RFP 240000001592 - amended 3-22-24.docx

Michigan.gov/MiProcurement proposal instructions Department of Technology, Management and Budget - Procurement Transportation for Youth in Foster Care for Education Request for Proposal No. 230000003202 Solicitation Manager Name: Melissa Beck Direct Phone: 517-897-1502 Email:beckm3@michigan.gov Main Phone: 1-855-MI-PURCH 1-855-647-8724 This is a Request for Proposal (RFP) for: Providing safe and reliable transportation to open abuse/neglect foster care cases in K-12 children and youth in foster care to remain in their school of origin in the counties of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb.

RFP Timeline

*A bidder’s proposal received at 11:50:01 a.m. Eastern is late and subject to disqualification.

This RFP is subject to change. Check www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS for current information.

1. PROPOSAL PREPARATION. The State recommends reading all RFP materials prior to preparing a proposal, particularly these Proposal Instructions and the Vendor Questions Worksheet. Bidders must follow these Proposal Instructions and provide a complete response to the items indicated in the RFP Structure and Documentation table below. References and links to websites or external sources may not be used in lieu of providing the information requested in the RFP within the proposal. Include the bidder’s company name in the header of all documents submitted with your proposal. Note that all documents and information submitted as part of a proposal will become public record immediately upon receipt by the State. Proposals received by the State may be posted on the State’s publicly available website after bidders are notified of the award recommendation.

RFP Structure and Documentation

2. CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE STATE. The sole point of contact for the State concerning this RFP is listed on the Cover Page. Contacting any other State personnel, agent, consultant, or representative about this RFP may result in bidder disqualification.

3. MODIFICATIONS. The State may modify this RFP at any time. Modifications will be posted on www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS. This is the only method by which the RFP may be modified.

4. QUESTIONS. Bidder questions about this RFP must be emailed to the Solicitation Manager at BeckM3@michigan.gov no later than the time and date specified on the Cover Page. In the interest of transparency, only written questions are accepted. Answers to questions will be posted on www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS. Submit questions using the format below; a Microsoft Excel format or similar is suggested.

5. DELIVERY OF PROPOSAL.

Electronic – The bidder must submit its proposal, all attachments, and any modifications or withdrawals electronically through www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS. The price proposal should be saved separately from all other proposal documents. The bidder should submit all documents in a modifiable (native) format (examples include but are not limited to Microsoft Word or Excel and Google Docs or Sheets). In addition to submitting documents in a modifiable format, the bidder may also submit copies of documents in PDF. Attachment file size is limited to 6 MB per document. Bidder’s failure to submit a proposal as required may result in disqualification. The proposal and attachments must be fully uploaded and submitted prior to the proposal deadline. Do not wait until the last minute to submit a proposal, as the SIGMA VSS system requires the creation of an account and entry of certain information, in addition to uploading and submitting the materials. The SIGMA VSS system will not allow a proposal to be submitted after the proposal deadline identified in the solicitation Closing On/Closing Date fields (Summary view/Detail view), even if a portion of the proposal has been uploaded.

Questions on how to submit information or how to navigate in the SIGMA VSS system can be answered by calling (517) 284-0540 or (888) 734-9749. The Solicitation Manager will not provide assistance related to the submittal of the proposal and all attachments on the day of the proposal deadline. Responsibility for a complete submission lies with the bidder. Note that all documents and information submitted in any manner as part of a proposal will become public record immediately upon receipt by the State. Proposals received may be posted by the State on the State’s publicly available website after bidders are notified of the award recommendation.

6. EVALUATION PROCESS The State will evaluate each proposal based on the following factors:

Proposals receiving 80 or more technical evaluation points will have pricing evaluated and considered for award.

The State may utilize all bidder information, without regard to a proposal’s technical score, to determine fair market value for goods or services sought. The State is not obligated to accept the lowest price proposal. If applicable, the State’s evaluation will include consideration of a bidder’s qualified disabled veterans/service-disabled veteran owned business (QDV/SDVOB) status under MCL 18.1261(8). Additional information on the SDVOB preference is available at: Michigan.gov/SDVOB.

