LAB25RSSYEP-001-rfp.docx

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

SUMMER YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM

ISSUED BY DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, DIVISION OF EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING

RFP NUMBER: LAB-25R-SSYEP-001

1. Overview:

The State of Delaware, Department of Labor, Division of Employment and Training (“DET” or the “State of Delaware”) seeks professional services to implement the State’s Summer Youth Employment Program as described in Section II Scope of Services. This request for proposals (“RFP”) is issued pursuant to 29 Del. C. §§ 6981 and 6982.

2. RFP Timeline:

Public Notice: March 19, 2025

Pre-Bid Meeting: March 27, 2025 at 2pm

Deadline for Questions: April 2, 2025

Response to Questions Posted: April 7, 2025

Deadline for Receipt of Proposals: April 21, 2025 no later than 1:00pm

Proposal Reviews: April 28, 2025

Oral Clarification/Presentations: April 30, 2025 (If needed)

Estimated Notification of Award: May 15, 2025

3. Pre-bid Meeting:

A pre-bid meeting has been scheduled for March 27, 2025, at 2pm. This is not a mandatory meeting; however, the meeting is important for applicants and those who desire a compliant submission. The meeting with explain the RFP process, requirements and is an opportunity to ask questions. This meeting will be help virtually through Zoom at the below link.

Meeting Link: Join the meeting now Meeting ID: 269 599 070 370 Passcode: hs3kG9EA

4. Scope of Services:

For definitions of terms used throughout this RFP, refer to Appendix C, Definitions.

a. Eligible Applicants:

· All providers must have a State of Delaware license(s), be considered a non-profit, or be a public entity and have any certification(s) necessary to perform services as identified in this RFP.

5. Targeted Population:

· Not younger than 14 or older than 20 at the time of enrollment (Exception: Work Leaders may be 21 years of age).

· Preference will be given to those youth whose household income does not exceed 200% of the Lower Living Standard Income Level of Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA/NJ/DE/MD. Lower Living Standard Income Level Guidelines | U.S. Department of Labor. A minimum of 70% of program participants must meet this requirement.

· Eligible to work in the United States of America.

· A Delaware Resident.

6. Eligibility Documents:

· State Summer Youth Application. (This is your application that you would have them fill out)

· Copy of completed Working Papers (if applicable).

· Proof of age.

· Proof of household income.

· Proof of residency.

a. Providers will be required to have all documents collected prior to enrollment in the State Summer Youth Employment Program.

7. Funding:

Funding for this RFP come from State General Funds. The anticipated amount available for this RFP is $625,000 and is subject to change without notice based on the availability of funds and is the anticipated amount for one year. These funds will cover the State Summer Youth Employment Program which includes Year-Round Youth. Any awarded funds must cover all wages, taxes and other normally withholdings in accordance with State and Federal laws.

8. Program Design:

The intent of this RFP is to provide organizations the funding to enable youth to participate in a meaningful work experience during the summer months or during a year-round employment program. Projects employing youth should be a meaningful and productive work experience that provides the opportunity to learn positive work behaviors, gain skills, promote responsibility and leadership opportunities, teamwork, positive work ethic, and earn wages for hours worked. Programs should be designed for youth to work:

· No more than 250 hours per summer.

· In a program that is no shorter than six (6) weeks and operates during the below timeframe.

· Summer 2025: Program Starts June 16, 2025, and ends August 22, 2025.

· All providers will recruit their participants.

· All providers will determine the eligibility of youth participants prior to enrollment and before any paid work begins.

· All providers will complete case management of program participants in Delaware JobLink during the program.

· All providers will conduct an orientation for participants and shall be between 2 days and two weeks in length and must include a, b, c, and d below. It is recommended to include e, f, g, h, and i below.

a. Information from the Department of Labor, Division of Industrial Affairs, Wage and Hour Unit.

b. Provider’s procedures and policies

c. Overview of positive workplace behaviors, such as Dress and Appearance, required work items, acceptable language in the workplace, time sheet completion, call out/inclement weather policy, etc.

d. Delaware JobLink registration.

e. Delaware JobLink Resume Building.

f. Exploring career interests with participants.

g. Placing participants in worksites that align with their career interests with a focus on the In-Demand List in Appendix E.

h. Financial Literacy

i. Durable Skills (Soft Skills)

j. All Providers shall be in compliance with and federal and state applicable laws. Specifically, all Providers shall ensure all worksites where youth are placed are in compliance with Delaware’s Child Labor Law (19 Del. C. ch. 5) http://delcode.delaware.gov/title19/c005/index.shtml.

k. All Providers will place youth at appropriate work sites. In placement, Providers shall take into consideration the youth’s interests/school career pathway if applicable, geographic location to youth’s residency/youth’s ability to access worksite, and employer/work site skill or needs requests.

