DOH22-021 Addendum 4_QAs - Final.pdf

Mission:

To protect, promote & improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county, and community efforts.

Ron DeSantis Governor

Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, PhD

State Surgeon General

Vision: To be the Healthiest State in the Nation

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Addendum #4

ITN DOH22-021

Operations and Maintenance of the Florida Women, Infant and Children (WIC) Information System and EBT Data System

DATE: January 17, 2024

TO: Prospective Vendors

FROM: Niki Sparks, Procurement Officer

Florida Department of Health Central Purchasing Office

SUBJECT: Addendum #4

The purpose of this addendum is to modify Section 3.3.1, TAB 1 – Mandatory Requirements, and Attachment D, Statement of Corporate Financial Resources, and to answer questions received in accordance with Section 2.8, Questions, of the ITN. This addendum serves as notice of the following change(s):

Deletions are indicated by “strikethrough” or reference. Additions, updates or replacements are indicated by highlighting.

A. Modifications: The following modifications are made to the ITN.

1. Section 3.3.1, Tab 1 Mandatory Requirements:

The following information has been added to Section 3.3.1, Tab 1 Mandatory Requirements, which is replaced in its entirety with the modified Section 3.3.1 below:

3.3.1 TAB 1 – Mandatory Requirements

Respondents must complete and submit the following mandatory information or documentation as part of their Reply by the time specified in Section 2.6. Any Reply which does not contain the information below will be deemed non-responsive to this ITN:

3.3.1.1 Minimum Experience and Qualifications: Complete the Experience

Narrative Form (Attachment H), in its entirety and submit it in the Respondent’s Reply.

3.3.1.2. Replies must be received by the time specified in the Timeline, Section 2.6.

3.3.1.3. The Title Page of this ITN must be completed, signed, and returned with the

Technical Reply.

3.3.1.4. Prior Experience Form (Attachment B) must be completed as specified in

Section 3.7

Addendum #3

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3.3.1.5. Statement of Non-Collusion (Attachment C) must be completed as specified.

3.3.1.6. Respondent Certification Regarding Scrutinized Companies Lists

(Attachment E) must be completed as specified in Section 5.2.

3.3.1.7. Statement of Corporate Financial Resources (Attachment D) must be completed and contain the described documents.

3.3.1.8. Subcontractors List Form (Attachment G) must be completed as specified in Section 3.8.

2. Attachment D, Statement of Corporate Financial Resources:

Attachment D, Statement of Corporate Financial Resources, has been modified and is replaced in its entirety with the revised Attachment D, Statement of Corporate Financial Resources, attached hereto.

B. Responses to Questions received pursuant to Section 2.8, Questions: Please see the

Department’s response to questions received by the due date outlined in Section 2.6, Timeline, of the ITN, below:

# Question Answer

Reference to specifications provided under Specification B.4.e under Attachment A – SPECIFICATIONS. “Develop, maintain, and update the User Guides, online FL-WiSE help files, and any technical documentation per the Department templates and standards for infrastructure and software documentation on an ongoing basis.”

Does the State currently use Help File generation software? If so, please specify.

No.

Reference to specifications provided under Specification

3.7 under Attachment A - SPECIFICATIONS. “Application Enhancement and Modification Services - Create a draft project plan to develop, operate and maintain a set of RESTful web services to allow mutual exchange of structured data and submit it to the Contract Manager no later than June 1, 2026”

Does the State plan to increase the number of interfaces using RESTful web services? Example: Adjunct Eligibility like SNAP participation.

Yes, the Department anticipates additional RESTful web services.

Reference to specifications provided under Specification

3.7 under Attachment A – SPECIFICATIONS.

At present, how many times per year does the State receive releases of the software (include both major and minor releases)? Please provide any additional information available on the current release process?

Does the State have any future plans for cloud migration for the system?

The Department receives 10-12 releases per year. The current vendor develops software changes within their own infrastructure environment which they then promote the changes to the Department’s development environment for unit testing, and then to the Department’s QA environment for separate vendor and State regression testing. Once the changes are passed in the QA environment, the release is then scheduled to be moved to production. Yes, the intent is to go into the Department’s hosted cloud but do not know current timing.

Reference to Question # 34, Addendum #1.

Please provide any additional detail available on the purpose and functionality of the following system interfaces:

• DCF’s FLORIDA system

• DOH’s FLSHOTS system

• iProntoforms

• WICHealth

• DOH’s Central Office Messaging System

• CDP’s WIC Direct system

• IBM Cloud

• DCF’s FLORIDA system provides client Medicaid enrollment confirmation for being adjunctively eligible for the WIC program.

