Amendment 1 QAs final.pdf

AMENDMENT 1

RFB AD241024: Background Check Services

Dated December 15, 2023

Bidders must acknowledge receipt of this Amendment to ensure you have read, understand, and the bid of your company is predicated upon the contents of this Amendment.

Note, this document contains both those Bidder questions received outside of eSupplier as well as within eSupplier. It is the Bidder’s responsibility to check eSupplier for any additional questions and answers pertaining to this RFB.

Amended Cost Sheet The following section(s) have been replaced entirely by the following language:

5.1 COST SHEET INSTRUCTIONS

Bidder shall complete Amended Attachment A - Cost Sheet 12/15/2023 and shall submit Cost per Item for each Item in Section 1. Total Cost will be auto calculated. In the event of errors in calculation, Cost per Item shall prevail.

Costs must be in U.S. dollars to two (2) decimal places unless otherwise indicated. Alternate cost formats shall not be accepted and may result in disqualification of the Bid. Only numerical values (i.e.,

80) shall be accepted. Anything other than a numerical value (i.e., N/A) may disqualify your Bid.

Failure to provide costs for all required areas under Section 1 may result in the rejection of the Bid.

Section 2 is for informational purposes only.

Bidders must not alter the Cost Sheet in any manner unless instructions on the Cost Sheet indicate otherwise.

6.5.3 FORMAT OF BID RESPONSE

Bidders responding to this RFB shall comply with the following format requirements:

DO NOT COPY AND RETURN THE ENTIRE BID DOCUMENT.

Complete and Signed Bidder Required Form: Include a completed and signed Bidder Required Form DOA-3832, with the Bid response. All sections of the form must be completed. Bids submitted in response to this RFB must be signed by the person in the Bidder’s organization who is responsible for the decision as to the costs being offered in the Bid or by a person who has been authorized in writing to act as agent for the person responsible for the decision on costs.

By submitting a signed Bid, the Bidder’s signatories certify that in connection with this procurement: (a) the Bidder’s organization or an agent of the Bidder's organization has arrived at the costs in its Bid without consultation, communication, or agreement with any other respondent or with any competitor for the purpose of restricting competition; (b) the costs quoted in the Bid have not been knowingly disclosed by the Bidder's organization or by any agent of the Bidder's organization and shall not be knowingly disclosed by same, directly or indirectly, to any other respondent or to any competitor; and

(c) no attempt has been made or shall be made by the Bidder's organization or by any agent of the Bidder's organization to induce any other person or firm to submit or not to submit a Bid for the purpose of restricting competition.

State of Wisconsin Standard Terms and Conditions (DOA-3054) and State of Wisconsin Supplemental Standard Terms and Conditions for Procurements for Services (DOA-3681) (herein after Terms and Conditions): These Terms and Conditions shall govern this Bid and subsequent award. Bidders shall accept these Standard and Supplemental Terms and Conditions or submit point-by-point exceptions along with proposed alternate or additional language for each point. Submission of any standard Bidder Contracts as a substitute for language in the Terms and Conditions is not a sufficient response to this Requirement and may result in rejection of the Bidder's Bid. The State reserves the right to negotiate Contractual Terms and Conditions other than those in the State of Wisconsin Contract when it is in the best interest of the State to do so.

Additional Information: Include all additional information that shall be essential to an understanding of the Bid. This might include diagrams, excerpts from manuals, or other explanatory documentation that would clarify and/or substantiate the Bid document.

Cost Information: Provide cost information on Amended Attachment A – Cost Sheet 12/15/2023, included in this RFB. All costs for furnishing the service(s) included in the Bid in accordance with the terms and conditions in this RFB must be included. No alternate cost formats will be accepted. Alternate cost formats may eliminate consideration for this Bid.

Bid Factors: When responding to the RFB within the Wisconsin eSupplier Portal and outside the Wisconsin eSupplier Portal (via hard copy), Bidders must complete Attachment C - Response to Bid Qualifications and Requirements. Bidders responding within the Wisconsin eSupplier Portal must respond to all questions. Hard copy submittals must also attach Attachment B - Bid Factors. Any alteration of the Bid documents is prohibited and may result in rejection of the Bid.

Any alteration of the Bid documents is prohibited and shall result in rejection of the Bid.

8 REQUIRED FORMS AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

All forms and attachments are found in the Wisconsin eSupplier Portal in the "Supporting Documents" section.

