MARE RFP 19-2164.docx

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Bureau of Grants and Purchasing

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

Proposal Submission

All proposals with related material must be submitted electronically using the SIGMA Vendor Self Service (VSS) website. For technical assistance when entering proposals, contact the State of Michigan VSS Support Center at (888) 734-9749 or SIGMA- Vendor@michigan.gov.

The Contractor (awarded bidder) must deliver human services to referred clients in the above geographic area, and have direct service providers based within 75 miles of the geographic area for the duration of the contract.

Disqualifying Criteria:

The bidder will be disqualified and the proposal will not be reviewed if there is failure to:

Submit a complete proposal and Schedule B Pricing Matrix to the SIGMA VSS website on or before the bid closing date and time specified.

Stay at or below the maximum award amount per contract year, if provided.

Meet the Mandatory Minimum Requirements identified in the RFP.

Proposals from bidders who are current state of Michigan employees are also disqualified and will not be reviewed.

RFP Number: 190000002164

From this point on, DO NOT USE TAB. Unprotect the format and press CONTROL F to move to the next typing location (stop code). Protect the format again after the last stop code at the end of Category D in Section IV.

Additional Information:

For purposes of this RFP, the proposed unit rate should be based on $4,185,000.00 ($1,395,000.00 each fiscal year). In addition to the amounts listed above, $15,000.00 ($5,000.00 each fiscal year) is allocated for specific assistance.

Specific assistance costs should be considered actual cost components and should not be included in the proposed unit rate.

Unit rate calculations must take into consideration all direct and indirect costs related to performing the service, including mandated insurance costs.

Authority:

Completion:

Penalty:

P.A. 2080 of 1939.

Mandatory.

Agreement Invalid The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) will not discriminate against any individual or group because of race, religion, age, national origin, color, height, weight, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, political beliefs or disability. If you need help with reading, writing, hearing, etc., under the Americans with Disabilities Act, you are invited to make your needs known to a MDHHS office in your area.

Table of Contents

This Request for Proposal (RFP) provides interested bidders with sufficient information to prepare and submit proposals for consideration by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and contains the following sections:

Section I Proposal Instructions

Section II Description of Service Specifications

Section III Instructions for Bidders

Section IV Proposal

Section V Confidential Treatment Form (CT Form)

Section I

PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

1. Questions/Inquiries

Questions regarding the content of this RFP must be made by email to Laura Baldwin at BaldwinL1@michigan.gov on or before June 19, 2019. MDHHS staff will not respond to questions regarding the content of the RFP that are telephoned in. Questions may be discussed verbally at the pre-proposal conference, if one is scheduled. MDHHS will compile all relevant questions and answers and post these as well as any other clarifications or revisions to the initial RFP onto the SIGMA Vendor Self Service (VSS) website. Interested bidders are advised to monitor the website regularly.

2. Amendment to the RFP

MDHHS may modify this RFP at any time. Modifications will be posted on the SIGMA VSS website via a “proposal amendment.” This is the only method by which the RFP may be modified. Amendments posted before the deadline submission date may include documentations such as questions and answers, revisions, and/or clarifications to the initial RFP. Amendments posted after the deadline submission date may include documentation such as the award recommendation letter.

3. Response Preparation

Bidders must follow these proposal instructions and provide a complete response. Uniform Resource Locator (URL) links to information will not be considered for evaluation. Bidder should include its company name in the header of all response documents.

4. Delivery of Proposal

The bidder must submit its proposal, all attachments, and any modifications or withdrawals electronically through the SIGMA VSS website. The price proposal should be saved separately from all other proposal documents. The bidder should submit all documents in a modifiable (native) format (examples include, but are not limited to: Microsoft Word or Excel and Google Docs or Sheets). In addition to submitting documents in a modifiable format, the bidder may also submit copies of documents in PDF. Attachment file size is limited to 6 MB per document. Bidder’s failure to submit a proposal as required may result in disqualification. The proposal and attachments must be fully uploaded and submitted prior to the due date identified on the SIGMA VSS website. Do not wait until the last minute to submit a proposal, as the SIGMA VSS system requires the creation of an account and entry of certain information, in addition to uploading and submitting the materials. The SIGMA VSS system will not allow a proposal to be submitted after the due date and time, even if a portion of the proposal has been uploaded.

Questions on how to submit information or how to navigate in the SIGMA VSS system can be answered by calling (517) 373-4111 or (888) 734-9749. MDHHS will not provide assistance related to the submittal of the proposal and all attachments on the day of the proposal deadline. Responsibility for a complete submission lies with the bidder.

