STATE OF MICHIGAN

ENTERPRISE PROCUREMENT

Suite 1201 Lansing, MI 48933

Recommendation of Award

The Department of Health and Human Services has completed the evaluation of RFP 210000002098 Adoption Permanency Services - Adoption Resource Consultant Region 2 and has recommended an award to Orchards Children’s Services in the amount of $4,410,000.00, pending State Administrative Board approval, if applicable. More information on the State Administrative Board can be found at: State Administrative Board.

Bidders who were not recommended for the award are encouraged to schedule a debriefing session with the Solicitation Analyst. The debriefing session will provide the bidder with the State’s rationale on why the bidder was not recommended for the award. The Solicitation Analyst may be contacted as follows:

Darby Peters, Solicitation Analyst Petersd2@michigan.gov

Background Information:

This Request for Proposal (RFP) was to solicit responses for selection of a Contractor to provide Adoption Permanency Services - Adoption Resource Consultant. The term of this contract is three years, with up to two, one year renewal options.

Bidders:

The RFP was posted on SIGMA VSS on June 9, 2021, for four weeks. The following bidders submitted proposals by the published due date of July 7, 2021.

City, State Zip

SDVOB*

Judson Center

30301 Northwestern Highway, Farmington Hills, MI 48334

Orchards Children’s Services

24901 Northwestern Highway, Suite 500, Southfield, MI 48075

*SDVOB: Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Business

Revised: 10/4/19

Revised: 10/4/19 Evaluation Synopsis I. Evaluation Process A Responsible Vendor is a vendor that demonstrates it has the ability to successfully perform the duties identified by the solicitation. A Responsive proposal is one that is submitted in accordance with the solicitation instructions and meets all mandatory requirements identified in the solicitation.

Section II of the RFP, Description of Service Specifications, Contractor Responsibilities, 2.2 Credentials states:

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

The Adoption Resource Consultant (ARC) must have bachelor’s degree (master’s degree preferred) in social work or a related field, with previous child welfare experience and demonstrated expertise in developing permanent life-long connections for children in foster care. A preference will be given to those with experience and expertise in the adoption process and the recruitment of adoptive parents.

Other criteria the ARC must have are as follows:

a. The ability to effectively facilitate difficult conversations in which participants have strongly different opinions or perspectives.

b. Knowledge about the Michigan foster care system, the adoption process, child welfare system and MDHHS adoption processes.

c. Strong verbal, written and public speaking skills necessary to positively and effectively communicate the projects’ purpose, work and results, and write reports i.e., Individual Adoption Readiness Assessment, Recruitment Plans, etc.

d. Ability to work in a collaborative manner with government institutions such as MDHHS, private agencies, community organizations, social networks, and stakeholders.

e. Ability to work effectively with individuals from a variety of racial/ethnic backgrounds.

In addition, the ARC must possess the following skills:

a. Organizational skills, including attention to details.

b. Ability to effectively run meetings, including efficient use of an agenda, remaining focused, and encouraging participation.

c. Experience in developing training curricula and training sessions.

d. Ability to convey enthusiasm and lead people around a project.

e. Ability to deal effectively with conflict and remain calm and respectful in dealing with differences in perspective/opinions.

f. Ability to meet deadlines for deliverables and demonstrated educational experience and background necessary to successfully accomplish the identified activities/task/work.

g. Passed all required, applicable state and federal background checks to have contact with children and families served through this contract.

Section III of the RFP, Instructions for Bidders, requires:

To be considered, the proposal must be received by SIGMA VSS by the bid closing date and time indicated on the SIGMA VSS website.

To complete a proposal:

Refer to the instructions on how to respond to a solicitation included with this RFP in SIGMA VSS.

Complete Section IV, Proposal, and Section V, Confidential Treatment Form (CT Form).

Complete the items required for the technical evaluation.

Complete and submit Exhibit B – Pricing Matrix as required in the RFP.

