

1. The Adams County Board of Commissioners by and through its Purchasing Division of the Finance Department is accepting applications from potential providers who are qualified to offer services for the Block Services Program in the following categories for children and families involved in the child welfare system.

• Sibling Visitation

• Paternity Testing/Genetic Testing

• Family Search/Diligent Search Services

• Structured Analysis Family Evaluation Homes Studies

• Removal Prevention Services

• Substance Monitoring Services

• Youth Intervention Services

• Translation and Interpretation Services

• Answering Service

• Cleaning Service

• Tutoring Service

• Respite Services

2. SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS: This Application is open-ended and will remain in effect until rescinded. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until further notice. Adams County will only accept electronic submittals. Applications can be submitted at https://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado/adams-county.

3. The Adams County Board of County Commissioners by and through its Purchasing Division of the Finance Department is accepting applications for CHILD WELFARE BLOCK GRANT

RFA PROGRAM.

4. All documents related to this RFA will be posted on the Bidnet System at:

4.1. Interested parties must register with this service to receive these documents.

5. CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS

5.1. The successful Contractor will be required to sign an Agreement substantially similar to the Agreement form in Attachment A. The County reserves the right to add or delete provisions to the form prior to Agreement execution.

5.2. Issuance of this solicitation does not commit the County to award any Agreement or to procure or Agreement for any equipment, materials or services.

5.3. If a formal Agreement is required, the Contractor agrees and understands that a Notice of Award does not constitute an Agreement or create a property interest of any nature until an Agreement is signed by the Awardee and the Board of County Commissioners and/or their authorized designee.

5.4. Contractor is responsible for reviewing the form Agreement and understanding the terms and conditions contained therein, including, but not limited to, insurance requirements, indemnification, illegal aliens, equal opportunity, non-appropriation, and termination.

5.5. Contractor’s Response must state its willingness to enter into the form Agreement or

Contractor shall identify and include any proposed revisions they have for the form Agreement. Any proposed revisions made by the Contractor after the County Notice of Intent to Award the Solicitation may be grounds for rescinding said Notice. The identification of willingness to enter into the standard Agreement is for general purposes at this time but is part of the evaluation process and must be included. There may be negotiations on a project-by-project basis that provide further clarification.

5.6. Incorrect Pricing/Invoicing. As part of any award resulting from this process, Contractor(s) will discount all transactions as agreed. In the event the County discovers, through its Agreement monitoring process or formal audit process, that material or services were priced/invoiced incorrectly, Contractor(s) agree to promptly refund all overpayments and to pay all reasonable audit expenses incurred as a result of the non-compliance.

5.7. The County may, during the term of the Agreement and any extensions, request additional work at other locations throughout Adams County by the successful Contractor.

6. METHOD OF AWARD: It is the intent of the County to award Agreements to the Contractor who provides the best value for Adams County. An applicant may receive multiple Agreements for services applied for.

6.1. Evaluation criteria, other than costs, are evaluated first. After rating the written responses, costs are then considered against trade-offs such as satisfaction of requirements in the Solicitation, qualification and financial condition of the Contractor, risk, and incentives.

6.2. If it is in the best interest of the County, the Evaluation Committee may invite a limited number of contractors to provide an oral presentation.

6.3. The County reserves the right to conduct negotiations with Contractors and to accept revisions of Responses. During this negotiation period, the County will not disclose any information derived from responses submitted, or from discussions with other Contractors. Once an award is made, the Solicitation file and the Responses contained therein are in the public record.

6.4. Questions which arise during the Response preparation period regarding issues around this Solicitation, purchasing and/or award should be directed, via e-mail, to Michele Riggin, Contract Specialist I, Purchasing Division, Adams County, MRiggin@adcogov.org. The Contractor submitting the question(s) shall be responsible for ensuring the question(s) is received by the County by the date listed above in the schedule of activities for submitting the question(s) regardless of the method of delivery.

7. Any official interpretation of this RFA must be made by an agent of the County’s Purchasing

Division who is authorized to act on behalf of the County. The County shall not be responsible for interpretations offered by employees of the County who are not agents of the County’s Purchasing Division.

mailto:MRiggin@adcogov.org

8. COOPERATIVE PURCHASING: Adams County encourages cooperative purchasing in an effort to assist other agencies to reduce their cost of bidding and to make better use of taxpayer dollars through volume purchasing. Contractor(s) may, at their discretion, agree to extend the prices and/or terms of the resulting award to other state or local government agencies, school districts, or political subdivisions in the event they would have a need for the same product/service. Usage by any entity shall not have a negative impact on Adams County in the current term or in any future terms.

9. The Contractor(s) must deal directly with any governmental agency concerning the placement of purchase orders/agreements, freight/delivery charges, Contractual disputes, invoices, and payments. Adams County shall not be liable for any costs or damages incurred by any other entity.

