ESBD_514302_1779912210249_RFP 13260201 Q&A.pdf

www.hotworkforce.com

Heart of Texas Workforce Development Board, Inc.

801 Washington Avenue, Suite 700 ▪ Waco, Texas 76701 ▪ (254) 296-5300 ▪ FAX (254) 753-3173

The Heart of Texas Workforce Board, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer/programs and auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to include individuals with disabilities. TTY/TDD via RELAY Texas service at 711 or (TDD) 1-800-735-2989 / 1-800-735-2988 (voice).

Request for Proposals

Fiscal and Program Monitoring

RFP # 13260201

Questions & Answers (including bidder’s conference)

Question 1: What is the frequency of the in-person meetings?

Answer: Oversight meetings are generally once a quarter, but it depends.

Question 2: Is this work being done by a contractor right now?

Answer: Yes

Question 3: Amount of hours allocated?

Answer: Hours will vary based on potential contractors’ capacity and efficiency. Currently, approximately 1,050 hours are spent on fiscal and program monitoring activities annually.

Question 4: How long has the current contractor been providing service?

Answer: This year marks the fifth year of a maximum 5-year contract with the current contractor.

Question 5: Will interviews be in person or virtually?

Answer: We do not anticipate conducting any interviews during the procurement process.

Question 6: Will you need one vendor for each or one vendor to do all?

Answer: Proposers may submit bid proposals to perform both the program and financial monitoring or may submit a proposal for providing the financial or program monitoring to be reviewed as a stand-alone proposal.

Question 7: Can you help clarify what "Conduct Single Audit Reviews" means in the context of this engagement? Is the contractor expected to actually perform Single Audit services, or is this more of a review/oversight function?

Answer: A review/oversight function.

Question 8: How often would in-person meetings be required? The RFP mentions some may be expected, but additional detail would help us accurately budget for any travel costs.

Answer: Approximately 85 to 90 percent of the work requested will be remote.

Question 9: Is this work currently being performed by a contractor? If so, what is prompting the re-procurement at this time?

Answer: Yes. This is the fifth year of a maximum five-year contract with the current contractor.

State and federal laws dictate that we reprocure this service.

Question 10: Since the current contract is ending, is the incumbent contractor allowed to re-bid and potentially be selected again?

Answer: We are accepting proposals from any qualified firms/individuals.

Question 11: Can you share how long each service took last year? A breakdown of hours by service category would be very helpful, such as:

• Fiscal monitoring

• Program monitoring

• Single Audit reviews

• Risk assessments

• Fiscal integrity reviews

• Special consulting services

Answer: Hours will vary based on potential contractors’ capacity and efficiency. Currently, approximately 1,050 hours are spent collectively on fiscal and program monitoring activities annually.

Question 12: Can you provide the total annual contract value or approximate annual spend under the current agreement?

Answer: The total contract value will depend upon the costs proposed by the selected vendor.

Question 13: Can you provide an estimate of the hours and annual volume expected for the services requested? For example:

• Transactions reviewed

• Monitoring engagements performed

• Subrecipient reviews conducted

• Other program activity relevant to the scope of work

Answer: Hours will vary based on potential contractors’ capacity and efficiency. Currently, approximately 1,050 hours are spent on fiscal and program monitoring activities annually.

Question 14: Page 11 of the RFP indicates that response should be hand delivered and page 12 discussed electronic delivery? Which way is best? Is electronic delivery preferred?

Answer: Proposals must be submitted following the instructions in section 3.5 General Instructions for Delivery on page 12 of the RFP.

Question 15: Can the current project budget to complete fiscal and program monitoring be provided separately for both fiscal and program monitoring?

Answer: Bidders should base their project budgets based on their own hourly rates, not the current contractor’s project budget.

Question 16: Is there an estimated anticipated number of billable hours for this contract?

Answer: Currently, approximately 1,050 hours annually are spent on program and fiscal monitoring. However, this amount will vary based on individual contractors’ capacity and efficiency.

Question 17: What is the anticipated annual volume of monitoring reviews.

Answer: An annual review for each of the three major program services contractors; a follow-up review for each may also be needed depending on unresolved findings in the annual review; and any additional monitoring that may be requested by the Oversight Committee.

