7-RFP 6227 Final.pdf

COUNTY OF VENTURA

GENERAL SERVICES AGENCY

PROCUREMENT SERVICES

800 S. VICTORIA AVE., L#1080

VENTURA CA 93009

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

for

INCARCERATED PERSON COMMUNICATIONS AND CORRECTIONALTABLET

SERVICES

Issued: September 22, 2025 Due: October 21, 2025

County of Ventura RFP 6227

GSA/Procurement Services

SECTION 1.0

GENERAL INFORMATION AND SCOPE OF WORK

This Request for Proposal (RFP) has been posted on the County of Ventura Vendor Information Portal (VCVIP) aka Bonfire website (Ventura.bonfirehub.com) for your convenience. Addenda and attachments, if issued, are also posted. It is the Offeror’s responsibility to ensure that the entire RFP package, in its latest version, is reviewed prior to submittal of a proposal.

1.1 Introduction/Purpose

The County of Ventura (hereinafter referred to as County) invites your organization to submit a written proposal to provide Incarcerated Person Communications and Correctional Tablet services for three (3) Ventura County Jail locations within Ventura County. Proposals shall be due no later than 5:00 p.m. on October 21, 2025in accordance with the attached Terms and Conditions, Instructions to Offerors which by this reference are made a part hereof.

Offerors shall be skilled and regularly engaged in the general class or type of work called for in the solicitation documents.

Award will be to a single vendor to be the exclusive vendor to Ventura County for Incarcerated Person Communications and Correctional Tablets.

1.2 Background

Ventura County is seeking a provider of Incarcerated Person Communications and Correctional Tablets to facilitate audio, video, and written communication between the incarcerated and their friends and families. The selected vendor will have stellar reputation, state-of-the-art technology, and provide a competitive financial offer to the Ventura County Incarcerated Person Welfare Fund. Also important to the selection of a vendor is Incarcerated Person safety, which includes safeguards on unauthorized use of communication, as well as intelligence and investigative tools. Available education and rehabilitation tools are also very important to Ventura County and will be a factor in the selection of the winning vendor.

1.3 Pre-proposal Conference - MANDATORY

A MANDATORY pre-proposal conference and jail walk through of the three (3) facilities will be held on Friday October 10, 2025 at:

9:00 AM - Todd Road Jail Facility, 600 Todd Road, Santa Paula, CA 93060 https://ventura.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=login

SECTION 1.0

GENERAL INFORMATION AND SCOPE OF WORK

11:00 AM - Pre-Trial Detention Facility, 800 S. Victoria Ave, Ventura, CA 93009 3:30 PM - East Valley Jail. 2101 E. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360

The purpose of this meeting is to provide vendors the opportunity to walk through the facility, clarify requirements, and answer vendor questions. In order to provide comprehensive answers and minimize response time, Offerors are asked to submit questions in writing prior to this conference. Pre-proposal questions should be submitted to the Buyer under the “Messages” tab of the solicitation online at:

https://ventura.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=login .

1.4 Action Dates

The following is an outline of the anticipated schedule for the proposal review and contract award.

Issue Request for Proposal (RFP) September 22, 2025

Mandatory Pre-Proposal Conference October 10, 2025 Last day for questions October 14, 2025 Proposals Due October 21, 2025 In-person presentations October/November 2025 Best and Final Submissions November 2025 Evaluation-award November 2025 Installation completed and Go-live of Services February 3, 2026

Once a contract is executed, the Contractor shall not commence work until a meeting between representatives of the contractor and the County of Ventura is held. The meeting will be held at a County of Ventura site, at a time and date to be established. The schedule set forth above is subject to change.

1.5 Questions Regarding RFP

All questions concerning this Proposal may be directed to Ryan Stover, Senior Procurement Specialist under “Messages” tab of the solicitation online at:

https://ventura.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=login .

SECTION 2.0

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS/RULES GOVERNING COMPETITION

2.1 Submittal Deadline

Completed proposals must be submitted online through VCVIP at ventura.bonfirehub.com per instructions.

Offerors are allowed to submit more than one proposal with different methods of meeting the RFP requirements. When Offeror submits more than one proposal, one proposal shall be marked “Base Proposal” and the others shall be marked “Alternate Proposal 1, Alternate Proposal 2, etc.” Each base proposal and each alternate proposal shall be submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions of the RFP.

Offerors are responsible for making certain their proposals are received by GSA- Procurement on or before the Proposal Submittal Deadline listed on the RFP Details tab in the VCVIP portal. The receiving time in VCVIP will be the governing time for acceptability of proposals. No hard copy, oral, telegraphic, electronic mail, facsimile, or telephone proposals or modifications will be considered.

2.2 Proposal Response

Offerors must submit their proposals and all required information and forms by the submittal deadline. Proposals failing to provide complete information may be deemed non-responsive. Offerors should keep copies of their submittals for future reference.

Offerors who do not wish to respond but who wish to be kept on the mailing list must return their proposal forms or a written response indicating “No Proposal”.

Include name and address of Offeror.

