ESBD_365992_1719870563953_RFO 302-25-SAVNS.pdf

Office of the Attorney General Request for Offer

Statewide Automated Victim Notification Services

(SAVNS)

Reference No. 302-25-SAVNS Release date: July 1,2024 Class Item: 952-61 Class Item: 920-21 Class Item: 958-68

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

1.1 Overview

1.2. Background

1.3 Statewide Notifications

1.4. Historical Information

1.5 Current Business Model

1.6 Definitions

2.0 Scope of Services/Requirements

2.1 Required Business Model

2.1.1. Vendor Certification and Service Agreement

2.1.2. Participating Entity Service Agreement

2.1.3 Grant Contract

2.1.4 Certification and OAG Contract

2.2 General Requirements

2.3 Requirements for the Contractor Regarding Participating Entities

2.4. Requirements for Interested Parties

2.5. Requirements for OAG

2.6. Transition Requirements

2.7. Project Management Standards

2.8. Contract Manager

2.9. Project Manager

2.10. Support Services Manager

2.11. Financial Specialist

3.0 Information About the Procurement Process and Subsequent Contract

3.1 Point of Contact

3.2. Schedule of Events

3.3. Questions

3.4 Contract Documents

3.5. Authority

3.6 Addendum

3.7 Attachments, Exhibits and Forms

3.8. HUB Contracting Probability Statement

3.9. Initial Term and Renewal

3.10. Option to Extend

3.11. Award

3.11.1. Evaluation of Responses

3.12 Determining Best Value

3.13 Evaluation

3.13.1 Interview Scoring

3.14 Discussions and Best and Final Offer

3.15 Response Irrevocability

3.16 Costs Incurred

3.17 Cost of Submission

3.18 OAG Rights

3.19 Rights Upon Termination or Expiration

3.20 Contract Changes

4.0. Contract Management Requirements

4.1. Performance Measures

4.2. Non-Performance Remedies

4.3. Problem Resolution and Corrective Action Process

4.4. OAG Assumptions

4.5. OAG General Responsibilities

4.6. Successful Offeror Responsibilities

4.7. Contract Performance Report and Review

4.8 Contract Reporting

4.9. Invoicing

5.0. Offeror Response Instructions and Submission Requirements

5.1. Important Information Regarding Responses

5.1.1. Public Information Act

5.2. Requirements Submission Instructions

5.3. Requirements For Proposal Contents

5.3.1 Section A Response to Scope of Work (SOW)

5.3.2. Section B Company Qualifications

5.3.3. Section C: Financial Assurance

5.3.4. Section D: Assumptions and Exceptions

5.3.5. Section E: Forms

5.4. Pricing Submission

6.0. Information Protection Provisions

6.1. General Definitions

6.2. Perpetual Survival and Severability

6.3. Confidentiality

6.4. HIPAA Compliance

6.5. Personal Identifying Information

6.6. Data Retention and Destruction

6.7. Requests to Contractor for Confidential or Public Information

6.8. Physical and System Security

6.8.1. General/Administrative Protections

6.8.2. Physical Security

6.9. Logical/Information System Protections

6.10. Security Audit

6.11. Security Incidents

6.12. Remedial Action

6.13. Commencement of Legal Action

7.0. Terms and Conditions

7.1. Definitions

7.2. Payment

7.3. Time is of the Essence

7.4. Termination

7.5. Confidentiality and Public Information Act

7.6. Indemnities

7.7. Dispute Resolution

7.8. Limitation of Liability

7.9. Insurance

7.10. Venue and Choice of Law

7.11. Independent Contractor

7.12. Certifications/Affirmations

7.13. Miscellaneous

1. Introduction

1.1 Overview

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is issuing this Request for Offer (RFO) to solicit services of a single or multiple vendor(s) for the development, implementation, and execution of a Statewide Automated Victim Notification Service (SAVNS), while providing the best value to the State of Texas.

The right to be notified of court proceedings is one of the most basic rights afforded crime victims in Section 30, Art.1, of the Texas State Constitution and in Article 56A.051 (a) (3) (4) and (7) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. The Texas Legislature appropriates funds to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to assist county and state entities in establishing contracts with a private vendor to develop, maintain, and operate an information and notification service for the victims of crime in Texas.

The intent of the service is to provide a cost-effective and efficient, user-centric victim notification services system that allows victims and criminal justice professionals to have access to Defendant information. The system must be a reliable, scalable, and flexible platform that can provide near-real-time data and notifications. In addition, the solution must provide the OAG management and Participating Entities access to the database with the capability of creating near-real time dashboard and ad hoc reports. It must include a toll-free statewide number and a website with easy entry points for victims or interested parties to receive standard information and notifications on Defendant status and court events.

Services include but are not limited to:

• Development, implementation, maintenance, and monitoring a statewide victim notification system.

• Implementation of a toll-free statewide number and website for registering for notifications.

• Development and implementation of a call center that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

• Conversion of legacy interfaces with local entities.

• Oversight of final implementation of the notification system.

1.2. Background

The OAG currently has a certified vendor providing automated victim notification services for approximately 150 entities that voluntarily participate, including counties and the El Paso County Community Supervision and Corrections Department (CSCD). See Exhibit D, Participating Texas SAVNS Entities.