l. Providers shall employ one (1) work leader for each twenty (20) youths employed in the program to supervise and monitor the attendance and work performance of the youths selected for the program. Work leaders are participants of the program and may up to 21 years of age.

m. All participants (including work leaders) will be compensated at the State of Delaware minimum wage. (2025 Delaware State Minimum Wage is $15.00)

n. All participants (except work leader) will work no more than 250 hours during the summer.

o. All Program outcomes must provide some benefit to the community and be consistent with the work of the agency.

p. No youth shall be employed or placed within a job whose sole responsibility is participating in recreational programming.

q. In no case shall any regular employee be displaced because of the placement of a participant under this program.

r. In no case shall a participant in this program be placed in a job opening which is vacant because the former occupant is on strike or is being locked out in the course of a labor dispute, or the filling of which is otherwise an issue in a labor dispute involving a work stoppage.

s. All Providers will participate in any workshop and/or training that is required from a resulting contract from this RFP.

t. All Providers will support and participate in any evaluation process as outlined by DET.

u. All Providers will obtain the proper release from each participants parent/guardian for DET to share the below information with the Department of Education. Sharing of information with the Department of Education will aide them in capturing work experience for any applicable accountability measure.

· Name

· Date of Birth

· Work Experience Site(s)

· Total Hours Worked

9. Desired Components:

a. Strong connection to Local Education Agencies and their Career Pathways. In-school career pathways are supported through Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs across Delaware’s comprehensive, charter, and technical school districts. All CTE programs must be state approved and provide youth with the opportunity to earn early college credit, industry credential(s), and participate in meaningful work experiences.

b. Worksites aligned with In-Demand Occupations List (Appendix E)

c. Private Sector Employers

d. Community Based Projects

10. Performance Requirements:

a. Providers will be expected to on-board 90% of their expected target.

b. Providers are expected to retain participants for the duration of the program.

11. Payment for Summer Youth/Year-Round Youth:

a. There will be 3 payments made for Summer Youth

b. Payments are made as 25% upon contract execution, 25% at the 30-day mark and the last payment will be paid after receipt of all participants hours via the provided document. Payments #1 and #2 are expected to be earned by the end of the program. If a program does not have enough participation any unearned payments must be returned to DOL/DET within 30 days of contract close out.

c. Year-Round Youth: 25% will be paid upon contract execution. All subsequent payments will be reimbursed monthly after receipt and acceptance of provided document.

12. Professional Services:

The below information shall be provided in each proposal in the order listed below. Failure to respond to any request for information within this proposal may result in the rejection of the proposal at the sole discretion of the State.

a. General information

· Geographical Location of office and worksites

· Targeted Industry

b. Concise Summary of Program

c. Demonstrated Ability

· Experience running similar programs.

· Capacity to meet requirements of this RFP.

· Expertise.

d. Program Design

e. Cost/Budget

f. Leveraged Resources

13. RFP Administrative Information:

a. Public Notice: Public notice has been provided in accordance with 29 Del. C. § 6981.

b. Obtaining Copies of the RFP: This RFP is available in electronic form through the State of Delaware Procurement website at https://bids.delaware.gov paper copies of this RFP will not be available.

c. Assistance to Vendors with Disabilities: Vendors with disabilities may receive accommodations regarding the means of communicating this RFP or participating in the procurement process. For more information, contact the Designated Contact no later than ten (10) days prior to the deadline for receipt of proposals.

d. RFP Designated Contact: All requests, questions, or other communications about this RFP shall be made in writing to the State of Delaware. Address all communications to the person listed below; communications made to other State of Delaware personnel or attempting to ask questions by phone or in person will not be allowed or recognized as valid and may disqualify the vendor. Vendors should rely only on written statements issued by the RFP designated contact. The designated contact for this RFP is: Frederick Quick, DOL_DET_Contracts@delaware.gov Please use this email for all communications regarding this RFP.

e. Consultants and Legal Counsel: The State of Delaware may retain consultants or legal counsel to assist in the review and evaluation of this RFP and the vendors’ responses. Bidders shall not contact the State’s consultant or legal counsel on any matter related to the RFP.

f. Contact with State Employees: Direct contact with State of Delaware employees other than the State of Delaware designated contact regarding this RFP is expressly prohibited without prior consent. Vendors directly contact State of Delaware employees risk elimination of their proposal from further consideration. Exceptions exist only for organizations currently doing business in the State who require contact in the normal course of doing that business.

g. Organizations Ineligible to Bid: Any individual, business, organization, corporation, consortium, partnership, joint venture, or any other entity including subcontractors currently debarred or suspended are ineligible to bid. Any entity ineligible to conduct business in the State of Delaware for any reason is ineligible to respond to this RFP.

h. Exclusions: The proposal evaluation team reserves the right to refuse to consider any proposal from a vendor who:

· Has been convicted for the commission of a criminal offense as an incident to obtaining or attempting to obtain a public or private contract or subcontract, or in the performance of the contract or subcontract.