10. BUDGET: Budget will not be disclosed.

11. DEBARMENT: By submitting this application, the Contractor warrants and certifies they are eligible to submit an application because their company and/or subcontract(s) is/are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation in a transaction by any Federal, State, or local department or agency.

11.1. The Contractor must hold a current and active Unique Identifier Number through sam.gov. Applicant must submit proof of active registration with proposal submittal. If proof of active registration is not provided- proposal submittal will be deemed not responsive.

https://sam.gov/

4430 South Adams County Parkway Brighton, Colorado 80601

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. APPLICABILITY: These General Terms and Conditions apply, but are not limited, to all bids, applications, qualifications and quotations (hereinafter referred to as “Application” or “Response”) made to Adams County (hereinafter referred to as "County") by all prospective Contractors, Contractors, bidders, firms, companies, publishers, consultants, or suppliers (herein after referred to as “Contractor” or "Contractors") in response, but not limited, to all Invitations to Bid, Requests for Applications, Requests for Qualifications, and Requests for Quotations (hereinafter referred to as “Solicitation” or “Solicitations”).

2. CONTENTS OF APPLICATION

2.1. GENERAL CONDITIONS: Contractors are required to submit their Applications in accordance with the following expressed conditions:

2.1.1. Contractors shall make all investigations necessary to thoroughly inform themselves regarding the plant and facilities affected by the delivery of materials and equipment as required by the conditions of the Solicitation. No plea of ignorance by the Contractor of conditions that exist or that may hereafter exist will be accepted as the basis for varying the requirements of the County or the compensation to the Contractor.

2.1.2. Contractors are advised that all County Solicitations and Agreements are subject to all requirements contained in the County’s Purchasing Division’s Policies and state and federal statutes. When conflicts occur, the highest authority will prevail.

2.1.3. Contractors are required to state exactly what they intend to furnish to the County in their Application and must indicate any variances to the terms, conditions, and specifications of this Solicitation no matter how slight. If variations are not stated in a Contractor’s Application, it shall be construed that the Contractor’s Application fully complies with all conditions identified in this Solicitation.

3. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY: The County intends and expects that the Contracting processes of the County and its Contractors provide equal opportunity without regard to gender, age, race, color, religion, marital status, disability, sex, national origin, gender identity, gender expression, or any other characteristic barred by law and that its Contractors make available equal opportunities to the extent third parties are engaged to provide goods and services to the County as Subcontractors, Contractors, or otherwise. Accordingly, the Contractor shall not discriminate on any of the foregoing grounds in the performance of any Agreement awarded to the Contractor and shall make available equal opportunities to the extent third parties are engaged to provide goods and services in connection with performance of the Agreement. If submitting a joint venture Application, or an Application involving a partnership arrangement, articles of partnership stating each partner’s responsibilities shall be furnished and submitted with the Response.

4. COLORADO OPEN RECORDS ACT: All documentation submitted in response to this solicitation will become the property of Adams County. All documentation maintained or kept by Adams County shall be subject to the Colorado Open Records Act. C.R.S. 24-72-201 et.

seq. (“CORA”). Accordingly, respondents are discouraged from providing information that they consider confidential, privileged, and/or trade secrets as part of a response to this solicitation.

Any portions of submissions that are reasonably considered confidential should be clearly marked as such. The County does not guarantee the confidentiality of any record(s).

Careful consideration should be given before submitting confidential information to the County. The Colorado Open Records Act permits public scrutiny of most materials collected in this solicitation process.

5. CLARIFICATION AND MODIFICATIONS IN TERMS AND CONDITIONS

5.1. Where there appears to be variances or conflicts between the General Terms and Conditions, any Special Terms and Conditions and the Scope of Work/Specifications outlined in this Solicitation, the Scope of Work/ Specifications, and then the Special Terms and Conditions, will prevail.

5.1.1. If any Contractor contemplating submitting an Application under this Solicitation is in doubt as to the true meaning of the Scope of Work or any other portion of the Solicitation, the Contractor must submit a written request via email for clarification to the Point of Contact listed on the first page of this Solicitation.

The Contractor submitting the request shall be responsible for ensuring that the request is received by the County prior to the deadline for submitting questions.

5.1.2. The County shall issue a written addendum if substantial changes which impact the technical submission of Applications are required. A copy of such addenda will be available at the Bidnet System website. In the event of conflict with the original Solicitation documents, addenda shall supersede to the extent specified. Subsequent addenda shall supersede prior addenda only to the extent specified.

5.1.3. Addenda: contractor is responsible for obtaining and acknowledging all subsequent addenda via the rocky mountain e-purchasing system (bidnet).

