HSS25025-LIHEAPDEAP-ad2.pdf

STATE OF DELAWARE

DELAWARE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES

DIVISION OF SOCIAL SERVICES

March 21, 2025

HSS-25-025 - LIHEAP - DEAP

ADDENDUM 2: Response to Vendor’s Questions.

THE ATTACHED HEREBY BECOME A PART OF THE ABOVE-MENTIONED BID.

Eddie Mui Management Analyst III

(302) 255-9293

Häly Laasme-McQuilkin Management Analyst III haly.laasme-mcquilkin@delaware.gov

Public Q&A for HSS-25-025 - LIHEAP - DEAP

1. Fixed Fee Amount In Section 2.4, Payment for Services and Expenses - is the expectation that bids come in at or under $1,000,000 or is that a placeholder until a fixed fee is agreed upon?

Section 2.4 as noted is under Appendix C, Templates-Sample Agreements and is a placeholder. These are documents used as a basis for the final contract, if awarded.

The answer to this question is “No.” However, please be mindful that the funding agency is the only one that will be receiving the funding for client benefits. The agencies that are bidding to execute intake only will receive intake/case management funding, funding for crisis or Assurance 16 supplies and outreach, and administrative funding to execute intake/case management.

2. Scope of Work Is it required that we bid on all the components of LIHEAP services, or can we decide which service we want to provide?

No, an agency is not required to bid on all the components of LIHEAP services.

The LIHEAP main operational components are intake and funding. An agency can bid on doing only intake for LIHEAP heating and crisis or doing both funding and intake.

However, if an agency bids on doing intake, it will have to do intake for both heating and crisis because under the “no wrong door policy,” a client should not be sent to multiple locations to apply for heating and crisis, or to be referred to furnace repair, weatherization and Assurance 16.

Hence, the intake agency should be capable of doing intake for heating and crisis and giving referrals for RRHACE, weatherization, and Assurance 16, or any other services that the agency determines, or to which the State instructs the clients should be referred.

3. Scope of Work What is the expectation of 24/7 CRISIS? If a client calls on the weekend or in the middle of the night, are we expected to process paperwork? Or does 24/7 CRISIS only occur during a state emergency or disaster?

Crisis is expected to operate 7 days per week. If a client calls on the weekend, the call needs to be processed, and the paperwork needs to be started during that weekend.

Hence, yes, clients need to be able to contact an agency 24/7, as we deal with electricity disconnections and lack of heating fuels that can very quickly turn into life-threatening crises under extreme temperatures. Automated services that don’t allow the client to communicate with a live operator are not acceptable options.

The crisis process needs to start on the day of the call and some type of assistance needs to be provided to client within 18 or 24 hours, depending on the situation. Every attempt needs to be made to avoid a life-threatening situation or death. However, the entire crisis process does not have to be completed during the weekend. Meanwhile, processing crisis calls on a Monday that were received during the weekend or not processing them during the holidays would be considered out of compliance, because of the possibility of death under extreme temperatures.

An agency is allowed to request crisis supplies under the crisis budget that could be temporarily provided to a client until the crisis application is completed, such as space heaters, cooling fans, and blankets. Depending on the cost of the supplied measure, the measures need to be returned to the agency or may be left permanently with the household.

However, all supplies purchased need to be managed like any type of inventory purchased with federal funds and an agency needs to be aware of the location of their inventory and track it by recipient households, including providing the State regularly with the status of the inventory and the identity of the households that received the items. If crisis supplies are requested and the State approves their purchase, the State will provide further guidance on tracking, depending on the cost of the measure.

4. No Wrong Door Policy What is the DHSS no-wrong -door policy?

Appendix B.3.1.1 “Contractor shall administer FAP, ECIP, and ASSUR16, as requested by the State under the DHSS no-wrong-door policy.”

The expectation under this policy is that intake agencies do not just execute intake for heating and crisis but also refer clients to RRHACE, WAP, Assurance 16 and any other agency internal programs, external partners’ programs, or state-requested programs that are necessary for the household to improve their situation and to address the issues that are causing the household to turn to the agency for LIHEAP assistance.

5. Record Retention Are we required to keep hard copy files for clients, or can we transition to keeping electronic files?

You can keep electronic or hard copy files; however, the files need to be available for the State and auditors upon request for at least 5 years.

6. Scope of Work Will we be responsible for processing/entering LIHEAP applications received from other contractors?

Yes, it is possible that the agency could be tasked to process intake applications from another agency if the State believes that there is need for it. The State will work with the agency that is required to do so.

However, if you are bidding to be the funding agency, you would have to fund all of the applications in the LIHEAP software system, no matter which agency entered them into the system. As a funding agency, it will be your responsibility to fund all the applications that have been entered into LIHEAP system by all the agencies.

7. Scope of Work

Are we required to offer services in all three counties?

If you are an intake agency, you don’t have to offer services in all three counties. However, the State might negotiate with you to provide the services in more locations than you have originally offered if the State finds that some areas of the State end up being underserviced because of the proposed locations of intake vendors.

8. Additional Questions after Pre-Bid Meeting Answers will be given on the 24th. If for some reason something pops in your head before the 24th, could that still get in or is it too late?

The State will not take any more questions after today’s pre-bid meeting.

9. Number of Intake Contractors for this RFP Is there a pre-determined number of intake contractors or would that be decided when the decisions are made at the end of this grant?

No, there is not a pre-determined number of intake contractors. Yes, the decision will be made by the end of the proposal evaluation.

10. Turnaround Time for State Payment of Contractor Invoices What's typically the turnaround time on payment? Because I know this is LIHEAP, versus WAP, and LIHEAP is emergency help, so it's usually turned around within 10 days or so, is that the same case with this contract?

The State makes invoice payments as fast as it is able to do so.

11. Direct Payment of Energy Vendors by the State It was said that the State will be handling all the payments to Delmarva. So, what does that look like if you're the funding contractor? Are we still processing the requests to fund and they're just handling the payments? What's the State's role versus the funding contractor’s role there?

The ASSIST system is set up for single payer and so the funding contractor is responsible for taking the applications from original intake all the way to the point of being funded in the system. Once those are funded and the Notification to Vendor notifications are generated by the system, at that point, the State will pull out the notifications to Delmarva and will directly pay them. The State will conduct the reconciliations with Delmarva and the State will handle all refunds from Delmarva. The funding contractor takes it all the way up to the point of certifying and funding in the system and then the funding contractor will invoice the State for all of the energy vendors with the exception of Delmarva.

12. Proposal Expiration Date Is the price fixed as of 9/30/2025 as noted on page 6 under “5. Proposal Expiration Date”?

The State confirms that the price is fixed, as noted in the RFP, until 9/30/2025.

13. ASSIST Training Will the State provide training for ASSIST data entry?

The State will work with contractors to ensure that they know how to use the system to perform their required functions.