EMERGENCY_SHELTER_OPERATIONS_AND_SERVICES_(Addendum_#2_Revision).pdf

COUNTY OF ORANGE

COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICE - CPO

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

FOR

EMERGENCY SHELTER OPERATIONS AND SERVICES

RFP NO. RFP-017-2968501-EA

RESPONSES MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY TO:

https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/ocgov https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/%7bproject.government.code%7d

County of Orange RFP

County Executive Office - CPO - EMERGENCY SHELTER OPERATIONS AND SERVICES, RFP-017-2968501-EA

County of Orange

County Executive Office - CPO

Procurement and Contract Services

400 W. Civic Center Drive

Santa Ana, CA

92701

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

Release of RFP Solicitation May 27, 2026

Question Submission Deadline June 10, 2026, 5:00pm

RFP Submittal Closing July 8, 2026, 5:00pm

PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED ON

OR BEFORE

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

5:00 pm

SECTIONS

SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION AND INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPONDENTS

SECTION 2. PROPOSAL SCORING FORMAT

SECTION 3. SCOPE OF WORK

SECTION 4. PROPOSAL RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS

SECTION 5. ORGANIZATIONS' RESPONSES

SECTION 6. PROTEST PROCEDURES

Attachments:

A - Homeless Service System Pillars Attestation

B - Budget Forms

C - Model Contract - ESOS

D - Standards of Care

SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION AND INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPONDENTS

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The County of Orange, County Executive Office – Office of Care Coordination (hereinafter referred to as

“County”), is soliciting proposals from qualified organizations (hereinafter referred to as “Respondents”) for Emergency Shelter Operations and Services (ESOS) for Individuals, Families, Survivors and

Transitional Age Youth (Program) proposed in accordance with contract requirements set forth in the solicitation and Model Contract, including Attachments. Respondents must meet the minimum qualifications and requirements as set forth within the Request For Proposals (RFP) and be capable of providing services identified in the Scope of Work herein. Respondents must meet the minimum qualifications and requirements as set forth within the RFP and be capable of providing services identified in the Scope of Work herein.

This is a fully electronic RFP. Respondents must submit their proposals online via the County’s online bidding system. Only electronic proposals will be accepted. Facsimile and e-mail proposals will NOT be allowed. For assistance on uploading proposals via County’s eProcurement Portal, please contact procurement-support@opengov.com or https://help.procurement.opengov.com/en/.

All questions or requests for interpretations must be received within this solicitation by Wednesday, June

10, 2026, 5:00 pm as specified in the solicitation. Respondents are not to contact other County personnel with any questions or clarifications concerning this solicitation. Verbal clarifications or responses will not be considered binding.

1.2 PURPOSE AND GOAL

The County hereby invites Respondents to submit proposal(s) in response to this RFP for the Program. This

RFP is separated into two program components that Respondents may apply for. These two program components include:

1. Program A: Emergency Shelter Operations and Services for Individuals, Families and

Survivors

2. Program B: Emergency Shelter Operations and Services for Transitional Age Youth

The primary goal of this Program is to provide access to emergency shelter beds combined with supportive and stabilizing services to meet the complex needs of participants experiencing homelessness in Orange

County. The Program will provide trauma-informed and evidence-based case management services that support linkage to permanent housing and increased income.

This RFP is an opportunity to allow Respondents to present proposal(s) that will assist the County in providing Emergency Shelter Operations and Services (ESOS) as described in this solicitation, by partnering with the County in the form of an actual cost contract. Respondents may submit a proposal for a Program or may submit multiple proposals if applying for multiple Programs.

Respondents must meet the minimum qualifications and requirements as set forth within the RFP and be capable of providing services identified in the Scope of Work herein. Respondent(s) is/are expected to provide all the services as detailed per program component that fulfill or exceed the requirements and conditions set forth in this RFP.

https://help.procurement.opengov.com/en/

The County plans to contract with qualified Respondent(s) to provide the services described in this RFP and reserves the right to make multiple awards to Respondents for services requested in the solicitation. At the discretion of County, the initial term of the contract(s) resulting from this solicitation may be renewed for an additional term or terms. Any renewal is contingent upon available funding, contractor performance, need for services and County policies.

Successful Respondents are expected to accept the terms and conditions of the RFP Emergency Shelter

Operations and Services, Attachment B - Model Contract which contains the contracting requirements between the County and the Respondent regarding the provision of services solicited under this RFP. The selected Respondent(s) proposal(s) will be retained and incorporated into the Contract by reference and made part thereof, except for assurances and promises that are unlawful.

Contract(s) resulting from this solicitation shall be a cooperative Contract and may be utilized by all County departments.

The provisions and pricing of any Contract resulting from this solicitation may be extended to other governmental entities. Governmental entities wishing to use this Contract will be responsible for issuing their own purchase documents, providing for their own acceptance and making any subsequent payments.