· Has been convicted under State or Federal statues of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification, or destruction of records, receiving stolen property, or other offense indicating a lack of business integrity or business honesty that currently and seriously affect responsibility as a State contractor.

· Has been convicted or has had a civil judgment entered for a violation under State or Federal antitrust statutes.

· Has violated contract provisions such as, known failure without good cause to perform in accordance with the specifications or within the time limit provided in the contract; or failure to performance or unsatisfactory performance in accordance with terms of one or more contracts.

i. Has violated ethical standards set out in law or regulation.

j. Any other cause listed in regulations of the State of Delaware determined to be serious and compelling as to affect responsibility as a state contractor, including suspension or debarment by another governmental entity for a cause listed in the regulations.

14. RFP Submissions:

a. a. Acknowledgement of Understanding of Terms: By submitting a bid, each vendor shall be deemed to acknowledge that is has carefully read all sections of this RFP, including all forms, schedules and exhibits hereto, and has fully informed itself as to all existing conditions and limitations.

b. Proposals: To be considered, all proposals must be submitted in writing and respond to the items outlined in this RFP. The State reserves the right to reject any non-responsive or non-conforming proposals. Each proposal must be submitted with all electronic copies and the proposal checklist confirming the items submitted. All proposals are to be submitted and received no later than 1:00PM (EST) on April 21, 2025. The proposals must be delivered by email to the following contact email address: DOL_DET_Contracts@Delaware.gov and in the subject line contain: BID ENCLOSED: LAB-25R-SSYEP-001, PROVIDER NAME, Submission. Any proposal received after the Deadline for Receipt of Proposals date and time shall not be considered and shall not be reviewed. The proposing vendor bears the risk of delays in delivery and any costs. The contents of any proposal shall not be disclosed as to be made available to competing entities during the negotiation process. Upon receipt of vendor proposals, each vendor shall be presumed to be thoroughly familiar with all specifications and requirements of this RFP. The failure or omission to examine any form, instrument or document shall in no way relieve vendors from any obligation in respect to this RFP.

c. Proposal Modifications: Any changes amendments or modifications to a proposal must be made in writing, submitted in the same manner as the original response and conspicuously labelled as a change, amendment, or modification to a previously submitted proposal. Changes, amendments, or modifications to proposals shall not be accepted or considered after the deadline of April 21, 2025, at 1:00PM EST.

d. Proposal Costs and Expenses: The State of Delaware will not pay any costs incurred by any Vendor associated with any aspect of responding to this solicitation, including proposal preparation, printing or delivery, attendance at vendor’s conference, system demonstrations or negotiation process.

e. Proposal Expiration Date: Prices quoted in the proposal shall remain fixed and binding on the bidder at least through 6/30/2025. The State of Delaware reserves the right to ask for an extension of time if needed.

f. Late Proposals: Proposals received after April 21, 2025, at 1:00PM EST will not be accepted or considered.

g. Proposal Opening: There will be no public opening of proposals, but a public log will be kept of the names of all vendor organizations that submitted proposals. The contents of any proposal shall not be disclosed in accordance with Executive Order #31 and Title 29, Delaware Code, Chapter 100. Any unopened proposals will be returned to the submitting vendor.

h. Non-Conforming Proposals: Non-conforming proposals will not be considered. Non-conforming proposals are defined as those that do not meet the requirements of this RFP. The determination of whether a RFP requirement is substantive, or a mere formality shall reside solely within the State of Delaware.

i. Concise Proposals: The State of Delaware discourages overly lengthy and costly proposals. It is the desire that proposals be prepared in a straightforward and concise manner. Unnecessarily elaborate brochures or other promotional materials beyond those sufficient to present a complete and effective proposal are not desired. The State of Delaware’s interest is in the quality and responsiveness of the proposal.

j. Realistic Proposals: It is the expectation of the State of Delaware that vendors can fully satisfy the obligations of the proposal in the manner and time frame defined within the proposal. Proposals must be realistic and must represent the best estimate of time, materials and other costs including the impact of inflation and any economic or other factors that are reasonably predictable. The State of Delaware shall bear no responsibility or increase obligation for a vendor’s failure to accurately estimate the costs or resources required to mee the obligations defined in the proposal.