1.3 Statewide Notifications

The purpose of this RFO is to obtain a cost-effective SAVNS program that will continue to provide service to Participating Entities currently in production with notifications of a Defendant’s custody status and any changes in scheduled court events to registered individuals. Concurrently, the Offeror must address how the existing Participating Entities will be transitioned into any newly proposed SAVNS solution. It is the intent of the OAG to select the most cost-effective solution to provide this service to all interested parties in the State of Texas in an inclusive statewide system.

1.4. Historical Information

Table 1: Historical Information Approximate Number of Defendants to be Tracked (during a year) Over 500,000

Approximate Number of Court cases to be Tracked (during a year) Over 2,000,000

Approximate Number of Calls to toll-free line per month Note: This includes only calls into the Vendor’s call center. The call can be either automated or vendor agent-assisted, depending on the needs(s) of the caller.

Over 25,000

Average Length of call Less than 3 minutes

Expected Performance service level 98% of calls answered within 90 sec

Average number of Calls to toll-free line per month that were vendor agent-assisted

10,000

Average number of Calls to toll-free line per month to conduct a Site Search

25,000

Approximate Number of New Registrations per year 250,000

Approximate Number of Confirmed notification calls 100,000

Approximate Number of e-mail notifications 175,000

Approximate Number of text message notifications 400,000

Statewide Coverage – Population 95%

Statewide coverage – Reported Violent Crime 98%

Approximate Number of Website searches. Between 300,000 and 400,000 per month.

1.5 Current Business Model

The current business model for the SAVNS focuses on the certification of one qualified vendor to provide the service to the Participating Entities of the State of Texas. There are three major components of the current business model.

a) Certification: The OAG certified a Contractor to provide the SAVNS to any and all Participating Entities in Texas.

b) Service Agreement: Each Participating Entity contracted directly with the certified Contractor for the services described in the certification.

c) Grant Contract: The OAG provided a grant to each Participating Entity to reimburse their SAVNS related expenses based on the terms of the certification.

1.6 Definitions

When capitalized, the following terms have the meaning set forth below. All other terms have the meaning set forth in the Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh edition.

Table 2: Terms, Acronyms, and Abbreviation Definitions

Term, Acronym, or Abbreviation

Definition

Addendum A modification, change, or addition to the RFO or associated documents issued by the OAG and posted on the

ESBD.

Automated Victim Notification Service

An automated service that notifies a registered victim or other interested party of changes in a Defendant’s custody or court status.

BAFO Best and Final Offer BC/DR Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery Booked/Booking After the Defendant is placed into custody, the arrest record is made by obtaining all necessary information from the Defendant. This process is called “booking” the Defendant.

Booking Record A record of an arrest.

Business Day The days and hours (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Local Time) in which the OAG is open for business.

The OAG is closed for business on the scheduled holidays indicated in the table below. If a scheduled holiday falls on a weekend, the holiday is generally not observed. The Contract Manager or designee will communicate any variation from the standard holiday schedule as it becomes known.

Holiday When Observed

New Year’s Day January 1

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Third (3rd) Monday in January

Presidents’ Day Third (3rd) Monday in February

Memorial Day Last Monday in May

Independence Day July 4

Labor Day First (1st) Monday in September

Veterans’ Day November 11

Thanksgiving holidays Third (3rd) Thursday and Friday in November

Christmas holidays December 24, 25 and 26

Call Center Central location for the Integrated Voice Response (IVR) system and live operators or personnel.

Certification Official certification of the Contractor as the state-wide contractor which authorizes Participating Entities to enter into individual contracts with the Contractor to provide the services described in this RFO.

CMBL Centralized Master Bidders List Contract Any contract resulting from this procurement/RFO consisting of the contract document(s) as described in

Section 3.4 Contract Documents.

Contractor The vendor(s) awarded the Contract(s) resulting from this RFO. Also “Successful Offeror.”

Conversion The conversion from a previous notification system to the SAVNS.

CTCD Certified Texas Contract Developer Data Interface The automated data link between participating entity data systems and the Contractor-provided call center system.

Defendant A person who has been charged with a criminal offense against a person under Texas law.

Defendant Status Change

Any notification or change in a Defendant’s custody or court status.

EIR Electronic Information Resources ESBD Electronic State Business Daily, which is available online at http://www.txsmartbuy.com/sp http://esbd.cpa.state.tx.us/ http://www.txsmartbuy.com/sp

Exemplar Contracts Model contracts that shall be used between the Contractor and OAG and the Contractor and Participating Entities.

FEIN Federal Employer Identification Number Fiscal Year (FY) Texas State Fiscal Year, September 1 through August 31 Hosted services A provision of infrastructure and application services to support the hosting of a website.

HSP HUB Subcontracting Plan Incorporated Documents

The documents identified in the resulting Purchase Order which shall make up the Contract between the Contractor and the OAG.

Information Inquiry An automated service that allows crime victims and interested parties to call in to a toll-free number twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week, 356 days a year to obtain information on an Defendant’s custody or court status.

Interactive Voice Response system

An automated telephone system designed to respond to voice instructions or commands.

Interested Party Any party that wishes to be notified of a change in a Defendant’s custody and/or court status.