5. Evaluation Process

In awarding the contract, proposals will be evaluated by a committee chaired by the MDHHS Bureau of Grants and Purchasing (BGP). Only those proposals receiving a score of 80 points or more will be considered for award. All qualified proposals will be evaluated based on rating criteria identified in the RFP.

MDHHS may utilize all bidder information, without regard to a proposal’s technical score, to determine fair market value for goods or services sought. MDHHS is not obligated to accept the lowest price proposal. If applicable, MDHHS’ evaluation will include consideration of a bidder’s qualified disabled veteran/service-disabled veteran owned business (QDV/SDVOB) status under MCL 18.1261(8). Additional information on the SDVOB preference is available at this Contract Connect website.

MDHHS strongly encourages strict adherence to the standard terms. MDHHS reserves the right to deem a proposal non-responsive for failure to accept the standard terms. Nevertheless, the bidder may submit proposed changes to the standard terms in track changes (i.e., visible edits) with an explanation of the bidder’s need for each proposed change. Failure to include track changes with an explanation of the bidder’s need for the proposed change constitutes the bidder’s acceptance of the standard terms. General statements, such as that the bidder reserves the right to negotiate the standard terms, may be considered non-responsive.

MDHHS reserves the right to establish the criteria by which it will evaluate each bidder’s response, and by which it will determine the most responsive, capable, and qualified bidder(s). In addition to cost, other principal factors may be considered in evaluating proposals relative to:

. Reliability . Bidder’s past performance . Bidder’s ability to respond to all requirements outlined in the RFP . Bidder’s ability to maintain a presence in providing services . Financial stability . Continuity and stability in provision of service . Knowledge transfer activities

If MDHHS determines in its sole discretion that contracting with or awarding a contract to a bidder presents an unacceptable financial risk to MDHHS, MDHHS reserves the right to not award a contract to that bidder.

MDHHS may but is not required to conduct an on-site visit to tour and inspect the bidder's facilities; require an oral presentation of the bidder's proposal; conduct interviews, research, reference checks, and background checks; and request additional price concessions at any point during the evaluation process.

6. Notice of Deficiency

MDHHS reserves the right to issue a Notice of Deficiency to bidders if MDHHS determines after the proposal deadline that a portion of the RFP was deficient, unclear, or ambiguous. Failure to respond to a Notice of Deficiency timely may be cause for disqualification.

7. Clarification Request

MDHHS reserves the right to issue a Clarification Request to a bidder to clarify its proposal if MDHHS determines the proposal is not clear. Failure to respond to a Clarification Request timely may be cause for disqualification.

8. Reservations

MDHHS reserves the right to:

a. Disqualify a bidder for failure to follow these instructions.

b. Discontinue the RFP process at any time for any or no reason. The issuance of an RFP, preparation and submission of a proposal, and MDHHS’s subsequent receipt and evaluation of a proposal does not commit MDHHS to award a contract, even if all the requirements in the RFP are met.

c. Consider late proposals if: (i) no other proposals are received; (ii) no complete proposals are received; (iii) MDHHS received complete proposals, but the proposals did not pass the evaluation process; or (iv) the award process fails to result in an award.

d. Consider an otherwise disqualified proposal, if no other proposals are received.

e. Disqualify a proposal based on: (1) information provided by the bidder in response to this RFP; (2) the bidder’s failure to complete registration on SIGMA VSS; or (3) if it is determined that a bidder purposely or willfully submitted false or misleading information in response to this RFP.

f. Consider prior performance with the State in making its award decision.

g. Consider overall economic impact to the State when evaluating proposal pricing and in the final award recommendation. This includes but is not limited to: considering principal place of performance, number of Michigan citizens employed or potentially employed, dollars paid to Michigan residents, Michigan capital investments, job creation, tax revenue implications, and economically disadvantaged businesses.

h. Consider total-cost-of-ownership factors (e.g., transition and training costs) when evaluating proposal pricing and in the final award recommendation.

i. Refuse to award a contract to any bidder that has failed to pay State taxes or has outstanding debt with the State.

j. Enter into negotiations with one or more bidders on price, terms, technical requirements, or other deliverables.

k. Award multiple, optional-use contracts, or award by contract activity.

l. Evaluate the proposal outside the scope identified in Section 5, Evaluation Process, if MDHHS receives only one proposal.

m. Evaluate proposals using a method that establishes the relative importance of each deliverable.