ALL BIDDERS

• DOA-3832 – Bidder Required Form

• DOA-3054 – Standard Terms and Conditions

• DOA-3681 – Supplemental Standard Terms and Conditions

• Amended Attachment A – Cost Sheet 12/15/2023

• Attachment C – Response to Bid Qualifications and Requirements

• Appendix 1 – Vendor Cloud Solution Form DOA 10816

• Appendix 2 – NIST Special Publication 800-145

• Appendix 3 – State of Wisconsin Security Rider

• Appendix 4 – Standard Software License Terms and Conditions

• Appendix 5 – Incumbent Pricing Sheet

ADDITIONAL FOR HARD COPY ONLY

Attachment B – Bid Factors – FOR HARD COPY BID RESPONSE ONLY

Questions and Answers

Question 1: What is your expected annual volume for background checks?

Answer 1: The estimated annual volume of background checks performed on out-of-State and international candidates in calendar year 2023 is 2,996 background checks. This was calculated based on the volume from March 1- November 30, 2023.

Question 2: I looked through all of the Documentation, and I was not able to find an Estimated Annual or Contract Volume?

Answer 2: Refer to Answer 1.

Question 3: Can the State provide a total volume of screens performed annually under this contract?

Answer 3: Refer to Answer 1.

Question 4: With respect to 3.2.4 Verification of the POI's Selective Service Registration Status, how is the currently being performed--electronically or via document inspection?

Answer 4: This is typically performed electronically; however, the method depends on the circumstance of the documentation available.

Question 5: Section 1.4 indicates that only the Bid scope can be used for cooperative purchasing contracts. As the scope of services for RFB AD241024 is not comprehensive, can we propose optional services that may be included in an ensuing contract through cooperative purchasing? Can these additional services/fees be attached to, or included with, Attachment A – Cost Sheet?

Answer 5: Per Section 1.4 MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACT, “The Contract must not be used for purchasing commodities or services outside of the general scope and intent of the original RFB.“

Section 2 of the Cost Sheet has been amended to allow Bidders to provide a percentage discount off of their list prices for Background Check services they provide within the scope of the RFB, that are not listed on the cost sheet. See Amended Attachment A – Cost Sheet 12/15/2023.

Bidders may not alter the Cost Sheet in any manner unless instructions on Amended Attachment A – Cost Sheet 12/15/2023 indicate otherwise.

The Awarded Bidder may propose additional optional services for the ensuing contract during the contract negotiations phase.

Question 6: The State specifies that only the Scope of Work can be used for cooperative contracts; however, the scope is not comprehensive. Can we propose optional services that may be included in an ensuing contract?

Answer 6: Refer to Answer 5.

Question 7: Will the State accept additional narrative information that describes our company qualifications and service solutions and how they benefit the State, and, if so, how is this to be presented/attached to the Bid response?

Answer 7: Narrative information regarding company qualifications and service solutions submitted in addition to “Amended Attachment A – Cost Sheet 12/15/2023” and “Attachment C – Response to Bid Qualifications and Requirements” will not be considered. See Section 7.2 METHOD OF AWARD.

Question 8: To confirm, is Appendix 1 Vendor Cloud Solution Form not required with the Bid response?

Answer 8: Correct, Appendix 1 Vendor Cloud Solution Form is included as a reference and should not be submitted with the Bid response.

Question 9: Who is the incumbent provider of these services?

Answer 9: GoodHire

Question 10: Can the State share pricing for these services under the existing contract?

Answer 10: Yes, see Appendix 5 – Incumbent Pricing Sheet.

Question 11: How many agencies currently utilize these contract services?

Answer 11: One.

Question 12: Please provide estimated number of new hires annually.

Answer 12: There are approximately 3,500 new hires per year.

Question 13: Will there be an Applicant Tracking System that will be required to integrate with?

Answer 13: The Contractor will not be required to integrate with an Applicant Tracking System.

The following questions were received after the Question and Answer due date, however, the State feels it is in the State’s best interest to provide an answer.

Question 14: How many other CRAs are participating in the RFB?

Answer 14: The State has no way of knowing how many Bids will be submitted until the RFB Due Date (January 9th, 2024 at 1:00 PM CT).

Question 15: What is the expected annual volume of out of state or international candidates to be ran per year?

Answer 15: Refer to Answer 1.

Question 16: Are there any ATS (applicant tracking systems) that you are looking to integrate with?

Answer 16: No.

Question 17: Will the preference be for Wisconsin based CRAs to have priority selection over out of state CRAs?

Answer 17: No. See Section 7.2 METHOD OF AWARD.

Question 18: Is there potential to earn extra business of doing the in-state background checks as well?

Answer 18: No.

Question 19: Are you interested in drug testing or MVR searches?

Answer 19: Refer to Answer 5.

Question 20: The RFP asks that the background screening system be able to integrate with AzureAD and Okta. Please elaborate how you would like the system to interact with AzureAD and Okta. Are you asking to be able to log in to the background screening services system via AzureAD and Okta?

Answer 20: Yes. The State requires a single sign on via these platforms. Section 3.5.7 requires that Users are able to login to the background screening services system via both AzureAD for State employees and Okta for anyone that is outside of State government.