Legacy Interface An interface between an existing participating entity information system(s) and the New SAVNS participating entity installation.

Local Time Central standard time (CST) or central daylight time (CDT), as is then prevailing, in Austin, Texas.

Notification A qualifying event that results in notification to a registered person of a Defendant’s custody or court status.

NIGP National Institute of Governmental Purchasing OAG Office of the Attorney General OAG Contract Plan A plan in which the OAG contracts with a Contractor to provide SAVNS services to state entities, local law enforcement entities, and all interested parties.

OAG Protected Data OAG Protected Data shall mean all documents, reports, data, records, forms, and other materials maintained by or otherwise obtained from the OAG, the Participating Entities, or any individual registered to receive notifications from the SAVNS system, which includes personally identifiable information, federal tax information, personal health information, criminal justice information, or any information that is classified as confidential or sensitive by federal or state law, by agency policy, or is defined as "Personal Identifying Information" under Texas Business and Commerce Code §521.002(a)(1) or "Sensitive Personal Information" as defined by Texas Business and Commerce Code §521.002(a)(2) or any other data or information which (i) has been marked as confidential by any party;

(ii) whose confidential nature has been made known by the OAG, the Participating Entities, or any individual registered to receive notifications under the SAVNS system; or (iii) that due to their character and nature, a reasonable person under like circumstances would treat as confidential.

Offer An Offeror’s submission to this solicitation. An Offer is a compilation of both the Requirements Submission and separate Pricing Submission.

PO Purchase Order Participating Entity A political subdivision of the State of Texas, including county Sheriffs, Community Supervision Departments, courts, clerks and attorneys; district attorneys, and clerks, that are participating in the SAVNS.

Participating Entity Exemplar Agreement

The model contract attached hereto as Exhibit B that shall be used between the Contractor and the Participating Entities.

Political Subdivisions Refers to state agencies, counties and any other state or local governmental authority within the state of Texas.

Registered Individual Individual who has registered with the SAVNS to be notified of a Defendant’s custody or court status.

Registered Individual Data

Any information provided by or regarding an individual who has registered for notification.

Registration When a Victim or other Interested Party provides contact information via the internet or through a call center in order to be notified when a Defendant’s custody status or court date changes.

RFO or Solicitation A Request for Offers, a formal procurement document issued by the OAG to the market or vendor community requesting the submission of Offers for goods or services. (This document.)

SAVNS Statewide Automated Victim Notification Service (SAVNS) - A system that establishes and maintains a statewide automated victim notification service for all entities that elect to participate in the Texas program which utilizes a single toll-free telephone number (see definition of Automated Victim Notification System)

SAVNS Data SAVNS Data shall mean all documents, reports, data, records, forms, and other materials maintained by or otherwise obtained from the OAG, the Participating Entities, or any individual registered to receive notifications from the SAVNS system, without regard to whether such data includes the type of information included in the definition of OAG Protected Data.

SAVNS Program Manager

A staff member of the OAG’s Grants Administration Division assigned to the day-to-day operations of the SAVNS grant program.

Scripts Telephone scripts, text or messages to be heard or read by callers when accessing or being notified by the

SAVNS.

Security Breach Unauthorized acquisition of computerized data that compromises the security, confidentiality, or integrity of sensitive personal information maintained by a person, including data that is encrypted if the person accessing the data has the key required to decrypt the data.

Security Incident An event which results in the accidental or deliberate unauthorized access, loss, disclosure, modification, disruption, or destruction of information or information resources.

Solution The Contractor’s entire Offer including all applications, systems, databases, and website needed to perform the required services.

State Identification Number (SID)

The number assigned to a state prisoner by the Department of Public Safety.

Successful Offeror The Offeror awarded the Contract resulting from this RFO. Also “Contractor.”

Web hosting A provision of infrastructure and application services to support the hosting of websites.

Web searches Web searches are quantified searches on the system.

Vendor Certification and Service Agreement

The formal certification of the Contractor as the statewide SAVNS Vendor and service agreement between OAG and the Contractor. An exemplar copy of this agreement is attached hereto as Exhibit A and is also referred to herein as OAG Exemplar Contract.

Victim An individual as defined in Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 56A.001(7)

2.0 Scope of Services/Requirements

2.1 Required Business Model

The business model required under this RFO for the SAVNS system also requires certification of one qualified Contractor to provide the service to the Participating Entities of the State of Texas.

However, in addition to the certification, OAG will contract directly with the chosen Contractor to provide SAVNS services to Participating Entities. The OAG will be responsible for establishing service requirements and service configurations. The OAG will not be responsible for the costs associated with providing the SAVNS. OAG does not desire to host the SAVNS system on its servers or house and staff a call center. The Contractor will be required to host the SAVNS system either on its own servers or on a secure “cloud” network. In addition, the Contractor will need to either provide a call center or subcontract for a call center that is operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All services performed by the Contractor must be performed within the contiguous United States. There are three major components of the future required business model.

2.1.1. Vendor Certification and Service Agreement

The OAG certifies a Contractor as the statewide SAVNS Contractor and enters into a contract with the Contractor to develop, configure, implement, and provide the SAVNS to any and all Participating Entities in Texas.