Failure to submit any and all subsequent addendum/addenda may deem the contractor non-responsive. Each and every addendum to be separately acknowledged.

5.2. Prices contained in application - discounts, taxes, collusion

5.2.1. The contractor agrees to hold submitted prices up to 120 days after bid due date.

5.2.2. Contractors may offer a cash discount for prompt payment. Discounts will be considered in determining the lowest net cost for the evaluation of Applications;

discounts for periods of less than twenty days, however, will not be considered in making an award. If no prompt payment discount is being offered, the Contractor shall enter a zero (0) for the percentage discount to indicate net thirty days. If the Contractor does not enter a percentage discount, it is hereby understood and agreed that the payment terms shall be net thirty days, effective on the date that the County receives an accurate invoice or accepts the products, whichever is the later date. Payment is deemed to be made on the date of the mailing of the check.

5.2.3. Contractors shall not include federal, state, or local excise or sales taxes in prices offered, as the County is exempt from payment of such taxes.

5.2.3.1. Federal Identification Number: 84-6000732

5.2.3.2. State of Colorado Tax Exempt Number: 98-03569

6. SIGNING APPLICATION

Contractor, by affixing its signature to this Solicitation, certifies that its Application is made without previous understanding, agreement, or connection either with any persons, firms or corporations making an Application for the same items, or with the County. The Contractor also certifies that its Application is in all respects fair, without outside control, collusion, fraud, or otherwise illegal action. To ensure integrity of the County’s public procurement process, all Contractors are hereby placed on notice that any and all Contractors who falsify the certifications required in conjunction with this section will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

7. PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION

7.1. PREPARATION

7.1.1. The Application must be typed or legibly printed in ink. The use of erasable ink is not permitted. All corrections made by the Contractor must be initialed by the authorized agent of the Contractor.

7.1.2. Applications must contain a manual signature of an authorized agent of the

Contractor in the space provided on the Contractor’s Statement page. The Contractor’s Statement of this Solicitation must be included in Application response. If the Contractor’s authorized agent fails to sign and return the original Contractor’s Statement page of the Solicitation, its Application may be considered invalid.

7.1.3. Alternate Applications will not be considered unless expressly permitted in the Scope of Work.

7.1.4. The accuracy of the Application is the sole responsibility of the Contractor.

No changes in the Application shall be allowed after the date and time that submission of the Application is due.

7.2. SUBMISSION

7.2.1. The Application shall be submitted via the Bidnet Direct System. The County’s

Pricing Form, which is attached to this Solicitation, must be used when the Contractor is submitting its Application. The Contractor shall not alter this form (e.g., add or modify categories for posting prices offered) unless expressly permitted in the Solicitation or in an addendum duly issued by the County. Only Applications received by the Purchasing Division of the Finance Department will be accepted; Applications submitted telephone, email, or facsimile machines are not acceptable.

7.2.2. Failure to provide any requested information may result in the rejection of the

Application as non-responsive.

7.2.3. Application must be submitted in the format supplied and/or described by the

County. Failure to submit in the format provided may be cause for rejection of the Application. Applications must be furnished exclusive of taxes.

7.2.4. Contractor is responsible for ensuring their Application is received by the

Purchasing Division prior to the deadline outlined in the solicitation regardless of the method of delivery.

7.2.5. Contractors, which qualify their Application by requiring alternate Contractual terms and conditions as a stipulation for Agreement award, must include such alternate terms and conditions in their Response. The County reserves the right to declare a Contractor’s Application as non-responsive if any of these alternate terms and conditions are in conflict with the County’s terms and conditions, or if they are not in the best interests of the County.

8. LATE APPLICATIONS

8.1. Allow ample time to upload your applications. The County assumes no responsibility for any IT related issues that occur.

8.2. The County assumes no responsibility for an Application being either opened early or improperly routed if not submitted into the Bidnet System properly.

8.3. In the event of a situation severe enough to cause the Adams County Board of Commissioners to close the County offices for any reason, the Purchasing Manager has the prerogative of rescheduling the Application opening time and date. No Application will be considered above all other Applications by having met the Application opening time and date requirements to the exclusion of those who were unable to present their Application due to a situation severe enough to cause the Board of County Commissioners to close the County offices.

9. MODIFICATION AND WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATIONS

9.1. MODIFICATIONS TO APPLICATIONS. Applications may only be modified in the form of a written notice on Contractor letterhead and must be received prior to the time and date set for the Applications to be opened. Each modification submitted to the County’s Purchasing Division must have the Contractor’s name and return address and the applicable Solicitation number and title clearly marked on the face of the sealed envelope. If more than one modification is submitted, the modification bearing the latest date of receipt by the County’s Purchasing Division will be considered the valid modification.

