RFI - Procuring and Implementing a Provider Management Platform~2.pdf

EARLY LEARNING DIVISION

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

Seeking Information About Procuring and Implementing a Provider Management Platform

ORBUYS Number S-58100-00006507

Date of Issue: April 12, 2023

Responses Due Date: April 24, 2023 at 5:00 PM PT

Issuing Office: Oregon Department of Education, Early Learning Division Contact Name: Ashley Griffin Address: 700 Summer St NE City, State, Zip: Salem, OR 97302 Phone (voice): 971-240-2426 E-mail: Ashley.griffin@ode.oregon.gov

1. Introduction and Purpose The Early Learning Division (ELD) is part of the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and has the mission to support all of Oregon’s young children and families to learn and thrive. ELD works as an integrated team focused on: Child Care, Early Learning Programs and Cross Systems Integration, Policy and Research, and Equity.

Per the directive of house Bill 3073, on July 1, 2023, a new early learning agency

– the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) will be established by transitioning ELD out of ODE as an independent agency and by migrating Employment Related Day Care program (ERDC), a child care subsidy program currently administered by the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), to

DELC.

ELD Leadership team, Transition Team and DELC Project Team are working together to design and build the new agency. The transition planning process has defined a portfolio of projects to create DELC. The T9: Procure and Implement Provider Management Platform technology project in this portfolio is the subject of this business case.

2. Background ERDC Subsidy Billing and Payment to childcare providers are administered by the Direct Pay Unit (DPU) of ODHS. This unit and its work will be migrated to DELC on July 1, 2023. DPU uses Provider Pay (PP) and Service Authorization (SA) as the main systems to manage this process. These systems are 30+ years old and cannot be cost effectively migrated to DELC. The decision has been made for DPU to continue using PP and SA systems only until these systems are replaced. Similarly, the system used by Office of Child Care (OCC) in ELD known as the Child Care Regulatory Information System (CCRIS) is 20+ years old and is past its end of life and requires replacement.

Considering the synergy of system capabilities required to address these two-process areas, the ELD Executive Team seeks to replace ODHS’s PP and SA systems and ELD’s CCRIS system with a modern, integrated Provider Management Platform (PMP). DELC will give preference to cloud and hosted solutions.

3. Current Environment The ERDC Subsidy Billing and Payment is supported by the following key systems at ODHS:

• Service Authorization (SA) – Used by the DPU staff to establish a connection between the ERDC eligibility case and the provider selected by the family for childcare services. SA is a 30+ years old legacy system and was developed on platforms that are now antiquated technology (Knowledgeware COBOL code generator). SA is integrated with ONE, Notice Writer, Client Notice, Client Index, and Provider Pay (PP) system.

At present, only a small number of ODHS legacy IT development team members are familiar with this system.

• Provider Pay (PP) – Used by DPU staff to process and approve payments for billing submitted by the childcare providers. After capture of provider’s billing information by Information and Records Management System (IRMS) in the Electronic Data Management System (EDMS) systems, information flows over to PP and is processed for payment. If there is no exception or error, the payment gets processed automatically, else DPU staff manually review and process the payment. PP supports multiple payments for the Self-Sufficiency Programs group (SSP) in ODHS, including provider payments for ERDC, TANF, JOBs Plus, High Needs, and special payments. PP is integrated with multiple systems – SA, EDMS, JV Pay, Automated Jobs, ONE, Notice Writer, Client Notice, Check Recon, Accounting Interface, Union Database, SEIU Systems, DPU IVR, CCRIS, OSP, along with manual upload of 1099s to DOR systems. Like SA, this system is also 30+ years old with antiquated technology.

• Electronic Data Management System (EDMS) – Used by the ODHS IRMS unit to process inbound mail and faxes sent by families and providers. The IRMS unit receives these documents and creates an electronic case file in Client Work Manager for payment processing or review by the DPU staff.

• Client Work Manager – Used by the DPU staff to manage work queues and integrate with EDMS as part of the billing workflow. ODHS Background Check Unit (BCU) and Office of Payment Accuracy and Recovery (OPAR) also use this application for work queues.

• Century Link IVR and IBS Phone Bank – Enables DPU to answer provider inquiries over the phone. Self-service features within IVR enable providers to get answers to their most common inquiries.

• Check Recon and Positive Pay System – Used to disburse the payments through checks or electronic fund transfer by ODHS for ERDC and other programs.

• Accounting Interface – Used to send accounting information to the State Financial Management and Accounting (SFMA) system

• JV Pay System – Used to process an array of payments, including TANF payments. This system is run by ODHS and will need to remain as part of ODHS to serve separate functionality.

In the current state, the following systems support OCC processes for childcare provider licensing and background check:

• Child Care Regulatory Information System (CCRIS) – The primary system used by the OCC staff to manage the provider licensing and background check processes. This system is owned by the Early Learning Division and supported by Department of Employment and hosted in the State Date Center. CCRIS is a 20+ years old system and is integrated with

Oregon Registry Online (ORO) to get individuals training data related to childcare.

o Central Background Registry (CBR) – This database serves as a centralized repository of individuals with verified background for the purpose of childcare.

o Child Care Safety Portal – Public facing portal for parents and families to check the safety and quality of licensed childcare programs in Oregon. This portal draws information from CCRIS and enables the public to search for a specific provider and view their licensing history over a period, including license status and type, summary of inspection visits, complaints, enforcement activity, serious injuries or deaths and quality program participation.