2.1.2. Participating Entity Service Agreement

Each Participating Entity contracts directly with the certified Contractor for the services described in the Certification and OAG Contract. Once OAG has certified a statewide Contractor and the Vendor Certification and Service Agreement have been duly executed, each Participating Entity will contract directly with the certified Contractor. A copy of the Exemplar Contract that each Participating Entity will be required to use with the selected Contractor is attached to this RFO as Exhibit B: Participating Entities Service Agreement (“Participating Exemplar Agreement”). Any requested changes to the terms or conditions of the OAG Exemplar Contract must be made in accordance with Section 3.20 herein.

2.1.3 Grant Contract

The OAG will provide grants to each with each Participating Entity, via a grant contract, to reimburse their SAVNS related expenses based on the terms of the Vendor Certification and Service Agreement.

2.1.4 Certification and OAG Contract

OAG will certify the Contractor based on the certification criteria as outlined in Section 2.2 General Requirements. Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Vendor Certification and Service Agreement, the certified Contractor must provide the SAVNS to all participating entities.

A copy of the Exemplar Contract that will be awarded by OAG to the certified Contractor is attached to this RFO as Exhibit A: SAVNS Certification and Service Agreement, (“OAG Exemplar Agreement”). Any exceptions to the terms or conditions of the OAG Exemplar Contract must be made in accordance with Section 3.20 herein.

2.2 General Requirements

2.2.1. The Contractor shall provide a fully operational OAG-approved solution no later than 1 year after the contract award. The OAG, at its sole discretion, may grant additional time.

2.2.2. The solution must maintain a reliable 99.9% uptime performance for the SAVNS core system, Participating Entity interface services, and Interested Party notification interfaces.

2.2.3. The solution must be able to build a Defendant profile which may include pictures of the Defendant and must deploy cross reference technology.

2.2.4. The solution must have the ability to transfer/link registrant/notification data throughout the statewide system based on identified data elements included in Exhibit C, Data Elements.

2.2.5. The solution must be user-centric designed/created with user ease and victim-sensitive as a priority and provide statewide notifications.

2.2.6. The solution must be Defendant-centric and cost-effective (must be able to build a Defendant profile and must deploy cross reference technology).

2.2.7. The solution must log every communication with each and every registrant.

2.2.8. The solution shall have the ability to generate standard management reports as well as customized usage and performance reports. Examples of these reports include but are not limited to:

2.2.8.1. Downtime reports by Participating Entity

2.2.8.2. Number of registrants for a specified period of time

2.2.8.3. Number and type of successful and unsuccessful notifications for a specified period of time

2.2.8.4. System interruption report

2.2.8.5. Function disabled report

2.2.8.6. Data transfer report by Participating Entity or statewide

2.2.8.7. The solution shall be fully tested and approved by the OAG prior to deployment.

2.2.8.8. The solution must have the capability to remain functional during short or long failures of utility power.

2.3 Requirements for the Contractor Regarding Participating Entities

2.3.1. The Contractor shall provide interface services for the SAVNS with jail booking systems, county and district courts, prosecutor information management systems as requested, and other related information systems within each Participating Entity. These services will be provided via a Participating Entity Service Contract between the Participating Entity and the Contractor based on the agreed-upon pricing model that results between the OAG and the Successful Vendor

2.3.2. The Contractor shall provide an Implementation Plan for each Participating Entity specifying the details for the implementation of the SAVNS interface(s) for that specific Participating Entity.

2.3.3. The SAVNS shall allow for the capture, storage and transmission of data, to include, but not limited to, the data elements in Exhibit C, Data Elements.

2.3.4. The SAVNS shall provide for all data from each Participating Entity to be stored in a centrally located database and accessible by the respective Participating Entity and the OAG for reporting purposes.

2.3.5. Each Participating Entity should be given the process/procedures to register for victims/interested parties or provide registration instructions to a victim/interested party to self-register.

2.3.6. The SAVNS shall provide an override control for Participating Entity staff to cancel a notification call, delete a telephone number from the system, to discontinue a registered number when it has been determined that the number has been incorrectly entered into the system, is no longer a valid number, or a password has been lost or to override blocked individual victim or Defendant information.

2.3.7. The SAVNS shall provide a restricted access, secured Internet site for staff in each Participating Entity and the OAG with the following functionality:

2.3.7.1. Customizable dashboard

2.3.7.2. Access to the statistical information for monitoring purposes

2.3.7.3. The capability to run ad hoc reports on statistical information

2.3.7.4. The capacity to print notification letters for victims who have registered an address for notification.

2.3.7.5. The capability to change notification letter wording with the appropriate level of security

2.3.7.6. Technical support information

2.3.7.7. On-line access for manual and training material

2.3.7.8. Contact information

2.3.7.9. Participating Entity-specific configuration information

2.3.8. Each Participating Entity to the central SAVNS installation will be responsible for all interfaces between their legacy systems and the SAVNS, including the integrity (accuracy and timeliness) of the data. The Contractor will be responsible for all data exchange between the Participating Entity SAVNS interface and the core SAVNS installation, including the integrity (accuracy and timeliness) of the data.

2.3.9. The Contractor shall be responsible for providing upgrades, maintenance and continuing service for all Contractor-owned equipment and the SAVNS.