• DOH’s FLSHOTS system provides qualifying client DTAP immunization record count.

• Prontoforms provides form-based data about retailers after being filled out by WIC staff.

• WICHealth provides nutrition education course completion data by WIC families.

• DOH’s Central Office Messaging acts as a Twilio voice and text message relay system.

• CDP’s WIC Direct system provides client EBT related transaction details.

• IBM Cloud integrates IBM Watson assistant technology with FL-WiSE.

What is the average monthly number of service tickets processed by the current IT Vendor?

The Department does not capture this data.

Please provide any additional information available on Help Desk related requirements for the system.

The Requirements include performing data corrections, system issue analysis, solutions and work around suggestions.

Please describe the “Second Level Support Plan” on Page 37 of the ITN?

Planning refers to Help Desk offerings provided by the vendor after first level state analysis.

Does the Florida WIC Program still operate with any manual processes that they would like to review options for additional automation?

Yes. See Attachment A, Section B.3.c. of the ITN.

Will offshore resources be allowed? No.

Will a helpdesk/center need to be created and staffed and for what hours or days?

Yes. See Attachment A, Section B.2.a.6), of the ITN.

What are the specific performance metrics and service level agreements (SLAs) that the Department expects for the FL-WiSE data system in terms of system availability, response times, and overall performance?

The Department is willing to discuss defining mutually agreeable performance and service level metrics with the Vendors selected for negotiations.

Are there any requirements or preferences regarding data backup, recovery, and disaster recovery procedures that must be applied to the FL-WiSE data system?

See Attachment A, Section B.4.d. and Section B.1.a.5), of the ITN.

Will the Department provide Level 1 support Yes.

Can you provide information on how user feedback is collected and incorporated into system improvements?

User feedback is collected by the Department and analyzed before requesting changes to the system.

Are there any plans for additional integrations between the FL-WiSE data system and other external systems in the near future?

The Department does not have any current plans but is open to additional integrations.

What kind of training and support does the Department want to be provided for the FL-WiSE data system users, and how often should it be conducted?

The Department will provide training to FL-WiSE data system users as needed.

Can you provide an architecture diagram of the current system setup?

The Department does not have a current diagram.

How much has the user base grown over the past 2 years?

How many new application / database servers have been added to accommodate the increase in usage?

The user base has remained relatively consistent, so no additional servers have been needed.

Have you done recent DR test? Are there any DR Test requirements?

Yes, see Attachment A, section b.1.a.5) and Section B.4.d., of the ITN.

What is the current change and release management process followed? Is there a Separation of Duties from PROD/Non-Prod Environments?

User feedback is collected by the Department and analyzed before requesting changes to the system. Separation of duties is a requirement.

Is the department expecting to have the vendor negotiate any future data sharing agreement with any third party vendors?

The Department does not expect this at this time.

Can the state confirm whether all mandatory qualifications for respondents to bid must be satisfied by the prime contractor alone, or whether a combination of experience from the prime contractor and subcontractors is acceptable?

Mandatory requirements must be met by the Respondent as defined in Section 1.8, Definitions, of the ITN.

As Oracle 12c extended support ended on July 2022, it is recommended to consider upgrading to Oracle 19c for long-term support and additional features. Does the department plan to upgrade from Oracle 12c to Oracle 19c, and if so, is this upgrade included within the scope of work for the current solicitation?

See Attachment A, Section B.1.a.6), Section B.1.a.7) and Section B.2.

As stated in the ITN, the department intends to migrate infrastructure between data centers during the duration of this contract. Can we assume that the scope of this infrastructure migration will include the solution migration and database migration processes?

Yes.

In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the existing systems integration scope, could the department please provide a list of the systems being integrated, along with their interface specifications and the nature of their integration (e.g., real-time or batch process)?

• DCF’s FLORIDA system provides client Medicaid enrollment confirmation for being adjunctively eligible for the WIC program. This is a real-time process using WSDL and SOAP protocols.

• DOH’s FLSHOTS system provides qualifying client DTAP immunization record count. This is a real-time process using HL7 and REST services.

• Prontoforms provides form-based data about retailers after being filled out by WIC staff. This is real-time process using XML and REST services.

• WICHealth provides nutrition education course completion data by WIC families. This is a real-time process utilized in batch-form using JSON and REST services.

• DOH’s Central Office Messaging acts as a Twilio voice and text message relay system. This is a real-time process using JSON and REST services.

• CDP’s WIC Direct system provides client EBT related transaction details. This is both a real-time and batch set of process using JSON and REST/sFTP services.

• IBM Cloud integrates IBM Watson assistant technology with FL-WiSE. This is a real-time process using JSON and REST services.

