New York State Office of Children and Family Services

Division of Child Care Services

INVITATION FOR BIDS

IFB 1267

Repair and Renovation Project: Home-Based Child Care (Reissue)

Issued: 6/11/2026

BID DUE DATE: 7/27/2026 by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time

KATHY HOCHUL

Governor

DAMIA HARRIS-MADDEN, Ed.D., MBA, M.S.

Commissioner

IFB 1267 Repair and Renovation Project: Home-Based Child Care

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

1.1 Overview

1.2 Designated Contacts

1.3 Calendar of Events

1.4 IFB Questions and Clarifications

2. Bid Submission

2.1 Instructions for Bid Submission

2.2 Packaging of IFB Response

3. Specifications

3.1 Eligible Bidders

3.2 Product/Service Specifications

3.3 Delivery

3.4 Security Procedures

3.5 Warranty (if commodity purchase)

4. Administrative Information

4.1 Method of Award

4.2 Price

4.3 Term of Contract

4.4 Method of Payment

4.5 Dispute Resolution

4.6 Contractor Responsibilities

4.7 Inspection of Books

4.8 OCFS Reserved Rights

4.9 Incurred Costs

4.10 Security, Nondisclosure, and Confidentiality Agreement

4.11 Omnibus Procurement Act

4.12 Executive Orders

4.13 Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) – Equal

Employment Opportunity (EEO) - Requirements & Procedures

4.14 Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOB)

4.15 Anti-Kickback Act

4.16 Contractor Responsibility

4.17 Multiagency Use

4.18 Contacts with Employees

4.19 Procurement Lobbying Act

4.20 Public Officers Law

4.21 Vendor Responsibility

4.22 Workers’ Compensation Law

4.23 New York State Sales and Compensating Use Taxes

4.24 Confidentiality and Required Awardee, Contractor, Employee, and Volunteer

Background Checks

4.25 Consultant Disclosure Requirements

4.26 OCFS Procedure for Handling Debriefing Requests, Formal Protests, and

Appeals

4.27 Standard Contract Language

4.28 Appendix A - Standard Clauses for NYS Contracts

4.29 State Finance Law §139-l; Statement on Sexual Harassment in Bids

5. Contract Documents

1. Introduction

1.1 Overview

The New York State (NYS) Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) announces the release of this Invitation for Bids (IFB) to contract with one entity to serve as the administrator and comprehensive technical assistance partner with OCFS for the Repair and Renovation Project: Home-Based Child Care.

High quality child care programs play an integral role in the social, emotional, and physical development of children. Developmentally appropriate and high-quality learning environments contribute to improved outcomes, including the promotion of healthy behaviors, social-emotional skills, and greater independence in children.

Considering the high costs associated with providing child care and narrow profit margins, home-based child care businesses often lack the resources to invest in necessary renovations and repairs that would increase the quality of care they can provide.

OCFS is seeking bids to select a qualified vendor to develop and administer an infrastructure repair and renovation program and provide technical assistance to existing licensed/registered home-based child care businesses. The project goal is to support existing licensed/registered home-based child care businesses in making minor repairs and renovations that increase the quality and enhance capacity of their child care environments.

The vendor will:

• Administer the disbursement of funds on behalf of NYS.

• Enforce OCFS-specified eligibility requirements for payments made by the vendor to existing licensed/registered home-based child care businesses. OCFS will share eligibility criteria with the awarded bidder during the contract development period.

• Process payments to eligible and approved businesses, ensuring proper documentation and program compliance.

• Oversee project monitoring, provide technical assistance, and ensure compliance to facilitate successful project completion.

Funding Details

The Repair and Renovation Project: Home-Based Child Care is an infrastructure project, specific to existing licensed/registered home-based child care businesses in NYS. The awarded vendor will be responsible for administering the disbursement of funds on behalf of NYS.

Funding Allocation:

• Funding for this project will be in the form of administrative and technical assistance costs and fees, covering the program management, technical support, oversight, and disbursement processes required to operate this project. These funds are provided to the awarded vendor to cover their operating expenses.

• A separate amount of $10 million will be provided to the vendor for distribution of payments made directly to existing licensed/registered eligible programs for their repair and renovation projects. None of these funds will be kept by the awarded vendor.

Disbursement of project funds:

• Each approved and eligible licensed/registered home-based child care business may receive a payment ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 per project for repairs and renovations.

• The total number of awards issued for repair and renovation projects will depend on the volume of qualifying applications, the scope of individual projects, and available funding. As of 2025 approximately 11,000 home based child care businesses in NYS are potentially eligible to apply.

Based on the total allocation of $10 Million, an estimated 200-400 awards could be made.

1.2 Designated Contacts

In compliance with the Procurement Lobbying Law, from the issuance of this IFB until contractors are selected, all contacts with OCFS personnel concerning this IFB, except as otherwise specified herein, must be made via email (preferred) or hard copy mailed to:

New York State Office of Children and Family Services Attn: Bureau of Contract Management – Procurement Unit IFB 1267 Repair and Renovation Project: Home-Based Child Care 52 Washington Street, Room 202 South Rensselaer, NY 12144.