2.3.10. The SAVNS shall maintain all data received from each Participating Entity for a period of seven (7) years. Data will be destroyed in a manner consistent with state policy and federal regulations.

2.4. Requirements for Interested Parties

2.4.1. The SAVNS shall allow any person or entity, without regard to their relationship to the Defendant, to register to receive notifications related to the custody and/or court status of the identified defendant.

2.4.2. The SAVNS shall provide a full range of registration, notification and information inquiry services accessible through a single statewide toll-free access number to a centralized Call Center 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and available from anywhere in the United States.

2.4.3. The SAVNS shall ensure that 98% of the call center calls are answered within 90 seconds or less and are not placed on hold or in a call queue.

2.4.4. The SAVNS shall include an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system to support registration, notification and information inquiry services including automated responses to victims, criminal justice professionals and any other interested parties.

2.4.5. The SAVNS shall provide notification to any registered individuals when there is a change in the Defendant’s custody status, in the manner chosen by the registered party, including but not limited to, email, text, or phone call.

2.4.6. The SAVNS shall provide notification to any registered individual when a corresponding court event occurs related to the Defendant specified by the Registered Individual.

2.4.7. The SAVNS shall provide a restricted access, secured Internet site for interested parties with the following functionality:

2.4.7.1. On-line registration

2.4.7.2. Ability to identify Defendants to monitor/track

2.4.7.3. Notification by email

2.4.7.4. Notification by text

2.4.7.5. Information inquiry

2.4.7.6. SAVNS contact information

2.4.8. SAVNS support information Notifications will be made as follows:

2.4.8.1. For safety-related issues such as Defendant release or escape, notification will begin within 15 minutes of upload of the event into the database and continue every 30 minutes for a minimum of 24 hours, or until the Registered Individual acknowledges contact. All other calls such as court events will be placed between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.

2.4.8.2. Notification patterns and intervals for other notification requirements will be determined during the initial phase of the project by the Contractor and the OAG.

2.4.8.3. Notification patterns will not exceed 48 hours per notification.

2.4.8.4. The SAVNS shall allow Interested Parties to register against as many Defendants as they wish and register as many telephone numbers as they wish including home, work and cellular numbers for notification purposes.

2.4.8.5. The SAVNS shall provide all services in English and Spanish. The call center must be able to respond to callers who are deaf, hearing impaired, or with limited English proficiency.

2.5. Requirements for OAG

2.5.1. The Contractor shall work with the OAG to develop standardized outreach materials (e.g., brochures, posters) that educate and encourage victims to use the Contractor’s SAVNS website or toll-free number to register to receive notifications. Materials are subject to OAG approval. All approved materials must be accessible and available in English and Spanish. The Contractor will provide all printed materials to the OAG for distribution.

2.5.2. Upon request of the OAG, the Contractor will execute a document to assign the toll-free number use for the Call Center to the OAG at any time during the performance of the Contract or any time after the termination or expiration thereof.

2.5.3. The Contractor shall maintain the confidentiality of all SAVNS Data, OAG Protected Data, and all data received from the OAG, the Participating Entities, any individual registered to receive notifications from the SAVNS system, or any other data that is received as a result of Contractor providing the services required under this RFO and any resulting contract(s) or purchase order(s).

2.5.3.1. Data Security Plan. The Contractor shall deliver and maintain a data breach plan in accordance with the criteria set forth in the Contractor’s privacy and security policy and shall implement the procedures required under such data breach plan on the occurrence of a Data Breach, in compliance with the requirements of Texas Business and Commerce Code § 521.053 - Notification Required Following Breach of Security of Computerized Data. This plan shall be delivered in writing to the OAG within 14 business days following the award of this contract (Please refer to Form G). The contractor shall report, in writing, to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) any Data Breach within 24 hours after discovery. The report shall identify the nature of the event, a list of the affected individuals and the types of data, and the mitigation and investigation efforts of the Contractor. It shall also include the stages of the data security plan that has been implemented along with the next steps to mitigate the current and future risks. The contractor shall provide investigation updates to the OAG daily.

2.5.4. Contractor shall not sell, provide, or otherwise commercialize any SAVNS Data, OAG Protected Data, nor any other data received from the OAG, the Participating Entities, any individual registered to receive notifications from the SAVNS system, or any other data received as a result of Contractor providing the services required under this RFO and any resulting contract(s) or purchase order(s) without the prior written consent from the OAG, except where disclosure is required by law.

2.5.5. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Contractor shall provide prior written notice to the OAG before any disclosure of the aforementioned data to any party, for whatever reason, whether required by law or court order. The Contractor must receive written OAG approval prior to any release of data. If there is a release of information without prior written authorization, the Contractor must submit notification immediately to the Program Manager as well as the Division Chief of the Crime Victim Services Division.

2.6. Transition Requirements

2.6.1. At any time during the term of the Contract, the OAG may request that the awarded Contractor collaborate with the OAG to produce a transition plan that will include at a minimum, identified transition risks, recommended risk mitigation strategies, parallel operations, and timeline for the orderly transition of all services.

2.6.2. The awarded Contractor shall cooperate fully with the OAG to achieve a smooth transition and ensure that the OAG does not experience any adverse impact from the transition of services to a subsequent Contractor.