Offerors who fail to respond to proposal solicitations may be removed from the supplier mailing list.

2.3 Modification of Proposals

Any Offeror who wishes to make modifications to a proposal already received by County must withdraw their proposal in order to make the modifications. All modifications must be made on-line, properly by Offeror’s authorized representative, executed, and submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions of this solicitation. It is the responsibility of Offeror to ensure that modified proposals are resubmitted before the Submittal Deadline.

Offerors may withdraw their proposals, at any time prior to the due date and time, by submitting notification of withdrawal signed by Offeror’s authorized agent.

Proposals cannot be changed or modified after the date and time designated for receipt.

2.4 Opening of Proposals

Proposals will not be opened publicly but a list of the names of Offerors submitting proposals will be available within a reasonable time after the Submittal Deadline.

Proposals will be made public and may be inspected at the time of award.

2.5 Examination of the Request for Proposal

Offerors should carefully examine the entire RFP, any addenda thereto, and all related materials and data referenced herein or otherwise available to offeror.

Offeror shall be presumed to be familiar with all specifications and requirements of this RFP. The failure or omission to examine any form, instrument or document shall in no way relieve offerors from any obligation with respect to this proposal.

2.6 Proposal Validity

Proposals submitted hereunder shall be firm for 180 calendar days from the due date unless otherwise qualified.

2.7 Proposal Content/Format

To be considered responsive, proposals should address all items identified in this section.

Please note: Some items require that the Offeror provide a detailed response and/or attachments. Failure to provide a complete response may be grounds for rejection of a proposal.

Furthermore, proposals should be prepared in such a way as to provide a straightforward and concise discussion of the Offeror’s ability to provide the services that can best satisfy the requirements herein and meet the needs of the County. Elaborate or unnecessarily lengthy responses and attachments are discouraged.

Emphasis should be concentrated on conformance to the RFP instructions, responsiveness to the RFP requirements and on completeness and clarity of content.

In order to facilitate evaluation and comparison, proposals should be submitted in the format described in this section. Format instructions must be adhered to; all requirements and requests for information must be addressed; all requested data must be supplied. Failure to comply with this requirement may be cause for rejection.

Assemble and present your proposal response in the order that the items are listed, identifying each response by the corresponding number.

a. Cover Letter/Signature on Proposal

A cover letter, which shall be considered an integral part of the proposal, shall be signed by individual(s) who is/are authorized to bind offeror(s) contractually. The signature(s) must indicate the classification or position that the individual(s) holds.

The cover letter shall designate a person or persons who may be contacted during the period of evaluation with questions or contract issues. Include name(s), title(s), address(es), telephone number(s), fax number(s) and email address(es).

Upload the Cover Letter through the Requested Information.

b. Company Profile and Qualifications

Offeror must provide company profile in Section 2 –Offerors Information Questionnaire, Question Set 1.

Information provided shall include:

1. Correct legal name as registered with the California Secretary of State.

2. Company ownership. If incorporated, the state in which the company is incorporated and the date of incorporation.

3. Location of the company offices.

4. Location of the office servicing any California account(s). What are the hours of operation of the customer service unit involved in supporting the proposed services?

5. Number of employees both locally and nationally.

6. Location(s) from which employees will be assigned.

7. Name, address, and telephone number of the Offeror’s point of contact for a contract resulting from this RFP.

8. Company background/history establishing that Offeror is qualified to provide the services described in this RFP.

9. Length of time Offeror has been providing services described in this RFP. Please provide a brief description of such services.

Offeror must include in their proposal a complete disclosure of any alleged significant prior or ongoing contract failures, any civil or criminal litigation or investigation pending which involves the Offeror or in which the Offeror has been judged guilty or liable. Failure to comply with the terms of this provision will disqualify any proposal. County reserves the right to reject any proposal based upon Offeror’s prior history with County or with any other party, which documents, without limitation, unsatisfactory performance, adversarial or contentious demeanor, significant failure(s) to meet contract milestones or other contractual failures.

c. Personnel Qualifications

Identify key personnel and their position within the organization in Section 2 – Offerors Information Questionnaire, Question Set 2.

Provide a resume detailing the experience, level of expertise and qualifications of the representative/manager and those individuals who will directly support and be involved in meeting the day-to-day requirements of the County.

If you plan to sub-contract work, you must indicate the name and address of each subcontractor and the type of work or tasks they will perform.

Identify the personnel to be assigned, their position, qualifications, and representative experience. Provide this information in Section 2 –Offerors Information Questionnaire, Question Set 4

d. Financial Statement

This competitive solicitation has a standard requirement that all submitted proposals include the Offeror’s financial history. To comply with this requirement, all respondents are to furnish County with financial statements at the time of submittal in order to demonstrate the Offeror's financial capabilities. Failure to provide this information at the time of submittal will result in a recommendation by the Chief Procurement Officer to deem the response as non-responsive.

