Amendment Two.pdf

Amendment Two Page 1

State of South Carolina

Amendment Two

Solicitation:

Date Issued:

Procurement Officer:

Phone:

E-Mail Address:

Mailing Address:

5400021721 August 24, 2021

DELORIS SWEEPER

803-896-7958 delorissweeper@scdps.gov SC Department of Public Safety Attention: Procurement Office PO Box 1993 Blythewood SC 29016

DESCRIPTION: Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) USING GOVERNMENTAL UNIT: DPS Administration

SUBMIT YOUR OFFER ON-LINE AT THE FOLLOWING URL: http://www.procurement.sc.gov SUBMIT OFFER BY (Opening Date/Time): 09/16/2021 2:00 pm (est) (See "Deadline For Submission Of Offer" provision) QUESTIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY: 08/06/2021 2:00 pm (est) (See "Questions From Offerors" provision) NUMBER OF COPIES TO BE SUBMITTED: 1 Online Submission CONFERENCE TYPE: Not Applicable

DATE & TIME:

(As appropriate, see "Conferences - Pre-Bid/Proposal" & "Site Visit" provisions)

LOCATION: Not Applicable

AWARD &

AMENDMENTS

Award will be posted on 09/28/2021. The award, this solicitation, any amendments, and any related notices will be posted at the following web address: http://www.procurement.sc.gov

You must submit a signed copy of this form with Your Offer. By signing, You agree to be bound by the terms of the Solicitation. You agree to hold Your Offer open for a minimum of thirty (30) calendar days after the Opening Date. (See "Signing Your Offer" provision.)

NAME OF OFFEROR

(full legal name of business submitting the offer)

Any award issued will be issued to, and the contract will be formed with, the entity identified as the Offeror. The entity named as the offeror must be a single and distinct legal entity. Do not use the name of a branch office or a division of a larger entity if the branch or division is not a separate legal entity, i.e., a separate corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, etc.

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE

(Person must be authorized to submit binding offer to contract on behalf of Offeror.)

DATE SIGNED

TITLE

(business title of person signing above)

STATE VENDOR NO.

(Register to Obtain S.C. Vendor No. at www.procurement.sc.gov)

PRINTED NAME

(printed name of person signing above)

STATE OF INCORPORATION

(If you are a corporation, identify the state of incorporation.)

OFFEROR'S TYPE OF ENTITY: (Check one) (See "Signing Your Offer" provision.)

___ Sole Proprietorship ___ Partnership ___ Other_____________________________

___ Corporate entity (not tax-exempt) ___ Corporation (tax-exempt) ___ Government entity (federal, state, or local)

COVER PAGE - ON-LINE ONLY (MAR. 2015)

mailto:delorissweeper@scdps.gov http://www.procurement.sc.gov/

Amendment Two Page 2

SAP

SAP

PAGE TWO

(Return Page Two with Your Offer)

HOME OFFICE ADDRESS (Address for offeror's home office / principal place of business)

NOTICE ADDRESS (Address to which all procurement and contract related notices should be sent.) (See "Notice" clause)

_________________________________________________ Area Code - Number - Extension Facsimile

_________________________________________________ E-mail Address

PAYMENT ADDRESS (Address to which payments will be sent.)

(See "Payment" clause)

____Payment Address same as Home Office Address ____Payment Address same as Notice Address (check only one)

ORDER ADDRESS (Address to which purchase orders will be sent) (See "Purchase Orders and "Contract Documents" clauses)

____Order Address same as Home Office Address ____Order Address same as Notice Address (check only one)

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS

Offerors acknowledges receipt of amendments by indicating amendment number and its date of issue. (See "Amendments to Solicitation" Provision) Amendment No. Amendment Issue

Date Amendment No. Amendment Issue

Date Amendment No. Amendment Issue

Date Amendment No. Amendment Issue

Date

DISCOUNT FOR

PROMPT PAYMENT

(See "Discount for Prompt

Payment" clause)