The awarded Respondent(s) shall be required to include in any subordinate Contract entered into with another governmental entities pursuant to this/these Contract(s), a Contract clause that will hold harmless the County from all claims, demands, actions or cause of actions of every kind resulting directly or indirectly, arising out of, or in any way connected with, the use of this Contract. Failure to do so will be considered a material break of this/these Contract(s) and grounds for immediate Contract termination.

Governmental entities are responsible for obtaining all certifications of insurance, endorsements and bonds required. The Parties agree that any other governmental entity utilizing this/these Contract(s) shall not be deemed to be an agency or employee of County for any purpose whatsoever. The awarded Respondent(s) is responsible for providing each governmental entity a copy of this/these Contract(s) upon request. The

County makes no guarantee of usage by other users of this/these Contract(s).

The awarded Respondent shall be required to maintain a list of the County departments and governmental entities using this/these Contract(s). The list shall report dollar volumes spent annually and shall be provided on an annual basis to the County, at the County’s request.

Subordinate Contracts must be executed prior to the expiration or earlier termination of this Contract and may survive the expiration of this Contract up to a maximum of one (1) year; however, in no case shall a subordinate Contract exceed five (5) years in duration.

The funding available for Emergency Shelter Operations and Services is $2,074,905 for an 18-month contract term for both Program Components – Program A: Emergency Shelter Operations and Services for

Individuals, Families and Survivors, Program B: Emergency Shelter Operations and Services for

Transitional Age Youth. The funding source for these services is Homeless Housing, Assistance and

Prevention (HHAP) Program funding allocated to the Orange County Continuum of Care (CoC) and/or

HHAP Program funding allocated to the County. The RFP includes the availability of HHAP Program

Youth Set-Aside funding to support programs providing youth-specific services.

Any Contract(s) resulting from this solicitation is/are contingent upon sufficient funds being made available by the County government for the term of the Contract(s). The County plans to issue an initial Contract for an 18-month year term for service-based contracts, with the option to renew for three (3) additional years, upon Board of Supervisors' approval.

1.3 COUNTY HOLIDAYS DURING SOLICITATION PERIOD

During this solicitation period, the County Executive Office - CPO will be closed on the following County holidays - https://hrs.oc.gov/employee-relations/employee-resources

1.4 INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPONDENTS AND PROCEDURES FOR SUBMITTAL

Respondent(s) must submit a response to the Parent Project, which collects organization level information AND separate proposals for each Program (Associated Projects) they are proposing for.

Links to each program are listed below.

1. Parent Project: Emergency Shelter Operations and Services

2. Program A: Emergency Shelter Operations and Services for Individuals, Families, and Survivors

3. Program B: Emergency Shelter Operations and Services for Transitional Age Youth

Submittal requirements:

A. Submittals must be uploaded to the OpenGov website by the submittal due date and time.

B. Do not submit Program A, and/or B proposal responses to this parent project. Please use the corresponding links to submit an individual proposal for each discipline that Respondent intends to submit a proposal for.

C. Whether the Respondent is submitting a proposal for one or multiple Programs, the Respondent must submit their "Background, Qualifications, & Experience" response, in accordance with section 4.1, in this parent project.

D. Budget/Staffing Forms and Program specific proposal responses must be submitted to each individual Program the Respondent chooses to submit for.

E. Failing to adhere to these submittal requirements will result in being non-responsive.

Procedures for Submittal

A. The County is accepting electronic bid submissions only. Bidders shall create a FREE account with

OpenGov Procurement by signing up at https://procurement.opengov.com/signup. Once you have completed account registration, browse back to this page, click on " Submit Response", and follow the instructions to submit the electronic bid.

B. Proposals are to be uploaded via the County's eProcurement Portal at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/ocgov. Note: Electronic Bids cannot be viewed by the

County until after the solicitation deadline. For assistance on uploading proposals via County’s eProcurement Portal or if you encounter any problems with your registration, system, bid submission, or other system issues, please contact OpenGov's support staff via the live chat option via email at procurement-support@opengov.com or https://help.procurement.opengov.com/en/.

https://hrs.oc.gov/employee-relations/employee-resources https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/ocgov/projects/264958 https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/ocgov/projects/268975 https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/ocgov/projects/268975 https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/ocgov/projects/268977 https://procurement.opengov.com/signup https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/ocgov https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/ocgov mailto:procurement-support@opengov.com https://help.procurement.opengov.com/en/

C. Examine the RFP attachments and the subpopulation for the proposed work carefully before submitting a proposal(s) for the work contemplated. Investigate the conditions to be encountered, as to the character, quality, and quantities of work to be performed and materials to be furnished and as to the requirements of all Contract Documents. The County has attempted to provide all information available. It is the responsibility of each Respondent to review, evaluate, and, where necessary, request any clarification prior to submission of a proposal. If any person contemplating submitting a response to this RFP is in doubt as to the true meaning of any part of the solicitation documents attached hereto or finds discrepancies in or omissions from the specifications, they may submit a written request for clarification/interpretation to the County Deputy Purchasing Agent