k. Confidentiality of Documents: The State of Delaware and its constituent agencies are required to comply with the State of Delaware Freedom of Information Act, 29 Del. C. § 10001, et seq. (FOIA). FOIA requires that the State of Delaware’s records are public records (unless otherwise declared by FOIA or other law to be exempt from disclosure) and are subject to inspection and copying by any person upon a written request. All proposals are subject to FOIA’s public disclosure obligations. The State of Delaware wishes to create a business-friendly environment and procurement process. As such, the State respects the vendor community’s desire to protect its intellectual property, trade secrets, and confidential business information) collectively referred to herein as “confidential business information”). Proposals must contain sufficient information to be evaluated. If a vendor feels that they cannot submit their proposal without including confidential business information, they must adhere to the following procedure, or their proposal may be deemed unresponsive, may not be recommended for selection, and any applicable protection for the vendor’s confidential business information may be lost. To allow the State to assess its ability to protect a vendor’s confidential business information, vendors will be permitted to designate appropriate portions of their proposal as confidential business information. Vendor(s) may submit portions of a proposal considered to be confidential business information in a separate, sealed envelope labeled “Confidential Business Information” and include the specific RFP number. The envelope must contain a letter from the vendor’s legal counsel describing the documents in the envelope, representing in good faith that the information in each document is not “public record” as defined by 29 Del. § 10002, and briefly stating the reasons that each document meets the said definitions. Upon receipt of a proposal accompanied by such a separate, sealed envelope, the State of Delaware will open the envelope to determine whether the procedure described above has been followed. A vendor’s allegation as to its confidential business information shall not be binding on the State. The State shall independently determine the validity of any vendor designation as set forth in this section. Any vendor submitting a proposal or using the procedures discussed herein expressly accepts the State’s absolute right and duty to independently assess the legal and factual validity of any information designated as confidential business information. Accordingly, vendor(s) assume the risk that confidential business information included in a proposal may enter the public domain.

l. Multi-Vendor Solutions (Joint Ventures): Multi-vendor solutions (joint ventures) will be allowed only if one of the venture partners is designated as the “prime contractor”. The “prime contractor” must be the joint venture’s contact point for the State of Delaware and be responsible for the joint venture’s performance under the contract, including all project management, legal and financial responsibility for the implementation of all vendor systems. If a joint venture is proposed, a copy of the joint venture agreement clearly describing the responsibilities of the partners must be submitted with the proposal. Services specified in the proposal shall not be subcontracted without prior written approval by the State of Delaware, and approval of a request to subcontract shall not in any way relieve Vendor of responsibility for the professional and technical accuracy and adequacy of the work. Further, vendor shall be and remain liable for all damages to the State of Delaware caused by negligent performance or non-performance of work by its subcontractor or its sub-subcontractor. Multi-vendor proposals must be a consolidated response with all cost included in the cost summary. Where necessary, RFP response pages are to be duplicated for each vendor.

m. Primary Vendor: The State of Delaware expects to negotiate and contract with only one “prime vendor”. The State of Delaware will not accept any proposals that reflect an equal teaming arrangement or from vendors who are co-bidding on this RFP. The prime vendor will be responsible for the management of all subcontractors. Any contract that may result from this RFP shall specify that the prime vendor is solely responsible for fulfillment of any contract with the State because of this procurement. The State will make contract payments only to the awarded vendor. Payments to any-subcontractors are the sole responsibility of the prime vendor (awarded vendor). Nothing in this section shall prohibit the State of Delaware from the full exercise of its options under Section IV.B.18 regarding multiple source contracting.

n. Sub-Contracting: The vendor selected shall be solely responsible for contractual performance and management of all subcontract relationships. This contract allows subcontracting assignments; however, vendors assume all responsibility for work quality, delivery, installation, maintenance, and any supporting services required by a subcontractor. Use of subcontractors must be clearly explained in the proposal, and major subcontractors must be identified by name. The prime vendor shall be wholly responsible for the entire contract performance whether or not subcontractors are used. Any sub-contractors must be approved by State of Delaware.

o. Multiple Proposals: A primary vendor may not participate in more than one proposal in any form. Sub- contracting vendors may participate in multiple joint venture proposals.

p. Discrepancies and Omissions: Vendor is fully responsible for the completeness and accuracy of their proposal, and for examining this RFP and all addenda. Failure to do so will be at the sole risk of vendor. Should vendor find discrepancies, omissions, unclear or ambiguous intent or meaning, or should any questions arise concerning this RFP, vendor shall notify the State of Delaware’s Designated Contact, in writing, of such findings at least ten (10) days before the proposal opening. This will allow issuance of any necessary addenda. It will also help prevent the opening of a defective proposal and exposure of vendor’s proposal upon which award could not be made. All unresolved issues should be addressed in the proposal. Protests based on any omission or error, or on the content of the solicitation, will be disallowed if these faults have not been brought to the attention of the Designated Contact, in writing, at least ten (10) calendar days prior to the time set for opening of the proposals.

q. RFP Question and Answer Process: The State of Delaware will allow written requests for clarification of the RFP. All questions shall be received no later than February 19, 2025. All questions will be consolidated into a single set of responses and posted on the State’s website at bids.delaware.gov by the approximate date of February 25, 2025. Vendor names will be removed from questions in the responses released. Questions should be submitted in the following format. Deviations from this format will not be accepted.

