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Michigan.gov/MiProcurement
BIDDER QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
RFP 250000002000
Prison-based Substance Use Treatment Services *Questions appear as they were received from bidders.
| Q # |
| Document and Section |
| Page # |
| Bidder Question |
| Answer (to be completed by the State) |
| I noticed in the first line of where we respond to the solicitation that it asks us to enter a contract $ amount, do we need to do this, if so where do I get that amount from. |
| If referring to entering an amount in the SIGMA VSS commodity line item, you do not need to enter an amount there. Bidders should enter their proposed hourly rates in Schedule B of the RFP document. |
| 2 |
| Schedule A, Background |
| 38 |
| The RFP estimates 15,000 offenders have a recommendation for SUD treatment programming. We are interested in bidding on Macomb Region and Macomb Correctional Facility. Can you please provide: (a) historical data from the last 12 - 24 months on the annual number of offenders receiving SUD treatment at MCF; and (b) the approximate average amount of annual or weekly face-to-face SUD treatment services provided at MRF for the same time period? |
| Currently MDOC staff provide these services to offenders at Macomb Correctional Facility (MRF) and contractual staff do not provide these services. However, if at any point during the contract term, MDOC staff were unable to provide, MDOC would inquire if one of the awarded Contractors is able to cover the facility. |
a. See Excel attachment.
b. The requested caseload is 4 groups per day, 4 days a week, per therapist. Groups are typically 1 ½ hours per group. MRF currently utilizes 1 therapist. This amounts to approximately 24 hours per week per therapist. MRF
| 3 |
| Schedule A, Background |
| 38 |
| Do you have any reason to believe the volume of offenders receiving treatment at MCF would be substantially different than the volume receiving treatment over the last 12-24 months? If so, can you give us your best estimate of the number of offenders that would be referred to treatment annually under the contract? |
| No. |
| 4 |
| Schedule A, Background |
| 38 |
| What is the anticipated schedule at MCF for SUD treatment services under the contract? |
| See response to question 2. |
| 5 |
| Schedule A, Background |
| 38 |
| What is the anticipated amount of face-to-face service hours needed at MCF on a weekly basis under the contract? |
| See response to question 2. |
| 6 |
| Schedule A, Background |
| 39 |
| What is the curriculum designated by MDOC under this contract? |
| MDOC will be moving to University of Cincinnati – CBI-SA. MDOC is currently using Helping Women Recover; Seeking Safety; and Breaking the Cycle; however, MDOC will be moving away from these curriculums in 2026. |
| 7 |
| Schedule A, Background |
| 39 |
| Do you know how many therapists will be needed at MRF under this contract? |
| Currently, MDOC does not need any therapists at MRF. See response to question 2. |
| 8 |
| Schedule A, Section 1.1.A.5 |
| 47 |
| MDOC mandates group therapy. How long are the groups and how frequent? How many group sessions is a client required to attend to complete the program? |
| See response to question 2 b. Some facilities may require multiple therapists based on the anticipated # of offenders needing treatment. |
The new University of Cincinnati curriculum will be 47 sessions.
Currently it varies between 18-48 depending on the offender’s program track.
| 9 |
| Schedule A, Section 1.1.A.6 |
| 48-50 |
| It looks like there are three (3) individual sessions per client from the beginning of the program to completion. Is this correct? If not, what is the amount of individual sessions required to be provided to a client from the beginning to the end of the program? |
| Yes. |
| 10 |
| Schedule A, Section 1.1.A.6 |
| 48-50 |
| Will the MDOC Program Manager or designee have discretion to allow more or less individual sessions of the circumstances warrant it? |
| Yes. |
| 11 |
| Schedule A, Section 1.1.B.2 |
| 52 |
| The assessment and treatment plan must be documented in the department’s electronic health record (EHR). Will MDOC provide computer equipment onsite to access the EHR? |
| Yes. |
| 12 |
| Schedule A, Section 1.1.B.3 |
| 54 |
| Will contractor staff have access to MDOC systems from contractor offsite offices to enter client notes? |
| No. |
| 13 |
| Vendor Questions Worksheet |
| 15 |
| Is the request for relevant experience in replace of the three reference letters previously required? |
| Yes. |
| 14 |
| Schedule A- Statement of Work, B. Prosperity Regions |
| 38 |
| Can you provide a list of prisons that currently have programming and how many groups are running at a time? |
See Excel attachment.