(DPA) via the County’s eProcurement Portal under the bid page for this solicitation. If clarification or interpretation of this solicitation is considered necessary by County, an addendum shall be issued, and the information will be posted via the County’s eProcurement Portal. Any interpretation of, or correction to, this solicitation shall be issued by the DPA. It is the responsibility of each

Respondent to periodically check the County’s eProcurement Portal to ensure that they have received and reviewed any and all addenda to this solicitation. The County will not be responsible for any other explanations, corrections to, or interpretations of the documents, including any oral information. If an addendum is issued, Respondents must acknowledge the addendum via the

County’s eProcurement Portal. All questions or requests for interpretations must be received within this solicitation by Wednesday, June 10, 2026, 5:00 pm. The DPA will provide all official communication concerning this solicitation. Any County response relevant to this solicitation other than through or approved by the DPA is unauthorized and will be considered invalid.

D. Proposals must be valid for a period of at least three hundred sixty-five (365) calendar days from the closing date and time of receipt. No proposal may be withdrawn after the submission date.

E. All pages must be numbered and identified sequentially by section. Proposals must be tabbed and indexed in accordance with the information requested in the proposal Response Requirements

Section. It is imperative that all Respondents comply, exactly and completely, with the instructions set forth herein. All responses to this solicitation shall be typewritten or word-processed (except where otherwise provided or noted), concise, straightforward, and must fully address each requirement and question. Although not as a substitute for a complete written response, additional material, such as technical documents, may be referenced in any response if the material is included in the same section as additional information.

F. Proposals are not to be marked as confidential or proprietary. The County may refuse to consider any proposal so marked. All proposals and supporting documents will be subject to the provisions of the California Public Records Act (California Code Government Code 7920.000 et seq.) (PRA) and will be disclosed or withheld in accordance therewith. The County shall not be liable in any way for disclosure of any such records. Additionally, all proposals shall become the property of the

County. The County reserves the right to make use of any information or ideas in the proposals submitted. Respondents should not request that certain information be treated as exempt, and statements in the proposals should not be marked as confidential or proprietary. In the event that any information is marked as confidential or proprietary, as it may be absolutely necessary, Respondents have the sole responsibility of obtaining any applicable injunctive reliefs to prevent the disclosure of such confidential proprietary information in connection with any request made to

County pursuant to PRA or a subpoena for disclosure of such information.

G. Each Respondent shall exercise reasonable care and diligence to avoid submitting a proposal that could result in a conflict of interest if Respondent were to be selected. This obligation shall apply to the Respondent, the Respondent’s employees, agents, and relatives, sub-contractors, and third parties associated with accomplishing work and services in proposal. In the event Respondent has done work for the County on this/these Project(s) in the past or has reason to believe that a conflict of interest may exist for Respondent in regard to this Project, Respondent should consult with its legal counsel prior to responding to this solicitation. Any Respondent who is found to have an actual conflict of interest may have its proposal(s) rejected on that ground. Respondent, its employees and/or consultants may be subject to the provisions of the California Political Reform

Act of 1974 (the “Act”), which (1) requires such persons to disclose any financial interest that may be materially affected by services provided under this/these Contract(s), (2) prohibits such persons from making, or participating in making, decisions that could reasonably affect such interest; and

(3) may require the filing a Statement of Economic Interest (Form 700). If subject to the Act, Respondent shall conform to all requirements of the Act. Failure to do so shall constitute a material breach and is grounds for immediate termination of the Contract by County. Respondent shall indemnify and hold harmless County for any and all claims for damages resulting from

Respondent’s violation of this Section.

H. By submitting a proposal, the Respondent represents that it thoroughly examined the County’s requirements, is familiar with the services required under this solicitation and is qualified and capable of providing the services to achieve the County’s objectives.

I. Each Respondent must submit its proposal in strict accordance with all requirements of this solicitation and compliance must be stated in the proposal. Deviations, clarifications and/or exceptions must be clearly identified and listed separately as alternative items on additional information section for the County’s consideration as specified in the Proposal Response

Requirements Section, “Statement of Compliance.” Note: Allow sufficient time to upload all required files. The County’s eProcurement Portal will not allow any uploads after the due date and time specified herein, e.g., if Part 1 and 2 uploaded successfully at 1:58:38 P.M. and Part 3 is in progress of being uploaded at 2:00:01 P.M., Part 3 will not upload successfully.

J. County reserves the right to request proposal revisions and hold discussions and negotiations with any Respondent as necessary to serve the best interests of the County. Any proposal may be rejected if it is conditional, incomplete or deviates from specifications in this solicitation. The County reserves the right to waive, at its discretion, any procedural irregularity, immaterial defects or other improprieties which the County deems reasonably correctable or otherwise not warranting rejection of the proposal(s). Any waiver will not excuse a proponent from full compliance.