10 Calendar Days (%) 20 Calendar Days (%) 30 Calendar Days (%) _____Calendar Days (%)

PREFERENCES - A NOTICE TO VENDORS (SEP. 2009): On June 16, 2009, the South Carolina General Assembly rewrote the law governing preferences available to in-state vendors, vendors using in-state subcontractors, and vendors selling in-state or US end products. This law appears in Section 11-35-1524 of the South Carolina Code of Laws. A summary of the new preferences is available at www.procurement.sc.gov/preferences. ALL THE PREFERENCES MUST BE CLAIMED AND ARE APPLIED BY LINE ITEM, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER AWARD IS MADE BY

ITEM OR LOT. VENDORS ARE CAUTIONED TO CAREFULLY REVIEW THE STATUTE BEFORE

CLAIMING ANY PREFERENCES. THE REQUIREMENTS TO QUALIFY HAVE CHANGED. IF YOU

REQUEST A PREFERENCE, YOU ARE CERTIFYING THAT YOUR OFFER QUALIFIES FOR THE

PREFERENCE YOU'VE CLAIMED. IMPROPERLY REQUESTING A PREFERENCE CAN HAVE SERIOUS

CONSEQUENCES. [11-35-1524(E)(4)&(6)]

PREFERENCES - ADDRESS AND PHONE OF IN-STATE OFFICE: Please provide the address and phone number for your in-state office in the space provided below. An in-state office is necessary to claim either the Resident Vendor Preference (11-35-1524(C)(1)(i)&(ii)) or the Resident Contractor Preference (11-35-1524(C)(1)(iii)). Accordingly, you must provide this information to qualify for the preference. An in-state office is not required, but can be beneficial, if you are claiming the Resident Subcontractor Preference (11-35-1524(D)).

____In-State Office Address same as Home Office Address ____In-State Office Address same as Notice Address (check only one) PAGE TWO (SEP 2009) End of PAGE TWO http://www.procurement.sc.gov/preferences

Amendment Two Page 3

AMENDMENT TWO

Solicitation # 5400021721 –AMENDMENTS TO SOLICITATION (JAN 2004)

(a) The Solicitation may be amended at any time prior to opening. All actual and prospective Offerors should monitor the following web site for the issuance of Amendments: www.procurement.sc.gov (b) Offerors shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment to this solicitation (1) by signing and returning the amendment, (2) by identifying the amendment number and date in the space provided for this purpose on Page Two, (3) by letter, or (4) by submitting a bid that indicates in some way that the bidder received the amendment. (c) If this solicitation is amended, then all terms and conditions which are not modified remain unchanged. [02-2A005-1]

(b) QUESTIONS FROM OFFERORS – AMENDMENT (MODIFIED)

THE SOLICITATION IS AMENDED AS PROVIDED HEREIN. INFORMATION OR CHANGES

RESULTING FROM QUESTIONS WILL BE SHOWN IN A QUESTION-AND-ANSWER FORMAT. ALL

QUESTIONS RECEIVED HAVE BEEN REPRINTED BELOW. THE “STATE’S RESPONSE” SHOULD

BE READ WITHOUT REFERENCE TO THE QUESTIONS. THE QUESTIONS ARE INCLUDED SOLELY

TO PROVIDE A CROSS-REFERENCE TO THE POTENTIAL OFFEROR THAT SUBMITTED THE

QUESTION. QUESTIONS DO NOT FORM A PART OF THE CONTRACT; THE “STATE’S RESPONSE”

DOES.

Contractors are required to upload a signed and completed copy of this Amendment with their offer.

The opening date has been changed to September 16, 2021, the opening time is 2:00 pm, Eastern Time.

The intent to award posting date has been changed to September 28, 2021.

Vendor Questions and the State’s Response:

1. Page 12 of the Scope of Work/Specifications, item 1 – Introduction, the third paragraph, is changed to the following:

Services rendered shall be billed an all-inclusive rate per employee per month at the rates provided in the AMENDED (1) BIDDING SCHEDULE/PRICE-BUSINESS-

PROPOSAL.

2. Question: Will the Agency accept electronic signatures on all forms and other documents within the proposal response?

State’s Response: Yes

3. Question: Contractor shall only bill SCDPS per incident. The Agency is requesting a Per Employee per Month (PEPM) fee annualized to provide an annual cost. Typically, a PEPM is an all-inclusive rate regardless of the number of actual cases. How are we to bill per incident as this would require a per session rate rather than a PEPM rate? Will the Agency accept a Per Employee per Month (PEPM) all-inclusive rate as this is our preference and provides the Agency with a set known rate?

