Questions and Answers

Questions for RFI – HSS-23-012 - Case Management System -- Vocational Rehabilitation Case Management solution for Visually Impaired

1. II. Scope of Work. A. Purpose/Background. Statement of Needs: 10, 11, 13, 14 page 5 of 6

10. Integrate DHSS Master Client Index

11. RSA Interface

13. Unemployment Wage Verification

14. Interface with First State Financials.

Does the Division for Visually Impaired have agreements with the responsible State Agency(s) and the Social Security to procure this information via an API or other automated means?

The Division for the Visually Impaired (DVI) does not have agreements in place for 11, 13 & 14 for application interfaces. DVI would rely on the new case management system to provide APIs to receive data from these systems. Item 10 is a Delaware Department of Health and Social Services system and had an API for our current case management system.

2. II. Scope of Work. A. Purpose/Background. Statement of Needs:

7. Education., 8. Independent Living, 9. Orientation and Mobility Page 4 of 6 Explain where the data comes from the above three needs (Education, Independent Living and Orientation and Mobility.

Data is manually entered currently.

3. II. Scope of Work. A, Purpose/Background. Statement of Needs: 6. Vocational Rehabilitation.

Can you expand on the requirements for this need?

The new case management system will need to be compatible with all aspects of data collection, required forms, document storage, performance measures and federal reporting for Vocational Rehabilitation to meet the requirements established by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by title IV of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and the Vocational Rehabilitation Services in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) title 34, Part 361 and 363.

4. Do you have a current solicitation release timeline you are hoping to follow for this requirement?

Not at this time, in the event the State of Delaware issues a Request for Proposal (RFP), the State may use this material to facilitate the development of the RFP.

5. Is this a new service, or is there an already existing vendor contract that would be replaced in the event of a formal solicitation to follow this RFI? If there is an existing contract, would you be able to provide the vendor name and contract number?

This is a new service and there is not an existing contract for this service.

6. Section II.A; Paragraph 1; Page 4; Text “The purpose of this RFI is to provide the State of Delaware with information regarding vendor interest and capabilities providing a vocational rehabilitation case management solution for the Division for Visually Impaired”.

Can you please confirm if this system is being designed solely for DVI or are you looking to do a common integrated Vocational Rehabilitation system across the state (including DVR). If not, is this an approach you would consider?

This system is meant solely for DVI. An integrated statewide VR system is not being considered at this time.

7. Section II. Scope of Work, A. Purpose / Background, Statement of Needs

• Paragraph 7

• Page 4

• 7. Education o Individualized Education Program (IEP) interface Can DVI describe the type of data exchanged, frequency of interface, direction of data exchange (to outside system, into case management system, or both), and preferred data transfer method for the Individualized Education Program (IEP) interface?

There is currently no data exchange for IEP. IEP interface is no longer a requirement, but DVI still needs information from the vendors about their package for Individualized Education Program.

8. Section II. Scope of Work, A. Purpose / Background, Statement of Needs

• Paragraph 10

• Page 5

• 10. Need to integrate with DHSS Master Client Index (MCI). MCI is a centralized system that maintains a ‘golden record’ of demographic information for recipients of services provided by the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) and by the Department of Services for Children, Youth, and their Families (DSCYF).

Can DVI describe the direction of data exchange between the case management system and the MCI?

Will the case management system be sending client information to the MCI? Will the MCI be sending client information to the case management system? Or both?

Data exchange is both directions. The case management system is expected to initially search and pull client information from MCI, if the client exists. If not, the client is registered in the case management system and sends data to MCI upon completion of registration. Updates made in the case management system will need to be pushed to MCI. On the other hand, MCI sends out notification to subscribing systems when updates are made on the core demographic data in MCI, allowing the subscribing systems to pull the updated information.