K. Pre-contractual expenses are not to be included in the Cost Proposal. Pre-contractual expenses are defined as including, but not limited to, expenses incurred by the Respondent in: (1) preparing its proposal in response to this solicitation; (2) submitting that proposal to the County; (3) negotiating with the County any matter related to the Respondent’s proposal(s); and (4) any other expenses incurred by the Respondent prior to the date of award and execution, if any, of the Contract.

L. Any proposal may be construed as non-responsive and ineligible for consideration if it does not comply with the requirements of the solicitation. Failure to comply with the technical features and acknowledgment of receipt of addenda are common causes for holding a proposal nonresponsive.

M. Where two or more Respondents desire to submit a single proposal in response to this solicitation, they must do so on a prime/subcontractor basis rather than as a joint venture. The County intends to contract with a single organization that may subcontract with multiple organizations but not with multiple organizations doing business as a joint venture.

N. County does not require and neither encourages nor discourages the use of lobbyists or other consultants for the purpose of securing business.

O. The County requires a valid D-U-N-S number prior to Contract Award. If needed, your organization may obtain one at no cost at www.dnb.com. If you are unable to provide/obtain a D-

U-N-S number, please indicate so in your proposal/bid submission response.

P. The County requires a valid UEI number prior to Contract Award. Your organization must obtain one at no cost at www.usfcr.com. If you are unable to provide/obtain a UEI number, please indicate so in your proposal submission response.

Q. County reserves the right to:

1. Negotiate the final Contract(s) with any Respondent(s);

2. Withdraw this solicitation in whole or part at any time without prior notice (the County makes no representations that any Contract will be awarded to any Respondent responding to this solicitation);

3. Award its total requirements to one Respondent or to apportion those requirements among two or more Respondents;

4. Reject any proposal if it is conditional, incomplete or deviates significantly from the services requested in this solicitation; and/or

5. Request Best and Final Offer from any Respondent determined to be within the competitive range. Unless requested by the County, late Best and Final Offers will not be accepted by the

County for any reason. In addition, negotiations may or may not be conducted with

Respondents. Therefore, proposals submitted shall contain the Respondent’s most favorable terms and conditions, since the selection and award may be made without discussion with any

Respondent.

http://www.dnb.com/ http://www.usfcr.com/

R. Effective from the issuance date of this solicitation until a Contract is awarded or the solicitation is withdrawn, all individuals or entities responding—including their employees, agents, representatives, proposed partners, subcontractors, members, lobbyists, or attorneys (collectively

"Respondents")—are prohibited from engaging in any direct or indirect communication with

County personnel involved in the selection process, except with the designated DPA. Respondents may continue conducting business with the County on matters unrelated to this solicitation and may communicate with County staff, provided the solicitation is not discussed. Any attempt to engage in discussion regarding this solicitation with anyone other than the designated DPA will be presumed to create an unfair competitive advantage and may result in disqualification.

S. After the closing date and time for receipt of proposals, evaluation, and if requested by the County, interviews will commence. Respondents who submit proposals most responsive to the County’s requirements may be asked to participate in a County interview of their proposal to County staff. The County makes no guarantee as to the number of Respondents selected for interviews.

Selected Respondents should be prepared to attend the interview within five (5) business days after notification and be prepared to discuss all aspects of its proposal in detail, including technical questions regarding the proposal. Respondents shall not be allowed to alter or amend its proposal through the use of the interview process.

Evaluation Process and Criteria

Proposals may be submitted for one or more Programs (Program A, and/or B), either individually or in combination. Please select the box(es) in Section 5.2.30. Proposal Response Requirements are outlined in, Section 4 for all Programs your organization is submitting a proposal for. Proposals will only be evaluated for the Program(s) the Respondent has selected and it is the Respondent's responsibility to ensure they select all the boxes for each Program they are submitting a proposal for.

Proposals deemed to meet all minimum solicitation requirements will be scored based on the established criteria, and will be assigned points that measure the responsiveness to each identified criterion. The total number of points earned will be tallied for each proposal, based upon the Respondent(s) submitted written materials.

Proposals shall be evaluated by an Evaluation Panel of subject matter experts on the basis of the responsiveness to the requirements in this RFP. The County may request clarifications, or otherwise verify the contents of the proposal, including information about the Respondent, Contractors and sub-contractors.

The County reserves the right to seek publicly available information about the Respondents.

The scoring is based on evaluation of the proposal as measured against the proposal Scoring Criteria, which includes County of Orange Procurement Preference Policy, in accordance with Sections 1.8-103 and 4.3-

112 of the 2026 County Contract Policy Manual (CPM). A copy of the 2026 CPM can be found at https://cpo.ocgov.com/cpm. Proposals will be evaluated from the most advantageous to the least advantageous to the County.

https://cpo.ocgov.com/cpm

*Please note: These minimum qualifications must be verified for the proposal to be deemed responsive. Any proposal may be construed as non-responsive and ineligible for consideration if it does not comply with the requirements of the solicitation.