The State strongly encourages strict adherence to the Contract Terms. The State reserves the right to deem a bid non-responsive for failure to accept the Contract Terms. Nevertheless, the bidder may submit proposed changes to the Contract Terms in track changes (i.e., visible edits) with an explanation of the bidder’s need for each proposed change. Failure to include track changes with an explanation of the bidder’s need for the proposed change constitutes the bidder’s acceptance of the Contract Terms. General statements, such as that the bidder reserves the right to negotiate the terms and conditions, may be considered non-responsive. Failure to respond timely to requests for proposed changes to Contract Terms during ongoing negotiations may be cause for disqualification.

The State may but is not required to conduct an on-site visit to tour and inspect the bidder’s facilities; require an oral presentation of the bidder's proposal; conduct interviews, research, reference checks, and background checks; and request additional price concessions at any point during the evaluation process.

7. NOTICE OF DEFICIENCY. The State reserves the right to issue a Notice of Deficiency to bidders if the State determines after the proposal deadline that a portion of the RFP was deficient, unclear, or ambiguous. Failure to respond to a Notice of Deficiency timely may be cause for disqualification.

8. CLARIFICATION REQUEST. The State reserves the right to issue a Clarification Request to a bidder to clarify its proposal if the State determines the proposal is not clear. Failure to respond to a Clarification Request timely may be cause for disqualification.

9. RESERVATIONS. The State reserves the right to:

a. Disqualify a bidder for failure to follow these instructions.

b. Discontinue the RFP process at any time for any or no reason. The issuance of an RFP, your preparation and submission of a proposal, and the State’s subsequent receipt and evaluation of your proposal does not commit the State to award a contract to you or anyone, even if all the requirements in the RFP are met.

c. Consider late proposals if: (i) no other proposals are received; (ii) no complete proposals are received; (iii) the State received complete proposals, but the proposals did not meet mandatory minimum requirements or technical criteria; or (iv) the award process fails to result in an award.

d. Consider an otherwise disqualified proposal if no other proposals are received.

e. Disqualify a proposal based on: (i) information provided by the bidder in response to this RFP; (2) the bidder’s failure to complete registration on www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS ; or (3) if it is determined that a bidder purposely or willfully submitted false or misleading information in response to the RFP.

f. Consider prior performance with the State in making its award decision.

g. Consider overall economic impact to the State when evaluating proposal pricing and in the final award recommendation. This includes but is not limited to: considering principal place of performance, number of Michigan citizens employed or potentially employed, dollars paid to Michigan residents, Michigan capital investments, job creation, tax revenue implications, and economically disadvantaged businesses.

h. Consider total-cost-of-ownership factors (e.g., transition and training costs) when evaluating proposal pricing and in the final award recommendation.

i. Refuse to award a contract to any bidder that has failed to pay State taxes or has outstanding debt with the State.

j. Enter into negotiations with one or more bidders on price, terms, technical requirements, or other deliverables.

k. Award multiple, optional-use contracts, or award by Contract Activity.

l. Evaluate the proposal outside the scope identified in the Evaluation Process section of this document if the State receives only one proposal.

10. AWARD RECOMMENDATION. The contract will be awarded to the responsive and responsible bidder who offers the best value to the State, as determined by the State. Best value will be determined by the bidder meeting the minimum point threshold and offering the best combination of the factors stated in the Evaluation Process section of this document, and price, as demonstrated by the proposal. The State will post an Award Recommendation and Evaluation Synopsis on www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS or in the manner it was originally published.

11. DEBRIEF MEETING AND BID PROTEST. The State will publish an Award Recommendation and Evaluation Synopsis which will provide instructions on how to request a debrief meeting.

If you wish to initiate a protest of the award, you must submit your written protest electronically at BidProtest-DTMB@michigan.gov no later than 11:00 a.m., 5 business days after posting the Award Recommendation and Evaluation Synopsis on SIGMA VSS. The State reserves the right to adjust this timing and will publish any change.

Additional information about the protest process is available at .

12. STATE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD. Contracts equal to $250,000 or greater than require approval by the State Administrative Board. The State Administrative Board’s decision is final; however, its approval does not constitute a contract. The award process is not complete until the awarded contractor receives a contract fully executed by all parties.

13. GENERAL CONDITIONS. The State will not be liable for any costs, expenses, or damages incurred by a bidder participating in this solicitation. The bidder agrees that its proposal will be considered an offer to do business with the State in accordance with its proposal, including the Contract Terms, and that its proposal will be irrevocable and binding for a period of 180 calendar days from date of submission. If a contract is awarded to the bidder, the State may, at its option, incorporate any part of the bidder’s proposal into a contract. This RFP is not an offer to enter into a contract. This RFP may not provide a complete statement of the State’s environment or contain all matters upon which agreement must be reached. The bidder understands that their proposal will become public record immediately upon receipt by the State. Other than verified trade secrets, proposals submitted via www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS are the State’s property.

14. CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT FORM AND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. As a public record, all portions of the bidder’s proposal and resulting contract are subject to disclosure as required under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), MCL 15.231, et seq. However, the State may exempt some information from disclosure as permitted by law. Under MCL 18.1261(13)(b), records containing “a trade secret as defined under section 2 of the uniform trade secrets act, 1998 PA 448, MCL 445.1902,” are exempt from disclosure under FOIA. In addition, “financial or proprietary information” submitted with a bidder’s proposal is exempt from disclosure under FOIA. A bidder’s failure to comply with this Section is grounds for rejecting a bidder’s proposal as non-responsive. As a part of its proposal, each bidder must follow the procedure below.

SUBMIT A COMPLETED “CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT FORM” (CT FORM) WITH YOUR BID. Completion and submission of the CT Form is required regardless of whether the bidder seeks confidential treatment of information. Failure to submit a completed CT Form may be cause for disqualification from the solicitation process. If a bidder fails to properly complete and submit the CT Form or otherwise fails to follow CT Form instructions, the proposal may be publicly disclosed in its entirety without redaction after an award recommendation.

Complete and sign Section 1 of the CT Form if the bidder does NOT request confidential treatment of information contained in its proposal; or

i. Complete and sign Section 2 of the CT Form if the bidder requests confidential treatment of certain information. Bidder must also submit a “Public Copy” of the proposal with the trade secret, financial, and proprietary information redacted and clearly labeled as the “Public Copy.”

ii. Failure to complete and sign a CT Form may result in disqualification of the bidder. If a bidder fails to properly complete and submit the CT Form or otherwise fails to follow the CT Form instructions, the proposal, in its entirety, will be treated as a “Public Copy” and may be publicly disclosed by the State without redaction after bidders have been notified of an award recommendation.

FOIA REQUESTS. If a FOIA request is made for a bidder’s proposal, the Public Copy may be distributed to the public along with the bidder’s CT Form. The CT Form is a public document and serves as an explanation for the redactions to the Public Copy. Do not put any trade secret, financial, or proprietary information in the CT Form. Do not redact the CT Form itself.

b. NO ADVICE. The State will not advise a bidder as to the nature or content of documents entitled to protection from disclosure under FOIA or other laws, as to the interpretation of such laws, or as to the definition of trade secret or financial or proprietary information. Nothing contained in this provision will modify or amend requirements and obligations imposed on the State by FOIA or other applicable law.

c. FAILURE TO REQUEST CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT. Failure to request material be treated as confidential as specified herein relieves the State, its agencies, and personnel from any responsibility for maintaining material in confidence.

d. Bids containing a request to maintain an entire proposal as confidential may be rejected as non-responsive. Bidders may not request confidential treatment with respect to resumes, pricing, and marketing materials. The State reserves the right to determine whether material designated as exempt by a bidder falls under MCL 18.1261 or other applicable FOIA exemptions. If a FOIA request is made for materials that the bidder has identified as trade secret, financial, or proprietary information, the State has the final authority to determine whether the materials are exempt from disclosure under FOIA.

e. Bidder forever releases the State, its departments, subdivisions, officers, and employees from all claims, rights, actions, demands, damages, liabilities, expenses and fees, which arise out of or relate to the disclosure of all or a portion of bidder’s proposal submitted under this RFP. Bidder must defend, indemnify and hold the State, its departments, subdivisions, officers, and employees harmless, without limitation, from and against all actions, claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, attorney fees, and expenses (including those required to establish the right to indemnification), arising out of or relating to any FOIA request, including potential litigation and appeals, related to the portion of bidder’s proposal submitted under this RFP that bidder has identified as a trade secret, or financial or proprietary information. The State will notify bidder in writing if indemnification is sought. The State is entitled to: (i) regular updates on proceeding status; (ii) participate in the defense of the proceeding; (iii) employ its own counsel; and to (iv) retain control of the defense, or any portion thereof, if the State deems necessary. Bidder will not, without the State’s written consent (not to be unreasonably withheld), settle, compromise, or consent to the entry of any judgment in or otherwise seek to terminate any claim, action, or proceeding. If a State employee, official, or law is involved or challenged, the State may control the defense of that portion of the claim. Any litigation activity on behalf of the State, or any of its subdivisions under this Section, must be coordinated with the Department of Attorney General. An attorney designated to represent the State may not do so until approved by the Michigan Attorney General and appointed as a Special Assistant Attorney General.