9.2. WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATIONS

9.2.1. Applications may be withdrawn in the form of a written notice on Contractor letterhead and must be received prior to the time and date set for the opening of Applications. Any withdrawal of an Application submitted to Adams County Purchase Division must have the Contractor’s name, return address, and the applicable Solicitation number and title clearly marked on the face of the envelope and on the withdrawal letter.

9.2.2. Applications may not be withdrawn after the time and date set for the opening for a period of ninety calendar days. If an Application is withdrawn by the Contractor during this ninety-day period, the County may, at its option, suspend the Contractor and may not accept any Application from the Contractor for a six-month period following the withdrawal.

10. REJECTION OF APPLICATIONS

10.1. The County may, at its sole and absolute discretion:

10.1.1. Reject any and all, or parts of any or all, Applications submitted by prospective Contractors;

10.1.2. Re-advertise this Solicitation;

10.1.3. Postpone or cancel the process;

10.1.4. Waive any irregularities in the Applications received in conjunction with this

Solicitation; and/or

10.2. In addition to any reason identified above, the County may reject a particular Application under any of the following conditions:

10.2.1. The Contractor misstates or conceals any material fact in its Application;

10.2.2. The Contractor’s Application does not strictly conform to the law or the requirements of the Solicitation;

10.2.3. The Application expressly requires or implies a conditional award that conflicts with the method of award stipulated in the Solicitation;

10.2.4. The Application does not include documents, including, but not limited to, certificates, licenses, and/or samples, which are required for submission with the Application in accordance with the Solicitation; and/or

10.2.5. The Application has not been executed by the Contractor through an authorized signature on the Contractor’s Statement.

10.2.6. The Application does not include an active proof of SAMS.GOV registration and a Unique Identifier Number.

10.3. The County reserves the right to waive any irregularities or informalities, and the right to accept or reject any and all Applications.

11. ELIMINATION FROM CONSIDERATION

11.1. An Application may not be accepted from, nor any Agreement be awarded to, any person or firm which is in arrears to the County upon any debt or Agreement or which is a defaulter as surety or otherwise upon any obligation to the County.

11.2. An Application may not be accepted from, nor any Agreement awarded to, any person or firm who has failed to perform faithfully any previous Agreement with the County or other governmental entity, for a minimum period of three years after the previous Agreement was terminated for cause.

11.3. Any communications in regards to this RFA must go through the Adams County

Purchasing Division only. Any contact with other County personnel or County Contractors may be cause for disqualification.

11.4. No damages shall be recoverable by any challenger as a result of the determinations listed in this Section or decisions by the County.

11.5. The Board of County Commissioners may rescind the award of any Application within one week thereof or at its next regularly scheduled meeting; whichever is later, when the public interest will be served thereby.

11.6. An application received without proper proof of an active SAMS registration and

Unique Identifier number will not be considered.

12. QUALIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTOR: The County may make such investigations as deemed necessary to determine the ability of the Contractor to perform work, and the Contractor shall furnish all information and data for this purpose as the County requests. Such information includes but is not limited to current/maximum bonding capabilities, current licensing information, audited financial statements, history of the firm on assessments of liquidated damages, Agreements cancelled prior to completion and/or lawsuits and/or pending lawsuits against the firm and/or its principals. The County reserves the right to reject any Application if the evidence submitted by, or investigation of, such Contractor fails to satisfy the County that such Contractor is properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the Agreement and to complete the work contemplated therein. Conditional Applications will not be accepted.

13. AWARD OF SOLICITATION: The County shall award this Solicitation to the successful Contractor through the issuance of a Notice of Intent to Award. All Contractors that participated in the Solicitation process will be notified of Contractor selection. No services or goods shall be provided, and no compensation shall be paid, until and unless an Agreement has been signed by an authorized representative of the County and the Contractor.

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4430 South Adams County Parkway Brighton, Colorado 80601

SCOPE OF WORK

BACKGROUND

PURPOSE:

Development of a pool of potential providers who are qualified to offer services through the Block Service Program in the following categories to children and families involved in the child welfare system:

• Sibling Visitation

• Paternity Testing/Genetic Testing

• Family Search/Diligent Search Services

• Structured Analysis Family Evaluation Homes Studies

• Removal Prevention Services

• Substance Monitoring Services

• Youth Intervention Services

• Interpretation and Translation Services

• Answering Service

• Cleaning Service

• Tutoring Service

• Respite Services

Once the pool of providers is established, the County will select from the pool to pursue a contractual relationship and the implementation of a formal contract agreement. Referrals to programs/services will be made based on the needs of the client. Meeting the criteria of this Request for Application (RFA), or any other solicitation, does not of itself obligate Adams County Human Services Department (ACHSD) to extend a contract for services, utilize, or pay for these services in any circumstance. Parties interested in submitting their applications to provide such services are required to follow the recommended guidelines and instructions contained in this RFA and must complete and submit the Request for Application Form (Attachment 1).