Each respondent shall submit their most recent two (2) years of annual financial statements for review that shall include the following: 1) Income Statement, and 2) Balance Sheet. County’s preference is that financials be submitted in a comparative format, meaning that the two (2) most recent years are shown side by side. The financial statements are not required to be audited financial statements. If Offeror has been in business for less than the required number of years, then Offeror must disclose for all years of the required period that Offeror has been in business, including any partial year-to-date financial statements. County, during evaluation, may consider the unavailability of the most recent year’s financial statements and whether Offeror acted in good faith in disclosing their financial documents.

Upload the Financial Statement through the Requested Information.

e. References

Offers must provide a minimum of three (3) references from similar projects in Section 2 -Offerors Information Questionnaire, Question Set 3

Offerors should provide a minimum of three (3) references from similar projects performed within the last three years. In addition, include all local government (California) references. Information provided shall include:

1. Client name;

2. Project description;

3. Project dates (starting and ending);

4. Dollar value

5. Staff assigned to reference engagement that will be designated for work per this RFP;

6. Client project manager name and telephone number.

f. Offeror Understanding

Offerors may include an understanding of the County's needs or any other information, deemed necessary, which may not be required in any other section of the RFP.

g. Requirements

Offeror's response shall state on a point-by-point basis whether proposal is in compliance with the requirements/specifications of the RFP (Section

3). Address each item in the order given, identify each response by item number. Submit a full explanation of, and justification for, any exemptions or deviations.

Upload the response to Section 3 through the Requested Information section.

h. Compliance with County Standard Contract Terms and Conditions

Successful Contractor will be required to enter into a written contract.

Offerors shall review the County’s standard contract in Section 4, which shall form the basis for any contract entered into hereunder.

Offerors must state approval of the standard contract, OR provide any comments/exceptions to this contract on a line-by-line basis.

For exceptions, address each item in the order given; identify each response by item number. Any comments/exceptions to this contract must be included in your proposal. Precise substitute wording must be offered in place of the paragraph objected to. It is not sufficient to state merely that an exception is noted to a particular paragraph.

Deviations considered excessive by the County may reduce or eliminate an Offeror.

PLEASE NOTE: The sample standard contract attached to this RFP is a template. Please do not attempt to insert missing information and complete the attached sample. Once a vendor is selected, Procurement will work with the selected vendor to draft a vendor-specific contract.

i. Compensation

Complete Commission Form (Exhibit C). Proposal pricing shall include everything necessary for completion and fulfillment of the contract. All other costs must be detailed.

No additional charges (e.g., for transportation, out-of-pocket expenses, etc.)

will be allowed unless so specified herein.

Download Exhibit “C” Commission Form under Files tab and upload completed document under Requested Information.

j. Payment Terms

Customary terms are Net 30 for work performed. Offerors shall indicate their offered payment terms.

2.8 Costs Incurred in Responding

The County of Ventura will not pay any costs incurred in proposal preparation, presentation, demonstration or negotiation, nor does it commit to procure or contract for any services. All costs of proposal preparation shall be borne by the offeror. It is understood that all proposals, inquiries, and correspondence relating to this RFP and all reports, charts, displays, schedules, exhibits, and other documentation will become the property of the County of Ventura when received by the County and may be considered public information under applicable law.

The County assumes no liability for any costs incurred by offerors throughout the entire selection process.

2.9 Addenda

The County will issue written addenda to make changes, additions, or deletions to this solicitation. Oral communications regarding this RFP will NOT be valid or binding, nor excuse the successful Offeror of any obligations hereunder, unless set forth in writing by the County. Addenda will be sent to all known Offerors.

Offerors must acknowledge and return all Addenda on or before the Proposal Submittal Deadline. It is the responsibility of each Offeror to ensure the County of Ventura has their correct business name and address on file. Any prospective Offeror who obtained a copy of the RFP documents from any other source other than the County is responsible for advising the Procurement division that they have said documents and wish to receive subsequent Addenda.

2.10 Nomenclatures

The terms “Successful Offeror, Successful Contractor, and Contractor” may be used interchangeably in these specifications and shall refer exclusively to the Offeror with whom the County enters into a contract because of this solicitation.

The terms “Proposal/Solicitation/RFP” refer to all proposal documents and related addenda produced by the County and provided to prospective Offerors.

2.11 Confidential and Proprietary Data

All materials received relative to this RFP will be kept confidential, until such time an award is made or the RFP is canceled, at which time all materials received will be made available to the public. Proposals received will be subject to Government

Code §6250, the Public Information Act. Under the Act, the County may be obligated to provide a copy of any and all responses to this Request for Proposal, if such requests are made after the contract is awarded.

One exception, to this required disclosure, is information which fits within the definition of a confidential trade secret [Government Code section 6254(k)] or contains other technical, financial or other data whose public disclosure could cause injury to the proposer’s competitive position. If any proposer believes that information contained in its response to this Request for Proposal should be protected from disclosure, the proposer MUST specifically mark the pages of the response that contains the information.

The County will not honor any attempt by the Offeror to designate its entire proposal as proprietary.