Enter the Contract Price being bid in the Commodity Information Tab section in SIGMA VSS under Commodity section.

The full evaluation process is stated in the RFP.

II. Evaluation Method Responses to this solicitation were reviewed by a Joint Evaluation Committee.

III. Evaluation Results A. Bidder #1 Judson Center

1. Bidder Experience and Past Performance (formal RFP) Score _17_/_20_

The evaluation team determined that overall, the responses were mostly satisfactory. The evaluation teams’ comments are noted below:

A1 (8 points) (-1) The bidder did not provide Expected Performance Outcomes or Actual Performance Outcomes for the Adoption Resource Consultant. The bidder has held this contract since 2016 and details should have been provided. The contract language was revised with an amendment, but available data should have been provided.

(-1) The bidder did not meet the Expected Performance Outcomes for the following contracts: MARE, Adoption and Foster Care contract.

A4 (4 points) (-1) The bidder indicated they have relationships with mental health agencies, school systems, and family courts however they did not provide the type of service they provide, history of working relationships or how those relationships assisted clients.

Education, Credentials & Qualifications (formal RFP) Score _14_/_15_

The evaluation team determined that overall, the responses were mostly satisfactory. The evaluation teams’ comments are noted below:

B1 (9 points) (-1) The bidder did not provide the minimum length of experience required for Adoption Resource Consultant staff.

2. Staffing, Training, Agency Organization and Location (formal RFP) Score _20_/_20_

The evaluation team determined that overall, the responses were satisfactory.

3. Program Implementation/Work Plan (formal RFP) Score _42_/_45_

The evaluation team determined that overall, the responses were mostly satisfactory. The evaluation teams’ comments are noted below:

D7 (2 points) (-1) The bidder did not identify how the recruitment plan will be developed, what it will include, and how it will be implemented. It is unclear how implementation will be customized for individual youth needs.

D8 (3 points) (-1) The bidder did not clearly state how they will engage youth. Meeting the youth at the same time as the case worker is not an example of successful engagement.

The bidder should have demonstrated a specific plan to build repour with each youth throughout the full time period of services being provided.

D16 (4 points) (-1) The bidder did not demonstrate a sufficient understanding of how permanency would be achieved for the goal of guardianship.

B. Bidder #2 Orchards Children’s Services

1. Bidder Experience and Past Performance (formal RFP) Score _20_/_20_

The evaluation team determined that overall, the responses were satisfactory.

2. Education, Credentials & Qualifications (formal RFP) Score _14_/_15_

The evaluation team determined that overall, the responses were mostly satisfactory. The evaluation teams’ comments are noted below:

B1 (9 points) (-1) The bidder did not provide the minimum length of experience required for Adoption Resource Consultant staff.

3. Staffing, Training, Agency Organization and Location (formal RFP) Score _20_/_20_

The evaluation team determined that overall, the responses were satisfactory.

4. Program Implementation/Work Plan (formal RFP) Score _44_/_45_

The evaluation team determined that overall, the responses were mostly satisfactory. The evaluation teams’ comments are noted below:

D16 (4 points) (-1) The bidder did not demonstrate a sufficient understanding of how permanency would be achieved for the goal of guardianship.

IV. Technical Evaluation Summary

V. Technical Evaluation Summary- Number of Units Proposed

VI. Pricing Summary Pricing was evaluated for the bidders who passed technical. The following is a summary of their price proposals:

VIII. Award Recommendation:

Award recommendation is made to the responsive and responsible Bidder who offers the best value to the State of Michigan. Best value is based on the proposal meeting the minimum point threshold and offering the best combination of factors stated in Section IV, Proposal, RFP Evaluation Criteria, and price. Orchards Children’s Services provided the best value to the State. Award Recommendation is made to Orchards Children’s Services in the amount of $4,410,000.00.

Revised: 10/4/19 image1.jpeg