DEFINITION OF BLOCK SERVICES:

When responding please mark Application with the appropriate number. Please submit all applications for each service separately along with pricing proposed.

RFA-MR-2025.453-1 SIBLING VISITATION SERVICES: Block Funded

1. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES AND PROGRAM GOALS

Sibling visitation services are needed when abused and neglected children in foster care or relative placement are separated from their siblings. Sibling bonds are lifetime bonds and this bond is interrupted when siblings are placed in separate living situations. When sibling visitation is available, children can maintain these bonds and feel less anxiety and responsibility for the separation. It can also lead to improved outcomes in permanency and well-being.

“When siblings cannot be placed together, facilitating regular contact is critical to maintaining these relationships. Regular contact may even affect permanency outcomes. Findings from the Child and Family Services Reviews conducted in all States found a significant association between visiting with parents and siblings and both permanency and well-being outcomes (USDHHS, 2011).

Sibling visitation services will include:

• Supervised Sibling Visitation - This level of visitation will occur in the community. The visitation supervisor is in the room with the siblings at all times and includes intervention with inappropriate sibling interactions. The provider sees and hears all interactions during the visitation time and is actively involved in increasing and promoting the siblings’ bond. Monthly reports will be submitted by the 8th of the month following services.

• Therapeutic Sibling Visitation - This level of visitation is conducted by a bachelor’s or master’s level, mental health professional also trained to provide supervised visitation. Visitation supervisors at this level must work under the direct supervision of a licensed or certified mental health professional. The role of the visitation worker is similar to a family therapist and uses therapeutic modalities to address sibling interactions with a focus on improving the relationship and bonding between the siblings. The provider sees and hears all interactions during the visitation time and is actively involved in increasing and promoting a positive, nurturing relationship among siblings. It is possible that the siblings have not seen each other in a significant amount of time and/or that there has been past sexually reactive behavior among the siblings. Therapeutic visitation supervisors must be clinically versed in sex abuse treatment when providing sibling visitation to children who have past histories of sexually reactive behavior with each other.

Monthly reports will be submitted by the 8th of the month following services.

The determination of the level of visitation will be based on the safety and needs of the children and is at the discretion of the ACHSD caseworker in conjunction with the child’s treatment team. The following factors will be considered for each child:

• Child’s safety

• Child’s history of abusive/neglectful behavior toward siblings

• Child’s individual best interests as determined by child’s input, ACHSD caseworker and treatment team

• Who the child identifies as his/her siblings

• Whether or not the visits are court-ordered

• Status of permanency plan

• Status of court case

• Ability to safely transport child

• Distance

• Age of child and duration of sibling relationship

Provision of sibling visitation services will be in a calm, neutral, community environment.

(If there is a therapeutic reason why the sibling visit needs to occur in the ACHSD building, it needs to be staffed with the Contract Supervisor or Client Services Manager prior to approval.) Each visit will be a minimum of one hour (60 minutes) unless therapeutically the visit needs to end earlier than that. Visitation will occur a minimum of twice per month with weekly visitation the preferred frequency. The visitation supervisor is responsible for each child’s physical, social and emotional safety during visits. Every effort will be made to provide relevant information related to the siblings’ relationships so that the visitation supervisor can ensure this safety. The visitation supervisor will ensure that every child will be treated in a culturally responsive manner. The visitation supervisor is responsible for reporting back to the adult caretaker of the child any significant interactions that occur during sibling visitation.

A safe environment for the visits would continue to be provided as ordered by the court.

This service will focus on working with the children toward the goal of reinitiating, maintaining and/or promoting sibling bonds while they are living in different locations.

In-court testimony by provider’s staff may be required. Provider staff shall be prepared to give testimony regarding their duties, observations and visitation documentation.

2. ELIGIBLE POPULATION TO BE SERVED

Each child will meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Program Areas 4, 5 or 6 target group defined in Volume 7 of the Colorado Revised Statues under Child Welfare Services

• At least one of the children is placed out of the home

• The level of risk of harm to the children is manageable

• There is a reasonable possibility that services can maintain or bring about sufficient improvement in the sibling relationship upon completion of the service

3. TIMEFRAME OF THE SERVICE

Initial approval for sibling visitation services will be up to 120 days at which time an extension can be requested with the Contract Supervisor or Client Services Manager to determine further approval. If the service is needed beyond 12 months, it must be approved through an internal county department administrative review process which includes one or more administrators not providing direct services to the family. Documentation of all approvals must be in the case record.

4. WORKLOAD STANDARDS

Eligible Proposer:

Individuals, organizations or agencies that are (or who employ) paraprofessionals who possess superior communication, written, and customer service skills and demonstrate a commitment to meeting deadlines. Providers who have bilingual staff, including Spanish-speaking staff, are highly desired.