2.6.3. Within three (3) Business Days following the awarded Contractor’s receipt of the OAG’s request to produce a transition plan, the awarded Vendor shall assign a Project Manager to work with the OAG to produce the transition plan and shall provide the assigned Project Manager’s contact information to OAG Contract Manager.

2.6.4. The transition plan shall be completed no later than thirty (30) Business Days following the OAG’s request and shall specify all tasks to be performed by the Parties, the schedule for the performance of such tasks and the respective responsibilities of the parties associated with the tasks.

2.7. Project Management Standards

2.7.1. The Contractor’s staff that is focused on the Texas SAVNS system must have significant knowledge, skills, experience and ability in the areas of Contract Management, Project Management, Support Services Management, and Financial Management. The names of the assigned individuals shall be made known to the OAG. Any individual performing work under this agreement is subject to the following:

2.7.2. The Contractor must submit a written request to the OAG before placing, assigning or reassigning any Contractor staff.

2.7.3. The request to place or assign submitted to the OAG shall include a description of the work to be performed and a resume containing a description of skills, knowledge and abilities and qualifications of the proposed Contractor staff that demonstrates in sufficient detail that the proposed individual is capable of performing the duties.

2.7.4. Before any Contractor staff is placed, assigned or reassigned, the Contractor must receive the written approval of the OAG.

2.8. Contract Manager

2.8.1. The Contractor’s Contract Manager shall be responsible to the OAG and Participating Entities for submitting a written monthly status report, due on or before the 10th day of each month or other agreed-upon date each month, addressing the following items:

2.8.1.1. Track the progress of the SAVNS implementation and maintenance.

2.8.1.2. Establish priorities.

2.8.1.3. Verify and track performance issues.

2.8.1.4. Report on the work accomplished during the reporting period.

2.8.1.5. Report on work to be accomplished during the subsequent reporting period.

2.8.1.6. Resolve all actual or anticipated problems.

2.8.1.7. Written requests to make any significant deviation from the previously agreed upon plans.

2.8.1.8. Facilitate a quarterly meeting with the OAG’s, the Program manager and other designated OAG staff members.

2.9. Project Manager

2.9.1. The Project Manager assigned to the project shall be certified and have at least 3 years of project management experience. Other staff assigned to the project should have at least 3 years of experience working on similar projects.

2.9.2. The Contractor’s Project Manager shall be responsible to the OAG and the participating entities for the following technical matters:

2.9.2.1. Coordinate and serve as the central point of contact for all activities related to the technical implementation and maintenance of the SAVNS.

2.9.2.2. Coordinate the efforts of all Contractor staff, subcontractors, team members, and other interested parties.

2.9.2.3. Provide monthly briefings to the OAG’s project director, contract manager and other designated OAG staff members on the progress of the implementation and maintenance of the SAVNS.

2.9.2.4. Provide written minutes of each briefing meeting to the OAG within ten (10) calendar days of each meeting.

2.9.2.5. Monitor participating entities operating under service agreements to ensure ongoing compliance with scope of work and operational standards.

2.9.2.6. Be available approximately one (1) month prior to the starting date of the Vendor Certification or finalized contract to assure smooth transition between Contractors, if necessary.

2.9.2.7. Be available approximately one (1) month after termination of the Vendor Certification.

2.10. Support Services Manager

2.10.1. The Contractor’s Support Services Manager shall be responsible, subsequent to final approval from the OAG, to the participating entities for the following items:

2.10.1.1. Promotions and SAVNS materials.

2.10.1.2. Performance based curriculum development and lesson plans.

2.10.1.3. Technical performance training.

2.11. Financial Specialist

2.11.1. The Contractor’s Financial Specialist shall be responsible to the OAG for the following items:

2.11.1.1. Issuing vendor invoices to the participating entity subsequent to the date an OAG grant contract being executed.

2.11.1.2. Coordinating verification of relationship between executed service agreements and executed grant contracts.

2.11.1.3. Forwarding copies to the OAG of all executed service agreements with the participating entities and invoices sent to a participating entity.

3.0 Information About the Procurement Process and Subsequent

Contract

3.

3.1 Point of Contact

Any communication with OAG employees or vendors regarding specifications outlined in this RFO should be directed to the Point of Contact. Any communication made outside of the Point of Contact MAY RESULT IN A VENDOR BEING DISQUALIFIED.

Roxanne Koltermann, Procurement and Contract Operations Division, is the sole point of contact for this procurement. Routine correspondence (not Offeror’s Submission to this RFO) may be directed to Roxanne Koltermann as follows:

Email address: roxanne.koltermann@oag.texas.gov Phone number: (512) 475-4489

Mailing Address:

Office of the Attorney General Procurement and Contract Operations Division Attn: Roxanne Koltermann PO Box 12548 mailto:roxanne.koltermann@oag.texas.gov

Austin, TX 78711-2548

Physical Address:

Office of the Attorney General Procurement and Contract Operations Division Attn: Roxanne Koltermann W. P. Clements Building 300 W. 15th St., 3rd Floor Austin, TX 78701-1649

Offerors shall make no contact concerning this RFO with other OAG personnel, except as permitted by the point of contact. The only exception to this requirement is that Offerors may contact the OAG Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB) Coordinator directly with questions regarding the proper submission of the HUB Subcontracting Plan. The acting HUB Coordinator, Rachel Rivera, may be reached at (512) 475-4509 or via email at rachel.rivera@oag.texas.gov. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in disqualification.