Written Proposal Scoring: 700 points maximum

Please note that contract award will be made to the responsible Respondent(s) whose proposal(s) is/are most advantageous to County, taking into consideration the applicable evaluation criteria. Cost proposal as an evaluation criterion does not require the County to select Respondent(s) with the lowest cost proposal.

Procurement Minimum Submission Requirements Review - Includes review of financial and organization stability, past and current related experience including performance of any current County Contract

(Pass/Fail). If a Respondent fails to meet the Minimum Submission Requirements, the Respondent may be deemed non-responsive.

Written proposals will be scored by the Evaluation Panel using the established weighted criteria set out in

Section 3. Written proposal Scoring Format, which have been assigned points before the submission of proposals that measure the responsiveness to each criterion. The Evaluation Panel will evaluate the written materials solely on the quality of the responses to all questions and requirements of this RFP using the evaluation criteria. The total number of points earned for all criteria will be tallied for each proposal, and the proposals will be rank ordered based upon the points earned.

See "Proposal Scoring Criteria" section for categories and points.

*NOTE: Respondents submitting exceptions to the County Model Contract provided with this solicitation may receive a score of "0" for this criterion.

Interview Scoring: 200 points maximum

The County reserves the right to conduct, or not to conduct interviews with the highest-ranked

Respondent(s). The decision whether to conduct interviews rests solely with the County, and the decision of the DPA is final. Respondents shall be ready to attend the interview within five (5) calendar days of notification. Any inquiry to determine the responsibility of a Respondent to this solicitation may be conducted. Respondent agrees that the submission of a proposal is permission by the Respondent for the

County to verify all information contained therein. If the County believes it necessary, additional information may be requested from the Respondent. The County may also send written questions to the

Respondent(s) and ask for written responses within five (5) business days. Failure to comply with any such request may disqualify a Respondent from further consideration. Respondents must be prepared to travel to the County at their own expense to make their interview within five (5) calendar days after notification by the DPA. Respondent(s) must be prepared to discuss all aspects of their proposal(s) in detail, including answering technical questions. Respondent(s) are not allowed to alter or amend their proposal(s) during the interview process.

Cost Proposal: 100 points maximum

The proposal with the lowest cost receives the maximum points allowed for this criterion. All other proposals receive a percentage of the points available based on their cost relationship to the lowest proposal.

Respondents shall submit their proposed actual cost per fiscal year.

Line

Item

Description Quantity Unit of

Measure

Unit

Cost

Total No Bid

1 Respondent to enter total proposed cost for

Program A: Emergency Shelter Operations and

Services for Individuals, Families and Survivors

1 Each

2 Respondent to enter total proposed Cost for

Program B: Emergency Shelter Operations and

Services for Transitional Age Youth

1 Each

The Cost Proposal Phase will be evaluated as follows:

1. Lowest overall price proposed receives the full score of 100 points.

2. Other scores are proportional to the percentage discount proposed.

Respondent agrees that the submission of a proposal is permission by Respondent for County to verify all information contained therein. If County believes it necessary, additional information may be requested from Respondent. Failure to comply with any such request may disqualify a Respondent from further consideration.

1.5 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS/REQUIREMENTS

1. Must have the ability to do business in Orange County, California;

2. Complete all required Organization Response questions of the solicitation;

3. Provide all required information, complete all required Exhibits and pass all IT security requirements.

4. Have minimum five (5) years of consecutive, recent experience developing, implementing and supporting a Homeless Response System.

5. Organization to have similar size project for at least one (1) public agency.

1.6 EVALUATION PROCESS

Responses deemed to meet all minimum solicitation requirements will be scored based on the established evaluation criteria, and will be assigned points that measure the responsiveness to each identified criterion.

The total number of points earned will be tallied for each response, based upon the Respondent(s) submitted written materials.

Responses shall be evaluated by an Evaluation Panel of job knowledge experts on the basis of the responsiveness to the requirements in this RFP. The County may request clarifications, or otherwise verify the contents of the response, including information about the Respondent, Contractors and sub-contractors.

The scoring is based on evaluation of the response as measured against the Scoring Criteria, which includes

County of Orange Procurement Preference Policy, in accordance with Sections 1.8-103 and 4.3-112 of the

2026 County Contract Policy Manual (CPM). A copy of the 2026 CPM can be found at https://cpo.oc.gov/cpm. Responses will be evaluated from the most advantageous to the least advantageous to the County.

1.7 SELECTION/AWARD PROCEDURES

Upon the completion of the evaluation process, the Evaluation Committee will make a recommendation for an award to the County’s DPA. Final award determination shall be subject to reference checks and past performance.