· Page Number

· Section Number/Letter

· Paragraph Number/Letter

· Text of Passage being questions

r. State’s Right to Reject Proposals: The State of Delaware reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals or any part of any proposal, to waive defects, technicalities or any specifications (whether they be in the State of Delaware’s specifications or vendor’s response), to sit and act as sole judge of the merit and qualifications of each product offered, or to solicit new proposals on the same project or on a modified project which may include portions of the originally proposed project as the State of Delaware may deem necessary in the best interest of the State of Delaware.

s. State’s Right to Cancel Solicitation: The State of Delaware reserves the right to cancel this solicitation at any time during the procurement process, for any reason or for no reason. The State of Delaware makes no commitments expressed or implied, that this process will result in a business transaction with any vendor. This RFP does not constitute an offer by the State of Delaware. Vendor’s participation in this process may result in the State of Delaware selecting your organization to engage in further discussions and negotiations toward execution of a contract. The commencement of such negotiations does not, however, signify a commitment by the State of Delaware to execute a contract nor to continue negotiations. The State of Delaware may terminate negotiations at any time and for any reason, or for no reason.

t. State’s Right to Award Multiple Source Contracting: Pursuant to 29 Del. C. § 6986, the State of Delaware may award a contract for a particular professional service to two or more vendors if the agency head makes a determination that such an award is in the best interest of the State of Delaware.

u. Potential Contract Overlap: Vendors shall be advised that the State, at its sole discretion, shall retain the right to solicit for goods and/or services as required by its agencies and as it serves the best interest of the State. As needs are identified, there may exist instances where contract deliverables, and/or goods or services to be solicited and subsequently awarded, overlap previous awards. The State reserves the right to reject any or all bids in whole or in part, to make partial awards, to award to multiple vendors during the same period, to award by types, on a zone-by-zone basis or on an item-by-item or lump sum basis item by item, or lump sum total, whichever may be most advantageous to the State of Delaware.

v. Notification of Withdrawal of Proposal: Vendor may modify or withdraw its proposal by written request, provided that both proposal and request is received by the State of Delaware prior to the proposal due date. Proposals may be re-submitted in accordance with the proposal due date in order to be considered further. Proposals become the property of the State of Delaware at the proposal submission deadline. All proposals received are considered firm offers at that time.

w. Revisions to the RFP: If it becomes necessary to revise any part of the RFP, an addendum will be posted on the State of Delaware’s website at bids.delaware.gov. The State of Delaware is not bound by any statement related to this RFP made by any State of Delaware employee, contractor, or its agents.

x. Exceptions to the RFP: Any exceptions to the RFP, or the State of Delaware’s terms and conditions, must be recorded on Attachment 3. Acceptance of exceptions is within the sole discretion of the evaluation committee.

y. Business References: Provide at least three (3) business references consisting of current or previous customers of similar scope and value using Attachment 5. Include business name, mailing address, contact name and phone number, number of years doing business with, and type of work performed. Personal references cannot be considered.

z. Award of Contract: The final award of a contract is subject to approval by the State of Delaware. The State of Delaware has the sole right to select the successful vendor(s) for award, to reject any proposal as unsatisfactory or non-responsive, to award a contract to other than the lowest priced proposal, to award multiple contracts, or not to award a contract, as a result of this RFP. Notice in writing to a vendor of the acceptance of its proposal by the State of Delaware and the subsequent full execution of a written contract will constitute a contract, and no vendor will acquire any legal or equitable rights or privileges until the occurrence of both such events.

aa. RFP Award Notifications: After reviews of the evaluation committee report and its recommendation, and once the contract terms and conditions have been finalized, the State of Delaware will award the contract. The contract shall be awarded to the vendor whose proposal is most advantageous, taking into consideration the evaluation factors set forth in the RFP. It should be explicitly noted that the State of Delaware is not obligated to award the contract to the vendor who submits the lowest bid or the vendor who receives the highest total point score, rather the contract will be awarded to the vendor whose proposal is the most advantageous to the State of Delaware. The award is subject to the appropriate State of Delaware approvals. After a final selection is made, the winning vendor will be invited to negotiate a contract with the State of Delaware; remaining vendors will be notified in writing of their selection status.

ab. Cooperatives: Vendors, who have been awarded similar contracts through a competitive bidding process with a cooperative, are welcome to submit the cooperative pricing for this solicitation. State of Delaware terms will take precedence.

15. RFP Evaluation Process:

An evaluation team composed of representatives for the DWDB and State of Delaware will evaluate proposals on a variety of quantitative criteria. Neither the lowest price nor highest scoring proposal will necessarily be selected. The State of Delaware reserves full discretion to determine the competence and responsibility, professionally and/or financially, of vendors. Vendors are to provide in a timely manner all information that the State of Delaware may deem necessary to decide.

a. Proposal Evaluation Team: The Proposal Evaluation Team shall be comprised of at least three (3) members. The Team must have at least one (1) DWDB board member. Other members will include subject matter experts The Team shall determine which vendors meet the minimum requirements pursuant to selection criteria of the RFP and procedures established in 29 Del. C. §§ 6981 and 6982. Professional services for this solicitation are considered under 29 Del. C. § 6982(b). The Team may negotiate with one or more vendors during the same period and may, at its discretion, terminate negotiations with any or all vendors. The Team shall make a recommendation regarding the award to the DET Director, who shall have final authority, subject to the provisions of this RFP and 29 Del. C. § 6982(b), to award a contract to the successful vendor in the best interests of the State of Delaware.