2.12 Commitments, Warranty and Representations

The proposal submitted in response to this RFP will be included as part of the final contract. Offerors are cautioned that if a contract is awarded as a result of this procurement process, any written commitment by an offeror within the scope of this procurement shall be binding upon the offeror whether or not incorporated into a contract document. Failure of the vendor to fulfill any such commitment shall render the offeror liable for liquidated or other damages due the County under the terms of the Contract. For the purpose of this procurement, a commitment by a offeror includes:

• Any modification of, or affirmation or representation as to the above, which is made by an offeror in or during the course of negotiation.

• Any representation by an offeror in a proposal, supporting document, or negotiations subsequent thereto as to services to be performed, regardless of the fact that the duration of such commitment may exceed the duration of the contract.

2.13 Proposal Validation/Evaluation/Award

a. Validation

Proposals will be checked for the information required to conform with this RFP. Absence of required information may be cause for rejection.

b. Evaluation

The successful offeror shall be chosen in accordance with, but not limited to, the following criteria:

1. Proven Performance

The offeror’s background, experience, and stability of their company will be assessed. The evaluation will focus on the Offeror’s record of successful service and support to accounts of comparable size and environment. The ability of the offeror will be evaluated in terms of technical resources, staffing, staff experience and facilities.

Client references will be contacted and their responses will become a part of the award/review process.

2. Compliance with Contract Terms and Conditions

The Proposals will be evaluated on the ability to comply with the County’s Contract terms and conditions in Section 4 - Contract Compliance.

3. Requirement/Specifications/Delivery Timeframe

The ability to meet the requirements/specifications outlined herein.

4. Financial Offer

The Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of the offeror’s financial offer to County.

c. Award

Award will be made to the Offeror offering the most advantageous proposal after considerations of all evaluation criteria set forth herein. The criteria are not listed in any order of preference. An Evaluation Committee will be established by the County. The Committee will evaluate all proposals received in accordance with the evaluation criteria.

The Evaluation Committee may also contact and evaluate the Offeror’s and subcontractor’s references; contact any Offeror to clarify any response;

contact any current users of an Offeror’s services; solicit information from any available source concerning any aspect of a proposal; and seek and review any other information deemed pertinent to the evaluation process.

The County reserves the right to establish weight factors that will be applied to the criteria depending upon order of importance. Weight factors and summary of evaluation scores will not be released until after award of proposal. The County shall not be obligated to accept the most advantageous financial proposal, but will make an award in the best interests of the County after all factors have been evaluated.

While the County intends to enter a contract for these services, it will not be bound to do so. The County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals.

The County shall be the sole judge of the successful offers hereunder. The County reserves the right to award a contract to other than the offeror submitting the most advantageous financial offer and to negotiate with any or all Offerors. Offerors are advised that it is possible that an award may be made without discussion or any contact concerning the proposals received. Accordingly, proposals should contain the most favorable terms from a financial offer and technical standpoint, which the vendor can submit to the County. DO NOT ASSUME that you will be contacted or afforded an opportunity to clarify, discuss, or revise your proposal.

Award will be by means of a written contract with the successful Offeror. A Notification of Intent to Award may be sent to any Offeror selected. Award is contingent upon the successful negotiation of final contract terms.

Negotiations shall be confidential and not subject to disclosure to competing Offerors unless an agreement is reached. If contract negotiations cannot be concluded successfully, the County may negotiate with the next highest scoring Offeror or withdraw the RFP.

The County Board of Supervisors must approve all contracts resulting from this Request for Proposal if services exceed $200,000.

2.14 Presentations

Offerors may be invited to make oral presentations to County personnel.

2.15 Site Visits

The County reserves the right to schedule site visits to offeror’s facilities or a current operational site in order to assess the capability and ability of the offeror to fulfill the contract.

2.16 Additional information

If during the evaluation process, the County is unable to determine an offeror's ability to perform, the County has the option of requesting any additional information which the County deems necessary to determine the offeror s ability.

The offeror will be notified and permitted five working days to comply with any such request.

2.17 Errors/Defects in Proposals

If discrepancies between sections or other errors are found in a proposal, the County may reject the proposal; however, the County may, at its sole option, correct any arithmetical errors in financial offer.

The County may waive any immaterial deviation or defect in a proposal. The County’s waiver of an immaterial deviation or defect shall in no way modify the RFP documents or excuse the offeror from full compliance with the RFP requirements, if awarded a contract.

2.18 Rejection of Proposals

County reserves the right to reject the proposal of any offeror who:

• previously failed to perform adequately for County or any other governmental agency within the previous ten (10) years.

• submits false, incomplete, or unresponsive statements in a proposal;

• is in default on the payment of taxes, licenses or other monies due County;

• containing errors or discrepancies.

2.19 Cancellation of RFP

The County reserves the right to cancel this solicitation at any time, prior to the submittal deadline.

2.20 Protest Procedures

To be considered, protests must be made in writing, signed by Offeror’s authorized representative, and delivered to the Ventura County Procurement Services Manager, GSA/Procurement, 800 S. Victoria Ave., Ventura, CA 93009-1080.