The Model Contract contained herein this RFP is the Contract proposed for execution. It may be modified to incorporate negotiated items and other pertinent terms and conditions set forth in this RFP, including special conditions and requirements and those added by addendum, necessary attachments and/or exhibits and to reflect Respondent’s response and qualifications. Any additional exceptions to the terms and conditions made by any Respondent after submission of its response may result in its elimination from further consideration.

Exceptions to the terms and conditions of the Model Contract or the statements regarding

Respondent’s inability to comply with any of the provisions thereof are to be declared in the response to the RFP in Organization RESPONSES - Statement of Compliance.

Negotiations may or may not be conducted with the finalist(s); therefore, the response submitted should contain Respondent(s) most favorable terms and conditions, since the selection and award may be made without further discussion or need for clarification. Any additional exceptions to the terms and conditions made by any Respondent(s) after submission of its response may result in elimination from further consideration.

The County will enter into negotiations with the selected Respondent and award a contract upon completion of negotiation of fees and contract terms. The award may be subject to/requires approval(s) by the County

Board of Supervisors.

If a satisfactory Contract cannot be negotiated in a timely manner, County, in its sole discretion, may terminate negotiations with the selected Respondent and begin negotiations with the next Respondent.

1.8 RIGHTS RESERVED TO COUNTY

The County reserves the right to:

A. Make use of any information or ideas in the responses submitted.

B. Request response revisions and hold discussions and negotiations with any Respondent as necessary to serve the best interests of the County.

C. Seek publicly available information about the Respondents.

D. Conduct, or not to conduct, oral interviews and/or presentations with the highest-ranked

Respondent(s) and additional Respondents.

https://cpo.oc.gov/cpm

E. Waive, at its discretion, any procedural, non-material defects, irregularity or informality, which

County deems correctable or otherwise not warranting rejection of the response that do not result in any unfair competitive advantage. Any waiver will not excuse a proponent from full compliance.

F. Verify and validate any information prior to Contract Award and during the entire term of the

Contract.

G. Negotiate the final Contract with any Respondent(s), including pricing/fee schedule, as necessary to serve the best interests of the County;

H. Withdraw or cancel in part or in its entirety this solicitation at any time without prior notice and furthermore makes no representations that any Contract will be awarded to any Respondent responding to this solicitation;

I. Award its total requirements to one Respondent or to apportion those requirements among two or more Respondents as the County may deem to be in its best interests;

J. Reject any response if it is conditional, incomplete or deviates significantly from the services requested in this solicitation; and/or

K. Request Best and Final Offer from any Respondent determined to be within the competitive range.

Unless requested by the County, late Best and Final Offers will not be accepted by the County for any reason. In addition, negotiations may or may not be conducted with Respondents.

L. Make multiple awards to Respondent(s) for services requested in this solicitation, at its sole discretion, to serve the best interests of the County.

M. Defer award of this Contract for a period of 180 days after the solicitation opening. During this period, Respondent shall guarantee the prices and terms quoted in their responses. The County and the responsive, responsible Respondent may mutually agree in writing to extend this deferral period.

Therefore, responses submitted shall contain the Respondent’s most favorable terms and conditions, since the selection and award may be made without discussion with any Respondent.

1.9 TITLE VI SOLICITATION NOTICE

The County of Orange, in accordance with the provisions of the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

(78 Stat. 252, 42 USC §§ 2000d to 2000d-4) and the Regulations, hereby notifies all Respondents that it will affirmatively ensure that any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, will be afforded full and fair opportunity to submit response to this solicitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color or national origin in consideration for an award.

1.10 DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE FORM

W-9/W-8 REQUIREMENTS

Effective June 3, 2006, all Contractors, entering into a Contract with County, who are not already established in Countywide ERP System as an Auditor-Controller vendor, will be required to submit to

County a federal Form W-9, or form W-8 for foreign vendors. County will inform Contractor, at the time of award, if the Form W-9 or W-8 will be required.

In order to comply with this County requirement, within ten (10) days of notification of selection of award of Contract but prior to official award of Contract, the selected Respondent agrees to furnish to Contract administrator, or the DPA the required W-9 or W-8.

1.11 LEVINE ACT REQUIREMENT

Effective January 1, 2023, all contractors entering into a contract with the County, will be required to submit the Campaign Contribution Disclosure Form for any contributions made on or after January 1, 2023. In order to comply with this requirement, Respondent agrees to furnish the required Campaign Contribution

Disclosure Information form as a required submittal with its response. Failure to include the form as required will render the response nonresponsive.

SECTION 2. PROPOSAL SCORING FORMAT

2.1 WRITTEN PROPOSAL

No. Evaluation Criteria Scoring Method Weight (Points)

1. Respondent's Background, Qualifications &

Experience Points Based 150

(21.4% of Total)

2. Program Design Points Based 200 (28.6% of Total)

3. Performance Objectives Points Based 100 (14.3% of Total)

4. Staffing Points Based 100 (14.3% of Total)

5. Facility Points Based 125 (17.9% of Total)

6. Compliance with the County Model

Contract

*Note: Respondents submitting exceptions to the County Model Contract of this RFP, will receive a score of “0” for this criterion.