| 15 |
| Schedule A- Statement of work, Background |
| 36 |
| Is this contract including the new curriculum approved or will it start with ASAT and Phase II? Compared to ASAT and Phase II how many individual and group sessions will the new curriculum include? |
| See response to question 8. |
| 16 |
| Schedule A- Statement of work, 4.4 Key Personnel, I |
| 79 |
| Should the bid include the resumes of all clinical staff and admin staff or should it only include the resume for the key personnel individuals (clinical supervisors)? |
| The bid response only requires resumes for the Key Personnel listed in Section 4.4. Key Personnel. |
Awarded Contractors will be required to submit resumes for clinical staff during the LEIN process for MDOC review.
| 17 |
| Vendor Questions Worksheet |
| 15-16 |
| Are we allowed to utilize our previous MDOC contract in the 3 experiences in the last 5 years? |
| Yes. |
| 18 |
| Schedule A- Statement of work, 3. Progress notes |
| 51 |
| The current bid does not indicate if offenders will need to complete a section of the progress note. Will the offenders need to participate in completing the progress note with their signature and indication of what they have learned? |
| No. |
| 19 |
| RFP, Proposal Instructions |
| 5 |
| Is there a process for submitting follow-up questions to the Department's responses to the initial round of questions? |
| No. There will only be one round of questions for this RFP per Proposal Instructions #5. |
| 20 |
| Vendor Questions Worksheet |
Information Sought Clean Corporate Citizen. I certify that the Company is a Clean Corporate Citizen as defined by the Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA 451.
| 18 |
| As the services requested through this solicitation are at Department-owned institutions/facilities, please explain how the Clean Corporate Citizen designation applies to this contract? There is no "not applicable" option to select. |
| Bidders need to respond whether their company has a Clean Corporate Citizen designation per Clean Corporate Citizen. |
| 21 |
| Standard Contract Terms |
| 20 |
| Please list the equipment that the state will be providing for the vendor's use in the delivery of these services; or conversely, please list the equipment the vendor is expected to provide. |
| MDOC will provide computer and copier access at the correctional facility. MDOC will also provide facilitator manuals for current and future curriculums. |
| 22 |
| Standard Contract Terms |
1st Citation: 21. Invoice and Payment
2nd Citation: Invoice and Payment
8.1 Invoice Requirements
| 24, 91 |
| Will the MDOC EHR system be capable of generating client service details necessary to populate the electronic invoice form, or should the contractor be prepared to run concurrent tracking systems of their own to facilitate billing? If so, will the department allow secure connectivity between networks/systems? |
| The Contractor will need to run a concurrent tracking system of their own to facilitate billing. |
No, the department will not allow secure connectivity between networks/systems.
| 23 |
| Standard Contract Terms |
22. Liquidated Damages.
| 26 |
| Could the Department please specify the location of the Liquid Damages mentioned in Section 22 of the Standard Contract Terms within the solicitation packet? |
| Liquidated Damages were removed from the Statement of Work. |
| 24 |
| Standard Contract Terms |
33. State Data.
f. State’s Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) platform. Contractor is required to assist the State with its security accreditation process through the development, completion and ongoing updating of a system security plan using the State’s automated GRC platform and implement any required safeguards or remediate any security vulnerabilities as identified by the results of the security accreditation process.
| 31 |
| Please elaborate on how the contractor is to "assist the State..." with respect to the Department's Security Accreditation process. |
Will the Provider need to provide their own computer and networking equipment or will PCs be provided by the Department?
Awarded Contractors will not be required to assist the State with its security accreditation process since the awarded Contractors will be entering data into MDOC’s existing EHR and the Contractor’s systems will not be connecting with the State’s systems.
See response to question 21.
| 25 |
| Standard Contract Terms |
35. Data Privacy and Information Security
a. In no case will the safeguards of Contractor’s data privacy and information security program be less stringent than the safeguards used by the State, and Contractor must at all times comply with all applicable State IT policies and standards, which are available to Contractor upon request.
| 33 |
| Can the Department provide the IT Policies and Standards that need to be followed by the Contractor as referenced in the RFP? |
| Please go to DTMB - IT Policies, Standards & Procedures. |
| 26 |
| Standard Contract Terms |
38. Records Maintenance, Inspection, Examination, and Audit.
| 34 |
| Please provide an example of the types of records that a contractor would have to maintain given that all records are being stored in the Department's EHR? |
| These would be all records that are not specific to the offender. Types of records that the Contractor will need to maintain are: financial, personnel, billing, supervision logs, MDOC and Contractor training, etc. |
The only records maintained in the Department’s EHR are the offender’s records.