9. Award Recommendation

The contract will be awarded to the responsive and responsible bidder who offers the best value to the State, as determined by the State. Best value will be determined by the bidder meeting the minimum point threshold and offering the best combination of price and quality, as demonstrated by its proposal and other principal factors. MDHHS will post a Notice of Recommendation for Award on the SIGMA VSS website, which will appear as a Notice of Intent to Award to the original solicitation.

10. Debrief Meetings and Protest

MDHHS will post a Notice of Recommendation for Award, which will provide instructions on how to request a debrief meeting.

Bidders who wish to initiate a protest of the award must submit the protest in writing no later than 3:00 p.m. on the fifth business day after the notice of recommendation for award is published on the SIGMA VSS website. MDHHS reserves the right to adjust this timing and will publish any change on the SIGMA VSS system.

Submit protests via email to MDHHS-BGP@michigan.gov. Include “Protest” in the email subject line. All protests must include the bid number.

Additional information about the protest process is available at the Contract Connect website under the “Programs and Policies” link.

11. State Administrative Board

Contracts equal to or greater than $500,000 require approval by the State Administrative Board. The State Administrative Board’s decision is final; however, its approval does not constitute a contract. The award process is not complete until the awarded Contractor receives a contract fully executed by all parties.

12. General Conditions

The State will not be liable for any costs, expenses, or damages incurred by a bidder participating in this solicitation. The bidder agrees that its proposal will be considered an offer to do business with the State in accordance with its proposal, including the Standard Terms, and that its proposal will be irrevocable and binding for a period of 90 calendar days from date of submission. If a contract is awarded to the bidder, the State may, at its option, incorporate any part of the bidder’s proposal into a contract. This RFP is not an offer to enter into a contract. This RFP may not provide a complete statement of the State’s environment, or contain all matters upon which agreement must be reached. Other than verified trade secrets, proposals submitted via SIGMA VSS are the State’s property.

13. Confidential Treatment Form and the Freedom of Information Act

All portions of the bidder’s proposal and resulting contract are subject to disclosure as required under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), MCL 15.231, et seq. However, some information may be exempt from disclosure. Under MCL 18.1261(13)(b), records containing “a trade secret as defined under section 2 of the uniform trade secrets act, 1998 PA 448, MCL 445.1902,” are exempt from disclosure under FOIA. In addition, “financial or proprietary information” submitted with a bidder’s proposal is exempt from disclosure under FOIA. A bidder’s failure to comply with this Section is grounds for rejecting a bidder’s proposal as non-responsive. As a part of its proposal, each bidder must follow the procedure below.

a. SUBMIT A COMPLETED “CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT FORM” (CT FORM) WITH YOUR BID. Completion and submission of the CT Form is required regardless of whether the bidder seeks confidential treatment of information. Failure to submit a completed CT Form may be cause for disqualification from the solicitation process.

i. Complete and sign Section 1 of the CT Form if the bidder does NOT request confidential treatment of information contained in its proposal; or

ii. Complete and sign Section 2 of the CT Form if the bidder requests confidential treatment of certain information. Bidder must also submit a “Public Copy” of the proposal with the trade secret, financial, and proprietary information redacted and clearly labeled as the “Public Copy.”

b. FOIA REQUESTS. If a FOIA request is made for a bidder’s proposal, the Public Copy may be distributed to the public along with the bidder’s CT Form. The CT Form is a public document and serves as an explanation for the redactions to the Public Copy. Do not put any trade secret, financial, or proprietary information in the CT Form. Do not redact the CT Form itself.

c. NO ADVICE. The State will not advise a bidder as to the nature or content of documents entitled to protection from disclosure under FOIA or other laws, as to the interpretation of such laws, or as to the definition of trade secret or financial or proprietary information. Nothing contained in this provision will modify or amend requirements and obligations imposed on the State by FOIA or other applicable law.

d. FAILURE TO REQUEST CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT. Failure to request material be treated as confidential as specified herein relieves the State, its agencies, and personnel from any responsibility for maintaining material in confidence.

e. Bids containing a request to maintain an entire proposal as confidential may be rejected as non-responsive. Bidders may not request confidential treatment with respect to resumes, pricing, and marketing materials. The State reserves the right to determine whether material designated as exempt by a bidder falls under MCL 18.1261 or other applicable FOIA exemptions. If a FOIA request is made for materials that the bidder has identified as trade secret, financial, or proprietary information, the State has the final authority to determine whether the materials are exempt from disclosure under FOIA.