The following conditions apply to proposal protest:

a. Before Proposal Submittal Deadline. Protests of specifications, terms, conditions or any other aspects of the solicitation must be made before the Proposal Submittal Deadline.

b. After Proposal Submittal Deadline. Protest of award must be made, by Offeror, no later than five (5) calendar days after the notice of intent to award. All protests must include the following information:

1) The name, address, and telephone number of the protestor;

2) The signature of the protestor, or protestor’s authorized representative;

3) The solicitation or contract number; and

4) A detail statement of the legal and/or factual grounds for the protest.

The Procurement Services Manager reserves the right to refuse to hear protestors who have not followed the above procedures.

SECTION 3.0

REQUIREMENTS/SCOPE OF WORK

The requirements described herein are considered reasonable to meet the County’s needs. Offeror having alternate proposals to meet these needs, may, after responding to the minimum requirements hereunder, offer alternate service levels for consideration by the County.

3.1 Scope of Work

Ventura County seeks a reputable and financially strong Contractor to provide Incarcerated Person Communication and Tablet services to Incarcerated Persons incarcerated in the three facilities of the Ventura County Jail. The ideal Contractor will provide responsive and professional Customer Service to all parties and provide positive references for their services. These services are more specifically set forth in Exhibit A, Scope of Work, with required service levels set forth in Exhibit F – Service Level Agreement.

Contractor must provide an Incarcerated Person Communication System and

Services to be used by Incarcerated Persons and detainees located throughout the Sheriff Department’s custody. The successful Proposer Contractor will p rovide entertainment, music, games, and movies of the highest quality and without “R” rated content and will also provide a compelling financial offer to the County. The specifics of entertainment offering must be described in detail in order for County to gauge its quality. The contract shall be a no cost contract to the County but will provide commission to the county from revenues generated.

Contractor’s Incarcerated Person Communication and Tablet System must include:

a. An Incarcerated Person Telephone System (ITS) that provides an automated operator, local, domestic, and international call capabilities to Incarcerated Persons. The ITS must include all necessary Telephone Platforms, Telephone Instruments, and all other equipment required to perform the functions and Services described in the Contract Exhibit A, Scope of Work, and this Scope of Work (SOW); system administration; call billing; call monitoring and recording capabilities; and complete maintenance of all equipment, hardware, and software as specified. Also provided is an Incarcerated Person Telephone Management System, capable of monitoring, recording and archiving all calls placed within the ITS, with the exception of those calls that are prohibited from being monitored, recorded, and archived either by statute or County policy, including, but not limited to, Incarcerated Person calls made to private defense attorneys or public defenders, anonymous crime reporting tip lines, sexual assault reporting lines, and other critical information lines. The ITS must be capable of detecting prohibited and illegal activity and call content, and be capable of promptly blocking, SECTION 3.0

REQUIREMENTS/SCOPE OF WORK

interrupting, or disconnecting Incarcerated Person telephone calls when such activities are detected.

b. A Video Visitation System (VVS), utilized primarily on the Incarcerated Person Tablet Devices and standalone kiosks, capable of monitoring, recording and archiving all calls placed within the VVS, with the exception of those calls that are prohibited from being monitored, recorded, and archived either by statute or County policy, including, but not limited to, Incarcerated Person calls made to private defense attorneys or public defenders. The VVS must be capable of detecting and preventing, with minimal or no staff involvement, nudity or pornography, utilizing facial recognition and/or detection to minimize the prevalence of unauthorized visitors and nudity or pornography. The VVS must be capable of promptly blocking, interrupting, or disconnecting any and all calls when illegal or unauthorized activity and call content are detected.

c. Incarcerated Person Tablet Devices (ITD) capable of making phone calls via the ITS, which must provide automated operator. The ITD must provide certain tablet services at no cost to the County (e.g., reading material, dictionary, calendar, grievance filing process, Facility rules, commissary ordering, etc.), and provide other paid tablet services (e.g., games, music, movies, e-books, messaging service, etc.). Within the Incarcerated Person Tablet Device System, digitized Incarcerated Person postal Mail Services will be provided that will assist the Department in establishing a security measure to prevent contraband from entering Facilities through postal mail. The Mail system must have the capability to: (1) receive incoming mail addressed to Contractor’s processing center and/or uploaded to Contractor’s website; (2) scan incoming mail; and (3) make available the scanned mail to the jail via the Contractor’s web enabled dashboard for each Facility to review and deliver to Incarcerated Persons. The Mail system will also make available hard copies to the Incarcerated Persons upon release, when requested by the former Incarcerated Person, at a charge to the former Incarcerated Person. In addition, the Contractor must provide a Legal Mail solution (whether electronic or physical mail) for privileged communication, which may include a function for electronic signature. The Mail system must maintain an audit trail for all scanned and printed documents, including timestamps and facility assignments for the duration of the contract plus seven years.

Exhibit “A” – RFP #6227

Scope of Work (SOW)

The Contractor shall adhere to the following minimum specifications, performance requirements, and all terms and conditions within this contract.