Email: funding@ocfs.ny.gov. In both cases, please reference IFB 1267.

mailto:funding@ocfs.ny.gov

1.3 Calendar of Events

The table below outlines the schedule for important action dates.

EVENT DATE

IFB issued 6/11/2026

Deadline for submission of offerer questions

6/26/2026

Responses to questions published (on or about)

7/10/2026

Bid due date 7/27/2026 by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time

Anticipated Contract date 10/1/2026

1.4 IFB Questions and Clarifications

All questions regarding this IFB, including questions regarding the minimum qualifications and specifications, should be emailed to the designated contact identified in Section 1.2 Designated Contacts by the date and time indicated in Section 1.3 Calendar of Events. Questions submitted after the deadline indicated may not be answered. An offerer is strongly encouraged to submit questions as soon as possible. Answers to all questions of a substantive nature will be provided to all prospective offerers in the form of a question and answer document that will be posted to both the NYS Contract Reporter website (https://www.nyscr.ny.gov) and OCFS public website (https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/contracts/funding/) and will not identify the offerer asking the question.

2. Bid Submission

2.1 Instructions for Bid Submission

Only bids from offerer’s who furnish all required information and meet the mandatory requirements stated in Section 3 Specifications will be considered. Bidders must operate in accordance with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations.

All bids must be submitted electronically by email to funding@ocfs.ny.gov by the Bid Due Date and time set forth in Section

1.3 Calendar of Events. All bid documents must be sent as attachments as OCFS is unable to download any documents. The email subject line should include the following information: IFB 1267 Repair and Renovation Project:

Home-Based Child Care and Vendor Name. If bid requires files be sent in https://www.nyscr.ny.gov/ https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/contracts/funding/ mailto:RFP@ocfs.ny.gov multiple emails, indicate the email number, e.g., 1 of 2. No facsimile or hard copy bids will be accepted. Bid submissions for this procurement should only contain bid proposals for this specific funding opportunity and bidders should submit only one bid proposal per submission email.

Bid proposals must be attached to the email in a manner that results in the electronic document(s) being transmitted with the email. The bid proposal must be received by OCFS secure email servers to be considered properly received. Clickable links to download the bid proposal and/or the use of third-party file hosting services are not permissible as the bidder’s email submission is not transmitting the electronic document(s) of the bid proposal to OCFS.

Email delivery or read receipts are recommended. OCFS will provide a confirmation email that the bid has been received including the number of attachments. Bidders are responsible for contacting OCFS prior to the deadline if confirmation has not been received.

Electronic bids must contain the information and bid submission formats and forms requested herein, or attached hereto, under the terms and conditions of this solicitation. Bids that cannot be read, require a password (locked), or are incomplete, or that contain any omissions, erasures, alterations, additions or items not required by the IFB, or that contain irregularities of any kind may be rejected. All costs associated with the preparation of a bid are the responsibility of the Bidders and cannot be charged to OCFS. Bidders may modify, in writing, the content of any bid at any time prior to the bid due date and time, however a complete re-submission of all bid documents is required. OCFS will not substitute sections of a bid. The email should state previous bid(s) submitted are withdrawn. If this is not clear in the email, OCFS will only consider the latest bid submitted for award. Bids may be withdrawn or canceled before the bid due date and time.

Contractors may not begin to provide services prior to the contract start date;

OCFS has no obligation to pay for services prior to that time. Payments cannot be made prior to the formal execution of a contract.

Offerers assume all risks for timely, properly submitted electronic bids.

LATE BIDS MAY BE REJECTED

Any bid, or portion of a bid if bid is submitted in multiple emails, that is received at the funding@ocfs.ny.gov email after the Bid Due Date & Time in Section

1.3 Calendar of Events will be considered a late bid. A late bid may be rejected and disqualified from award. However, a late bid may be accepted in the Commissioner’s sole discretion when:

mailto:RFP@ocfs.ny.gov

(i) no timely bids meeting the requirements of the solicitation are received; or

(ii) the offerer has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that the late bid was caused solely by factors outside the control of the offerer.

Note: The Commissioner is under no obligation to accept a late bid.

The basis for any determination to accept a late bid shall be documented in the procurement record.

FIRM OFFER

Bids must remain an effective offer, firm and irrevocable, for at least 180 calendar days from the due date, unless the time for awarding the contract is extended by mutual consent of OCFS and the offerer. A bid shall continue to remain an effective offer, firm and irrevocable, subsequent to the 180 calendar-day period until either tentative award of the contract(s), withdrawal of the procurement, or withdrawal of the bid in writing by the offerer.

OWNERSHIP OF IFB AND BIDS

This IFB remains the property of the State at all times, and all responses to this IFB, once delivered, become the property of the State.