Staff Qualifications:

The county department shall ensure that all personnel who supervise or provide professional services in child welfare possess the following minimum qualifications:

For Supervised Sibling Visitations:

a) This position has obtained a minimum of a high school diploma or a General Equivalency Diploma (GED) and six months of full-time public contact in human services or a related field. Substitution for public contact is successful completion of a certificate program and/or college course equivalent to public contact in human services or a related field. A bachelor’s degree in a human service related field is preferred.

For Therapeutic Sibling Visitations:

a) A Bachelor's degree with a major in a human behavioral sciences field (no substitution) and three years of professional casework or supervised visitation experience at the journey level obtained after the degree; or,

b) A Master's degree or higher in social work or a human behavioral sciences field and two years of professional casework or supervised visitation experience at the journey level obtained before or after the advanced degree.

Education Requirements:

In order to meet the minimum educational requirements of a human behavioral science degree, the applicant must have a degree with major course work (equivalent to 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours) in either development of human behavior, child development, family intervention techniques, diagnostic measures or therapeutic techniques such as social work, psychology, sociology, guidance and counseling, and child development.

5. PAYMENT OF FEE SCHEDULE

Sibling visitation services are fee for service contracts. ACHSD reserves the right to select more than one provider for this service. The provider(s) shall submit a monthly invoice by the 10th of the month following the provision of services. Child welfare funding sources have reimbursement parameters beyond the county’s control; therefore, submitting billing later than the 10th of the month following the service can be cause for voiding the contract and will be a consideration in awarding future contracts.

6. TERM

This contract begins on July 1st, 2025. This is a one (1) year contract with the option to renew for up to five (5) years.

7. PROPOSAL EVALUATION

In evaluating proposals submitted pursuant to this request, the following factors are considered and are not necessarily in order of importance:

a. Experience of individual or agency (and their employees) in providing contracted services.

b. Qualifications of personnel

c. Demonstrated knowledge of sibling visitation processes and availability of staff to perform tasks

d. Ability to engage and work collaboratively with County staff and clientele on a face-to-face basis

e. Demonstrated ability to adhere to strict deadlines, including, but not limited to:

response time upon receiving referrals, providing services and monthly reports and submitting timely billing.

Documentation that must be submitted:

• SAM certificate.

• Certificate of Insurance

• W-9.

• Fee Schedule (please list hourly rates for the service applying for, if applicable).

An active and updated SAM registration with a unique identifier number must be included with submission in order to be considered for an agreement. Registration and to obtain a SAM unique identifier number can be obtained at sam.gov.

Contractor may choose to apply for A, B or A & B and must submit pricing that includes the following information in the proposal:

A. Supervised Sibling Visitation Services:

Hourly rate with transportation provided up to 60 miles one-way from the ACHSD Human

Services Center: _______________ Hourly rate without transportation: _______________

B. Therapeutic Sibling Visitation Services:

Hourly rate with transportation provided up to 60 miles one-way from the ACHSD Human

Services Center: _______________ Hourly rate without transportation: _______________

RFA-MR-2025.453-2 GENETIC TESTING: Block Funded

1. DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE OF SERVICE

The Adams County Human Services Department is seeking the services of a qualified laboratory to perform paternity testing services for Adams County (referred to hereafter as the “County”).

These services are needed for cases opened in Child Welfare and Child Support Enforcement in which paternity may need to be explored and confirmed. Confirmation of paternity is often needed to determine outcomes and future proceedings in these cases.

Often, genetic testing will be an order of the Court in which the County is responsible to provide the service for the clients.

2. POPULATION TO BE SERVED

Families being served may have open child welfare assessments or cases and/or may also have open child support cases.

Referrals for testing will be made by the case managers or the County’s legal department.

This service will primarily focus on serving adult caregivers who have been court-ordered to complete paternity testing. Testing may also require children of various ages to be seen for further collection of genetic specimens and communication with their legal custodial caregiver to schedule those appointments. There may be situations in which kinship providers may be court-ordered to provide genetic samples to test for paternity when a paternal figure is unavailable. Clients needing to be tested may also reside in correctional facilities and the chosen contractor must be able to test those individuals.

3. WORKLOAD STANDARDS AND EXPECTATIONS

The current volume of genetic testing for paternity establishment for the Adams County Child Support Enforcement Unit (CSE) and for Children and Family Services (CFS):

• Child Support Enforcement (CSE):

In 2023, approximately 186 specimens were collected.

In 2022, approximately 190 specimens were collected.

• Children and Family Services (CFS) In 2023, approximately 49 specimens were collected.

In 2022, approximately 94 specimens were collected.