Delaware Reserves the right to respond to submitted proposals and create or remove Evaluation Team(s) as Delaware sees fit.

b. Proposal Review: Proposals who meet the RFP criteria will be reviewed by an Evaluation Team in up to two (2) phases:

a. Written Review-The Proposal Evaluation Team will individually review, and score written proposals. Points will be awarded based on the Proposal Evaluation Team’s review of the written proposals. The Proposal Evaluation Team will decide which proposal(s) will move forward and, if needed, be invited to Proposal Clarification Day. Those proposals not invited to Proposal Clarification Day will be rejected at this point and not considered for funding. Delaware will notify all Providers of the outcome of this phase.

b. Proposal Clarification- The evaluation team may contact any vendor if clarification is needed to eliminate confusion and uncertainties concerning the contents of a proposal. Proposals may not be modified as a result of a clarification request.

If needed, Providers will be invited to attend a Proposal Clarification with a set date and time per proposal. Points will be awarded based on the Proposal Clarification. During this meeting, Provider’s should be prepared with a maximum seven-minute presentation. Handouts, promotional materials, videos, presentations, etc. are not permitted at Proposal Clarification. The Proposal Evaluation Team will ask each Provider questions. These questions may be developed from the Written Review and will be specific questions targeted to each Proposal. It is anticipated that the questions and answers will take most of the time allotted. The Proposal Clarification will take place on the date specified in Section I Overview. Providers will be invited to attend and be scheduled a specific time. The Proposal representative(s) attending the Proposal Clarification shall be technically qualified to respond to questions related to the proposal. Providers are strongly encouraged to bring staff who can answer questions regarding the programmatic components and staff who can answer questions regarding the budget. Delaware recognizes that these may be different staff. All the Provider's costs associated with participation in Proposal Clarification are the Provider’s responsibility. While the Proposal Clarification will be the primary venue to clarify uncertainties or eliminate confusion, the Proposal Evaluation Team or Delaware staff designee at the request of the Proposal Evaluation Team may contact any Provider in order to clarify uncertainties or eliminate confusion concerning the contents of a proposal. Proposals may not be modified as a result of any such clarification request.

c. Proposal Selection Criteria: The Proposal Evaluation Team shall assign up to the maximum number of points for each Evaluation Item to each of the proposing vendor’s proposals. All assignments of points shall be at the sole discretion of the Proposal Evaluation Team. The proposals shall contain the essential information on which the award decision shall be made. The information required to be submitted in response to this RFP has been determined by the State of Delaware to be essential for use by the Team in the bid evaluation and award process. Therefore, all instructions contained in this RFP shall be met to qualify as a responsive and responsible contractor and participate in the Proposal Evaluation Team’s consideration for award. Proposals which do not meet or comply with the instructions of this RFP may be considered non- conforming and deemed non-responsive and subject to disqualification at the sole discretion of the Team. The team reserves the right to the following. Vendors are encouraged to the evaluation criteria (Criteria Weight) and to provide a response that addresses each of the scored items. Evaluators will not be able to make assumptions about a vendor’s capabilities so the responding vendor should be detailed in their response.

a. Select for contract or for negotiations a proposal other than the lowest cost.

b. Reject any and all proposals or portions of proposals received in response to this RFP or to make no award or issue a new RFP.

c. Waive or modify any information, irregularity, or inconsistency in proposals received.

d. Request modification to proposals from any or all vendors during the contract review and negotiation.

e. Negotiate any aspect of the proposal with any vendor and negotiate with more than one vendor at the same time.

f. Select more than one vendor pursuant to 29 Del. C. § 6986. Such selection will be based on the following criteria. Such selection will be on the type of services and programming being offered and the existing needs for services and programming for occupational skills training.

16. Criteria Weight:

Demonstrated Ability-

· Provider demonstrates the ability to operate like or similar high-quality programs that provided similar services as being solicited in this RFP.

· Provider demonstrates the ability to service the number of youth proposed.

Program Design-

· Proposed Program describes how Provider will implement all required Design Components outlined in this RFP.

Work Experiences-

· Proposal demonstrates that youth receive a meaningful experience that provides the opportunity to learn positive work behaviors, gain skills, promotes responsibility, teamwork, and a strong work ethic, on top of earning a good wage over the summer months.

