NOI+325-25-610-034.docx

STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES SECTION

1237 W DIVIDE AVE, STE 1A

BISMARCK, ND 58501-1208

NOTICE OF INTENT TO MAKE A NONCOMPETITIVE PURCHASE

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 325-25-610-034

April 14, 2025

The state of North Dakota intends to make a purchase for which we believe there is no competition. The purpose of this notice is to determine if other sources are available and whether the procurement method is appropriate.

Vendors are permitted to submit bids or proposals for equivalent commodities or services in response to this notice. A party interested in providing these commodities or services is instructed to submit a written response to the Procurement Officer by the Response Deadline.

PURCHASING AGENCY: ND Department of Health & Human Services, Developmental Disabilities Section (State)

PURCHASE DESCRIPTION: State intends to make a noncompetitive purchase with the Intended Source to provide statewide monitoring of early intervention services and delivery of Technical Assistance (TA) to correct areas of noncompliance. Activities include: monitoring cases quarterly utilizing State’s case review tool and providing written and verbal feedback and recommendations to local programs; participating in monthly early intervention/family support video conferences to address current issues of concern; providing video-based conference-based training sessions concerning regulations, research, and methods; participating in early intervention quality enhancement team conference calls to identify compliance issues and coordinate TA and training activities; developing and delivering training sessions at statewide conferences; providing on-site TA to regions as identified annually; maintaining knowledge of national early intervention issues; and responding in a timely manner via telephone and email to questions from individual early intervention professionals.

The Intended Source’s TA providers must have a Ph.D. and a background in early intervention, family-centered practice, implementation science, designing professional development systems, and analyzing and collecting data at state and regional levels. TA providers must have five years’ experience and understanding in research and evidence-based practices around the delivery of Individuals with Disabilities Education (IDEA) Part C services. TA providers must have a strong connection and knowledge to national and international early intervention resources. TA providers must have experience providing consultation at the individual, program, regional, and state level.

INTENDED SOURCE:

Milestone Technical Assistance & Consulting, LLC 914 Boyd Drive Grand Forks, ND 58203

PRICE: The contract period is from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, with an estimated total budget of $310,000, as well an inflationary increase if legislatively approved. Upon satisfactory completion of the initial term, State reserves the right to execute up to six options to renew the Agreement under the same terms and conditions for a period of 12 months each. State may negotiate with the Intended Source to adjust the fixed price for each renewal period.

Additional funds may be used to expand the performance period, change the quantity being requested, or complete additional work within the scope of work outlined above and State reserves the right to amend any resulting Contract with these additional items and associated funding.

JUSTIFICATION: The Intended Source is the only known provider that meets the following qualifications: access to a variety of early intervention professionals with pediatric experience that must include, at a minimum, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language pathology, and early childhood special education; experience working in early intervention programs conducting multidisciplinary evaluations, developing Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSP), consulting with primary service providers, coaching families in a home-based delivery system, and fulfilling service coordination duties; experience coordinating and conducting developmental screenings; experience working with rural and tribal early childhood programs; knowledge of IDEA Part C statute and regulations; knowledge of latest research regarding early intervention evidence-based practice, including infant toddler mental health and early literacy issues; experience using North Dakota Therap; experience monitoring early intervention programs; and experience providing TA and training using adult education principles and distance-based technology.

The Intended Source’s staff meet the minimum qualifications as stated in the Purchase Description above.

QUESTIONS:

A vendor may contact the Procurement Officer to discuss whether its proposed solution meets the requirements. Submit any questions or requests for clarification to the Procurement Officer as soon as possible and before the Response Deadline.

Kayla Rahrich Procurement Officer E-mail: kaylamrahrich@nd.gov Telephone: 701-328-8929 TTY Users call: 7-1-1

RESPONSE FORMAT:

Vendors interested in submitting a response to this notice must provide the following information for consideration:

· Company Information: Provide the name of the firm, address, and website, if available.

· Contact Information: Provide the name of a contact person, telephone number, and email address.

· Specifications: Vendors are instructed to examine the Purchase Description included in this notice. When preparing your response to this notice, provide a point-by-point response to each of the described requirements. Provide detailed specifications demonstrating that the offered solution meets or exceeds the requirements stated in this notice. Provide any available documents and links to information available on the vendor’s website.

· Value-Added: Vendors may provide information about value-added features, functionality, alternatives, and additionally available components or services that are not specifically identified in the purchase description within the notice.

· Cost: Provide detailed cost information, including any applicable shipping and handling. Responses may include pricing for any offered value-added options.

RESPONSE DEADLINE: April 21, 2025, at 11:00 AM CT

RESPONSE INSTRUCTION:

ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION REQUIRED: An interested party must electronically submit their response through the State Procurement Office Online system (SPO Online) by the response deadline. This solicitation is posted on SPO Online: https://apps.nd.gov/csd/spo/services/bidder/main.htm. Upload instructions are provided below. Make sure to include your name and e-mail address when uploading responses to SPO Online.

DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE “LAST MINUTE” TO SUBMIT A RESPONSE. We recommend uploading responses 24 hours prior to the response deadline.

Bidder must begin the electronic submission process well in advance of the response deadline to allow for transmission and resolution of any technical difficulties. Be advised that the STATE is not responsible for a vendor’s failure to timely submit a response due to any technical difficulties. If you experience any technical difficulties, contact the Procurement Officer listed in this notice or the State Procurement Office at infospo@nd.gov or 701.328.2740.

If documents are in the process of being uploaded when the response deadline occurs, the upload process will stop. The attempted submission will not be uploaded successfully and is ineligible for consideration. The STATE takes no responsibility for electronic submissions that are captured, blocked, filtered, quarantined, or otherwise prevented from uploading by any anti-virus software or other security software.

1. This solicitation is posted on SPO Online at: https://apps.nd.gov/csd/spo/services/bidder/main.htm

2. Select “Recent Solicitations” and find this solicitation. Solicitations are listed by close date.

3. Use “Upload Response” to upload a maximum of five (5), clearly labeled documents before the response deadline.

4. Offerors must upload their response as requested in the response instruction section of this notice.

5. The maximum file size allowed is 50mb per file.

6. There is a 50-character file name limitation for the document being uploaded.

7. There is a 75-character limit in the TITLE field within SPO Online.

8. All SPO Online field entries must be alphanumeric. Dashes and underscores are allowed; however, the system does not accept other special characters, such as apostrophes, & symbols, or quotation marks, etc.

9. DO NOT submit documents that are embedded (zip files), movies, wmp, encrypted, or mp3 files.

10.The vendor will receive an email confirmation from infospo@nd.gov that the upload response was received, including the “File Description” for the uploaded files. Review this email to ensure all files were successfully uploaded. If the vendor does not receive an email confirmation, the upload was not successful, and you will need to upload the files again. If the vendor does not receive an email confirmation after the reattempt, contact the Procurement Officer listed in this notice or the State Procurement Office at infospo@nd.gov or 701.328.2740.

Visit https://www.omb.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/doing-business-with-the-state/procurement/spo-electronic-response-external-job-aid.pdf for the SPO Electronic Response Job Aid which describes how to submit an electronic response.