2.2 Packaging of IFB Response

Required Contents of Bid Submission

Please be aware that although bids must be submitted electronically, any required bid proposal document that requires a notarization must be obtained by the bidder and a copy of the notarized form submitted with the bid. The original hardcopy signature page must be kept by the bidder. If applicable, a hardcopy version of the notarized document must be supplied during the contract development stage by selected awardees if requested by OCFS.

All bid proposals must include the following:

• OCFS-0910, Request for Bid Form

• Cost Proposal Bid Sheet

• Attachment 1 – Bidder’s Certified Statements

• Attachment 2 – References

• Attachment 3 – Experience

Attachments to this announcement are also available for download from The New York State Contract Reporter website at https://www.nyscr.ny.gov or the OCFS website at https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/contracts/funding/.

https://www.nyscr.ny.gov/ https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/contracts/funding/

The following documents should also be completed and provided in the bid:

• NYS Required Forms o Non-Collusive Bidding Certification o NYS Required Certifications Identifying Data o Offerer’s Certification of Adherence to Executive Order 177 o Offerer’s Certification of Adherence to New York State Finance Law o Sexual Harassment Prevention Certification Form o Freedom Of Information Law Redaction Request o Offerer’s Certification of Adherence to Executive Order No. 16 o Offerer Assurance of No Conflict of Interest or Detrimental Effect o Gender-Based Violence and the Workplace Certification

• Vendor Responsibility Questionnaire (or proof of online VendRep certification. See Section 4.21 for more information)

• OCFS-3460, MWBE Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy Statement Form

• OCFS-4821, CMS User Authorization

• OCFS-4715, Confidentiality Non-Disclosure Agreement

• OCFS-4716, Contractor Employee and Volunteer Background Certification

OCFS reserves the right to require the provision of these forms prior to making an award. Failure to provide required forms may result in your bid being disqualified from consideration. If requested, forms should be provided to OCFS within 5 business days.

For complete proposal and contract requirements for the Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) requirements, refer to Section 4.13.

General Proposal Appearance

Bid proposal emails may be submitted containing either one singular document or multiple document attachments. Document file names are encouraged to be logical and make the attachment(s) easily identifiable. Please ensure all document attachments provided via email are complete, correct, viewable, and comply with the requirements of the IFB. Bidders must not upload password protected documents or secured documents. Documents that are incomplete or cannot be viewed may result in disqualification. Ensure all passwords are removed prior to submitting your bid proposal.

The fonts and margins used in the bid proposal should be reasonable. Twelve-point text using Arial, Times New Roman, or Calibri fonts are considered acceptable. Standard one-inch margins are recommended. It is permissible to use headers, footers, and page numbers inside the margins.

https://ocfs.ny.gov/forms/nys/NYS-Required-Forms-2025.pdf https://www.osc.state.ny.us/state-vendors/vendrep/vendor-responsibility-forms https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/Forms/Contracts/OCFS-3460.docx https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/Forms/Contracts/OCFS-3460.docx https://ocfs.ny.gov/forms/omtv/OCFS-4821.docx https://ocfs.ny.gov/forms/ocfs/OCFS-4715.pdf https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/Forms/Contracts/OCFS-4716%20Contractor%20Employee%20Background%20Certification.dot

Please refer to Section 2.1 Instructions for Bid Submission and Section 1.3 Calendar of Events.

Documents Required After Bid Submission

During contract negotiations, awarded offerers will be required to complete the following additional forms:

• OCFS-4631, MWBE Utilization Plan Form

• SDVOB-100, SDVOB Utilization Plan

• OCFS-4629, Project Staffing Plan Form

• AC 3271-S, State Consultant Services – Contractor’s Planned Employment (Form A)

• ST-220-TD, Contractor Certification

• ST-220-CA, Contractor Certification to Covered Agency

• Proof of workers’ compensation and disability benefits coverage or Certificate of Attestation of Exemption from New York State Workers’ Compensation Board and/or disability benefits coverage

3. Specifications

Failure to meet the minimum requirements outlined in Section 3.1 may result in a bid being found non-responsive and eliminated from consideration.

3.1 Eligible Bidders

Bidders must meet the following requirements:

• Be registered to do business in the State of New York as evidenced by having an active filing in the NYS Department of State (DOS) Corporation and Business Entity Database.

• Possess at least 3 years of documented experience in establishing, maintaining and providing support, technical assistance, and guidance to home-based child care business owners.

• Possess at least 3 years of documented project management experience, specifically administering at least three home based child care repair and renovation projects, each with individual project values of at least $25,000.

• Possess at least 3 years of documented experience in building and maintaining partnerships with Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), builders, and renovation contractors for home-based child care repair and renovation projects.

• Possess at least 1 year of documented experience in designing, operating, https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/Forms/Contracts/OCFS-4631%20M-WBE%20Utilization%20Plan%20Form.dot https://ogs.ny.gov/sdvob-100-utilization-plan https://ocfs.ny.gov/forms/ocfs/OCFS-4629.docx https://ocfs.ny.gov/forms/ocfs/OCFS-3271.pdf https://ocfs.ny.gov/forms/ocfs/OCFS-3271.pdf https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/current_forms/st/st220td_fill_in.pdf https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/current_forms/st/st220ca_fill_in.pdf https://www.wcb.ny.gov/content/main/Employers/lp_workers-compensation.jsp https://www.wcb.ny.gov/content/main/DisabilityBenefits/lp_disability-benefits.jsp https://apps.dos.ny.gov/publicInquiry/ https://apps.dos.ny.gov/publicInquiry/ or maintaining a secure system capable of accepting and tracking funding applications, processing and administering payments, securely storing personal data, and generating reports.