This document is comprised of the following sections:

SECTION I – GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

SECTION II – INCARCERATED PERSON TELEPHONE SYSTEM

SECTION III – VIDEO VISITATION SYSTEM

SECTION IV – INCARCERATED PERSON TABLET PROGRAM

SECTION I – GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

1. FACILITY SECURITY

1.1 All personnel entering the Ventura County Jails (“VCJ”) shall adhere to Ventura County

Sheriff’s Office (“VCSO”) security regulations and any other requirements.

1.2 “VCSO-VCJ” shall be understood to refer to employees of the Ventura County Sheriff’s

Office at the Adult Detention Center. “County” shall be understood to refer to Ventura County.

1.3 Upon contract award and at least seven (7) days prior to beginning work, Contractor shall submit a completed background check for each person who will be working on this project.

1.3.1 Contractor shall be solely responsible for any costs associated with background checks.

1.3.2 Contractor shall ensure that no person begins work until that person’s security clearance and background check have been completed and approved by VCSO-VCJ.

1.3.3 Any person who is a convicted felon (whether or not their civil rights have been restored) shall not enter the facility or be involved in the servicing of this contract.

1.3.4 Contractor personnel shall perform a standard site walkthrough, and provide competent personnel to perform the work that is required. Due to the nature of the work and the liability involved, County has the final and sole determination of competency in all matters regarding personnel provided by Contractor.

1.4 Contractor shall ensure that, while in VCJ, Incarcerated Persons shall not have access to telecommunication devices that Contractor and/or its employee(s), agent(s) or subcontractor(s) have in their possession in accordance with VCSO security rules and regulations.

1.4.1 VCSO-VCJ shall have the right to hold telecommunication devices that Contractor and/or its employee(s), agent(s), or subcontractor(s) have in their possession while on site.

1.5 Any Contractor who submits a proposal to this Request for Proposal shall not be a subcontractor for another supplier who has also responded to this Request for Proposal.

1.6 Work shall be performed in accordance with manufacturer’s recommendations and in accordance with all applicable local codes, regulations, rules, and installation guidelines.

1.7 Contractor may be required to work outside normal business hours (normal business hours shall be considered the hours between 8am-5pm California time); however, it is anticipated that most work shall be completed during normal business hours.

1.8 The responsibility for all equipment, including storage during installation work, shall be at

Contractor’s sole expense when storage space is unavailable at the jobsite.

2. VENTURA COUNTY JAIL WORK AREA REQUIREMENTS

2.1 Prior to commencement of work, Contractor shall ensure that:

2.1.1 Arrangements have been made for any disposal of waste materials;

2.1.2 All tools, equipment and materials are on hand and accounted for; and

2.1.3 Any applicable worker training has been completed and documentation is on site.

2.2 Contractor shall ensure incarcerated individuals do not have access to any tools, equipment, or devices capable of communication brought in by Contractor, its employee(s), agent(s), and/or subcontractor(s).

2.2.1 VCSO-VCJ shall have the right to hold any tools, equipment, or devices capable of communication that Contractor and/or its employee(s), agent(s), or subcontractor(s) have in their possession while on site.

3. CONTRACTOR STAFF REQUIREMENTS

3.1 Contractor shall maintain direct oversight, be responsible for, and monitor the performance of its entire staff (including, but not limited to, its employees, agents, and subcontractors) performing services under the contract. VCSO-VCJ shall provide security for Contractor’s employees, agents, and subcontractors consistent with VCJ policies and procedures.

3.2 Contractor shall ensure all services are conducted or provided by a State Certified/Licensed

Technician.

3.3 Contractor shall provide at least one full-time, on-site technician, with the ability, independent of County resources, to travel between County facilities. This technician shall be the single point of contact and shall be assigned to be the liaison between Contractor and VCSO-

VCJ to handle day-to-day operations and after-hours response, including: support the functionality, equipment, answer kites, research incarcerated person concerns, issue appropriate refunds, maintain tablet, phone and kiosk inventory, stocks hardware inventory, reprocess tablet inventory from released incarcerated persons, and research grievances. County shall have input into the hiring decision of this full-time, on-site technician.

4. DOCUMENTATION

4.1 Prior to implementation, Contractor shall provide to VCSO-VCJ detailed technical system documentation, detailed system design specifications, operating instructions, footprints, power and environment requirements, model numbers, makes, serial numbers, electrical and grounding requirements, temperature and humidity ranges, software components and features, and any other requirement or specification related to the contract.

5. STANDARD OF PERFORMANCE AND ACCEPTANCE

5.1 The Standard of Performance applies to all product(s) utilized under this contract, including any additional, replacement, or substitute product(s), as well as any product(s) which are modified by or with the written approval of Contractor and acceptance by County.

5.2 The acceptance testing period shall be seven (7) calendar days beginning the day after the product is installed and certification is received that the product is ready for acceptance testing.

5.3 For products that do not meet County standards during the initial period of Acceptance

Testing, County may, at its discretion, continue Acceptance Testing on a day-to-day basis until the Standard of Performance is met.