confidential treatment form INSTRUCTIONS. Bidder must complete either Section 1 or Section 2 of this CT Form and sign where indicated. Do not complete both sections. This CT Form must be signed by the individual who signed the bidder’s proposal. A completed CT Form must be submitted with your proposal, regardless of whether your proposal contains confidential information.

Failure to submit a completed CT Form with your bid is grounds for rejecting the proposal as non-responsive. If a bidder fails to properly complete and submit the CT Form or otherwise fails to follow CT Form Instructions, the proposal, in its entirety, will be treated as a “Public Copy” and may be publicly disclosed by the State without redaction after bidders have been notified of an award recommendation. See the Confidential Treatment Form and The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) sections of the Proposal Instructions for additional information.

Section 1. CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT IS NOT REQUESTED This section must be completed, signed, and submitted with the proposal if the bidder does not request confidential treatment of any material contained in the proposal. If this section is completed, do not complete Section 2. CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT IS REQUESTED.

By signing below, the bidder affirms that confidential treatment of material contained in their proposal is not requested.

RFP Number

RFP Title

Signature

Date

Printed Name, Title, Company

Section 2. CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT IS REQUESTED This section must be completed, signed, and submitted with the proposal if bidder requests confidential treatment of any material contained in the proposal. Submission of a completed CT Form is required to request confidential treatment. If this section is completed, do not complete Section 1. CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT IS NOT REQUESTED.

Provide the information in the table below. Bidder may add rows or additional pages using the same format shown in the table. Bidder must specifically identify the information to be protected as confidential and state the reasons why protection is necessary.

The CT Form will not be considered fully complete unless, for each confidentiality request, the bidder: (1) identifies the Proposal Page #, Section #, and Paragraph #, (2) identifies whether the material is a Trade Secret (TS), Proprietary Financial Information (FI), or Proprietary Information (PI), and (3) explains the specific legal grounds that support treatment of the material as TS, FI, or PI. Bidders must provide a complete justification as to how the material falls within the scope of an applicable FOIA exemption or relevant case law. Bidders must not simply cite to an applicable exemption or case name. Bidders must also provide the contact information for the person at their organization authorized to respond to inquiries by the State concerning the material.

Bidder must also submit a “Public Copy” of the proposal with the trade secret, financial, and proprietary information redacted and clearly labeled as the “Public Copy”.

(1) Proposal Page #, Section #, Paragraph # (2) Material is Trade Secret (TS), Proprietary Financial Information (FI), Proprietary Information (PI) (3) Applicable FOIA Exemption with Written Justification (4) Bidder Contact Information

By signing below, the bidder affirms that confidential treatment of material contained in their proposal is requested and has attached to this form a redacted “Public Copy” of the bidder’s proposal.

RFP Number

RFP Title

Signature

Date

Printed Name, Title, Company vendor questions worksheet Provide a detailed response to each question. “You” and “company” refers to the bidder.

1. Contact Information

Bidder’s sole contact person during the RFP process. Include name, title, address, email, and phone number.

Person authorized to receive and sign a resulting contract. Include name, title, address, email, phone number and vendor customer code in SIGMA VSS.

2. Company Background Information

Legal business name and address. Include business entity designation, e.g., sole proprietor, Inc., LLC, or LLP.

What state was the company formed in?

Phone number.

Website address.

Number of years in business.

Number of employees.

Legal business name and address of parent company, if any.

Has there been a recent change in organizational structure (e.g., management team) or control (e.g., merger or acquisition) of your company? If the answer is yes: (a) explain why the change occurred and (b) how this change has affected your company.

Discuss your company’s history. Has growth been organic, through mergers and acquisitions, or both?

Has bidder ever been debarred, suspended, or disqualified from bidding or contracting with any entity, including the State of Michigan? If yes, provide the date, the entity, and details about the situation.

Has your company been a party to litigation against the State of Michigan? If the answer is yes, then state the date of initial filing, case name and court number, and jurisdiction.