Partnerships-

· Provider demonstrates the existence or ability to establish solid relationships with local employers and community-based organizations to serve as work experience sites.

· Provider demonstrates the existence of relationships with other partners that enhance the proposed program.

17. References:

The Evaluation Team may contact any customer of the vendor, whether or not included in the vendor’s reference list, and use such information in the evaluation process. Additionally, the State of Delaware may choose to visit existing installations of comparable systems, which may or may not include vendor personnel. If the vendor is involved in such site visits, the State of Delaware will pay travel costs only for State of Delaware personnel for these visits.

18. Attachments:

The below attachments shall be considered part of the solicitation:

· Attachment 1 – Non-Collusion Statement

· Attachment 2 – Exceptions

· Attachment 3 – Confidentiality and Proprietary Information

· Attachment 4 – Business References

· Attachment 5 – Subcontractor Information Form

· Attachment 6 – Monthly Usage Report

· Attachment 7 – Subcontracting (2nd Tier Spend) Report

· Attachment 8– Office of Supplier Diversity Application

19. Appendices:

The below appendices shall be considered part of the solicitation:

· Appendix A – Minimum Criteria for Response

· Appendix B – Proposal Submission Template and Budget Template

· Appendix C – Definitions

· Appendix D – Terms and Conditions

· Appendix E – In-Demand Occupation List

IMPORTANT – PLEASE NOTE

· Attachments 2, 3, 4, and 5 must be included in your proposal

· Attachment 6 must be included in your proposal if subcontractors will be involved

· Attachments 7 and 8 represent required reporting on the part of awarded vendors. Those bidders receiving an award will be provided with active spreadsheets for reporting.

REQUIRED REPORTING

One of the primary goals in administering this contract is to keep accurate records regarding its actual value/usage. This information is essential in order to update the contents of the contract and to establish proper bonding levels if they are required. The integrity of future contracts revolves around our ability to convey accurate and realistic information to all interested parties.

A complete and accurate usage report (Attachment 7) shall be furnished in an Excel format and submitted electronically, upon request, detailing the purchasing of all items and/or services on this contract. The reports shall be completed in Excel format, using the example in Attachment 7, and submitted upon request to the Contract Specialist. Submitted reports shall cover the full month, contain accurate descriptions of the products, goods or services procured, purchasing agency information, quantities procured, and prices paid. Reports are required upon request, including those with “no spend”. Any exception to this requirement or failure to submit complete reports upon request, or in the format required, may result in corrective action, up to and including the possible cancellation of the award. Failure to provide the report with the minimum required information may also negate any contract extension clauses. Additionally, Vendors who are determined to be in default of this mandatory report requirement may have such conduct considered against them, in assessment of responsibility, in the evaluation of future proposals.

– Reporting is required by Executive Order.

In accordance with Executive Order 49, the State of Delaware is committed to supporting its diverse business industry and population. The successful Vendor will be required to accurately report on the participation by Diversity Suppliers which includes minority (MBE), woman (WBE), veteran owned business (VOBE), or service disabled veteran owned business (SDVOBE) under this awarded contract. The reported data elements shall include but not be limited to; name of state contract/project, the name of the Diversity Supplier, Diversity Supplier contact information (phone, email), type of product or service provided by the Diversity Supplier and any minority, women, veteran, or service disabled veteran certifications for the subcontractor (State OSD certification, Minority Supplier Development Council, Women’s Business Enterprise Council, VetBiz.gov). The format used for Subcontracting 2nd Tier report is shown as in Attachment 8.

Accurate 2nd Tier reports shall be submitted to the contracting Agency’s contract manager on the 15th (or next business day) of the month following each quarterly period. For consistency quarters shall be considered to end the last day of March, June, September, and December of each calendar year. Contract spend during the covered periods shall result in a report even if the contract has expired by the report due date.

RFP#: LAB-25R-SSYEP-001 Attachment 2 RFP NAME: State Summer Youth Employment Program

NON-COLLUSION STATEMENT

This is to certify that the undersigned vendor has neither directly nor indirectly, entered into any agreement, participated in any collusion, or otherwise take any action in restraint of free competitive bidding in connection with this proposal, and further certifies that it is not a sub-contractor to another Vendor who also submitted a proposal as a primary vendor in response to this solicitation.

NOTE: The signature must be of the authorized representative who may legally enter his/her organization into a formal contract with the State of Delaware.

Company Name: ___________________________________________________________________ Company Address: __________________________________________________________________ Phone Number: ____________________________ Email: __________________________________ FAX: ______________________________________ Federal EIN: _____________________________ State Business License Number: _________________________________________________________ Authorized Representative: First Name:____________________ Last Name:___________________ Authorized Representative: Signature:______________________________ Date:________________ Authorized Representative: Title:___________________________________

*The above table is for informational and statistical use only.