3.2. Schedule of Events

The following table documents the critical pre-award events for the procurement. All dates are subject to change at OAG’s discretion. All times are listed in Central Time.

Table 3: Schedule of Events Event Date/Time

Solicitation Release July 1, 2024

Deadline for Submission of Questions July 8, 2024 at 4:30 pm (Central)

OAG Response to Questions and Answers July 11, 2024

Deadline for Submission of Responses July 18, 2024 at 3 pm (Central)

Expected Contract Award Date July 29, 2024

Expected Contract Start Date 9/1/2024

3.3. Questions

Offeror shall submit all questions regarding this procurement, in writing, to the point of contact listed in Section 3.1, Point of Contact.

The deadline for submitting questions regarding this RFO is the date and time listed in Section

3.2 Schedule of Events.

NOTE: Procedural questions regarding Response submission, dates, and locations/addresses may be addressed orally or by email with the point of contact listed in Section 3.1.

Any questions submitted will be answered at the sole discretion of the OAG in a Question and Answer Document that will be sent to all participating vendors. Only answers provided in writing by the OAG shall be considered official. All questions should, to the degree possible, cite the specific RFO section and paragraph number(s) to which the question refers.

Information in any form other than the materials constituting this RFO, the Question and Answer Document(s), and any RFO Addendum shall not be binding on the OAG.

mailto:rachel.rivera@oag.texas.gov

3.4 Contract Documents

The Contract resulting from this procurement may consist of the provisions in this RFO, including its attachments, forms, exhibits and any Addendum; the Successful Offeror’s Offer;

and the OAG Purchase Order (PO) (collectively the “Contract Documents”). No prior agreement or understanding, oral or otherwise, of the parties or their agents will be valid or enforceable unless embodied in the Contract Documents. In the event of a conflict between the provisions of the Contract Documents, the documents are given the following order of priority:

1. OAG Contract;

2. the RFO; and

3. the Successful Offeror’s Offer to the RFO.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the OAG, in its sole discretion, may elect to have the Contract resulting from this procurement consist of one (1) document. In such case, the document will contain all of the rights and duties of the parties extracted from the relevant terms and conditions of: the RFO (including its attachments, forms, exhibits, and any Addendum); and the Successful Offeror’s Response. Prior to award, the OAG will prepare the Contract for review by the apparent awardee. Discussions may be had concerning possible revisions to the Contract in order to clarify points, further define Contract text, or to correct minor technicalities. Agreement shall be reached on any such matters for the Contract to be signed.

If the OAG is unable to reach an agreement on the Contract with the apparent awardee, the Response representing the second-best interest of the state may be selected. The final Contract will be reviewed with the appropriate members of the project team before execution.

3.5. Authority

This procurement shall be conducted in accordance with the State Purchasing and General Services Act (Title 10, Subtitle D, Chapters 2151 through 2176, Texas Government Code) and the rules of the Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA) Statewide Procurement Division (SPD) including, but not limited to, the procedures prescribed by SPD.

All official communication (including, but not limited to, Schedule of Events changes, RFO Addenda and Question and Answer Documents) concerning this procurement will be provided to all possible Offerors. The OAG has no responsibility to communicate personally with each possible Offeror for this procurement. Each possible Offeror is solely responsible for checking for OAG communication concerning this procurement.

3.6 Addendum

Should an addition or correction become necessary after a RFO is issued, an Addendum relating the necessary information forwarded to possible Offerors.

3.7 Attachments, Exhibits and Forms

This RFO includes the following Attachments, Exhibits and Forms:

Table 4: Exhibits

# Exhibit A SAVNS Certification and Service Agreement B Participating Entities Service Agreement C SAVNS Data Elements D Participating Texas SAVNS entities

Table 5: Attachments

# Attachment 1 Attachment A – Pricing Form 2 Attachment B – Business Continuity Disaster Recovery Questionnaire

Table 6: Forms

# Form

A Offeror’s Execution of Offer and Assurances (with Certification)

B Past Performance References

C Canceled Contracts References

D Offeror Release of Liability (to Reference)

E Offeror Information Form

F Preference to Texas and United States Products and Texas Services

G Data Breach Security Plan Outline

3.8. HUB Contracting Probability Statement

It is the policy of the OAG to promote and encourage contracting and subcontracting opportunities for State of Texas certified Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBs) in compliance with Texas Government Code, §2161.001-253 and Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Title 34, Part 1, Chapter 20, Subchapter D, Division 1, §20.285. Respondents are encouraged to become HUB-certified. State of Texas HUB Certification Application Forms are located at https://www.comptroller.texas.gov/purchasing/vendor/hub/forms.php.

Definitions for State of Texas HUB certifiable businesses can be found in TAC, Title 34, Part 1, Chapter 20, Subchapter D, Division 1, §20.282; more information is on the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts website.

Please ensure that the potential HUB subcontractor’s status is “A” (Active).