Within the last 5 years, has your company or any of its related business entities defaulted on a contract or had a contract terminated for cause? If yes, provide the date, contracting entity, type of contract, and details about the termination or default.

State your gross annual sales for each of the last 5 years.

If receiving a contract under this RFP will increase your gross revenue by more than 25% from last year’s sales, explain how the company will scale-up to manage this increase.

Describe partnerships and strategic relationships you think will bring significant value to the State.

State the physical address of the place of business that would have primary responsibility for this account if bidder is awarded a contract under this RFP.

To demonstrate qualification as a qualified disabled veteran, you must provide:

(a) Proof of service and conditions of discharge (DD214 or equivalent).

(b) Proof of service-connected disability (DD214 if the disability was documented at discharge or Veterans Administration Rating Decision Letter or equivalent if the disability was documented after discharge); and

(c) Legal documents setting forth the ownership of the business entity.

In lieu of the documentation identified above, you may provide proof of certification by the National Veterans Business Development Council.

Enter the names of documents submitted with your proposal to demonstrate status as a qualified disabled veteran.

4. Participation in RFP Development or Evaluation

If you enter “YES”, you are not eligible for contract award or to work as a subcontractor for the awarded vendor.

If you enter “YES,” you are not eligible for contract award. An awarded vendor may not partner or subcontract with anyone to provide goods and services required under a resulting contract if that subcontractor or partner assisted in the development of this solicitation.

If you enter “YES”, you are not eligible for contract award or to work as a subcontractor for the awarded vendor.

5. State of Michigan Experience and Prior Experience

Does your company have experience working with the State of Michigan? If so, please provide a list (including the contract number) of the contracts you hold or have held with the State for the last 10 years.

Describe at least 3 relevant experiences from the last 5 years supporting your ability to successfully manage a contract of similar size and scope for the work described in this RFP.

Experience 1

Company name.

Contact name.

Contact role at time of project.

Contact phone.

Contact email.

City.

State.

Zip.

1. Project name and description of the scope of the project.

2. What role did your company play?

3. How is this project experience relevant to the subject of this RFP?

Dollar value.

Start and end date (mm/yy – mm/yy)

Status (completed, live, other – specify phase)

Results obtained.

Experience 2

Company name.

Contact role at time of project.

City.

1. Project name and description of the scope of the project.

Dollar value.

Start and end date (mm/yy – mm/yy)

Status (completed, live, other – specify phase)

Results obtained.

Experience 3

Company name.

Contact role at time of project.

City.

1. Project name and description of the scope of the project.

Dollar value.

Start and end date (mm/yy – mm/yy)

Status (completed, live, other – specify phase)

Results obtained.

6. Standard Contract Terms

Bidder must affirm agreement with the attached Contract Terms. If not in agreement, written exceptions in accordance with the Evaluation Process section of the Proposal Instructions must be provided with Bidder’s proposal.

7. Insurance Requirements

8. Michigan Economic Impact

Number of employees currently employed at locations within the State of Michigan.

Number of additional employees to be employed at locations within the State of Michigan if awarded this Contract (if any)

Minimum wage paid to employees employed at locations within the State of Michigan.

Average wage paid to employees employed at locations within the State of Michigan.

Percentage of employees employed at locations within the State of Michigan that are covered by employer-provided health insurance.

9. Labor, Antidiscrimination and Environmental Laws Compliance

Bidder must disclose any violations of state or federal labor, antidiscrimination and employment laws and regulations received within the past five years.

Bidder must disclose any violations of state or federal environmental laws and regulations received within the past five years.

10. Supplier Diversity

11. Other

12. Response to State Requests

SCHEDULE A - STATEMENT OF WORK CONTRACT ACTIVITIES

Request for Proposal No.230000003202 Transportation for Youth in Foster Care for Education This schedule identifies the anticipated requirements of any Contract resulting from this RFP. The term “Contractor” in this document refers to a bidder responding to this RFP, as well as the Contractor who is awarded the contract. The term “Bidder” is used to identify where specific responses to the RFP are required.

The Contractor must respond to each requirement or question and explain how it will fulfill each requirement. Attach any supplemental information and appropriately reference within your response.

IMPORTANT NOTE TO CONTRACTORS/BIDDERS: There are specific requirements for which acceptance must be simply acknowledged through a checkbox(es), and others that require further explanation. Click the appropriate checkbox and complete the entries as appropriate.