Purchase Orders should be sent to:

Company Name: ________________________________________________________ Address: _______________________________________________________________ Point of Contact: Name: _______________________________ Contact Information: Phone: ___________________________ Email: ______________ Attachment 2 Continued:

AFFIRMATION: Within the past five years (5), has your firm, any affiliate, any predecessor, company or entity, owner, director, officer, partner, or proprietor been the subject of a Federal, State or Local Government Suspension or Debarment?

Yes: _____ No:_____ If yes, Please Explain: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THIS PAGE SHALL HAVE ORIGINAL SIGNATURE, BE NOTARIZED AND BE RETURNED WITH YOUR PROPOSAL

First Name: _____________________ Last Name: _____________________________ Signature: _______________________________

SWORN TO AND SUBSCRIBED BEFORE ME: This ____________ Day of ___________ 20 _____ Notary Public: First Name: ____________ Last Name: ___________________ Commission Expiration Date: _______________________________________ City of: _____________________ County of: ________________________ State of: _____________

RFP#: LAB-25R-SSYEP-001 Attachment 3 RFP Name: State Summer Youth Employment Program

EXCEPTION FORM

Proposals must include all exceptions to the specifications, terms or conditions contained in this RFP. If the vendor is submitting the proposal without exceptions, please state so below.

____: By placing an X on the line to the left, the vendor acknowledges that they take no exceptions to the specifications, terms or conditions found in this RFP.

*Vendor may use additional pages as necessary, but the format shall be the same as provided above.

RFP#: LAB-25R-SSYEP-001 Attachment 4

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION FORM

___: By placing an X on the line to the left, the vendor acknowledges that they are not providing any information they declare to be confidential or proprietary for the purpose of production under 29 Del. C. Ch. 100, Delaware Freedom of Information Act.

Confidentiality and Proprietary Information

*Vendor may use additional pages as necessary, but the format shall be the same as provided above.

RFP# LAB-25R-SSYEP-001 Attachment 5

BUSINESS REFERENCES

List a minimum of three business references, including the following information. All information is required.

Business Reference #1:

Contact Name and Title:

Business Name:

Business Address:

City, State, Zip Code:

Email:

Phone #:

Years Associated:

Type of Work Performed

Business Reference #2:

Contact Name and Title:

Business Name:

Business Address:

City, State, Zip Code:

Email:

Phone #:

Years Associated:

Type of Work Performed

Business Reference #3:

Contact Name and Title:

Business Name:

Business Address:

City, State, Zip Code:

Email:

Phone #:

Years Associated:

Type of Work Performed

*State of Delaware personnel may not be used as references.

RFP# LAB-25R-SSYEP-001 Attachment 6

SUBCONTRACTOR INFORMATION FORM

RFP#: ____________________

Proposing Vendor Name: _____________________ Mailing Address: _______________________________________________________________ Subcontractor Information:

Company Name: _____________________________ Mailing Address: ________________________________________________________________ Phone Number: _________________________________________________________________ Company OSD Classification/Certification Number: _____________________________________ *Place an X on the line to left of any that apply.

____: Women Business Enterprise (WBE) ____: Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) ____: Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) ____: Veteran Owned Business Enterprise (VBE) ____: Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Business Enterprise (SDVBE) Description of Work to be completed by Subcontractor: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Prime Vendor Authorized Rep: First Name: _________________ Last Name: ______________________ Signature: _________________________ Date: ______________________ Title: _________________ Subcontract Authorized Rep: First Name: _________________ Last Name: _______________________ Signature: ________________________ Date: __________________: Title: _____________________

*Vendor may use additional pages, but format will remain the same as above.

*Vendor must use separate form for each subcontractor.

RFP#: LAB-25R-SSYEP-001 Attachment 7 RFP Name: State Summer Youth Employment Program

STATE OF DELAWARE MONTLY USEAGE REPORT

Sample Report – For illustration purposes only

*This report will be maintained by the vendor and furnished upon request of the State. It shall contain the six-digit department and organization code for each agency and school district.

RFP#: LAB-25R-SSYEP-001 Attachment 8

SUBCONTRACTOR 2nd TIER REPORT Sample Report – For Illustration Purposes Only

Subcontracting (2nd tier) Quarterly Report

Prime Name:

Report Start Date:

Contract Name/Number

Report End Date:

Contact Name:

Today's Date:

Contact Phone:

Vendor Name*

Vendor TaxID*

Contract Name/ Number*

Vendor Contact Name*

Vendor Contact Phone*

Report Start Date*

Report End Date*

Amount Paid to Subcontractor*

Work Performed by Subcontractor UNSPSC

M/WBE

Certifying Agency Veteran /Service Disabled Veteran Certifying Agency

2nd tier Supplier Name

2nd tier Supplier Address

2nd tier Supplier Phone Number

2nd tier Supplier email

Description of Work Performed 2nd tier Sup plier Tax Id

*The completed report shall be saved in an Excel format, and submitted to the following email address:…