5.4 Upon rejection, Contractor will have three (3) calendar days to cure any Standard of

Performance issue(s).

5.5 If, after the cure period, the product still has not met the Standard of Performance, County may, at its discretion:

5.5.1 Declare Contractor to be in breach and terminate the agreement;

5.5.2 Demand a replacement product from Contractor at no additional cost to County; or

5.5.3 Continue the cure period for an additional period agreed upon by County and Contractor.

5.6 Contractor shall pay all costs and expenses related to the preparation and shipping of returned products.

5.7 No product shall be accepted and until the Standard of Performance is met.

5.8 Commission shall be due beginning on the go-live date stated herein.

5.9 The warranty period will begin upon County’s award of the contract.

5.10 The products shall meet all uptime requirements as set forth in Exhibit F - Service Level

Agreement.

6. REPORTING AND ACCOUNTING

6.1 Contractor shall maintain all financial books, records, and documents in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

6.2 Contractor shall provide access and/or reporting of transaction data, including, but not limited to, revenues and commissions under this contract, service level agreement amounts owed, financial books, records, and documents as requested by VCSO-VCJ or any other department of County. Monthly statements must be provided monthly on a regular schedule (i.e.

by the 10th of the month). A summary report of all revenue and commissions shall be provided by Contractor to VCSO at a minimum every six months.

6.3 Telephone system software shall provide a variety of reporting capabilities to include, but not limited to, investigative, accounting, maintenance, and administrative purposes.

6.4 Reports provided by the telephone system software shall have ability to be viewed and exported to Excel, Word, and/or PDF formatted documents.

6.5 County reserves the right to have an independent party of its choice, perform any or all audits and examinations pertaining to the contract.

7. COMMISSIONS.

7.1 Commissions arrangements must be made in the following form: The greater of either 1)

Minimum Monthly Guarantee (MMG), or 2) Variable commission of 28.5% of phone revenue and __% of revenue from VVS, messaging, and entertainment. (See Exhibit C - Financial Offer)

Commissions shall be paid on a monthly basis no less than fifteen (15) business days after the last day of the month and shall be accompanied by a detailed commission report and a signed statement of accuracy from an authorized representative of Contractor. A revenue and commission detail report shall be provided to VCSO Finance and VCSO-VCJ after the close of each month’s business.

7.1.1 A late charge of five percent (5%) per month shall be assessed on all commission payments not made prior to the fifteenth (15th) business day of the month.

7.1.2 Commission checks shall be made payable to the “Ventura County Sheriff's Office”.

8. TRAINING

8.1 Contractor shall provide initial and ongoing on-site, user, administrative, and investigative training to VCSO-VCJ and VCSO Finance staff.

8.2 Contractor shall provide written training documentation and any materials necessary for the proper and successful use of its systems to VCSO-VCJ.

8.3 Contractor shall provide instructional materials for use by Incarcerated Persons and individuals contacting VCJ Incarcerated Persons.

9. CUSTOMER SERVICE

9.1 Contractor shall provide ongoing user, maintenance, and technical support.

9.2 Contractor shall provide all necessary equipment, labor, parts, materials, and transportation to maintain all systems in good working order throughout the life of the awarded contract.

9.2.1 County shall not incur any charge for service, maintenance, enhancements, upgrades and/or replacements of the system, equipment, software or hardware.

9.3 All personnel providing technical or software support shall be fully trained and manufacturer certified (if applicable) to support the equipment or software being maintained.

9.4 Contractor shall waive and hold harmless County for any damage or destruction of equipment regardless of the cause of the damage or destruction.

9.5 Contractor shall meet with VCSO-VCJ and VCSO Finance staff not less than once per quarter to discuss performance, address any issues, and to inform County of any changes in industry or business.

10. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

10.1 The System shall provide the entire suite of investigative tools available on the Contractor’s platform at no cost to County, which shall include Social Mapping, AI tools including AI

Summary of all phone conversations.

10.2 The System shall include a Discipline Module or equivalent feature set that allows County staff to restrict features based on Incarcerated Person behavior, and the ability to schedule features to turn back on an Incarcerated Person-by-Incarcerated Person basis.

10.3 The System shall allow for easy intelligence data sharing with other jurisdictions and be capable of receiving intelligence data from other jurisdictions.

10.4 All data contained in the system shall be owned by the county during and after the contract is finished.

10.5 The System shall utilize both initial and continuous voice biometric technology in the use of all communication services provided under the contract, in both Incarcerated Person telephone service and video visitation service.

10.6 The System shall include 3 kiosks for depositing money.

10.7 The System shall include 74 Incarcerated Person kiosks, at least one in each housing unit and other locations as requested by County at any point in the contract, capable of VVS and other functions.

10.8 The System shall include 3 TTY phones, one at each facility in the booking areas.

10.9 The System shall include 2 video visitation stations in the lobby of the Todd Road facility and the Main Jail facility.

SECTION II – INCARCERATED PERSON TELEPHONE SYSTEM

1. SYSTEM DESIGN

1.1 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall be a turnkey, cashless telecommunications service offering a variety of payment collection methods.

