RFP 202607116 Monitored Visitation Proposed Services Response Form.docx

RFP# 202607116

Monitored Visitation Services

RESPONSE TO PROPOSED SERVICES

Proposed District Choose Only One

Bidder Name:

INSTRUCTIONS: Bidder must complete this form to discuss the Services to be Provided referenced in Part II of the RFP and what the Bidder will offer, including:

· A description of the methods and resources the Bidder will use and how each task involved will be accomplished.

· A description of how the expectations and/or desired outcomes as a result of these services will be achieved.

· If subcontractors are involved, Bidders must clearly identify the work each will perform.

Bidders may expand each of the response (white) spaces within this document in order to provide a full response to each requirement.

A. Monitored Visitation Service Delivery

1. Ensure each Child is Safe from Child Abuse or Neglect during Visits.

2. Notify the Department within twenty-four (24) hours, or before the next Monitored Visit (whichever is sooner) of any Safety Intervention or Critical Incident.

a. Provide Visit Video access within twenty-four (24) hours, indicating in the email what happened, and the location in the video where the incident occurred.

3. Ensure compliance with court orders and/or the Department’s Family Visitation Plan regarding Monitored Visitation.

4. Provide testimony in Child welfare court proceedings, as mandated by court subpoena. Visit Monitors (VMs) may be subpoenaed to testify in court proceedings and therefore must be prepared to provide testimony about the Monitored Visitation Visits that are supported by the VMs.

5. Ensure the development, implementation, and oversight of Monitored Visitation services provides a Culturally Competent, respectful, Strength-based, and Trauma-informed Approach.

a. Ensure staff have the capacity to accommodate the cultural and linguistic needs of any family referred.

6. Collaborate with the Department’s Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) and District staff:

a. To streamline and coordinate the Monitored Visitation services, including the referral and scheduling process;

b. By meeting quarterly with District staff to identify issues within the Monitored Visitation services delivery and to address issues that may arise;

c. By cooperating with the Department and other applicable government agencies in monitoring, investigating, and reporting on compliance with applicable Federal and State laws and regulations; and

d. Ensuring VMs provide video documentation of Visitations.

7. Ensure Safety measures are used for Monitored Visitation services, including but not limited to:

a. Ensuring VMs have access to phone service to alert the local police department when needed.

8. Make every effort to engage Parent(s) to attend and participate in scheduled Monitored Visitation:

a. By reaching out to parents who no show for a visit, or cancel without explanation.

b. By incorporating relatives, sibling(s), and pets in Monitored Visits.

i. VMs must make every effort to include the sibling(s) in Monitored Visitation who are not in Department custody, when requested by the Department.

9. Monitor family and Child(ren) progress by ensuring VMs:

a. Report all Safety Interventions and Critical Incidents within twenty-four (24) hours to the Department; and

b. Use Emergency Protocols to provide documentation via an email to both the OCFS case worker and the OCFS supervisor.

10. Document each Monitored Visit by:

a. Ensuring each Monitored Visit is recorded;

b. Ensuring Visit Videos are stored on the awarded Bidder’s secure network;

c. Transmitting the Visit Video links to OCFS within twenty-four (24) hours of the Monitored Visit; and

d. Entering all notes into the Department’s Child Welfare Information System (CWIS) narrative logs within five (5) business days of the Visit, using the Monitored Visitation Narrative template in Appendix H.

11. Ensure all VM staff comply with subpoenaed requests.

B. Staff and Training Requirements

1. Ensure all staff receive a background check in compliance with the Department’s Fee for Service Contract template, Rider D, Section 13, prior to providing Monitored Visitation.

2. VM minimum qualifications:

a. Must be twenty-one (21) years of age or older; and

b. Have twelve (12) months of previously documented experience, and knowledge, working with Children and families.

3. Training Requirements

a. Ensure all Monitored Visit staff have been trained in the mandated reporter training, prior to providing Monitored Visitation services and in accordance with the mandated reporting law.

b. Provide training and support (initial and ongoing) regarding the use, maintenance, and proper care of the equipment/software for the CWIS application for documentation.

c. Provide instructions to all Monitored Visitation staff on the Department’s language access policies and procedures, and document how procedures were followed when needed.

C. Facility Standards and Facility Operational Requirements

1. Identify office location(s) and/or Visitation center(s) for delivering Monitored Visitation Services which:

a. Operate, Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; Saturdays, 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; and Sundays, 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

i. Exceptions to the required hours are granted during State Holidays and administrative closings.

b. Provide adequate space to accommodate peak hours of Monitored Visitation, from 2:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., to ensure the privacy of families who are Visiting.

c. Have emergency exits, posted Emergency Protocols, and meet all other State and municipal fire Safety-code requirements.

d. Ensure a wide geographical coverage within the District.

D. Referral Requirements

1. Provide Monitored Visitation to all families referred by the Department or a Federally Recognized Tribe and review all referrals to ensure there are no conflicts of interest.

