NSECH RFP Q and A Amend. 1.pdf

Phone RFQ Questions and Responses

Q.1 Would a proposer with substantial home-based health and family-care experience, but without a standalone early-childhood systems consulting practice, be eligible if the proposal team includes or subcontracts with a qualified early-childhood/home-visiting specialist? If teaming or subcontracting is permitted, are there any specific requirements for documenting the partner's qualifications or role in the proposal?

A.1 Responses that include subcontractors will be considered. The partnering teams should describe how they meet minimum quality requirements and comparative evaluation criteria. The contractor will be responsible for all work conducted by subcontractors or partnering teams.

Q.2 1. Minimum Quality Requirement 5.3(2): Would experience with Massachusetts

Department of Public Health–certified Early Intervention programs, and with clinical training aligned to DPH Early Intervention regulations, satisfy the requirement for experience working with Massachusetts local or regional public health systems? Or does MAPC require direct experience with municipal health departments?

A.2 Experience working with MA regional and local public health systems is a minimum quality requirement. This experience may include involvement with public health systems through a DPH program.

Q.3 2. Evaluation Criterion 1: Must each of the four elements (early childhood referral systems, early childhood intervention programs, coalition/collaborative facilitation, and maternal/child health program implementation) have occurred within the last five years? Or will MAPC consider a Proposer's longer record alongside recent work?

A.3 The evaluation criteria for highly advantageous includes having experience from each category in the past five years.

Q.4 3. Deadline: Section 1 of the RFP lists 3:00 p.m. ET on October 21, 2026; Section 2.1 lists 4:00 p.m. ET. Which time governs?

A.4 Proposals are due by 4:00 p.m. on October 21, 2026. A bid amendment was posted on CommBUYS with the correction. Commbuys has been updated to address this discrepancy.

Q.5 4. Page limit: Do resumes, the signature page, required forms, and reference forms count toward the ten-page Technical Proposal limit?

A.5 Resumes, signature page, required forms, and reference forms do not count toward the ten-page Technical Proposal limit

Q.6 5. Contract term: Section 4.3 anticipates execution in mid-September 2026. What start date should Proposers plan for?

A.6 Thank you for noting this timing. The award date is expected in October 2026 following the submission deadline. A start date of November 1, 2026, is anticipated following an award if made.

Q.7 6. Current experience: Is home visiting new to all participating agencies, or does any town or partner already offer home visiting or related early childhood services?

A.7 Home visiting is a new practice for the health departments participating in the North

Suffolk Public Health Collaborative (NSPHC).

Q.8 7. Home visitors: Who will conduct the home visits (for example, public health nurses, shared NSPHC staff, community health workers, or partner staff)? For each town, what are each position's background, current job, and planned role in the program?

A.8 Local and shared staff (typically public health nurses) will conduct the home visits.

Each local health department and the shared services staff will have a role in the program but how each will be involved will be determined through this design and piloting effort.

Q.9 8. Program oversight: Who will oversee the program day to day?

A.9 Regular oversight of the program will occur through MAPC, who is the Shared Service

Coordinator for the NSPHC. Regular coordination will also occur with the Public Health Directors of the three public health departments and shared services staff.

This coordination will inform and guide program oversight.

Q.10 9. Technology: What platforms are in use or planned for tracking and managing cases, providers, referrals, and the goals of each participating mother and family?

Will the IRIS referral system (RFP Section 3.2) serve any of these functions?

A.10 The IRIS system is the planned platform to support the program, with a particular focus on assisting in referrals. Other systems may be identified and considered during the design and piloting of the program.

Q.11 10. Family identification: How will NSPHC identify and recruit children and families for the pilot (for example, birth records, hospitals, the IRIS referral system, community partners, or other sources)?

A.12 Identification and recruitment methods will be identified, discussed, and explored during the design and pilot of the program. No specific methods are in place or in use at present.

Q.13 11. Participation: Will family participation in the home visiting pilot be voluntary?

A.13 Participation will in any pilot efforts will be voluntary.

Q.14 12. Mission and goals: Has NSPHC defined a mission statement and goals for the Welcome Home Visiting Program, or is developing them part of the consultant's scope under Task 2?

A.14 The NSPHC has not yet documented a mission statement and goals for the home visiting program pilot. Development of a mission statement and goals may occur during the scope of work.

Q.15 13. Benchmarks: Have benchmarks or outcome goals been established for the program and for participating families, including any stated in the funded grant proposal? If so, could they be shared? If not, should Proposers recommend them as part of the pilot design?

A.15 Benchmarks and outcome goals have not been established for the program to date.

There are grant expectations that MAPC has as the grant recipient on behalf of the NSPHC. These will be shared with the consultant if awarded.

Q.16 What is the available funding to compensate community providers for conducting the pilot home visits and managing their caseloads?