3.2 Product/Service Specifications

The awarded vendor will serve as the administrator and comprehensive technical assistance partner for OCFS, directly developing and managing an infrastructure repair and renovation program. This project is designed for existing licensed and registered home-based child care businesses throughout New York State. The vendor shall complete all deliverables as detailed in the scope of work outlined below for each selected child care business participating in the program.

Scope of Work:

There are approximately 11,000 licensed and registered home-based child care providers in New York State that are potentially eligible to apply for these infrastructure repair and renovation projects. Based on the total available funding and individual award amounts ranging from $25,000 to $50,000, it is estimated that the total number of home-based child care businesses selected to participate in the program will range from 200 to 400 entities, depending on qualifying applications and project scope.

To ensure the successful fulfillment of the deliverables and IFB requirements, the awarded vendor will staff the project with adequate levels of personnel possessing the necessary expertise and appropriate credentials. The bid rates for all deliverables will include all staffing and travel expenses. OCFS reserves the right to review and approve the resumes and qualifications for all staff the contractor proposes to assign to this project, to ensure the successful performance of the contract, and may require the replacement of any proposed staff whose qualifications or experience are deemed insufficient by OCFS in its sole discretion.

1. Program Planning and Application Development:

o Vendor will collaborate with OCFS to develop all program guidelines.

o Establish or use an existing system for fiscal management of payments, that includes an application and data management tools.

o Develop application materials, prospective applicant technical assistance materials, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) resource guide based on stakeholder feedback and potential applicant questions.

o Create an outreach strategy and materials to announce and promote the program.

o Conduct outreach to NYS home-based child care businesses and community partners to announce and promote the program.

o Create a platform to post the application, program information and resources.

o Establish and manage a dedicated email address and phone number for potential applicant inquiries o Provide technical assistance to potential applicants to support successful application completion and submission.

o Normal business hours are defined as 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. Eastern Time Monday through Friday, excluding State and Federal holidays. The vendor will communicate their hours of operation to OCFS.

o All program guidelines and documents created by the vendor must be translated into the thirteen most commonly spoken languages in the United States (Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Arabic, French, Korean, Russian, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, German, Hindi, and Italian).

Note: OCFS will announce the funding opportunity by posting the program information on the OCFS Division of Child Care webpage, OCFS funding opportunities site, and the New York State Contract Reporter (NYSCR). In addition, OCFS will notify all NYS licensed and registered home-based child care businesses and Child Care Resource and Referral agencies (CCRRs) announcing the launch and availability of the infrastructure repair and renovation projects and directing them to the awarded vendor’s application system.

All program guidelines and documents created by the vendor must be reviewed and approved by OCFS prior to being released to the public.

2. Application Screening:

o Receive applications via email or the established program platform. All applications must be timestamped with the date and time received.

o Review applications for completeness, eligibility according to the OCFS-defined criteria, scope of project, and project readiness. The vendor will review applications in the order in which they are received until the total cost of all selected projects meet the total program funding amount of $10,000,000.

o Determine which businesses are eligible to receive funding payments and participate in the program based on the eligibility requirements dictated by OCFS. Eligible projects will receive payments ranging from $25,000 to $50,000.

o Review additional business applications based on date and time received and select any alternative participants if initially selected projects are deemed ineligible or unsuccessful for the program.

3. Project Agreement:

o Notify all business applicants of their application status.

o Inform businesses selected for participation in the program via email of next steps and required documentation.

o Provide project readiness technical assistance to businesses selected for participation in the program (Refer to Section 3.2, Product/Service Specifications, Scope of Work 5. Technical Assistance and Support) o Require selected home-based child care businesses to commit to utilizing only properly licensed and certified renovation contractors for all repair and renovation work. The vendor shall establish procedures to verify that all contractors engaged by the home-based child care businesses possess the necessary New York State licenses, certifications, and permits required for the specified scope of work, either as part of the project agreement or prior to the disbursement of funds.

The vendor must also ensure that documentation of such verification is retained for auditing and compliance purposes.

o Execute an agreement with the home-based child care businesses selected for participation in the program using an OCFS-approved template.

4. Project Monitoring and Review:

o Monitor the selected participants’ repair and renovation projects’ progress and completion by conducting a minimum of 2 site visits per project (conducted in person or virtually) to ensure funds are being utilized in accordance with the funding requirements.

o Conduct at least one in-person site visit upon project completion, but prior to final reimbursement payment for each business selected for participation in the program.