BACKGROUND

Federal and State education and child welfare policy require that children in foster care remain in their school of origin, even if being placed outside of the district, when feasible and found in their best interest, to maintain educational stability. Transportation cannot be the only barrier that leads to children having to change schools. Despite these requirements, lack of transportation options, including lack of drivers and unreliable public bussing systems, cause some youth to have to change schools mid-school year.

Claiming for school transportation is allowed under federal Title IV-E (child welfare) and Title I (education) funding. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and Michigan Department of Education (MDE) have collaborated on the development and implementation of policy allowing for shared payment of transportation. Foster care policy FOM 723, Educational Services outlines payment and practice requirements.

SCOPE

The Contractor will provide safe and reliable transportation for youth with an open abuse/neglect foster care case in a K-12 program to facilitate continuing a youth’s education in their school of origin. These transportation services will serve youth residing in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. The Contractor will provide an application that the user can download onto their phone or computer to request and track the service of transportation.

1. Requirements

1.1. General Requirements

The Contractor will provide safe and reliable transportation to children and youth who have an open abuse/neglect foster care case and are in the K-12 school system, to their school of origin when children and youth have been moved to a foster care placement outside of that school district.

The foster care case worker will ensure that the Contractor’s service will only be used when the child has been moved away from the school district of origin but is remaining in that school because it has been found in their best interest.

The Contractor will provide a downloadable application that a user (foster parent, relative caregiver, or appropriate older youth) can utilize on their phone or computer to secure transportation.

Contractor requirements:

1. Ensure that all drivers go through the certification process that includes:

a. Age 23 or older.

b. Minimum of four (4) years caregiving experience (which may be as a parent, teacher, foster parent, day care staff, or other role).

c. Annual Criminal background check, against national criminal, global watch, and sex offender databases. Fingerprint background check against FBI database.

d. Valid Michigan driver’s license.

e. Secretary of State record checks, upfront and ongoing.

f. Owns or leases a 4-door vehicle not more than ten (10) years old with seating for 4-7 passengers.

g. Pass a vehicle inspection by a certified mechanic.

h. Has personal auto coverage that meets or exceeds state-required limits.

i. Participates in in-person meeting and orientation with Contractor’s team.

j. Contractors has acceptable rules of conduct, approved by MDHHS.

k. Endorses zero-tolerance policy for smoking, drugs, or alcohol while driving.

l. Endorses zero-tolerance policy for illegal electronic mobile device usage, following any Michigan law.

List all exception(s):

Bidder must describe guidelines for background checks:

2. Ensure that all potential drivers complete an extensive training and orientation process that includes, at minimum, the following topics:

a. Safety:

i. be made aware of all driving policies, procedures, and requirements.

ii. learn about child/youth privacy (no physical contact, no photo, no video).

iii. know the seatbelt law and the Michigan hands free cell phone law.

v. learn how to best identify a child/youth they will be transporting using multiple factors, such as a phone, birthday, or password.

vi. learn what to do in the case of an emergency (car accident, health emergency and/or illness)

b. Procedures

i. learn how to utilize the application to accept a child/youth assignment.

ii. learn how to utilize the applications to show departure time, child/youth pick-up and drop-off.

iv. learn how to keep in contact with foster parent/relative caregiver.

c. Prohibited Behaviors Trainings should include review of the following:

i. No smoking, alcohol, and drugs.

ii. No eating or drinking while driving.

iii. No use of any devices while driving, except for the purpose of automated directions.

iv. No illegal parking.

d. Special Populations Training

i. must be trained in ways to best serve children/youth with disabilities, such as those who may have special physical needs or limited mobility.

ii. must be trained in trauma informed care and what kind of behaviors they may see in a child/youth who has experienced trauma.

iii. must learn the requirements of mandated reporting, and how to make a report of any suspects abuse or neglect.

List all exception(s):

Bidder must describe guidelines for background checks:

3. Develop a mobile friendly application that can be used by drivers and those who are accessing transportation.

a. Application will be utilized by those accessing rides (foster parents, relative caregivers, foster care staff, or appropriate older youth) to set up transportation, including scheduling, cancelling, and changing rides.

b. The application will provide safety to the client with information on the driver and the car.

c. The application will be maintained and updated as needed by the Contractor.

d. The application will notify all registered users of any changes on a case-by-case basis.