| 27 |
| Schedule A - Statement of Work |
| 38 |
| In order to accurately calculate the requisite staffing pattern, would the Department please provide utilization numbers, by institution, for the scope of services outlined in the RFP? (i.e. how many concurrent cohorts are running at each of these locations?) |
| See Excel attachment. |
| 28 |
| Schedule A - Statement of Work |
Background A. Affordable Care Act Medicaid Billing
| 39 |
| Will the Department's EHR allow for full documentation of the re-entry services as may be required for Medicaid billing? If not, will the Department allow dedicated connectivity back to the contractor's network? |
| This information is not available at this time. |
MDOC is not currently able to bill Medicaid for substance use treatment services for individuals currently incarcerated. If MDOC is allowed to bill Medicaid for these services in the future, the MDOC Program Manager or designee would work with each awarded Contractor on implementation.
| 29 |
| Schedule A - Statement of Work |
Background A. Affordable Care Act
| 39 |
| Would the contractor be responsible for billing Medicaid directly for the services provided under this contract? If so, would the reimbursement rates be the current Michigan Medicaid rates, or should the vendor submit proposed rates for those services as well? |
| See response to question 28. |
| 30 |
| Schedule A - Statement of Work |
Background A. Affordable Care Act Medicaid Billing
| 39 |
| Is the contractor expected to use their own Clearinghouse system to bill Medicaid or does the Department's EHR have Clearinghouse functionality the contrator can use? |
If the contractor is expected to use their own, can they extract data necessary for the purposes of billing from the Department's EHR system using secure scripts and API's to their (the contractor's own Clearinghouse systems?
See response to question 28.
| 31 |
| Schedule A - Statement of Work |
Background A. Affordable Care Act Medicaid Billing
| 39 |
| If the Provider is expected to bill Medicaid through their own internal mechanism, will the Department allow a dedicated connection back to the Provider’s Network in order to do so? |
| No. |
1.1 General Requirements
A. Clinical Services B. Program Delivery
b. The MDOC, or a MDOC designated vendor, will be responsible to provide training on the required MDOC curriculum to the contract staff providing SUT groups to incarcerated individuals.
| 42 |
| How does the Department plan to offer training on the core UC curriculum (CBI) throughout the life of the contract (i.e. to account for turnover, vacancies, etc.)? Will training be offered on cycles? Should contractors' hire in cohorts only so that they can be trained as a group? Or, should the vendor be prepared to provide their own training (if certified to do so by UC)? |
| MDOC will provide training for new staff as needed. Contractors are encouraged to hire in cohorts; however, it is not required. MDOC will determine the training date and location. |
1.1 General Requirements
A. Clinical Services B. Program Delivery h.
| 43 |
| Does the Department's EHR support electronic signature for staff and clients? |
| No. |
1.1. General Requirements
A. Clinical Services
3. In-Cell Study for Substance Use Treatment Intervention (SUTI)
d. The Contractor must document this feedback in the offender’s progress notes in the MDOC’s EHR.
| 46 |
| If an incumbent currently operates an EHR with active connectivity, will they be allowed to continue use of that EHR if data can be transferred to the Department's EHR? |
| The Contractor may be able to continue use of that EHR; however, the MDOC will not allow data to be transferred to the Department’s EHR. |
1.1. General Requirements
A. Clinical Services
6. Individual Sessions
| 48 |
| Would the Department approve additional individual sessions for higher custody level or clinically acute clients who have cognitive limitations or developmental disabilities? |
| This would be approved on a case-by-case basis. |
1.1. General Requirements
B. Group Structure
3. Progress Notes
a. The Contractor’s progress notes (individual and group) must be entered in MDOC’s EHR system within the same business day.
| 54 |
| Would the Department consider modifying the timeline for the completion of documentation to "one business day" following the delivery of service? |
| No. |
| 37 |
| Section 1.2 Transition |
| 73 |
| If existing cohorts under the current contracts conclude in the middle of the transition period (between 10/1/25 and 2/1/26), will new cohorts be allowed to begin using the current curricula? If not, how is a contractor able to retain and compensate current employees? |
| New cohorts will be allowed to begin using the curricula that staff are currently trained in. |
1.5 Required Functionality Relating to Data Retention, Disposal, and Retrieval To meet these obligations, the Solution must allow the State to:
| 79 |
| Can the state define what is meant by “the Solution" in this section? |
| The solution is Contractor’s record keeping system. |
| 39 |
| Regarding section 1.5 Required Functionality Relating to Data Retention, Disposal, and Retrieval |
| 79 |
| In section 1.5 the reference to "data" is mentioned several times. Can the state specify what data that the contractor would have outside of the state’s EHR that would be managed by the contractor ? |
| See response to question 26. |
8. Invoice and Payment
8.1. Invoice Requirements
The Contractor must provide a monthly invoice to the MDOC utilizing the electronic invoice form that will be provided to the Contract awardee(s) upon award.