Will the state separately procure any required licensing for the solution proposed by respondents? Should vendors account for this in their price proposal (if selected for negotiation)?

No. Respondents should account for this in their price proposal.

Is user data encryption required? Yes.

Do we have to implement two factor authentication? Yes, integrated with the department’s Microsoft account.

What will be data retention period policy? Data retention shall be a minimum of five years.

Can data be saved in a cloud environment (Azure/AWS)?

If yes, are there any limitations or restrictions?

Yes, the restriction is hosting within the Department’s cloud tenants.

Are there any data migration/ server upgrades needed? See Attachment A, Section A.6., of the ITN. Anything additional will be discussed with Vendors selected for negotiations.

Is your preferred language VB.NET? Can the application be rewritten in C#?

Yes, the preferred language is VB.NET. This can be discussed with Vendors selected for negotiations.

Do we have to comply with existing FDOH coding standards to develop new functionality?

Yes.

Regarding the "help files" mentioned throughout the ITN, can the State please clarify the format of the help files and the tools used to maintain the help files?

The formats currently used are Word, PDF, and Adobe RoboHelp.

In which tab Section should proposers place Attachment G?

Include in TAB 1, Mandatory Requirements, and see revised Section

3.3.1 of the ITN above.

In which tab section should proposers place the Value- Added Services response?

See Section 3.9, Value-Added Services, of the ITN. A specific TAB is not specified by the Department as this is not a requirement, and this may be submitted with the Reply per the Respondent’s discretion.

In which tab section should proposers place the response to the Exceptions prompt?

See Section 3.11, Exceptions. A specific TAB is not specified by the Department as this is not a requirement, and this may be submitted with the Reply per the Respondent’s discretion.

Will DOH allow proposers to add tabs for things like the Table of Content, Proposal Overview, Attachment G, and Value-Added Services?

Yes.

If proposers are allowed to insert additional tabs to separate the Table of Contents or other front matter, which would precede the Mandatory Requirements "Tab 1," should proposers apply sequential numbering to the tabs, which would affect the prescribed numbering? For example:

Tab 1 - Table of Contents Tab 2 - Proposal Overview Tab 3 - Mandatory Requirement Alternatively, the tabs could bear the section names without a numbering sequence.

No. Tabs should remain numbered as specified in the ITN and any added sections should be named accordingly.

The reply format instructions indicate that DOH is seeking 1" Margins around, however, the margins in the DOH Title Page are Top :0.46, Bottom: 0.19, Left: 0.42, and Right:

0.11. When we set the margins to 1" around, the Title

Page no longer fits on a single page. Would DOH like the Title Page to match the ITN?

Yes.

Is the State seeking a reply to every numbered item within section 3.3.1. For example, 3.3.1.2 indicates that the replies must be received by the specified timeline in section 2.6. Do we need to include a heading and response acknowledging that we've submitted the response by the due date?

No. The Department requires submission of all specified documents in a Respondent’s reply. In order to satisfy 3.3.1.2, the Respondent’s Reply must be received by the Department by the deadline outlined in Section 2.6, Timeline, and per Section 3.6.7 which notes the Department’s clocks will provide the official time for Reply receipt.

Section 3.3.1.3. indicates that we must include the Title Page in the response. We are inclinced to insert the Title Page at the beginning of the document, however, this is the third instruction under Tab 1, so we are not sure where DOH would like to see the Title Page inserted. Should the Title Page be inserted as the third section of Tab1?

Yes.

The instructions call for inserting the attachments in the following order:

B, C, E, D

1) Does DOH want them in this order?

2) Would DOH prefer to have them inserted in alphabetical order by attachment letter (B, C, D, E)?

The Department prefers they are inserted in the order specified in Section 3.3.1 of the ITN.

Attachment D, paragraph 1, indicates that proposers are required to furnish "certified" financial statements. We are a privately held company, with no debt, and no need for an external audit of our financial statements. We would be happy to provide you with unaudited financial statements that will address your information requirements and can provide bank statements and investment account statements that support our asset balances, if necessary. If we provide a statement from our President, attesting to the accuracy of those financial statements, will that meet your certification requirements?

A signed statement from a records custodian to the accuracy of the documents satisfies the requirement of "certified" as presented in Attachment D.

Item 2 requests an investment grade rating, which seems to assume that a vendor is publicly traded. How should a privately held LLC respond to Item 2?

Respondent may choose any of the four options identified in Attachment D to submit evidence of Respondent’s financial stability.

Please clarify what the DOH is seeking in response to item 4.

