3. BRFSS Proposed Services Response Form-Final.docx

RFP# 202510143

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Data Collection and Management

PROPOSED SERVICES RESPONSE FORM

Bidder Name:

INTRUCTIONS: Bidder must complete this form to discuss the Services to be Provided referenced in Part II of the RFP and what the Bidder will offer, including:

· A description of the methods and resources the Bidder will use and how each task involved will be accomplished.

· A description of how the expectations and/or desired outcomes as a result of these services will be achieved.

· If subcontractors are involved, Bidders must clearly identify the work each will perform.

Bidders may expand each of the response (white) spaces within this document in order to provide a full response to each requirement.

A. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Surveys and Data Collection Requirements

1. Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) Software Application

a. Utilize a CATI software application to conduct BRFSS Surveys and collect response data.

b. Fully implement, operate, and maintain the CATI software application for conducting BRFSS Surveys.

c. Ensure the CATI software application includes a consistency check between the zip code and county given by Respondents.

i. If there is a discrepancy between the zip code and county, make attempts to resolve the discrepancy with the Respondent.

ii. Zip codes and corresponding Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Codes or ANSI codes will be provided by the Department.

d. Maintain security of all components of the CATI software application.

2. Design of BRFSS Surveys

a. Receive BRFSS Part A and Part B Survey questions from the Department no less than six (6) weeks prior to the start of the BRFSS Survey Year.

i. Ensure survey questions and response categories are programmed in the CATI software application and provide a final electronic version of each survey layout to the Department for approval no less than twenty-one (21) calendar days prior to the start of the BRFSS Survey Year.

ii. Add Department developed State added questions to the Federal CDC layout using the required forms, column numbers, and formats.

1) Receive Department approval of the final State added layout prior to submission to the Federal CDC.

2) Accommodate annual changes and inclusion of State-added questions.

b. Maintain a hardcopy of the final BRFSS Part A and B Survey questions for use in the event of a failure of the CATI software application.

c. After the initial start of the BRFSS Survey Year, immediately perform a check of BRFSS Part A and B Survey questions entered into the CATI software application against the hardcopy of BRFSS Part A and B Survey questions approved by the Department to ensure the final CATI software application matches the final, agreed upon BRFSS Part A and B Survey questions.

3. Distribution of BRFSS Surveys

a. Conduct BRFSS Surveys among randomly selected State residents, ages eighteen (18) years or older, using the Department approved Part A and Part B Survey questions (up to two hundred (200) questions) each Survey Year, and methodology specified by the Federal CDC in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Operational and User’s Guide, including, but is not limited to:

i. Conducting BRFSS Surveys each month in accordance with the Federal CDC’s guidelines;

ii. Randomly selecting an adult Respondent in each household; and

iii. Providing the monthly raw data to the Federal CDC in the format and time frame specified and in accordance with the yearly BRFSS Data Submission Layout and all other Federal CDC BRFSS Guidelines.

b. Complete no fewer than one hundred fifty (150) landline and seven hundred (700) cell phone BRFSS Surveys per survey month, totaling no fewer than ten thousand two hundred (10,200) BRFSS Surveys each Survey Year.

i. Of those surveys, no fewer than five hundred (500) BRFSS Surveys must be performed for each of Maine’s sixteen (16) counties during each Survey Year.

ii. Mail the Department provided Advanced Letters monthly, to all available matched addresses provided quarterly, from the Federal CDC in the selected landline BRFSS Part A and Part B Survey Sample.

c. Perform BRFSS Surveys according to the following guidelines:

i. Landline calling hours:

1) Conduct forty percent (40%) of landline calling attempts on weekdays (before 5:00 p.m.)

2) Conduct forty percent (40%) of landline calling attempts on weeknights (after 5:00 p.m.) and weekends

3) Conduct twenty percent (20%) of landline calling attempts on the weekend.

ii. Cellphone calling hours:

1) Conduct cell phone calling attempts during all three (3) calling occasions (weekday, weeknight, and weekend), with approximately thirty percent (30%) on weekends.

2) Change schedules to accommodate holidays and special events.

3) Conduct weeknight calls after 5:00 p.m.

4) Adhere to Respondent requests for specific callback/appointment times whenever possible, specifically weekends as requested by the Respondent.

d. Perform repeat calling to Respondents who do not answer the telephone a minimum of five (5) times over five (5) calling occasions, including at least one (1) attempt during a weekend hour, one (1) attempt during a weekday hour, and one (1) attempt during weeknight hours.

e. Contract Respondents who initially refuse to participate in the BRFSS survey a minimum of one (1) additional time within seven (7) calendar days.

4. Data Collection and Reporting Management

a. Enter data collected from Respondents into the CATI software application.

i. Ensure confidentiality of all BRFSS Part A and Part B Survey data.

ii. Maintain backup of BRFSS Part A and B Survey data collected.

b. Utilize software provided by the Federal CDC, upon receipt, for detecting and correcting errors to assist in data cleaning.

i. Once errors are corrected submit the final files directly to the Federal CDC.

c. Perform monthly error checking and validating of BRFSS Survey entries and submit an electronic single data file to the Federal CDC and the Department.

i. Code data according to Federal CDC coding instructions using in the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII).

ii. Edit and correct data, including performance of data consistency checks, and electronically submit the BRFSS Survey data within thirty (30) calendar days of completing the BRFSS Surveying period and according to Federal CDC instructions.

iii. Notify the Department immediately if a systematic, recurring error is discovered in the Sampling or BRFSS Surveying operations.

d. Correct recurring errors at no cost to the Department and provide documentation to the Department of both the occurrence and the correction.

i. If the Department or Federal CDC finds errors in reviewing datasets, correct errors within ten (10) calendar days of notification at no cost to the Department.

ii. Perform additional data consistency checks at the Department’s request.

iii. Ensure the data file contains information collected for each Sample record and an accurate disposition code for each record.