9. Section II. Scope of Work, A. Purpose / Background, Statement of Needs

• Paragraph 11

• Page 5

• Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) Interface o RSA Formula Grant Programs Reports o RSA Formula Grant Programs Reporting o https://rsa.ed.gov/sites/default/files/fiscal/RSA Formula Awards Information Collections and

Reporting Deadlines (03.03.2021).pdf o RSA updates

Is DVI expecting the case management system to interface directly with RSA or provide exported reports in the RSA-specified format? What reports beyond the RSA-911 would be communicated via this interface?

If feasible, DVI would like the case management system to interface directly with RSA. However, the ability to download files/reports from the case management system in a format that is capable to be uploaded to RSA is acceptable.

Other reports that need to be communicated in addition to RSA-911 namely:

SF-425 - Federal Financial Report RSA-227 - Annual Client Assistance Program Report RSA-15 - Report of the Randolph-Sheppard Vending Facility Program RSA-17 - Vocational Rehabilitation Financial Report RSA-7-OB – Independent Living Services for Older Individuals who are Blind

10. Section II. Scope of Work, A. Purpose / Background, Statement of Needs

• Paragraph 12

• Page 5

• 12. Social Security Administration (SSA) Interface o Federal Reporting Is the goal to interface with the State Verification & Exchange System (SVES) offered by SSA for SSN verification and benefit information?

This interface is for Social Security reimbursement program.

11. Section II. Scope of Work, A. Purpose / Background, Statement of Needs Paragraph number https://rsa.ed.gov/sites/default/files/fiscal/RSA

• Page 5

• 19. Capability for the customer to maintain values in Translate tables Can DVI clarify this requirement more?

The customer (with the appropriate permission) should have the capability to add, update or delete/deactivate values on the Translation table/s.

12. Section III. Vendor Information Package (VIP) Requirements, C. Vendor Information Package (VIP)

Response:

• Paragraph 3. PRICING

• Page 6

• Provide the best estimate if to implement the solution in one or two years from the date of RFI.

Include the estimated cost for training (train-the-trainer and end-users), system interfaces, ongoing support cost, annual mark-up information and any other additional or miscellaneous fees.

Can DVI indicate which interfaces are live in the current case management system and which interfaces DVI will be implementing for the first time as part of the new case management system?

MCI is the only interface in the current system that uses API. All others such as RSA Reporting, FSF, SSA and UI are currently file upload and/or manual data entry.

13. Section III. Vendor Information Package (VIP) Requirements, C. Vendor Information Package (VIP) Response:

• Paragraph 5

• Page 6

• 5. REPORTING

What kind of information is DVI looking for in 5. REPORTING?

DVI would like to report on all aspects of the data held by the system, this would include but not be limited to: caseload, case status, demographics, federal reporting requirements, contact logs, time and effort, case flow, etc.

14. The RFI reads: "Identify which service under Statement of Need you have the capability to provide. In the event a vendor is capable of providing more than one of the services identified, please separate the VIP response by service." Section II, Statement of Needs lists 24 different needs, some of which might be considered distinct services. If the vendor is capable of providing a comprehensive system that addresses most or all of the items in the Statement of Needs, may the vendor provide a single narrative addressing all of the needs or is there a need to have it broken out in some specific way? If there is such a need, please identify the specific "services" or categories of service you want vendors to address.

A single narrative addressing ALL the items on the Statement of Needs is acceptable. However, it is preferred to have the information categorized specifically by Vocational Rehabilitation, Education (IEP), Independent Living, Orientation and Mobility. Information on interfaces, reporting and download/upload functions, data migration, training, identification, and authentication is expected.

15. Section number: II. Scope of Work - A

• Paragraph number: 11

• Page number: 5 Text of passage being questioned: "19. Capability for the customer to maintain values in Translate tables"

Does this requirement refer to translation of “language” (i.e. English to Spanish or vice versa) or as it relates to data element transformation in the system?

This relates to data element transformation, not language translation. For example, a code is mapped to a text description.