f. Bidder forever releases the State, its departments, subdivisions, officers, and employees from all claims, rights, actions, demands, damages, liabilities, expenses and fees, which arise out of or relate to the disclosure of all or a portion of bidder’s proposal submitted under this RFP. Bidder must defend, indemnify and hold the State, its departments, subdivisions, officers, and employees harmless, without limitation, from and against all actions, claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, attorney fees, and expenses (including those required to establish the right to indemnification), arising out of or relating to any FOIA request, including potential litigation and appeals, related to the portion of bidder’s proposal submitted under this RFP that bidder has identified as a trade secret, or financial or proprietary information. The State will notify bidder in writing if indemnification is sought. The State is entitled to: (i) regular updates on proceeding status; (ii) participate in the defense of the proceeding; (iii) employ its own counsel; and to (iv) retain control of the defense, or any portion thereof, if the State deems necessary. Bidder will not, without the State’s written consent (not to be unreasonably withheld), settle, compromise, or consent to the entry of any judgment in or otherwise seek to terminate any claim, action, or proceeding. If a State employee, official, or law is involved or challenged, the State may control the defense of that portion of the claim. Any litigation activity on behalf of the State, or any of its subdivisions under this Section, must be coordinated with the Department of Attorney General. An attorney designated to represent the State may not do so until approved by the Michigan Attorney General and appointed as a Special Assistant Attorney General.

14. Rights to Information Contained in Proposals

All proposals will be considered the property of MDHHS.

15. Independent Price Determination

a. By submission of a proposal, the bidder certifies:

1) The prices of the proposal have been arrived at independently without consultation, communication, or agreement, for the purpose of restricting competition, as to any matter relating to such prices with any other bidder or with any competitor;

2) Unless otherwise required by law, the price quotation in the proposal has not and will not be knowingly disclosed by the bidder to any potential bidder;

3) No attempt has been made or will be made by the bidder to induce any other person or agency to submit or not to submit a proposal for the purpose of restricting competition;

4) The price quoted is not higher than that given to the general public for the same service.

b. The person who submits the proposal certifies that:

1) She or he is the person in the bidder's organization responsible within that organization for the decision as to prices being offered in the proposal, and that she or he has not participated, and will not participate in any action contrary to a. 1 through 4 above; or

2) He or she is not the person in the bidder's organization responsible within that organization for the decision as to the prices being offered in the proposal, but that he or she has been authorized in writing to act as agent for the persons responsible for such decision in certifying that such persons have not participated, and will not participate, in any action contrary to a. 1 through 4 above, and as their agent does hereby so certify; and that he or she has not participated, and will not participate in any action contrary to a. 1 through 4 above.

c. A proposal will not be considered for award if the bidder is found to be noncompliant with any part of Item 6., Independent Price Determination, unless the bidder furnishes a signed statement with the proposal, which sets forth in detail the circumstance of the disclosure and the BGP determines that such disclosure was not made for the purpose of restricting competition.

16. Subcontracting

Subcontractors shall be subject to all conditions and provisions of the contract including Internet Criminal History Access Tool (ICHAT) and Central Registry background checks when applicable.

If subcontracting, the Contractor must obligate the subcontractors to maintain the confidentiality of MDHHS’ client information in conformance with state and federal requirements.

If portions of the services are being subcontracted, the bidder must identify the services the subcontractor will perform and provide all information requested, as it applies to both the bidder and the subcontractor(s).

MDHHS may, at its discretion, require information on the process of an awarded subcontractor proposal.

A Contractor is responsible for the performance of any subcontractors who are held to the same standard of quality and performance as the Contractor. Evaluators of proposals will consider the qualifications of both the Contractor and subcontractor when making contract award recommendations.

17. Price

Prices quoted are firm for the initial term of the contract.

18. Standard Terms

Awards made as a result of this RFP will require execution of a contract with MDHHS. The contract will contain standard terms. A copy of the standard terms was posted on SIGMA VSS as a separate attachment with this RFP.

19. Reserved Use this section only when the purchase will be paid for in whole or in part with funds obtained from the federal government. If no federal funding will be used, delete all language in the section, including the section title, and replace with Reserved.

20. Options to Renew

At the discretion of MDHHS, an awarded contract may be renewed in writing by an amendment not less than 30 days before its expiration. The contract may be renewed for up to five additional one-year periods.

21. Criminal Background Check

If the resulting contract will be with an individual, MDHHS will complete the criminal background check on the Contractor, and the following language will be included in the contract:

The Contractor shall notify MDHHS in writing of criminal convictions (felony or misdemeanor), pending felony charges, or placement on the Central Registry as a perpetrator, at hire or within 10 days of the event after hiring.