The numbers of tests provided each year vary greatly. The selected contractor and its employees should have the capacity to meet the needs of the County for genetic testing and provide adequate locations for testing for the clients. Within Adams County Department of Human Services, the divisions who will be utilizing genetic testing services will include the Child Support Enforcement Unit (CSE) and Children and Family Services (CFS).

The Contractor will be responsible for providing all labor and materials to perform laboratory paternity testing service, including, but not limited to:

• Qualifications:

The laboratory must be accredited to perform paternity testing by The American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) or the American Society of Histocompatibility, and Immunogenetics (ASHI). The laboratory submitting a bid must perform all testing. With the exception of Specimen collection, the laboratory may not subcontract any aspect of testing described in this solicitation.

• Technology:

Testing results must specify a probability of paternity greater than 99%, or paternal exclusions in two (2) or more independent genetic marker systems. Results must also specify paternity indices for each test system and combined paternity index.

The laboratory must utilize DNA polymorphisms for paternity evaluations. Acceptable tests include Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) or Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms

(RFLP).

Genetic marker frequency databases for all test systems must be of adequate size and must demonstrate Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium. Multi-locus DNA probes may not be utilized.

The average probability of exclusion of the test battery utilized must exceed 99% for all major population groups (White, Black, Hispanic and American Indian).

The laboratory must continue testing, at no additional cost to the CSE or CFC unit, until the alleged father is either excluded by at least two (2) independent genetic systems or the probability of paternity exceeds 99%.

• Sample Collection:

Buccal swabs will be the primary method of collection. The Contractor must provide an on-site Sample Collector to collect samples and be available at a minimum of 2 days 8 hours each day 2 days a week. The Contractor must coordinate their schedule with the Project Manager for the schedule.

The required days and times of collections required by the County’s Human Services Department are on Wednesday mornings from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and Thursday afternoons 1:00-4:00 p.m. (Days and times may be subject to change.) The address for sample collection will be: Adams County Human Services Department, 11860 Pecos St., Westminster CO 80234.

The Contractor shall provide case coordination on Uniform Interstate Family Support Act UIFSA) cases at no additional cost.

The Contractor must avoid any sample recollection from a party who previously submitted a sample. In those rare instances in which sample recollection should be required, it will be performed at no cost to the County. For purposes of retesting, sample collection must not exceed one (1) time per case.

While collecting samples for paternity testing, the Contractor will allow only (1) parent and child or children in the room where the sample is being collected.

The Contractor must provide paternity testing when forensic samples are used.

• Expert Witnesses:

The Contractor must provide expert witnesses when requested for court or discovery purposes. The expert witness must be previously qualified to testify by a court or courts. The Contractor must provide a list of courts and cases in which the witness has been qualified to testify as a parentage expert with their submitted bid.

• Camera:

To ensure the chain of custody, the Contractor must provide a camera to photograph individuals tested. The Contractor shall provide duplicates of such photographs with results of the genetic test to the Human Services Department for use in identification at no extra charge. The types and number of photographs shall adhere to industry standards.

• Reporting:

A written report of the results of a genetic test must be provided to the County no later than fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of the last sample collection in at least 90% of the tests performed.

• Invoice Billing:

The Contractor must submit invoices to the County only when testing is completed.

Each test is to be invoiced and billed separately. The Contractor must submit detailed monthly invoice billing statements, to include the date of the sample collection and the mailing date for each person tested.

• Staffing Service Availability:

The Contractor must ensure qualified technical staff are assigned to this service agreement and be available by telephone Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Mountain Standard Time to answer questions from designated CSE and CFS staff and/or the County Attorney’s regarding testing or results of specific cases. Telephone calls must be returned within eight (8) working hours. The Contractor must have a fax machine and email availability.

The Contractor is responsible for supply all labor, supplies and materials to perform the testing services as identified in the specifications.

4. PROPOSAL ELEMENTS

The proposal should be succinct, well organized, and must contain all of the information necessary for reviewers to understand. Please address the following areas:

1) Provide a brief description of your agency, and/or organization including total staff size, number of years in operation, mission and history.

2) Briefly describe related services provided by your agency.

3) Describe your experience providing genetic testing for other governmental and public sector agencies. Please list the names of those agencies.

4) Provide a description of the services you propose to provide and include narrative that explains the proposed activities that meet the goals, objectives, and scope of this RFP.

5) List the types of genetic testing your organization can offer along with the fee associated with each service.

6) How do you (or your agency) provide services for a client that does not understand you due to cognitive, language or dialect concerns?

7) Do you have bilingual staff and, if so, what languages do they speak?

Expertise and Experience

1) For agencies, please discuss how you ensure the competency of your agency’s staff, employee hiring, training, and evaluation processes.