Amendment Two Page 4

State’s Response: SCDPS is requesting a PEPM all-inclusive rate.

4. Question: Please provide additional information on the types of programming you are seeking for the following: Tobacco Cessation program and a Healthy Living (Wellness-oriented) program.

State’s Response: Programs are listed in the SOW; pages 13-14, but to re-emphasize:

• Health & Wellness education such as nutrition, exercise resources, smoking cessation, meditation, weight loss, work life balance, etc.

• Mental Health Counseling, Coaching & Referrals for things such as Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Marriage, Divorce, Grief, Anger Management, Substance Abuse, Family illness, adoption, etc.

5. Question: Is the Agency seeking for the EAP to provide onsite group support sessions in the event of a critical incident? If yes, would you like for hours to be built into the PEPM or would you rather have critical incident response provided on a fee-for-service basis to be used/requested/billed as needed?

State’s Response: Onsite group support sessions will only be required upon special request from our law enforcement entities; however, should the agency face anything such as layoffs, we would expect an onsite representative. All costs as proposed for this solicitation and identified in the SOW shall be all-inclusive.

6. Question: Regarding training/orientation sessions each year, will 10 hours per year meet your needs?

State’s Response: On an annual basis SCDPS has provided our employees with 4 hour sessions on health and wellness. Those hours total about 112 hours of in class session and does not include curriculum planning.

7. Question: Is the Agency interested in Webinar/virtual training sessions in addition to onsite?

State’s Response: Yes but not instead of onsite.

8. Question: Will the Agency want the EAP to be onsite for health fairs, open enrollment, etc.? If yes, approximately how many hours per year are estimated?

Amendment Two Page 5

State’s Response: SCDPS does not hold traditional health fairs due to ethics rules but if representatives were available to set up a Q&A booth or display during employee award ceremonies that would be ideal. We have 4 events annually that are about 3 hours in duration.

9. Question: Who is your health plan provider and is the plan self-funded?

State’s Response: Blue Cross Blue Shield South Carolina is the insurance program for SC State Government. The State funds the insurance program.

10. Question: Please provide insight into the condition of the workforce. Are there specific issues facing your workforce (i.e. stress, morale, etc.) and HR? Have there been any major events in the last year (i.e. reductions in force, critical incidents, COVID-19 related incidents. etc.)?

State’s Response: The typical issues we see are divorce, limited cases of alcohol, change management due to restructuring, the impact of social media and the unfair press has been a contributor to some of the turnover of law enforcement officers. So far, the agency has had over 200 cases of COVID so there are associated mental health concerns and general COVID fatigue issues.

11. Question: Approximately 90% of calls into our call center are answered directly by staff in our US service center. As needed based on call volume, some calls may be routed to our 13 other global service centers. Is this arrangement sufficient to the Agency? Is this process OK in regards to the OFFSHORE CONTRACTING PROHIBITED CLAUSE? All client information is maintained within the United States through our online case management system.

State’s Response: All personally identifiable data must be maintained in a confidential and secure manner within the US for the safety of our employees.

12. Question: Why is SC Dept. of Public Safety out to bid?

State’s Response: The agency’s law enforcement personnel have access to another employee assistance program at no cost while our civilian personnel do not. This program would provide a holistic approach by providing 100% of our employee’s supplemental resources in times of need.

Amendment Two Page 6

13. Question: What is most important to see in a new program and vendor?

State’s Response: Confidentiality, creditability, responsiveness and professionalism.

14. Question: Please confirm this is a new program and there is no current vendor?

State’s Response: This is a new program to SCDPS. There is no current vendor. Should there be a program currently in place please continue and answer the questions below:

State’s Response: This is a new program to SCDPS. There is no current vendor.

15. Question: Where is the satisfaction level with the incumbent provider?

16. Question: Have there been any service issues? If so, please explain.

17. Question: How long has the vendor been in place?

18. Question: Please confirm there are 3 EAP counseling sessions included in the current program?

Answer: This is a new program to SCDPS. There is no current vendor.

19. Question: How are Work Life services being administered? Through a website or can their employees call and speak to lawyers, financial professionals for example? Are the childcare, eldercare services self-service or does the program provide research and referrals?