5. Technical Assistance and Project Support:

The vendor will be available Monday through Friday, during normal business hours to provide individual technical assistance and support to each business selected for participation in the program to improve the proposed project’s viability, sustainability, and cost effectiveness. The technical assistance may be provided in person, virtually, or via telephone.

Normal business hours are defined as 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. Eastern Time Monday through Friday, excluding State and Federal holidays The vendor will communicate their hours of operation to OCFS.

o Educate providers on best practices in creating a budget, securing bids, developing cost projections, and maximizing the use of funds for their repair and renovation projects in accordance with the agreement.

o Provide an opportunity for the provider to review the project, including the facility design, with the vendor.

o Support providers in navigating local child care and building licensing/regulatory requirements.

o Monitor the projects and ensure that all providers receive the necessary technical assistance to successfully complete their projects within the established timelines and in accordance with the agreement.

o Educate the providers on successful business practices.

6. Professional Development:

The vendor will provide professional development training to all businesses selected for participation in the program to strengthen and sustain their home-based child care business.

The vendor will provide the following:

o At least ten (10) virtual professional development workshops (1 hour in length) for the businesses selected for participation in the program focused on financial planning, budgeting, project prioritization, and bidding processes with a minimum of ten participants per session.

o Recordings of the workshops will be posted on the vendor’s website and emailed to businesses after they are conducted.

7. Partnership Development o Create and maintain an up-to-date listing of available community resources, including Community Development Financial Institutions, building developers, and vendors to streamline project execution.

o Conduct a minimum of quarterly virtual outreach meetings and collaborative planning sessions with Community Development Financial Institutions, community resource organizations, building developers, and vendors to increase communication, discuss barriers to project completion, and streamline project execution.

o Connect the selected businesses to appropriate community resources to support efforts to facilities development, capital access, and other community resources that strengthen and sustain the home-based child care sector.

8. Disbursement of Funds:

o Acquire, review, and process documentation from businesses to support their repair and renovation project expenses. The vendor will create a detailed list of and supporting documentation requirements for the businesses to submit. The documentation requirements will include, but are not limited to, the following: receipts, invoices, leases, proof of property ownership, and necessary permits.

o Disburse funds, making payments on behalf of NYS OCFS, to businesses that satisfy the terms of their agreement to reimburse them for eligible project expenses for completed renovations.

9. Reporting and Documentation

Using templates provided by OCFS, the vendor must:

o Submit monthly claiming documents to OCFS detailing a clear itemized description of repair and renovation project reimbursements requested and payments disbursed to providers.

o Submit monthly claiming documents to OCFS detailing the administrative duties and deliverables the vendor is requesting payment for.

o Provide a monthly spreadsheet and brief written summary of progress, outlining the following performance measures:

• number of eligible business applications,

• number of selected businesses,

• name of businesses,

• project location-NYS region,

• project address,

• project contact person,

• repair and renovation project description,

• project cost,

• repair and renovation project status,

• project reimbursement payment status,

• project deliverables,

• inspections during the previous reporting period.

o Staff will, at a minimum, participate in a one (1) hour virtual program status meeting with OCFS at least once per calendar quarter to discuss the Repair and Renovation Program’s performance, progress, and strategies for any improvement(s). OCFS or the vendor may increase the frequency of these virtual program status meetings at their discretion.

o Develop and conduct a satisfaction survey for the participating home-based child care businesses at the completion of their participation in the Repair and Renovation Program o At completion of the Repair and Renovation Program, provide OCFS with a detailed summary on the program’s child care outcomes including data, expenditures, and lessons learned:

• Numbers and modalities of programs served

• Number of spaces preserved, enhanced or created

• Type and number of TA and professional development training hours provided

• Type and number of repair and renovation projects and cost

• Program strengths and recommendations for program improvements

• Results of participant satisfaction survey

Note: OCFS reserves the right to request additional reporting information from the vendor as needed. When requested, additional reporting information must be provided to OCFS within 30 days. Failure to meet the reporting and documentation requirements may result in delay or denial of administrative claims.

Applicants may subcontract components of the scope of work. For those applicants that propose subcontracting, it is preferable to identify subcontracting agencies during the application process. Applicants that plan to subcontract are required to state in the application the specific components of the scope of work to be performed through subcontracts. Applicants should note that the lead organization (prime contractor) will have total responsibility for all contract activities, including those performed by subcontractors, and will be the primary contact for OCFS. If OCFS requests, the vendor agrees not to enter into any subcontracts, or revisions to subcontracts, that exceed $100,000 for the performance of the obligations contained herein until it has received the prior written permission of the State. The State has the right to review and approve every subcontract that exceeds $100,000 before giving written permission to the vendor to enter into the subcontract. All subcontractors must be approved by OCFS.

3.3 Delivery

The contractor will ensure the staff provide the services outlined in Section 3.2 Product/Service Specifications during normal business hours of 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. Eastern Time Monday through Friday, excluding State holidays.

3.4 Security Procedures

Not applicable.

3.5 Warranty (if commodity purchase)

Not applicable.