| 95 |
| Will the electronic invoice form provided to the Contract awardee(s) upon award' also apply to services reimbursable by Medicaid, or will Medicaid billing be handled through a different process, such as direct billing to Medicaid? |
| See response to question 28. |
| 41 |
| Schedule B – Pricing |
| 98 |
| How could a contractor provide separate pricing for a single or multiple regions, and another price for a state-wide award? I.e., can a contractor provide two pricing options, depending on the potential scope of the award? |
| Bidders may provide two pricing options for consideration if bidding on statewide and select prosperity region. Bidders are not allowed to bid different pricing on each prosperity region proposed. |
| 42 |
| Schedule A-2-Prosperity Region facility locations |
| A-2/1 |
| Do all of the sites in in Attachment Schedule A-2 have incumbent providers for the services outlined in the RFP? If yes, could the department please provide a list of these providers for each location, as well as their current staffing pattern and vacancies? |
| See Excel attachment. |
| 43 |
| General Information Technolog Question |
| N/A |
| Will the Department allow specific whitelisted URLS needed for the contractor's web-based cloud applications required to perform business operations? |
| No. |
| 44 |
| General Information Technolog Question |
| N/A |
| Will the contractor's employees be permitted access to the Internet for such things as web-based corporate email, time card punching, and accessing payroll stubs/reports? |
| Awarded contractual staff will be given a State of Michigan email address to be used for MDOC communication. Contractual staff should not be accessing the Internet to access outside web-based applications. |
| 45 |
| General Information Technolog Question |
| N/A |
| Will the contractor's employees have access to voice communications, either DOC-owned or does the Provider need to install voice systems & phones? |
| Contractual staff will have access to Microsoft Teams. If this is referring to voice-to-text capabilities, the MDOC does not currently have this functionality, and the Contractor will not be allowed to install it on the State of Michigan’s system. |
Contractual staff will not be allowed to install voice systems or phones in the correctional facilities.
Include a copy of schedule A-2 to indicate specific locations where services would be provided.
Schedule A-2 was provided with the RFP.
| Are there projections for number of inmates to be serviced in each region? |
| See Excel attachment. |
| Projections for number of inmates to be engaged in each cohort? |
| The average # of offenders in a cohort is between 10-15. |
| What are the requirements of individuals and groups per week? |
| Individual sessions are to be conducted at the beginning, middle, and end of the offender’s treatment. |
See response to question 2 for the number of groups per week.
| Is there a projected length of treatment for each inmate? |
| See response to question 8. |
| Can you provide a list of the equipment that is at each facility? |
| See response to question 21. |
| Can you provide the number of inmates that will be in the program for each facility? |
| No. This varies by facility and number of current offenders eligible for programming. |
See Excel attachment.
| Can you provide the salaries for each staff member who is employed in the program? |
| The State does not have this information. Bidders may review current contracts for the current MDOC Billing Rate at |
DTMB-Contract List.
Bidders should enter “substance” in the description field to see the list of prison-based substance abuse-outpatient contracts. Then click on the link to view each contract.
| There was mention of a new curriculum coming and that it would be from University of Cincinnati. Is that accurate and if so, when will that be implemented? Is it specifically Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions for Substance Use Disorder? |
| Yes, that is correct. The University of Cincinnati is currently training MDOC staff. The anticipated implementation is Spring 2026. Yes, it is Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions and evidence-based. |
| Is there specific number of participants that should be receiving treatment at any given time? |
| Yes. There should be up to 15 per cohort. |
| Is there a minimum number of hours per week for each group session? |
| See response to question 2. |
| Will we need to create an in-cell study curriculum or is this also provided by MDOC? |
| No. The MDOC will provide the in-cell study curriculum. |
| Will there be a cost associated to use the state's curriculum? If so how much. |
| No. |
| Could you provide how many lockdowns or missed classes have occurred at each facility in the last two years. |
| This information is not available. |
Correctional facilities do at least one immobilization/lockdown per month. This varies by location.
| Could you please confirm whether, for this RFP, we are only proposing to provide counseling services? We are interested in offering MAT services, when appropriate, in addition to counseling. However, on the pricing document, it looks like the clinical services line item reflects different costs for counseling versus MAT. Would you recommend adding a separate line item for MAT services? Also, can you clarify whether the DOC supplies its own MAT medications, or would we be responsible for providing those as well? |
| This RFP is for counseling services only. Currently the MDOC provides the MAT services. MDOC supplies offenders with MAT medications. |
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