A.16 Home visits are planned to be provided by local public health and shared services staff.

Q.17 Please confirm whether the signature page, certificates, references, and resumes count toward the 10-page technical limit.

A.17 Resumes, signature page, required forms, and reference forms do not count toward the ten-page Technical Proposal limit

Q.18 What, if any, insurance is required to be held by a consultant who would be awarded this contract?

A.18

Q.19 CommBUYS registration: The RFP indicates that the solicitation will be posted on

CommBUYS, while proposals are to be submitted electronically to NSPHC/MAPC. Is a proposer required to be registered as a vendor in CommBUYS in order to submit a proposal or receive an award, or is CommBUYS registration not required for this procurement?

A.19

Q.20 Technical proposal formatting and page limit: The RFP specifies a maximum of 10 pages for the Technical Proposal and identifies the required components. Are there required formatting specifications, including font type/size, margins, and line spacing? Does the 10-page Technical Proposal limit include the signature page, cover letter, resumes, references, required forms, and any Letter of Exceptions?

A.20 Resumes, signature page, required forms, and reference forms do not count toward the ten-page Technical Proposal limit

Q.21 Price/Business Proposal page limit: Is there a page limit for the Price Proposal or supporting budget narrative? May proposers supplement the reference Price Proposal form with additional budget detail or narrative as long as all requested information is included?

A.21

Q.22 Potential contract extension: The RFP states that MAPC may extend the contract for one additional state fiscal year through June 30, 2028, subject to funding availability. Does MAPC/NSPHC currently anticipate that an extension could involve continuation or expansion of the scope beyond the initial planning and pilot activities? More broadly, how does NSPHC envision the findings and learning from this project informing NSECH activities in a subsequent year?

A.22

Q.23 Home visiting pilot implementation: For Task 2, should proposers assume that the consultant will primarily design, support, and evaluate/assess the pilot, with home visits themselves delivered by NSPHC/municipal public health staff, or is the consultant expected to provide or subcontract any direct home visiting services?

The RFP describes a January–June 2027 pilot but leaves the operational division of responsibilities somewhat open.

A.23 Home visits are planned to be provided by local public health and shared services staff.

Q.24 Existing work and materials: What existing planning documents, data, stakeholder findings, program materials, or other work related to the NSECH and Welcome Home Visiting Program will be made available to the selected consultant at project initiation? In particular, has preliminary work already been completed related to the home visiting model or support-group landscape that the consultant should expect to build upon rather than replicate?

A.24 Some initial work has occurred related to the design and implementation approach of the visiting model. Additional relevant background materials will be shared with the consultant if awarded.

Q.24 Regional versus municipal tailoring: For the home visiting pilot and capability-building work, does NSPHC envision development of a single regional model with limited municipal adaptation, or should proposers anticipate designing approaches that may differ substantially across Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop based on local capacity and community needs?

A.24 The design of the model, including the consideration of a single regional model or variances in the approach according to municipality, will be part of the consultant’s work during this contract period.

Q.25 Proposal deadline: The Legal Notice lists the proposal deadline as October 21, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. ET, while Section 2.1 lists October 21, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. ET. Could you please confirm the official submission deadline?

A.2 5 Proposals are due by 4:00 p.m. on October 21, 2026. A bid amendment was posted on CommBUYS with the correction. Commbuys has been updated to address this discrepancy.

Are you connected, and to what extent, to the Mass DPH-funded Welcome Family

Initiative and Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) grant programs?

Could you provide more detail on the consultant’s role in task 2 – we see the role as an evaluator and coordinator of the home visiting pilot. Is that correct, and could you provide more details on their expected role in task 2?

Can we attach resumes for key staff as appendices to the technical proposal? And if so, would they count towards the page limit?

Are firm-fixed price contracts allowed?

In Section 1 of the RFQ it says proposals are due October 21, 2026 by 3:00 EST and in the table in Section 2.1 it says they are due by October 21, 2026 by 4:00 EST. Can you confirm the correct due date and time?

6.2 notes that Technical proposals must not exceed 10 pages. Does the proposal signature page, cover letter, funder reference form, and required forms in Section 8 count towards the ten page limit in the technical proposal or are those considered attachments?

In terms of pricing, section 6.3 as described doesn’t exactly match the Price Proposal requirements in Section 10. 6.3 asks for: “Please provide a PDF document listing tasks, hours, hourly rate, estimated cost, and percent of project hours that each staff person will allocate to each project deliverable. A reference price proposal form can be found in Section 10. The Price Proposal must be signed by an authorized signatory for the Proposer.”

This is different from what the 2 tables are requesting in Section 10’s Price Proposal Page, which is “average” hourly rate and effort per deliverable, and separately loaded actual rates for individuals. Can you confirm the pricing approach we should use?