1.2 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall be capable of completing one-way, outgoing collect/debit/pre-paid calls to local, long-distance, and international numbers on both landline and cellular telephones.

1.3 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall not be capable of receiving incoming calls.

1.4 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall allow only an automated operator to place calls.

1.5 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall not be capable of any directly-dialed or operator-handled service calls.

1.6 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall be capable of processing calls in both

English and Spanish.

1.6.1 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall be capable of processing calls in not less than four (4) languages.

1.7 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall be vendor-hosted and/or “cloud” based.

1.7.1 Recordings shall be stored by Contractor in multiple locations to ensure catastrophic events do not compromise, alter, or destroy the integrity of the call bank.

1.7.2 All recordings shall remain the sole property of County.

1.7.3 Contractor shall retain all recordings and digital information during the contract term and for seven (7) years after the termination of this contract.

1.8 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall be capable of assigning Incarcerated

Persons a unique PIN.

1.8.1 An Incarcerated Person’s calls must be tracked by PIN and booking number in the booking areas in order to facilitate investigative tracking of booking phone calls.

1.8.2 An Incarcerated Person’s PIN shall work only in the pod or housing unit they are assigned to.

1.9 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall be capable of being terminated through a hard-wired switch to unit control rooms.

1.10 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall be capable of Voice over Internet Protocol

(VoIP) end-points.

1.11 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall be synchronized by both time and date.

1.12 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall include administrator ID and password protection or Active Directory Authentication to limit each administrator’s access to data by defined criteria, thus limiting each administrator’s access by their login (profile creation).

1.12.1 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall allow VCSO-VCJ supervisory staff the ability to assign different access rights to each administrator, based on an administrator’s respective role.

2. SYSTEM FEATURES

2.1 Non-Chargeable Calls. The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall provide VCSO-VCJ the ability to designate particular telephone numbers that VCJ Incarcerated Persons may call at no cost to the Incarcerated Person.

2.2 Call Branding. The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall provide a pre-recorded introduction to the call recipient informing them that the call is originating from the VCJ; that the call may be monitored and/or recorded; describe any applicable calling rates; and provide directions for acceptance of the call.

2.3 Recording and Monitoring. The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall provide the ability to record and monitor calls and the ability to share such recordings as necessary and without alteration.

2.3.1 An unlimited number of calls shall be recorded simultaneously twenty-four (24) hours per day, seven (7) days per week (24/7).

2.3.2 This shall include the ability to listen to and extract the digital recordings of conversations, both in real-time and with historical and playback capability.

2.3.3 These recordings shall have capability to be turned on or off through programming by

Contractor with the ability of VCSO-VCJ to designate certain calls as being unmonitored or unrecorded.

2.3.4 All recordings shall be retained by Contractor and be accessible to VCSO-VCJ for a minimum of seven (7) years from the date the call was placed.

2.4 Call Duration Limits. The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall be capable of programming limits on the duration of calls as set by VCSO-VCJ. The Incarcerated Person

Telephone System shall automatically terminate a call after providing an audio warning heard by both parties on the call. The capability of providing different time limits for individual

Incarcerated Persons, pods, and designated groups of telephones is desirable.

2.5 Call Blocking.

2.5.1 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall allow VCSO-VCJ to block telephone service to any Incarcerated Person, telephone number, telephone, or group of telephones.

2.5.2 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall allow VCSO-VCJ to block an unlimited amount of telephone numbers in real-time as deemed necessary by VCSO-VCJ.

2.5.3 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall provide VCSO-VCJ the ability to disconnect a call in progress.

2.5.4 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall provide the call recipient with the option to block all future Incarcerated Person call attempts at the time a call is received.

2.5.5 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall prevent all the following calls:

2.5.5.1 911 and any other local emergency numbers

2.5.5.2 All 800 services

2.5.5.3 All 900 services

2.5.5.4 411 numbers and all other directory assistance

2.5.5.5 Three Way Calls

2.5.5.6 Access to live operators

2.5.5.7 Calls to pay phones 2.5.5.7.1.1 Credit card calls

2.5.5.7.1 988 Suicide Crisis Hotline

2.6 No charges for long distance calls shall begin until the call recipient accepts the call.

2.7 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall have full-time fraud protection against:

hook switch calls, credit card calls, directory assistance calls, call forwarding, conference calls, and second party calls.

3. EQUIPMENT

3.1 Contractor shall provide recommendations for number and locations of telephones to best serve VCJ Incarcerated Persons. After initial installation of equipment, the number and style of

Incarcerated Person telephones may be increased, decreased, or modified based on VCSO-VCJ’s requirements at no cost to County.

3.2 All system equipment shall be designed for a correctional environment and fully comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) (TTY / Video Relay System).

3.3 All equipment shall comply with all applicable local, state and federal laws, rules, regulations and industry standards.

3.4 The Incarcerated Person Telephone System shall not require any electrical outlets at or near any telephone locations.

3.5 All equipment shall be…