The Department will use the information provided in response to Attachment D to determine the Respondent’s financial stability and ability to perform under the contract. Respondent may choose any of the four options to meet the requirement.

Where are the FL-WiSE systems hosted (on-premises vs cloud hosted)?

FL-WiSE systems are housed on premises.

Who is currently responsible for the hosting and networking infrastructure of the FL-WiSE systems (State of Florida administrators or incumbent vendor)?

Department administrators are responsible.

Does "Data Center" refer to the State's Department of Information Technology?

There is no longer the State’s Department of Information Technology.

It is the State Data Center under the Department of Management Services.

Can the State please clarify if the FL-WISE application will require an API integration with third-party tools?

Does the FL-WISE mobile application need MFA?

Is Power BI the preferred dynamic tool for reporting?

No, the preferred dynamic tool is CLIQ. This can be discussed with Vendors selected for negotiations.

Can the State provide details on the incumbent? For example, Name and Contract details.

The incumbent is GCOM for Contract COHF6.

For what period is the State requiring unaudited financial statements? The document mentions “…beginning Year One” but does not explain when Year One is (relative to when).

Financial statements should be provided for the past three years. See revised Attachment D, Statement of Corporate Financial Resources, as indicated above and attached hereto.

Should the winning vendor expect continued participation from state developers working on the application?

Yes.

Does the Department have a target platform for the overall modernized architecture?

Target platforms include Azure, IBM and Oracle cloud. This can be discussed with Vendors selected for negotiations.

Would the Department consider a move from Oracle to another database platform?

Are any of the current systems that FL-WISE interfaces with expected to change or be replaced with functionality in the proposed solution?

Yes, DCF’s FLORIDA access and connecting with AHCA.

What is the purpose and scope of the Department's interaction with IBM Cloud?

The purpose and scope are to integrate artificial intelligence technology into FL-WiSE.

The ITN states that, “all nightly processes completed by 7am”. Are the nightly processes currently completed by this time?

The ITN states, “Transactional or numerical data difference between systems and 3rd party systems requires investigation and complete reconciliation solution in writing by CoB.” If an issue occurs later in the business day will the Department be amendable to this being reported as soon as possible and reconciled as soon as possible rather at the close of the business day?

The ITN states that Hosting Data or Applications: data backup for all systems and data – restoration after an event is at the sole expense of the provider. 1) If this is currently on-premises in the environments specified, does this provision only apply once new applications are developed and deployed (and hosted) or beyond that?

This applies once new applications are developed and deployed (and hosted).

Will the selected vendor be re-developing the current mobile app or creating an entirely new mobile app?

The awarded Vendor is expected to maintain and enhance the existing mobile apps.

At this time does the Department know what aspects of the current mobile app they wish to keep? What functionality does the Department like or not like?

The Department does not know at this time.

Is there a constrained timeline beyond the dates listed for draft and final plans?

Failure to file a protest within the time prescribed in section 120.57(3), Florida Statutes, or failure to post the bond or other security required by law within the time allowed for filing a bond shall constitute a waiver of proceedings under Chapter 120, Florida Statutes.

REVISED ATTACHMENT D

STATEMENT OF CORPORATE FINANCIAL RESOURCES

DOH22-021

Invitation to Negotiate Operations and Maintenance of the Florida Women, Infant and Children (WIC) Information System and EBT Data System

The Respondent shall furnish current certified statements of the Respondent’s financial resources. The

Department will use this information to determine the Respondent’s ability to perform under the contract. For purposes of this Attachment, and as outlined in section 287.057(27)(a through c), Florida

Statutes, the term “financial stability” means, at a minimum, having adequate income and capital and the capacity to efficiently allocate resources, assess and manage financial risks, and maintain financial soundness through the term of the contract.

Please provide certified copies of any of the following documents as evidence of the Respondent’s financial stability:

1. Unaudited financial statements that demonstrate the Respondent’s satisfaction of financial stability criteria. Respondent beginning with year one, must provide supporting document or financial statements for the last three years that shows the amount of:

a. Total current asset,

b. Total current liability and,

c. The ratio percentage of current asset to current liability. If the current ratio is less than 2:1, Respondent must demonstrate reasons for further consideration.

2. Documentation of an investment grade rating from a credit agency designated as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

3. For a Respondent with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion, a letter containing a written declaration, pursuant to section 92.525, Florida Statutes, issued by the chief financial officer or controller attesting that the Respondent is financially stable and meets the definition of financial stability as defined above.

4. For a Respondent with annual revenues of $1 billion or less, documentation, based on the criteria established by the Department, evidencing that the Respondent is financially stable and meets the definition of financial stability as defined above.