If the resulting contract will be with an agency, the following language will be included in the contract:

As a condition of this Contract, the Contractor certifies that the Contractor shall, prior to any individual performing work under this Contract, conduct or cause to be conducted an Internet Criminal History Access Tool (ICHAT) check and a national and state sex offender registry check for each new employee, employee, subcontractor, subcontractor employee or volunteer who, under this Contract, works directly with clients or has access to client information.

Information about ICHAT can be found at http://apps.michigan.gov/ichat.

The Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry website address is http://www.mipsor.state.mi.us.

The National Sex Offender Public website address is http://www.nsopw.gov.

As a condition of this Contract, the Contractor certifies that the Contractor shall, prior to any individual performing work under this Contract, conduct or cause to be conducted a Central Registry (CR) check for each new employee, employee, subcontractor, subcontractor employee, or volunteer who, under this Contract, works directly with children.

Information about CR can be found at http://www.mi.gov/dhs/0,1607,7-124-5452_7119_48330-180331--,00.html.

The Contractor shall require each new employee, employee, subcontractor, subcontractor employee, or volunteer who, under this Contract, works directly with clients or who has access to client information to notify the Contractor in writing of criminal convictions (felony or misdemeanor), pending felony charges, or placement on the Central Registry as a perpetrator, at hire or within 10 days of the event after hiring.

The Contractor further certifies that the Contractor shall not submit claims for or assign duties under this Contract to any new employee, employee, subcontractor, subcontractor employee, or volunteer based on a determination by the Contractor that the results of a positive ICHAT and/or a CR response or reported criminal felony conviction or perpetrator identification make the individual ineligible to provide the services.

The Contractor must have a written policy describing the criteria on which its determinations shall be made and must document the basis for each determination. The Contractor may consider the recency and type of crime when making a determination. Failure to comply with this provision may be cause for immediate cancellation of this Contract. In addition, the Contractor must further have a clearly defined written policy regarding acceptable screening practices of new staff members and volunteers who have direct access to clients and/or client’s personal information. These screening practices serve to protect the organization and its clients. The Contractor must also assure that any subcontractors have both of these written policies.

If MDHHS determines that an individual provided services under this Contract for any period prior to completion of the required checks as described above, MDHHS may require repayment of that individual's salary, fringe benefits, and all related costs of employment for the period that the required checks had not been completed.

22. State of Michigan Employees

State of Michigan employees may not act as bidders. Proposals from bidders who are current state of Michigan employees will be disqualified and will not be reviewed.

Policy in Civil Service Rule 2-8, Ethical Standards and Conduct, states an employee cannot represent or act as an agent for any private interests, whether for compensation or otherwise, in any transaction in which the state has a direct and substantial interest and which could reasonably be expected to result in a conflict between the employee’s private interests and official state responsibilities.

Section II

DESCRIPTION OF SERVICE SPECIFICATIONS

Introduction

The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to procure Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE) services that will assist the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ (MDHHS) Children’s Services Agency (CSA) in making adoptive placements for children in the state’s care by: (a) providing, operating and maintaining a statewide electronic exchange and tracking system for all children whose goal is adoption; (b) assisting to identify adoptive families for waiting children in Michigan; (c) publishing a quarterly recruitment periodical of available children; (d) maintaining a registry of approved adoptive families seeking to adopt children from foster care; (e) identifying preliminary matches between a child and approved prospective adoptive families; (f) videotaping of children for specialized recruitment; (g) publishing quarterly newsletters for adoption professionals, families, and youth; (h) assisting local communities in developing adoption recruitment activities; (i) coordinating the Michigan Heart Gallery recruitment effort; (j) facilitating a youth advisory board; (k) facilitating statewide MDHHS Adoption Oversight Committee and related workgroups; (l) providing intake and referral services for families interested in adoption; (m) providing Adoption Navigator services; and (n) providing Family Match Support Services.

Background

Both state and federal law require adoption recruitment for children placed in foster care through local and national exchanges. A portion of Michigan’s IV-E and IV-B plan requires adoption recruitment. Children who are available for adoption are referred to, and listed with, MARE. MARE is a website that includes a professional photo and profile gallery that spotlights Michigan children in foster care who are waiting for adoptive families. The website allows the quick and efficient connection of in-state caseworkers with families who are seeking to adopt. MARE is the only adoption exchange serving exclusively the state of Michigan. Recruitment for children in need of permanent adoptive families is essential to providing permanency for children in a timely manner in accordance with the Adoption and Safe Families Act.

1. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

1.1. Client Eligibility Criteria

normally by funding source or program standards

a. Definition of Eligibility normally by funding source or program standards

Children and youth in Michigan with a legal status of permanent state court ward after the termination of parental rights who need adoptive homes; prospective adoptive families for children in the foster care system; and adoption agencies that provide adoption services for children awaiting adoption from the foster care system.

b. Determination of Eligibility

The Contractor shall determine eligibility. The Contractor must consult with MDHHS when clarification regarding eligibility is required.

1.2. Reserved

Use the referral process below or enter an appropriate referral process.

1.3 Separation of Services

The Contractor shall perform all MARE services as described in this Contract, separate from any adoption placement services for children/youth and families. If the Contractor has a contract in place or develops a contract with MDHHS to perform foster care and/or adoption placement services, staff involved in the provision of adoption or foster care services shall not perform the services and activities described in this RFP without prior approval from MDHHS CSA. This separation is intended to prevent the Contractor from gaining an unfair advantage in access to information or to referrals of children/youth registered on the MARE website.

1.4 Mandatory Minimum Requirements

Successful bidders must meet the following minimum requirements to be eligible for an award:

a. Direct Human Service:

1) Have five years’ experience in identifying adoptive homes and facilitating adoptive placements for children in the child welfare system; and

2) Have five years’ experience registering children and families and working with MARE; and

3) Be in good standing with MDHHS’ Division of Child Welfare Licensing as a licensed child placing agency; and

4) Have five years’ experience managing web development, web programs, and photo listings; and

5) Have three years’ experience in creating promotional videos on youth specifically for recruitment efforts; and

6) Have three years’ experience working with state and national adoption exchanges.

b. Technical Specifications:

1) Specific Standards and/or Certifications Enterprise IT Policies, Standards and Procedures All Hosted Services provided by the Contractor must comply with all applicable State IT policies and standards listed at:

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dmb/1340_193162_7.pdf

2) Look and Feel Standard All Hosted Services provided by the Contractor must adhere to the Look and Feel Standards: www.michigan.gov/somlookandfeelstandards.

3) ADA Compliance The State is required to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and has adopted a formal policy regarding accessibility requirements for websites and software applications. The State is requiring that Bidder’s proposed Solution, where relevant, to level AA of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. Bidder may consider, where relevant, the W3C’s Guidance on Applying WCAG 2.0 to Non-Web Information and Communications Technologies (WCAG2ICT) for non-web software and content. The State may require that Bidder complete a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template for WCAG 2.0 (WCAG 2.0 VPAT) or other comparable document for the proposed Solution. http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dmb/1650.00_209567_7.pdf?20151026134621

4) Federation/Single Sign-on (SSO) Hosted Services must be capable of supporting the State standard federated single sign on with multi-factor authentication using SAML or comparable mechanisms.

5) End-User Operating Environment Below is the initial end user operating environment that must be supported by the Contractor. Contractor must keep pace with changes in standard operating environments (e.g. operating system upgrades, web browser upgrades, mobile OS upgrades).

The Hosted Services must not use any specialized or proprietary hardware, devices and/or computers. If the hosted services solution is provided via an on-premise basis a SOC 2 Type 2 report is required. In addition, application scanning process for vulnerabilities must be allowed. If the hosted services are provided via a cloud-based solution the cloud service provided must be FedRAMP certified and proof of the certification provided. The Services will not use any plugins and will not require Java, Flash, or Silverlight.

Provide Schedule E - a current Architectural Diagram to reflect any contract awarded as requested in Category E IT Technical Specifications.

i. Web Browsers Hosted Services must run under commonly used web browsers. At a minimum, the software must support Internet Explorer v9+, Chrome v36+, Firefox v31+, Safari v5.1+, and Edge 20.1+ under the Windows and iOS operating Solutions.

ii. Mobile Hosted Services must utilize responsive design practices to ensure the application is accessible via a mobile device. Solution must support iOS, Android and Windows Mobile platforms for mobile devices (e.g. cellular phones and tablets). All features must be able to perform via mobile devices.

6) Security Contractor must comply with the requirements set forth in Schedule C – Data Security Requirements and provide Schedule D – Disaster Recovery Plan as requested in Category E IT Technical Specifications.