2) List any memberships in professional associations, organizations, or societies that are related to genetic testing.

3) List applicable licenses or permits presently held and ability to obtain additional licenses or permits that may be required.

5. TERMS AND PRICING

This contract begins on July 1st, 2025. This is a one year contract with the option to renew for up to five (5) years. The Contractor’s pricing as detailed further below, shall be firm through the entire term of the awarded agreement.

BASE YEAR

Item Description Unit Price 1 Sample Testing $ ________ 2 Expert Witness, per hour $ ________

OPTION YEAR ONE

Item Description Unit Price

1 Sample Testing $ ________ 2 Expert Witness, per hour $ ________

OPTION YEAR TWO

1 Sample Testing $________

OPTION YEAR THREE

OPTION YEAR FOUR

6. PAYMENT AND FEES

This is a fee for service contract. The contractor must provide a current fee schedule with their application. Payment will be based on those rates

Contractors shall bill no later than the 10th day of the following month in which Block Services were rendered. Timely submission of correct bills is a material term of this Agreement. Billings will be returned unpaid if the billings do not conform to the approved format or the documentation is inadequate. Any billings not received within ninety days (90) of the Block Services being rendered will not be paid. Bills will be paid monthly.

7. PROPOSAL EVALUATION CRITERIA

• Overall merit of the application

• Qualifications of agency and/or personnel

• Capacity to provide proposed services

• Cost

• Overall capability to provide oversight (both fiscal and administrative) and monitor programmatic aspects, including timely and accurate submission of billing and reports

Adams County reserves the right to award contracts to more than one provider.

Documentation that must be attached:

• SAM certificate.

• Certificate of Insurance

Applicants must provide their SAM (UEI) number and certificate with their application. If you are not registered for a SAM (UEI) number, please apply for one at SAM.gov.

Applicants listed on the Excluded Parties List on SAM.gov will not be considered.

RFA-MR-2025.453 - 3 FAMILY SEARCH AND ENGAGEMENT: Block Funded

1. PURPOSE

The Adams County Human Services Department (ACHSD) is seeking proposals from qualified interested individuals, organizations and agencies to provide Family Search and Engagement, (hereafter referred to as “FSE” and used synonymously with “Diligent Search”) services that meet the requirements as outlined in Volume VII, Section 7.304.52 of the rules and regulations of the Colorado Department of Human Services and beyond in order to ensure children and youth in child welfare remain connected to their family, have placement options with kin when appropriate, and timely permanency is achieved whenever possible.

Diligent Search services will include, but not be limited to:

• Ensuring timely initiation of Diligent Search for all cases that require it.

• Enhancing family engagement through a coordinated effort with all team members to ensure that all non-custodial parents, grandparents, known relatives and connections are contacted systematically.

• Working together with the caseworker to ensure that all potential kin are engaged and have an opportunity to contribute to permanency planning.

• Exploring with the biological parents (when available) any Indian ancestry.

• Enhancing our compliance rate with FSE requirements.

There are numerous reasons for continuous Family Search and Engagement, which include the following:

• To ensure child permanency and well-being.

• To contact the non-custodial parent regarding their child.

• To contact and possibly include maternal and paternal relatives and kin in the case planning process.

• To develop permanent connections with kin and psychological kin for children in out of home placement.

• To explore additional placement options for children that were not previously known to the Department.

• To help determine whether or not a child has Indian ancestry.

• To place children in the least-restrictive environment possible.

Mission Statement:

Adams County will protect children and youth by providing effective services of the highest quality through family engagement and community partnerships.

Vision Statement:

Children, youth, and families will have supportive opportunities to thrive through safety, permanence, and well-being.

Values:

Safety, Permanence, Respectfulness, Family Preservation, Foster a supportive workplace, Quality Staff, Family Engagement, Community Collaboration.

ACHSD’s goal is to work cooperatively with families and to provide services intended to keep families together. Working in collaboration with community agencies, as well as law enforcement and Court, allegations of child maltreatment are addressed through services designed specifically to identify and protect victims from further abuse. Families involved with our services will receive direct service from a caseworker, combined with services from the community and/or other service providers.

2. GENERAL INFORMATION:

The philosophy of Family Search and Engagement is to identify, locate, and engage families in the care and treatment of children/youth and whenever safely possible to allow children and youth to find permanency with people familiar to them.

DEFINITIONS:

Caregiver: means persons providing relative, foster and adoptive care for a child or person who provides care in a treatment home/facility in which a child is placed by a child welfare agency, court officials and/or legal guardian.

Family Search and Engagement: family search and engagement refers to a collection of strategies that help locate and engage family members and fictive kin for children who enter foster care. These strategies aim to find relatives and other important adults who can provide permanent homes for children and youth, or caring, lifelong support networks that can provide relational permanence if relatives are…