4. Administrative Information

4.1 Method of Award

The bidder submitting a bid in compliance with Section 2.0 Bid Submission, meeting requirements stated in Section 3.0 Specifications, passing vendor responsibility review, and offering the lowest bid will be awarded. The lowest-cost qualified provider will be awarded the contract. Please see Section 4.2 Price for more information regarding bid rate limits and requirements.

OCFS reserves the right to conduct a reference check at any point during the process. The purpose of the reference check is to verify the bidder meets the minimum qualifications specified in IFB Section 3.1. If any references are found by OCFS to be unsatisfactory, the bidder may be disqualified from consideration, at the sole discretion of OCFS.

If a tie bid results, offerers with the most years of project management experience related to home-based child care repair and renovation projects will be selected as the winning bidder. If there is still a tie, the decision as to the winning bid will be made by the Commissioner in accordance with the State Finance Law §163(10)(a) and any policy stated in the IFB.

4.2 Price

Bid price must include all costs associated with providing and delivering the services and deliverables as specified in this IFB, including any applicable travel, personnel costs, licenses, insurance, consultants, overhead, administrative costs, supplies, equipment, profit, and all other ancillary costs.

A vendor’s bid proposal for administrative and technical assistance cost and fees may request a maximum of $4 million. Any bid proposal in which the requested amount for administrative and technical assistance costs and fees exceeds this maximum limit of $4 million will not be considered for an award.

4.3 Term of Contract

It is the intention of the State to award a single contract to the awarded offerer.

The contract will commence on or about the contract date as stated in Section

1.3 and will continue for a period of three years and is subject to approval by the New York State Office of the Attorney General (OAG), and Office of the State Comptroller (OSC). Contractors may not begin to provide services before the contract start date; OCFS has no obligation to pay for services rendered before that time. Payments cannot be made before the formal execution of a contract. A link to the terms and conditions of the contract is available in Section 4.27 of this IFB.

4.4 Method of Payment

Payments will be processed monthly following the completion of services and upon submittal of required documentation for services performed and/or a signed claim for payment form, as directed by OCFS in Appendix C of the resulting contract.

4.5 Dispute Resolution

It is OCFS’s policy to provide vendors with an opportunity to administratively resolve disputes, complaints, or inquiries related to bid solicitations, contract awards, and contract administration. OCFS encourages vendors to seek resolution of disputes informally, through consultation with staff, before commencing a formal dispute process. All such matters will be accorded impartial and timely consideration. See Section 4.26 for additional information.

4.6 Contractor Responsibilities

The contractor shall be solely responsible for all compliance with terms and conditions in this IFB or any resulting contract. The contractor may not engage a subcontractor or dealer, distributor, reseller, or any other party to carry out any part of this contract without the prior written consent of OCFS. The contractor accepts full responsibility for the actions of any employee who carries out any of the provisions of any contract resulting from this IFB.

4.7 Inspection of Books

It is expressly understood and agreed OCFS and OSC shall have the right to inspect and audit the contractor’s records covered under this agreement, in accordance with his/her statutory responsibility to examine the books and accounts of every agency. OSC requires, and the contractor agrees to, the retention of all material pertinent to an audit of the operations under any purchase order resulting from this IFB for a full three-year period or contract resulting from this IFB for a full six-year period.

4.8 OCFS Reserved Rights

OCFS reserves the right to:

1. place a monetary cap on the funding amount made in each contract award;

2. change any of the schedule dates stated in this IFB;

3. reject any or all proposals received in response to the IFB;

4. withdraw the IFB at any time at the agency’s sole discretion;

5. make an award under the IFB in whole or in part;

6. disqualify any offerer whose conduct and/or proposal fails to conform to the

IFB’s requirements;

7. reject any proposal if, in the sole discretion of OCFS, it determines the offerer is not a responsible vendor;

8. seek clarification and revisions of proposals. Ask offerers to present supplemental information clarifying their proposals either in writing or by formal presentation. New information is not permitted;

9. require that offerers demonstrate, to the satisfaction of OCFS, any feature(s) present as a part of their proposal that may include an oral presentation of their proposal and may be considered in the evaluation of the proposal;

10. before opening bids, amend any part of this IFB with notification to all offerers, and direct all offerers to prepare modifications addressing IFB amendments, if necessary. Expenses incurred in the preparation of any proposals or modifications submitted in response to this IFB are the sole responsibility of the offerer or other party and will not be incurred by OCFS;

11. make funding decisions that maximize compliance with and address the outcomes identified in this IFB;

12. fund only one portion, or selected activities, of the selected offerer’s proposal and/or adopt all or part of the selected offerer’s proposal based on federal and state requirements;

13. eliminate any IFB requirements that cannot be met by all prospective offerers upon notice to all parties that submitted proposals;

14. waive procedural technicalities or modify minor irregularities in proposals received after notification to the offerer involved;

15. correct any arithmetic errors in any proposal or make typographical corrections to proposals with the concurrence of the offerer;

16. negotiate with the selected offerer(s) before contract award;