Due to the Hosted Solution storing sensitive data, the Contractor and its Hosted Services must comply with the following, as set forth in Schedule C – Data Security Requirements:

i. Remain compliant with the NIST Special Publication 800.53 (most recent version) MOD controls. On a quarterly basis, the Contractor will review the NIST Special Publication 800.53 (most recent version) MOD for any updates or changes and implement those that apply to the Solution.

ii. Be encrypted at rest and in-flight using AES 256 bit or higher encryption, including database backups. The transport layer between the client’s web browser and the web server must be encrypted using TLS 1.2 connection with AES 256-bit certificate. The application model view control architecture must protect against SQL injection attacks and has internal firewall to validate database connections from the web server to the database. The Hosted Services must also have additional built-in security to validate that a jurisdiction only has access to that jurisdictions’ data.

iii. Provide multi-factor authentication. This level; however, does not require a hard token at contract execution. Some other method such as SMMS text with passcode, phone call with temporary passcode or other approved multi-factor authentication method must be used.

iv. Remain compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Policies. On a quarterly basis, the Contractor will review the HIPAA policies for any updates or changes and implement those that apply.

7) Capacity The Solution must automatically provide, at no additional cost, additional resources as the level of concurrent users increases without affecting performance.

8) Access Control and Audit

i. All user activities must be tracked within the Hosted Services and accessible to MDHHS via reports.

ii. Hosted Services must contain full web-based user and data management capabilities for local site administration as well as remote site administration through DHHS.

9) Data Migration Data migration services may be necessary.

10) Data Retention During the duration of the Contract and transition period, if the Hosted Services will be deployed in the Contractor’s cloud, or that of any Approved Subcontractor, it will have no database storage limitations, duration or maximum retention period. All Testing Services Data will be readily available for reporting and auditing purposes with no impact on pricing.

11) System Integration For mobile device specific application solutions, the Contractor must publish APIs though Contractor’s web service to allow communication between the Hosted Services and any current or future third-party applications that may need to share data.

2. CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES

2.1. Geographic Area

The Contractor shall provide services described herein in the following geographic area: Statewide.

2.2. Credentials

The Contractor must have substantial knowledge of the adoption process and the needs of adoptive families.

The Contractor shall ensure that appropriately credentialed or trained staff under its control, including Contractor employees and/or subcontractors, shall perform functions under this contract.

The MARE Program staff, with the exception of those performing administrative services, must possess, at a minimum a bachelor’s degree, preferably a master’s degree in a human service field and prior child welfare experience preferably working with adoptive parents and the adoption process.

Adoption Navigators shall have at least two years of experience as a successful adoptive parent.

The Adoption Navigator Program Supervisor shall have a bachelor’s degree in a human service field and at least two years’ experience working with adoptive and/or foster parents.

Identify minimum, specific qualifications, such as degrees, training, etc. of staff providing direct services, and, if applicable, any positions overseeing those staff in the credentials section of the contract.

2.3. Services to be Delivered

Service #1 of 5: Website and toll-free telephone line

a. Activities the Contractor shall perform:

1) Operate and maintain a public website, available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The Contractor shall maintain the MARE website, a professional and user-friendly electronic portal/solution containing resources and public information about adoption in the state of Michigan.

a) Notify MDHHS of website “down time” and document reasons for outages:

i. Document the program director’s approval of all “planned” outages and his/her notification of all “unplanned” (emergency) outages longer than one hour.

ii. A record of oversight approval/notification.

2) Operate a toIl-free telephone number to respond to the general public and to families who call MARE to inquire about the adoption process.

3) Develop and maintain web-based photo-listings and narrative descriptions for children available for adoption.

4) Develop and maintain web-based listings of prospective adoptive parents and families.

5) Maintain and monitor the child registration form for agencies to report individual recruitment plans for each child without an identified adoptive family resource. The information on the form will detail the specific recruitment efforts for each child including timelines and resources that will be utilized.

a) The individual recruitment plans shall include:

i. Name of child.

ii. Documentation the plan meets the set best practice standards.

b) Names of agencies that the Contractor has provided technical assistance to for the purpose of developing individual recruitment plans that meet the set standards.

i. Names of agencies that, after technical assistance was provided, did not comply with required changes to the individual plan.

c) Generate a statewide demographics report of registered children/youth by region. This information will be posted on the MARE website.

6) Create and maintain a statewide registry of children/youth without an identified adoptive family.