5. Quality Assurance and Confidentiality

a. Verify the validity of the call prior to conducting BRFSS Surveys.

b. Develop and maintain procedures to ensure data collected from Respondents remains confidential, including but not limited to the proper care, custody, use, and preservation of:

i. Records;

ii. Papers;

iii. Files;

iv. Communications; and

v. Any other items that may reveal confidential information about Respondents in conformance with Federal and State statutes, rules, and regulations.

c. Implement procedures for assuring and documenting the quality of the BRFSS Survey process and data management steps.

d. Provide remote monitoring of staff who conduct BRFSS Surveys using unobtrusive electronic two-way audio and video technology.

e. Verify five percent (5%) of random Samples of completed BRFSS Surveys each month, stratified by staff who conduct the BRFSS Survey to validate:

i. Respondent selection;

ii. Selected demographic characteristics;

iii. Selected behaviors; and

iv. The manner of staff conducting the BRFSS Surveys.

f. Provide the actual Sample of telephone numbers used for crosschecking and verification upon request by the Department.

B. Staff and Training Requirements

1. Provide a project lead, to oversee the BRFSS Data Collection and Management Services in the contract resulting from this RFP.

2. Provide sufficient staffing to administer the BRFSS Surveys.

3. Monitor staff and verify responses and the procedures used to ensure ongoing BRFSS Surveys match the hardcopy of the final BRFSS Surveys approved by the Department

4. Facilitate training in the administration of the BRFSS Surveys; including practice surveys, including:

a. Training staff with the handling of potentially sensitive/serious topics to include but not limited to depression, risk of suicide, human immunodeficiency virus/ sexually transmitted diseases (HIV/STD), and sexual violence or intimate partner risk behaviors.

C. Technical and Security Requirements

1. Comply with all current MaineIT Policies & Standards including but not limited to:

a. Access Control Policy;

b. Access Control Procedures for Users;

c. Application Deployment Certification Policy;

d. Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Policy;

e. Configuration Management Policy;

f. COTS-Cloud Policy;

g. Data Exchange Policy;

h. Digital Accessibility Policy;

i. Information Security Policy;

j. Remote Hosting Policy;

k. Risk Assessment Policy and Procedures;

l. Security Assessment and Authorization Policy and Procedures;

m. System and Information Integrity Policy and Procedures;

n. System and Services Acquisition Policy and Procedures;

o. Vulnerability Scanning Procedure; and

p. General Architecture Principles.

2. Ensure the proposed CATI solution achieves the NIST 800-53 Rev 5 for the remaining security and privacy control families to a security baseline appropriate to the impact level of the data as determined by the Department, including:

a. Assessment, Authorization, and Monitoring;

b. Audit and Accountability;

c. Awareness and Training;

d. Contingency Planning;

e. Identification and Authentication;

f. Incident Response;

g. Maintenance;

h. Media Protection;

i. Personnel Security;

j. Physical and Environmental Protection;

k. PII Processing and Transparency;

l. Planning;

m. System and Communications Protection; and

n. Supply Chain Risk Management to a security baseline appropriate to the impact level of the data as determined by the agency.

3. Work with MaineIT to submit required information to the Department in compliance with MaineIT policies.

4. Store all data within the Continental U.S.

5. Ensure the CATI solution’s capability to restore data completely to its status at the time of the last backup, with a minimum required recovery point objective of twenty-four (24) hours (i.e., maximum data loss cannot exceed twenty-four (24) hours).

6. Ensure a recovery time objective of twenty-four (24) hours (i.e., maximum time to recover the system cannot exceed twenty-four (24) hours).

7. Limit the number of planned outages (system availability) during the business week to one (1) time per month.

a. Downtime for routine maintenance must be pre-approved by the Department in writing.

8. Maintain an availability metric of ninety-nine-point nine percent (99.9%) of uptime in a calendar month, as measured by the number of actual hours available as a percentage of total hours.

9. Conduct a full SSAE-18 SOC 2 Type 2 Annual Audit which includes testing the Five (5) Trust Services Criteria (Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality and Privacy).

10. Work with the current vendor to ensure a smooth transition such that there is no (or negligible) interruption in service.

11. Provide the Department with raw data upon request and in a format specified by the Department at no additional charge. This includes providing all Department-requested data at or before the end of the agreement in a format specified by the Department (currently XML).

D. Performance Measures

1. Perform all services proposed in response to this RFP by achieving all Performance Measures listed in Table 1.

0. Submit data to support the performance measure utilizing the Department’s Deliverables Performance Tracking Template or via a third-party data source, as indicated within the performance measure data source column of Table 1.

0. Provide additional supportive documentation as indicated in Table 1, for Department validation of the summary data submitted in the Performance Measures Report as requested by the Department.

Table 1 Mandatory Performance Measures

Office Goal/Initiative:

E. Reports

Report Templates will be provided to the awarded Bidder during contract negotiations.

1. Track and record all data/information necessary to complete the required reports listed in Table 2:

Table 2 – Required Reports

2. Submit all the required reports to the Department in accordance with the timelines established in Table 3:

Table 3 – Required Reports Timelines

DHHS RFP Proposed Services Response Form (Rev. 10/2025)