17. conduct contract negotiations or award a contract to the next highest offerer if contract negotiations with the selected offerer(s) cannot be accomplished within an acceptable time frame. No offerer will have any rights against OCFS arising from such actions;

18. award contracts to more than one offerer or to other than the lowest offerer;

19. require that all proposals be held valid for a minimum of 180 days from the closing date for receipt of proposals, unless otherwise expressly provided for in writing;

20. fund any or all the proposals received in response to this IFB. However, issuance of this IFB does not commit OCFS to fund any proposals. OCFS can reject any proposals submitted and reserves the right to withdraw or postpone this IFB without notice and without liability to any offerer or other party for expenses incurred in the preparation of any proposals submitted in response to this IFB and may exercise these rights at any time;

21. use the proposal submitted in response to this IFB as part of an approved contract. At the time of contract development, awardees may be asked to provide additional budget and program information for the final contract;

22. use any or all ideas submitted in the proposals received;

23. require clarification at any time during the procurement process and/or require correction of arithmetic or other apparent errors for the purpose of assuring a full and complete understanding of an offerer’s proposal and/or to determine an offerer’s compliance with the requirements of the solicitation;

24. make additional awards based on the remaining proposals submitted in response to this IFB and/or provide additional funding to awardees if such funds become available;

25. make inquiries of third parties, including but not limited to offerers references regarding the applicants’ experience or other matters deemed relevant to the proposal by OCFS. By submitting a proposal in response to this IFB, the applicant gives its consent to any inquiry made by OCFS;

26. require contractors to participate in a formal evaluation of the program to be developed by OCFS. Contractors may be required to collect data for these purposes. The evaluation design will maintain confidentiality of participants and recognize practical constraints of collecting this kind of information;

27. consider statewide distribution and regional distribution within New York City, including borough distribution methodology, in evaluating proposals;

28. rescind awards for failure of awardees to meet required time frames for contract development and/or signature;

29. cancel this IFB, in whole or in part, at any time and to reject any or all bids when appropriate in the best interests of the State;

30. use proposal information obtained through site visits, management interviews and the State’s investigation of a bidder’s qualifications, experience, ability, or financial standing, and any material or information submitted by the bidder in response to the agency’s request for clarifying information in the course of evaluation and/or selection under the IFB; and

31. reject any extraneous terms, alternate activities/work to be performed, added conditions, or exceptions stated by applicants within their proposal(s). This includes, but is not limited to, proposed changes to the standard terms and conditions of the resulting contract(s).

4.9 Incurred Costs

The State of New York shall not be liable for any costs incurred by an offerer in the preparation and production of a proposal or for the contractor’s participation in any pre-contract award activity. The State of New York shall not be liable for any cost incurred by the contractor in preparation for or before the approval of an executed contract by the OSC.

4.10 Security, Nondisclosure, and Confidentiality Agreement

The content of each offerer’s proposal will be held in strict confidence by the State during the bid evaluation process and will not be disclosed except to the evaluation panels, and to the New York State Office of the Attorney General and OSC, as may be necessary, to obtain their approvals for the final contract, and except as required by law. The successful offerer’s proposal and a copy of the specifications will be made a part of the contract.

Public inspection of a proposal is regulated by the Freedom of Information Law (Article 6 of the New York Public Officer’s Law, or FOIL). Proposals are presumptively available for public inspection. If this would be unacceptable to offerers, they should apply to the New York State Division of Budget (DOB) for trade secret protection for their bid.

Confidential, trade secret, or proprietary materials as defined by the laws of the State of New York must be clearly marked and identified upon submission by the offerer. Marking the bid as “confidential” or “proprietary” on its face or in the document header or footer is not sufficient without specific justification as to why disclosure of particular information in the bid would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of the offerer.

Offerers/contractors intending to seek an exemption from disclosure of these materials under the FOIL must request the exemption in writing, explaining the reasons for the claimed exemption. Acceptance of the claimed materials does not constitute a determination on the exemption request, which will be made in accordance with statutory procedures.

The Public Officers’ Code of Ethics (Section 74 of the Public Officers Law) sets the standard that no officer or employee of a state agency shall disclose https://dos.ny.gov/coog/foil2.html https://legethics.ny.gov/public-officers-law-section-74-code-ethics confidential information he/she acquires during his/her official duties. These standards control the confidentiality of an offerer’s proposal unless DOB grants a petition for records access in accordance with FOIL.

Offerers should be advised the confidentiality of their proposals is founded upon statute, as described above. A nondisclosure agreement, whether prescribed by DOB or the offerer, would not alter the rights and responsibilities of either party under FOIL. Offerers should not propose a nondisclosure agreement for DOB employees, as that is legally ineffective to alter any responsibility under FOIL or the Code of Ethics.

The provisions of FOIL will also govern the confidentiality of all products or services supplied by the successful offerer.

Please see Content of Proposals for the Confidentiality Non-Disclosure Agreement (OCFS-4715), which each contractor or subcontractor, employee of a contractor or subcontractor, and volunteer with a contractor or subcontractor is required to sign.