7) Operate a state ward tracking system that records and tracks the date of permanent wardship, progress towards achievement of adoption, dates of photo-listing and registration, goals other than adoption, time on “hold” status, and dates of necessary notification sent to adoption agencies, etc.

a) The MDHHS Adoption Manager or designee must sign and approve extensions of “Holds” over six months.

b) Verify reasons children are not listed (or are placed on “Hold”) with the caseworker and supervisor and report cases that do not have appropriate exceptions to the MDHHS Adoption Manager.

8) Perform potential child and family matching.

9) Track prospective adoptive family referrals. Provide a summary to MDHHS upon request.

a) Number of inquiries

b) Referral source

c) Demographics

d) Inquiry results

10) Track adoption disruption/dissolution. Provide a summary to MDHHS upon request.

11) Develop and administer surveys. Post results on the website following review by MDHHS.

a) MARE Services Satisfaction Survey

b) Michigan Adoption Services Satisfaction Survey A summary of surveys for each agency and MDHHS field office will be provided to the agency and offices. Copies of individual surveys will be sent to agencies and MDHHS Central and field office when requested.

12) Operate a web-based, user-friendly dashboard tracking system for adoption workers and adoption supervisors. This dashboard should include at minimum an inquiry tracking and response system, registration and update capability for adoption cases, and the ability to upload and submit required documentation (i.e. photos, signed consent booklets, recruitment plans, etc.).

a) Email reports to MDHHS upon request.

b. Volume of Service

Service #2 of 5: Recruitment

a. Activities the Contractor shall perform:

i. Document resulting inquiries to assess effectiveness of this recruitment tool.

a) Develop a written plan to administer specific assistance. The maximum amount per family per fiscal year is $200.00.

7) Sustain national adoption promotional activities.

b. Volume of Service

Service #3 of 5: Training, Information Sharing, and Administrative Support

a. Activities the Contractor shall perform:

a) professional adoption staff

b) foster, adoptive and prospective adoptive families

c) youth who are adopted or who are waiting to be adopted

b. Volume of Service

Service #4 of 5: Pre-Adoptive Family Support

a. Activities the Contractor shall perform:

a) Develop a written plan to administer specific assistance. Specific assistance shall only be used to assist the family in attending specialized training to support the family’s ability to meet a child’s need. The average amount per family per fiscal year is $100.00 with a maximum of $300.00.

3) Provide pre-adoptive family support and training for families waiting to adopt and for families who seek to adopt children with severe or complex needs.

b. Volume of Service

Service #5 of 5: Adoption Navigator Services

a. Activities the Contractor shall perform:

1) Adoption Navigators shall provide support, guidance, direction and information to prospective adoptive parents.

2) Respond to inquiries from prospective adoptive parents.

3) Follow up on inquiries from prospective adoptive parents.

4) Pre-screen inquiries from prospective adoptive parents.

5) Monitor inquiries from prospective adoptive parents.

b. Volume of Service

Include the following paragraph for Unit Rate/Actual Cost RFP’s only; otherwise delete.

2.4. Expected Performance Outcomes

During the Contract, the Contractor shall demonstrate measurable progress toward the achievement of the outcomes listed below:

Performance Measures:

2.5. Reporting Requirements

Reporting requirements should provide data sufficient to measure and analyze the performance outcomes in Section 2.4.

1) The Contractor shall submit the following reports inclusive of the information below by the 15th of each month:

a. MARE monthly report on each service category

b. Photo Listed Youth report inclusive of:

1. County of commitment and current county of residence

2. Length of time photo listed

3. Recruitment plans/updates to plans

4. Youth demographics (date of birth, race, gender, etc.)

5. Dates photo listed with Adopt US Kids

6. Date of digital video completed and/or updated

7. Status of inquiries along with family status and follow-up contact

c. Summary of youth on six months hold (by county/agency) inclusive of identified barriers contributing to the six month hold

d. Number of digital videos completed

e. Regional adoption events coordinated and adoption inquiries resulting from event

f. Summary describing the activities of current adoption promotion campaign(s) and the outcomes

g. A summary describing activities related to the maintenance of the Michigan Heart Gallery

h. List of all tracked families and their current status inclusive of the following:

1. Number of approved and listed pre-adoptive families on the registry

2. Summary of potential child approved family matches and results of potential matches

i. Summary of the pre-adoptive short-term family interventions including dates/times, training provided and specific assistance report

j. Dates and types of contacts by the Adoption Navigators

2) The Contractor shall submit a report quarterly by the 15th of the month identifying all training sessions, presenters and attendees to demonstrate compliance with training requirements

3) The Contractor shall submit every six months by the 15th of the month a summary of MARE Services…