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20. Question: Regarding trainings, how many onsite training hours are currently included in the program? How many were used last year?

21. Question: In the same vain, for critical incidents (i.e. a natural disaster, ee fatality, layoffs, etc) what type of support does the current program allow for?

a. Question: How many annual onsite hours are built in?

b. Question: How many events and hours were used last year?

22. Question: What is the current rate on the program?

23. Question: What has utilization looked like for the current program?

State’s Response: Are you satisfied with the program utilization?

Amendment Two Page 8

Question: Can you provide a copy of a most recent utilization report?

24. Question: Why is SCDPS going out to bid for an EAP?

State’s Response: See answer to question #12 above.

25. Question: The listed effective date is 9/17/21, is this able to be pushed back to start at the beginning of October (10/1/21) vs. mid-month?

State’s Response: Dates provided are estimated based on award. The anticipated effective date will be reflected in award.

26. Question: What are SCDPS’ top three cost drivers?

State’s Response: Personnel, technology and law enforcement equipment

27. Question: How does SCDPS currently communicate with their members?

State’s Response: We use a mix of a centralized website portal, memorandum sent via email and videos distributed through a training database and the agency’s YouTube channel.

28. Question: On page 14 it states that the contractor shall provide an alcohol and substance abuse awareness program, a tobacco cessation program and a healthy living (wellness-oriented) program scheduled in coordination with SCDPS’ OHR. Would you please specify what you want included in the healthy living (wellness-oriented) program?

State’s Response: See answer to #4 above.

Amendment Two Page 9

29. The BIDDING SCHEDULE/PRICE-BUSINESS PROPOSAL on page 37 of the solicitation is replaced with the following AMENDED (1) BIDDING

SCHEDULE/PRICE-BUSINESS PROPOSAL:

VIII. AMENDED (1) BIDDING SCHEDULE / PRICE-BUSINESS PROPOSAL

BIDDING SCHEDULE (NOV 2007)

30.

Line Number Quantity Unit of Measure Unit Price Extended Price

0001 5

YR

Product Catg.: 91840 - Employee Benefits Consulting

Item Description: Employee Assistance Program

Tendering Text: See Section III. Scope of Work/Specifications.

In determining cost, as outlined in the BIDDING SCHEDULE/ PRICE-BUSINESS PROPOSAL, Contractor shall multiply 1,279* times the price per employee rate per month (PEPM) for an annual rate for the unit price. The unit price per year shall be multiplied by the quantity of five (5) for the extended price total.

Contractor’s employee rate per month (PEPM) shall include up to three (3) pre-paid confidential assessments per year.

All pricing for the EAP services shall include all associated costs with no additional or hidden fees. Compensation for services will be in the form of a Firm Fixed price based on the number of employees per consumer access. A unit price shall be given for providing the services indicated herein and that unit price shall be the same throughout the Contract.

*Quantities indicated herein are estimated and the State does not obligate itself to purchase the full quantities indicated but the price offered must be allowed should the quantities be less. It is the responsibility of the contractor to submit a bid that is both viable and acceptable whether the items are requested in mass or individually. The State’s requirements may exceed the quantities indicated and all orders received by the contractor during the term of the contract shall be filled in accordance with the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth.

Contractor’s PEPM is _______________________________________.

Internal Item Number: 1

Question Mandatory / Optional

Multiple Responses Accepted?

Response

Are you requesting the SC Resident Contractor Preference? See The SC Procurement Code, Section 11-35- 1524(C) (1) (III) and Section IIB of this

Mandatory No

______Yes

Amendment Two Page 10

Solicitation for more Information. For a FAQ on these Preferences, Please See WWW.Procurement.SC.Gov/Preferences

______No

Are you requesting the SC Resident Subcontractor Preference-2%? See the SC Procurement Code, Section 11-35- 1524(D) and IIB & VIIB of this solicitation for more information. For a FAQ on these preferences, please see www.procurement.sc.gov/preferences

Are you requesting the SC Resident Subcontractor Preference-4%? See the SC Procurement Code, Section 11-35- 1524(D) and IIB & VIIB of this solicitation for more information. For a FAQ on these preferences, please see www.procurement.sc.gov/preferences

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