4.11 Omnibus Procurement Act

It is the policy of New York State to maximize opportunities for the participation of New York State business enterprises, including Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) and SDVOB as offerers, subcontractors, and suppliers on its procurement contracts.

Information on the availability of New York State-certified subcontractors and suppliers is available on the internet at Empire State Development (ny.gov) and Office of General Services (ny.gov).

For additional information and assistance, contact:

New York State Department of Economic Development Division for Small Business Albany, New York 12245 Telephone: 518-292-5100 Fax: 518-292-5884 Email: opa@esd.ny.gov

Directories of New York State-certified MWBE/SDVOB are available from:

New York State Department of Economic Development Division of Minority and Women's Business Development 633 Third Avenue New York, New York 10017 Telephone: 212-803-2414 https://ocfs.ny.gov/forms/ocfs/OCFS-4715.pdf https://ocfs.ny.gov/forms/ocfs/OCFS-4715.pdf https://ny.newnycontracts.com/ https://online.ogs.ny.gov/SDVOB/search mailto:opa@esd.ny.gov

Email: mwbecertification@esd.ny.gov https://ny.newnycontracts.com

Division of Service-Disabled Veterans’ Business Development 32nd Floor, Corning Tower Empire State Plaza Albany, New York 12242 Telephone: 518-474-2015 Email: VeteransDevelopment@ogs.ny.gov https://sdves.ogs.ny.gov/business-search

NOTE: Companies requesting lists of potential subcontractors and suppliers are encouraged to utilize the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP), North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), and Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) to identify the codes, size, and location of vendors and services to assist in searches of the NYSCS and OGS directories.

The Omnibus Procurement Act of 1992 requires that by signing a bid proposal, contractors certify that whenever the total offer amount is greater than $1 million:

1. the contractor has made reasonable efforts to encourage the participation of New York State business enterprises as suppliers and subcontractors on this project and has retained the documentation of these efforts to be provided upon request to the State;

2. the contractor has documented their efforts to encourage the participation of New York State business enterprises as suppliers and subcontractors by showing that they have done the following:

• Solicited offers, in a timely and adequate manner, from NYS Empire State Development (ESD) business enterprises, including certified MWBE; or

• Contacted ESD to obtain listings of NYS business enterprises and MWBE; or

• Placed notices for subcontractors and suppliers in newspapers, journals or other trade publications distributed in New York State; or

• Participated in offerer outreach conferences.

If the contractor determines NYS business enterprises are not available to participate on the contract as subcontractors or suppliers, the contractor shall provide a statement indicating the method used to determine this.

If the contractor does not intend to use subcontractors, the contractor shall provide a statement verifying such.

mailto:mwbecertification@esd.ny.gov https://ny.newnycontracts.com/ mailto:VeteransDevelopment@ogs.ny.gov https://www.thruway.ny.gov/business/purchasing/nigp/index.html https://www.thruway.ny.gov/business/purchasing/nigp/index.html https://www.naics.com/search/ https://siccode.com/sic-code-lookup-directory https://siccode.com/sic-code-lookup-directory

3. the contractor has complied with the federal Equal Opportunity Act of 1972 (P.L. 92-961), as amended;

4. the contractor will be required to notify New York State residents of employment opportunities through listing any such positions with the Community Services Division of the New York State Department of Labor, providing for such notification in a manner consistent with existing collective bargaining contracts or agreements. The agency agrees to document these efforts and to provide said documentation to OCFS upon request;

5. offerers located in a foreign country are notified that the State may assign or otherwise transfer offset credits to third parties located in New York State, and the offerers shall be obligated to cooperate with the State in all respects in making such assignment or transfer, including, but not limited to, executing all documents deemed by the State to be necessary or desirable to effectuate such assignment or transfer, and using their best efforts to obtain the recognition and accession to such assignment or transfer by any applicable foreign government; and

6. offerers are hereby notified that State agencies and authorities are prohibited from entering into contracts with businesses whose principal place of business is in a “discriminatory jurisdiction.” This is defined as a state or political subdivision that employs a preference or price distorting mechanism to the detriment of or otherwise discriminates against a New York State business enterprise in the procurement of commodities and services by the same or a non-governmental entity influenced by the same.

A list of discriminatory jurisdictions is maintained by the Commissioner of New York State Empire State Development.

4.12 Executive Orders

Executive Order No. 14, dated February 27, 2022, requires State agencies to terminate any contracts and to refrain from entering into any new contracts with an institution or company determined to be a Russian or Russia supporting entity.

Executive Order No. 16, dated March 17, 2022, requires State agencies to refrain from entering into any new contract or renewing any existing contract with an entity conducting business operations in Russia.

Executive Orders 14 and 16 include the following definitions:

o “Russian entity” means an institution or company headquartered in Russia or has its principal place of business in Russia.

o “Supporting entity” means any institution or company providing assistance to the Russian government in its campaign to invade the sovereign country of Ukraine, either through in-kind support or for-profit.

o “Entity conducting business operations in Russia” means an…