It has been determined by the OAG that there are probable subcontracting opportunities in the scope of the work for this RFO.

The HUB Goal for this procurement is twenty-six percent (26%).

The OAG has provided a list of potential areas of subcontracting based upon the OAG’s understanding of this procurement request. Respondents are not limited to the potential subcontracting areas listed below. The OAG is relying upon the Respondent’s expertise to fully identify subcontracting opportunities that best align with their organization and this RFP.

Respondents who intend to subcontract are responsible for identifying all areas that will be subcontracted. In accordance with TAC, Title 34, Part 1, Chapter 20, Subchapter D, Division 1, §20.282, a subcontractor is defined as a person who contracts with a prime contractor to work or contribute toward completing work for a governmental entity.

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/GV/htm/GV.2161.htm http://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=34&pt=1&ch=20&rl=285 http://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=34&pt=1&ch=20&rl=285 https://www.comptroller.texas.gov/purchasing/vendor/hub/forms.php http://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=34&pt=1&ch=20&rl=282 http://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=34&pt=1&ch=20&rl=282 https://comptroller.texas.gov/purchasing/vendor/hub/ https://comptroller.texas.gov/purchasing/vendor/hub/ http://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=34&pt=1&ch=20&rl=282 http://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=34&pt=1&ch=20&rl=282

The following is a list of potential areas of subcontracting by the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP) class and item codes based upon the requirements of this procurement.

Table 7: NIGP Codes

Class Item Description

204 All COMPUTER HARDWARE AND PERIPHERALS FOR MICROCOMPUTERS

206 All COMPUTER HARDWARE AND PERIPHERALS FOR MAINFRAMES AND

SERVERS

207 All COMPUTER ACCESSORIES AND SUPPLIES

838 All TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND CELLULAR EQUIPMENT, ACCESSORIES

AND SUPPLIES

915 49 *High-volume, telephone call answering services (See 915-05 for low-volume services)

915 58 Mailing Services: addressing, collating, packing, sorting and delivery

915 96 *Web Page Design, Management and Maintenance Services

Respondents shall complete and return a HUB Subcontracting Plan (HSP) with all Responses to be considered responsive. If the Response does not include a completed HSP, the Response shall be rejected as a material failure to comply with advertised specifications. All Prime Vendors (HUB or Non-HUB) are required to comply.

Additionally, the Successful Respondent shall update the HSP during the course of the Contract should any changes occur.

Respondents will find the HUB Subcontracting Plan on the TCPA website located at https://www.comptroller.texas.gov/purchasing/vendor/hub/forms.php. This version guides the Respondent through the various fields and assists them in completing the HSP correctly.

Search the Centralized Master Bidders List – HUB Directory Search located at https://mycpa.cpa.state.tx.us/tpasscmblsearch/index.jsp for HUB vendors by the NIGP class and item, and find NIGP codes in the NIGP Commodity Book located at https://www.comptroller.texas.gov/purchasing/nigp/.

Minority and women-owned business association resources are available for subcontracting solicitation notices to State of Texas HUB vendors. See “Small, Minority, and Women Business Trade Organizations and Development Centers” at https://www.comptroller.texas.gov/purchasing/vendor/hub/resources.php.

If Respondents have any questions about the HSP, identifying HUB vendors with proper NIGP codes, or the State of Texas HUB Program, please contact the OAG HUB Coordinator, Rachel Rivera at (512) 475-4509 or rachel.rivera@oag.texas.gov. This is the only exception to the single Point of Contact listed.

https://www.comptroller.texas.gov/purchasing/vendor/hub/forms.php https://mycpa.cpa.state.tx.us/tpasscmblsearch/index.jsp https://www.comptroller.texas.gov/purchasing/nigp/ https://www.comptroller.texas.gov/purchasing/vendor/hub/resources.php mailto:rachel.rivera@oag.texas.gov

3.9. Initial Term and Renewal

It is the intention of the OAG that the resulting Contract and Certification shall be effective upon execution of a Vendor Certification and Service Agreement and the initial term shall end on August 31, 2025. The Contract and Certification may be renewed for two (2) optional, two

(2) year renewal terms, with the first optional renewal term beginning on September 1, 2025;

the final renewal will end on August 31, 2029. The decision to renew the Contract and Certification as the Statewide Contractor shall be at the sole and absolute discretion of the OAG. Such renewals shall be subject to the requirements of the Contract resulting from this procurement, with the sole and limited exception that the original date of termination shall be extended pursuant to this provision. By submission of an Offer in response to this RFO, the Offeror agrees to be bound, for the initial term of the Contract and for any renewal term which the OAG may elect to exercise, to perform the described services at the rates specified in the Contract resulting from this RFO.

3.10. Option to Extend

The Successful Offeror agrees that the OAG may require continued performance, beyond the initial or any renewal Contract term, of any of the within described services at the rates specified in the Contract. Such extension of services shall be subject to the requirements of the Contract, with the sole and limited exception that the original date of termination shall be extended pursuant to this provision. The OAG may exercise this option upon thirty (30) calendar days of written notice to the Successful Offeror.

3.11. Award

An award will be made as a “blanket” contract whereby no quantities of services are guaranteed.