Points Based 25 (3.6% of Total)

2.2 INTERVIEW

No. Evaluation Criteria Scoring Method Weight (Points)

1. Interview Scoring Format: 200 points maximum:

NOTE: If interview/presentations are not conducted, the Written Response shall account for 900 total points of the scoring.

Points Based 200 (100% of Total)

2.3 COST PROPOSAL

No. Evaluation Criteria Scoring Method Weight (Points)

1. Cost Proposal

The Response with the lowest cost receives the maximum points allowed for this criterion. All other proposals receive a percentage of the points available based on their cost relationship to the lowest-priced Response.

Should any Preference Policies apply, the

Preference Policy Applicable to Cost Proposal criteria will be scored.

Points Based 100 (100% of Total)

SECTION 3. SCOPE OF WORK

3.1 TARGET POPULATION

Program A: Individuals experiencing homelessness as defined by adult (aged 18 years or older) only households. Families experiencing homelessness as defined by households with at least one adult (aged 18 years or older) and either, at least one minor child (aged 0 to 17), or have one pregnant woman, or is an adult only household in the process of reunification with at least one minor aged child. Survivors of domestic violence as defined by individuals and/or families who meet Category 4 of the homeless definition defined below.

Program B: Transitional Age Youth (TAY) as defined by unaccompanied individuals ages 18-24. This may include Adult Only Households and Families, so long as the head of household is TAY and there are no other adults in the household older than 24 years of age.

Each component of the Emergency Shelter Operations and Services Program will serve people who meet the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Rehousing Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009 definition of homelessness and categories as defined in 24 CFR Parts 91, 582 and 583:

Category 1: Literally Homeless: Individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence meaning:

A. An individual or family with a primary night-time residence that is a public or private place not designated for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; or

B. An individual or family living in a publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living arrangements (including congregate shelters, transitional housing, and hotels or motels paid for by charitable organizations or by federal, state and local government programs); or

C. An individual who is exiting an institution where she or he has resided for 90 days or less and who resided in an emergency shelter or place not meant for human habitation immediately before entering that institution.

Category 4: Fleeing/Attempting to Flee Domestic Violence: Any individual or family who:

A. Is fleeing, or attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault stalking or other dangerous or life-threatening conditions that relate to violence against the individual or family member, including a child, that has either taken place within the individual’s or family’s primary nighttime residents or has made the individual or family afraid to return to their primary nighttime residents;

B. Has no other residence; and

C. Lacks the resources or support networks (e.g., family, friends, faith-based or other social networks) to obtain other permanent housing.

In the Orange County Continuum of Care (CoC), shelter and housing programs, and supportive services, are often targeted by household type and subpopulation. The following are some additional definitions as they relate to this RFP:

A. Survivors of Domestic Violence (Survivors) refers to both individuals and families who meet

Category 4 of homelessness.

3.2 SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED

Emergency shelters are facilities that provide safe, temporary shelter services for the homeless population in general or for specific segments of the homeless population (i.e., men, women, families, individuals fleeing domestic violence). The goal of an emergency shelter program is to ensure a household’s experience with homelessness is as brief as possible. Therefore, the length of a participant’s stay should be short term and should be housing-focused with case management services targeted to helping program participants transition to permanent housing options/solutions as quickly as possible.

Emergency shelters should be designed to be low barrier by having minimal eligibility criteria required at program entry. Emergency shelters should be equipped to serve participants who may have extensive behavioral, physical or medical issues, and as a result, may face significant barriers to housing. This may require having extensive staffing to better support general management, case management and security services at the Program.

The Program will follow Housing First principles and incorporate evidenced-based approaches such as

Motivational Interviewing, Progressive Engagement, trauma-informed care, harm reduction and risk management, to address barriers to housing and economic stability. The program is to be implemented in a manner that increases equitable service access across Orange County and in support of cultural competency.

A. Housing First Principles include:

1. Access to a program is not contingent on sobriety, minimum income requirements, lack of a criminal record, completion of treatment, participation in services or other unnecessary conditions.

2. Support services are available but are voluntary, participant-driven, individualized and flexible.

3. Services are informed by a harm-reduction philosophy that recognizes that drug and substance use disorders are a part of some participants’ lives. Participants are engaged in nonjudgmental communication regarding drug and alcohol use and are offered education regarding how to avoid risky behaviors and engage in safer practices.

B. Motivational Interviewing – Directive, participant-centered counseling style for eliciting behavior change by helping participants to explore and resolve ambivalence.