Question 18: Was a contractor engaged to provide similar work? If so, did that contractor provide both fiscal and program monitoring services?

Answer: Yes, to both questions.

Question 19: Can the name of the incumbent contractor be provided?

Answer: Diaz, Smith and Associates.

Question 20: How long has the incumbent held the contract?

Answer: This year marks the fifth year of a maximum 5-year contract with the current contractor.

Question 21: If there is an incumbent what is the reason for issuing a RFP?

Answer: This is the fifth year of a maximum five-year contract with the current contractor. State and federal laws dictate that we reprocure this service.

Question 22: What percentage of work is expected to be remote versus onsite?

Answer: Approximately 85- 90 percent of the requested work will be done remotely.

Question 23: Can HOTWDB provide a typical annual monitoring calendar or cadence?

Answer: A monitoring plan based on the annual risk assessment is developed annually and revised as necessary. For example, this year our Child Care Services contractor underwent fiscal monitoring the week beginning April 6; the Youth Services contractor the week of April 13, and the OneStop Operator contractor the week of April 20th. Program monitoring was scheduled to take place for the Youth Services contractor for one week in June, three weeks in July for the OneStop Operator contractor, and two weeks in August for the Child Care Services contractor.

Question 24: Can the Board provide sample monitoring reports, risk assessments, monitoring tools, or templates currently used?

Answer: The Board utilizes tools provided by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and other applicable state and federal agencies. Tools can be found on the Texas Workforce Commission’s website.

Question 25: Are monitoring tools already established, or is the contractor expected to develop them from scratch?

Answer: The Board utilizes tools provided by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and other applicable state and federal agencies.

Question 26: How many monitoring engagements were completed in the last program year?

Answer: Approximately 8.

Question 27: Is there a specific requirement to engage a Historically Underutilized Business

(HUB)?

Answer: In accordance with Executive Order No. GA-55 coupled with the Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA) Final Emergency Rules (34 TAC §§ 20.281-20.288) prohibiting the state from using race or sex as a basis for certification or scoring, the Board maintains a neutral scoring process for this Request for Proposals.

Question 28: Will interviews or oral presentations be part of the evaluation process?

Answer: There are no interviews or oral presentations planned as a part of the evaluation process.

Question 29: Does the Board prefer blended hourly rates or role-specific rates?

Answer: Any contract resulting from this competitive procurement will be a fixed-price, hourly rate contract.

Question 30: Should travel estimates assume all six counties annually?

Answer: Yes.

Question 31: Are there any limits or expectations regarding reimbursable travel expenses?

Answer: We are required to follow all applicable state and federal laws and regulations regarding reimbursable travel expenses.

Question 32: For renewal years, should proposers assume fixed pricing throughout the potential five-year term, or may annual rate escalations be proposed?

Answer: Yes, any anticipated annual rate escalations must be included in the proposal and will be considered in cost reasonableness.

Question 33: What aspects of the current monitoring process is HOTWDB seeking to improve?

Answer: The coordination of all monitoring activities with the monitoring contractor and TWC and turnaround time for reports.

Question 34: Are there page limits for proposal responses beyond the resume limitation?

Answer: No.

Question 35: What are the Board’s biggest compliance or operational concerns today?

Answer: We have none.

Question 35: What is the organizational size (e.g., staff size, operational scale) of each contractor?

Answer:

Onestop Operator Contractor

• Approximately 30 staff

• Operating 4 workforce centers

• Managing TANF/Choices, SNAP, WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker, RESEA, Business Services and Employment Services.

Childcare Services Contractor

• Approximately 23 staff

• Providing supplemental daycare funding to around 120 daycare centers for over 2,000 children.

Youth Services Contractor

• Approximately 10 staff

• Operating WIOA In School Youth and Out Of School Youth programs along with the Vocational Rehabilitation Summer Earn and Learn, Hire Ability Navigator, and Educational Outreach programs.

Question 36: What is the exact period of performance that will be monitored?

Answer: We monitor based on the statement of work in each contract. Contracts vary, but the major contracts are from October 1st to September 30th each year.