In addition to the above systems, OCC staff leverage the following external systems:

• Oregon Records Management System (ORMS) for document archival

• Print Plant for printing and distribution

• Law Enforcement Data Systems (LEDS) for police records

• Oregon Judicial Case Information Network (OJCIN) for court records

• ORKids regarding foster care situations

• Oregon Registry Online (ORO) for training records

• Adobe Acrobat Pro for checklists and document redaction

4. Definitions

“Respondent” An entity submitting a response to this RFI.

“Services” means all of the products, properties, and Services to be provided by Contractor under this Contract.

5. Response to This RFI

A. Corporate Profile:

• A written introduction for the company that tells about its activities, mission, goals and strengths.

B. Technical and Operational Approach:

• Please describe your solution platform: COTS, SaaS, Cloud/Hosted, or On Premise.

• As needed, provide a complete list of system requirements (hardware and software) for system, such as a listing of needed servers, other hardware, and network integration.

• Describe additional modules or services not identified in this document that would be appropriate for similar operations. Include cost of each module or service.

• Describe the administrative tools used to manage the respondent’s software.

• The software should be user-friendly and intuitive. List summary features that demonstrate an intuitive user interface.

C. Delivery Timeline:

• What is the estimated time for implementing the solution?

• Describe the implementation process including testing and training.

D. Cost and Pricing:

• Provide licensing and cost model, including maintenance and support costs.

E. References:

• Provide references from three (3) similar public agencies which have implemented the software. Briefly describe the services that were provided.

F. Security Requirements:

• Review Statewide Information and Cyber Security requirements here:

https://www.oregon.gov/das/OSCIO/Documents/2019StatewideInformationAndC yberSecurityStandardsV1.0.pdf

6. Instructions to Respondents

This document shall not be construed as a request or authorization to perform work at ELD’s expense. Any work performed by a supplier to respond to this RFI will be at the supplier’s own discretion and expense; ELD will not be obligated for any supplier costs related to this RFI. This RFI does not represent a commitment to purchase or lease any product. Submission of a response constitutes acknowledgement that the supplier has read and agrees to be bound by such terms.

ELD may publish a formal Request for Proposal for the services described in this document. However, there is no guarantee that ELD will publish an RFP or, if an RFP is issued, what timeframe that will be.

To facilitate a timely and comprehensive evaluation of all supplier information, https://www.oregon.gov/das/OSCIO/Documents/2019StatewideInformationAndCyberSecurityStandardsV1.0.pdf https://www.oregon.gov/das/OSCIO/Documents/2019StatewideInformationAndCyberSecurityStandardsV1.0.pdf responses should be submitted in PDF format.

While this RFI is the product of an intensive information gathering process and has been subjected to an extensive review, ELD makes no claims as to the accuracy of the information contained in it.

6.1 Point of Contact

All communication with ELD must be directed to the single point of contact for this project, as follows:

Name: Ashley Griffin Address: 700 Summer St. Salem, OR 97302 Telephone: 971-240-2426 E-mail: Ashley.Griffin@ode.oregon.gov

6.2 Submission of Responses

There will be no formal question and answer period for the RFI. Respondents should make whatever assumptions they deem necessary to provide the requested information, and these assumptions should be clearly stated.

• Fill out attached cover sheet with response. ELD will use this information to contact respondents about potential contract award.

• Include respondents responses to the user stories outline in Appendix 1.

• Respondents shall submit an electronic response, including cover sheet and accompanying information by email to the SPC listed in section 6.1.

cover sheet and accompanying information should be submitted as a single PDF file. The user stories should be submitted in Excel Format.

• Cover sheet with all accompanying information shall be submitted before the due date and time listed on the cover of the RFI. Respondents shall bear all risks associated with delays in email or file sharing.

• Cover sheet may be withdrawn by written notification on company letterhead signed by an authorized person and received prior to the deadline for submitting letters of interest.

Responses should be submitted to Point of Contact listed in 6.1 by:

Date: Monday, April 24th 2023 Time: 5:00 PM PT

In response ELD will:

Send a confirming email reply acknowledging receipt;

Review all summary submissions Respondents may be selected to conduct a live virtual product demonstration in addition to the written response.

6.3 Public Records Notice & Trade Secrets

Generally, all RFI’s are public information. Copies of public information may be requested by any person. Respondents shall label the information and documentation qualifying as trade secrets under ORS 192.501(2) that it wishes to protect from disclosure to third parties with the following: "This data constitutes a trade secret under ORS 192.501(2) and is not to be disclosed except as required by law." DAS PS shall take reasonable measures to hold in confidence all such labeled information and documentation. Provided, however, DAS PS shall not be liable for release of any information when required by law or court order to do so, whether pursuant to Oregon Public Records Law or otherwise. Further, DAS PS shall also be immune from liability for disclosure or release of information under the circumstances set out in ORS 646.473(3).

7. APPENDICES

1. User Stories

2. Cover Sheet

3. Statewide Standards Spreadsheet

APPENDIX II — COVER SHEET

Legal Name of Respondents

Address: City, State, Zip:

State of Incorporation: Entity Type:

Contact Name: Telephone: Email:

Oregon Business Registry Number:

Any individual signing below hereby certifies they are an authorized representative of Applicant and that:

I, the undersigned, and authorized representative of have read and thoroughly understand the specifications, the RFI instructions, and all other conditions of the Request for Information solicitation as well as all addenda issued for this solicitation by the Oregon Department of Education, Early Learning Division, Procuring and Implementing a Provider Management Platform and agree that the information submitted is accurate and correct.

Authorized Signature Date

(Printed Name and Title)