C. Progressive Engagement is flexible, targeted and efficient approach to service delivery. It recognizes each household’s strengths and needs that can change over time, targeting resources to meet those needs and ensuring that the most intensive resources remain available to those with the greatest needs. Progressive Engagement is a practice of helping households end their homelessness as rapidly as possible, despite barriers, with minimal financial and support resources. More supports are applied to those households who struggle to stabilize.

D. Trauma-Informed Care – Requires that every part of the program’s design and operation be approached with an understanding of trauma and the impact it has on those receiving services.

E. Harm Reduction – Policies, procedures and practices that aim to reduce the negative consequences of behaviors that are detrimental to the participant’s health and well-being

(i.e., abuse of drugs and/or alcohol, failure to be medication compliant, engaging in criminal activity, choosing to sleep outside, etc.). In shelter settings, harm reduction is intended to prevent a participant’s termination from the program based solely on his or her inability to stop engaging in harmful behaviors.

F. Cultural Competency – Considers cultural and linguistic factors in addressing the needs of populations to be served. Subpopulation identities may include, but are not limited to, race and ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, economic class, age, family status, language spoken and understood, physical and mental disabilities, living situation, etc. The Program must have the capacity to accommodate special populations within the general population (i.e., youth, LGBTQIA, participants with disabilities, veterans, victims of domestic violence) throughout all levels of the organization, from organizational vision and mission statement to policy implementation and to service delivery procedures and philosophies. Effective communication requires, at a minimum, the provision of service and information in appropriate language, at appropriate educational and literacy levels and in the context of the individual’s cultural identity.

Below are the general requirements and program elements for the ESOS Program:

A. The shelter’s primary focus is to assist participants move to permanent housing as quickly as possible. Providers will facilitate and support progress and activities that support housing and housing navigation for participants. Services are participant-centered and organized to quickly route participants into housing opportunities or other long-term placement through supportive services, case management and housing placement services.

B. Hours of operation: At a minimum, overnight shelter is required. Priority will be given to shelters with 24/7 support or, if not 24/7, then some degree of enhanced hours. This can be achieved by providing overnight shelter and day shelter services together (either directly or through partnerships).

C. County of Orange Standards of Care for Emergency Shelters (Standards of Care): The Program will be required to execute all items within the Standards of Care. The Standards of Care are a comprehensive set of administrative, operational and facility-based standards designed to support the quality and consistency of program operations, evidenced-based participant services, core organizational and administrative functions and facility design and operations. Please see

Attachment D: Standards of Care Document for details.

D. Partnerships and Collaborations: The establishment of partnerships to identify potential participants

(i.e., homeless outreach programs, law enforcement) and to increase referrals/access to support services for physical health and disabilities, trauma support, mental health treatment and substance abuse treatment are required. Additional partnerships to assist with meeting basic participant needs

(i.e., government benefit applications, food support, transportation, clothing and toiletries) are also encouraged.

E. The program will assist participants experiencing homelessness in accessing the most appropriate services and resources across the System of Care, including behavioral health, healthcare, benefits and mainstream services, housing, navigating application and enrollment processes and providing advocacy and support as necessary.

F. Referrals: Program will be required to receive referrals from the Coordinated Entry System (CES) if the shelter bed reservation system is established for the shelter’s target population. If there is not a bed reservation system established, Program must prioritize households experiencing chronic homelessness and/or the longest length of homelessness.

1. Programs must have an established mechanism to provide information on bed availability and accept referrals of eligible participants into this program. The Referral mechanism may include but is not limited to telephone and email.

G. Intake and Assessment: Programs must work with street outreach teams, homeless service providers, and law enforcement to engage and enroll persons who would benefit from emergency shelter. It is expected that programs enroll participants quickly.

1. Program should provide ample time to engage participants and repeatedly engage with participants who are hesitant or unsure of engaging in homeless services. Program should also ensure that service engagement is voluntary, participant-centered and trauma-informed.

2. Programs must conduct an assessment to determine the history of participation in other homeless service assistance programs and collection of needed demographic information from participants. Program must be able to assess and re-evaluate the participant’s service needs and make recommendations to appropriate and eligible housing and/or supportive services that best meet the participant’s needs.

3. Programs intake and assessment process should confirm program eligibility and maintain a record of appropriate documentation in support of the eligibility determination process.

H. Provision of Essential Services: At a minimum, emergency shelter programs must provide a safe and habitable location and amenities including sleeping areas, storage of personal belongings, bathrooms, laundry, medical linkages as needed, and the scheduling of meals, showers and other personal services as needed.

I. Housing-Focused Case Management: Programs must provide services to participants that support with locating permanent housing options that meet the participant’s needs. The following case management activities must be made available to participants:

1. Program must create an Individualized Housing and Service Plan (IHSP), in partnership with the participant, that considers and incorporates the goals of the participant and focuses on identifying and securing permanent housing as well as other life areas that will support and assist participants in successfully obtaining and maintaining housing.