0. Conflicts of interest include:

0. Personal knowledge;

0. Involvement with the Parent;

0. Other information which could place a bias; and/or

0. Presenting a Safety concern as determined by the awarded Bidder.

0. If there is a questionable conflict of interest, consult with the Department regarding the circumstances and collaborate to develop an alternative plan, if necessary. Document any potential or realized conflicts of interest regarding Visitation program staff, to include how the conflict was recognized and resolved.

1. Assign appropriate staff to the family within three (3) business days of the referral.

1. If, by day three (3) the family has not been reached, the awarded Bidder must contact the Department caseworker to ensure a Visit is scheduled.

1. Contact the Department within three (3) business days of the referral to provide dates/times available for Visits.

1. Ensure the first (1st) Visit occurs within seven (7) calendar days of the referral.

1. A referral is complete when the referral form has been received by the awarded Bidder from the Department’s Child welfare staff.

E. Information Technology Requirements

1. Work with the Department and MaineIT to receive State laptops, Active Directory accounts, and approved two-factor authentication, for staff conducting Monitored Visitation Services.

a. Ensure staff utilizing State devices, accounts, authentication methods, virtual private networks, or an information system provisioned by the Department and/or MaineIT, comply with MaineIT Policies & Standards, specifically:

i. Access Control Policy;

ii. Access Control Procedure for Users;

iii. Security Awareness Training;

iv. Rules of Behavior Policy;

1) This is not intended to replace or address professional conduct outside the information security context.

v. User Device and Commodity Application Policy; and

vi. Network Device Management Policy.

b. Promptly notify the Department in the event of any staff no longer performing work under the contract resulting from this RFP, so access to State systems may be terminated.

i. Return the loaned laptop to the Department or MaineIT within five (5) business days of staff no longer performing work under the contract resulting from this RFP.

2. Obtain and maintain insurance as outlined in the current State of Maine IT-Service Contract (IT-SC), Rider B-IT, Section 19. Insurance Requirements. The current IT-SC may be obtained on the Office of State Procurement Services Forms & Templates webpage.

3. Comply with all State and Federal laws regarding the protection of confidential and/or sensitive information that is collected or maintained by the awarded Bidder, including, as applicable, notification to individuals in the event of unauthorized access or disclosure.

4. The State does not consume a vendor application, but the vendor consumes one/more State application(s).

5. Provide annual confirmation regarding compliance with all applicable MaineIT Policies & Standards.

a. Implement any substantive change to MaineIT Policies & Standards within a timeframe negotiated between the Department, MaineIT and the awarded Bidder.

6. Comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

7. Ensure all PHI or other individually identifiable information provided by the Department, accessed via Department systems, or received or acquired from any individual as a part of the Monitored Visitation Services or through any other method, is regarded as confidential information.

8. Ensure all confidential information, in any format, is safeguarded consistent with the terms of the Department’s Business Associate Agreement and any other applicable State and Federal confidentiality laws, regulations, and/or rules.

9. Comply with the terms of Maine’s Notice of Risk to Personal Data Act, pursuant to 10 M.R.S.A §§ 1346-1350-B, and any other applicable privacy and security laws, rules, and regulations.

10. Meet quarterly, either in-person or by telephone conference, with the Department to review PHI compliance and any potential concerns related to confidential information.

11. Notify the Department immediately in the event of a breach or potential breach of confidentiality.

12. Collaborate with the Department to investigate, document, and otherwise respond to any actual or potential breach of confidential information.

F. Recordkeeping, Data Collection/Management, and Supportive Documentation

1. Use feedback from quality-of-service delivery measures to improve Monitored Visitation Services.

2. Complete thorough documentation, within five (5) business days of each Visit.

3. Collaborate with the Department to streamline and coordinate the Monitored Visitation Services including:

a. Scheduling and conducting Visits;

b. Assessing travel time for each Child(ren) in Care who is transported to, and from Visits;

c. Continuous assessment of the Parent’s progress, in relation to participating in the Visits including, but not limited to:

i. Attendance;

ii. Acceptance and effective use of feedback regarding interactions appropriate to Child development; and

iii. Goals set for the Parent(s).

4. Use feedback from quality-of-service delivery measures to improve Monitored Visitation Services; and

5. Utilize client feedback to improve services, as evidenced by quantitative and qualitative data, provided to the Department.

G. Performance Measures

1. Perform all services proposed in response to this RFP by achieving all Performance Measures listed in Table 1.

0. Submit data to support the performance measures utilizing Appendix H (Provider Packet) or via a third-party data source, as indicated within the performance measure data source column of Table 1.

Table 1 Mandatory Performance Measures

Office Goal/Initiative: Improve stability, health and well-being, and quality Permanent connections of individual and families.

H. Reports

1. Track and record all data/information necessary to complete the required reports listed in Table 2:

Table 2 – Required Reports

Includes the Visit Video for Monitored Visits

2. Submit all the required reports to the Department in accordance with the timelines established in Table 3:

Table 3 – Required Reports Timelines

DHHS RFP Proposed Services Response Form (Rev. 10/2025)