List all exception(s):

Bidder must describe guidelines for background checks:

4. The steps below when a student in foster care needs transportation to and from school.

a. The user sets up either a one-time or repeating ride for the child/children with the Contractor. A ride is guaranteed within 24 hours for the next day or with the capability to guarantee bookings a week in advance.

b. The application connects the user with a vetted network driver immediately.

c. The application shows what the car and driver look like and includes a multi-factor authentication with the Contractor. Application must ensure the student and driver find each other in a safe manner.

d. The user can get alerts for each step of the ride and can view them in real time. Anyone who is connected to that child’s account can receive alerts.

e. The Contractor tracks each ride in real-time and can proactively address any issues.

List all exception(s):

Bidder must describe guidelines for background checks:

5. Develop an outreach plan to get information to both MDHHS and private agency foster care staff about the services that this contract provides.

Plan should include trainings for foster care staff to teach them how to utilize the application and how they can best assist foster parents and relative caregivers with utilizing the application.

List all exception(s):

Bidder must describe what the capabilities of specific driver(s) are:

1.2. Training

The Contractor must provide specific training curriculum for potential drivers that will meet the training requirements listed above. This should include providing training materials and information regarding how training will be provided and length of training.

List all exception(s):

Bidder must explain its training capabilities and any training that is included in its proposal:

1.3. Specific Standards

IT Policies, Standards and Procedures (PSP) Contractors are advised that the State has methods, policies, standards and procedures that have been developed over the years. Contractors are expected to provide proposals that conform to State IT policies and standards. All services and products provided as a result of this RFP must comply with all applicable State IT policies and standards. Contractor is required to review all applicable links provided below and state compliance in their response.

Public IT Policies, Standards and Procedures (PSP):

DTMB - IT Policies, Standards & Procedures (michigan.gov)

List all exception(s):

Acceptable Use Policy To the extent that Contractor has access to the State’s computer system, Contractor must comply with the State’s Acceptable Use Policy, see 1340.00.130.02 Acceptable Use of Information Technology (michigan.gov). All Contractor Personnel will be required, in writing, to agree to the State’s Acceptable Use Policy before accessing the State’s system. The State reserves the right to terminate Contractor’s access to the State’s system if a violation occurs.

List all exception(s):

SOM Digital Standards All software items provided by the Contractor must adhere to the State of Michigan Application/Site Standards which can be found at www.michigan.gov/standards.

List all exception(s):

Mobile Responsiveness The Contractor’s Solution must utilize responsive design practices to ensure the application is accessible via a mobile device.

List all exception(s):

Bidders must provide a list of all mobile devices that are compatible with the Solution. Additionally, Bidder must provide list of features that can be performed via a mobile device either in this response box or identified here as an attachment to this RFP labelled as Mobile Devices compatibility and features.

ADA Compliance The State is required to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and has adopted standards and procedures regarding accessibility requirements for websites and software applications. All websites, applications, software, and associated content and documentation provided by the Contractor as part of the Solution must comply with Level AA of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.

List all exception(s):

Bidder must acknowledge their agreement with this section and provide details for how they will meet the requirements:

1.4. User Type and Capacity

Contractor must be able to meet the expected number of concurrent Users listed above.

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Bidder must explain how it will be able to support the expected number of concurrent Users. Bidder must also explain whether the Solution can scale up or down without affecting performance:

Bidder must provide details regarding latency response time for (i.e., Generate Page Load, standardized reporting, ad hoc reporting):

The Bidder must identify what network connectivity or equipment will the State be required to have to meet the expected latency response time?

1.5. Access Control and Authentication

The Contractor’s solution must integrate with the State’s IT Identity and Access Management (IAM) environment as described in the State of Michigan Digital Strategy (MILogin - Help - michigan.gov), which consist of:

A. MILogin/Michigan Identity, Credential, and Access Management (MICAM). An enterprise single sign-on and identity management solution based on IBM’s Identity and Access Management products including, IBM Security Identity Manager (ISIM), IBM Security Access Manager for Web (ISAM), IBM Tivoli Federated Identity Manager (TFIM), IBM Security Access Manager for Mobile (ISAMM), and IBM DataPower, which enables the State to establish, manage, and authenticate user identities for the State’s Information Technology (IT) systems.

B. MILogin Identity Federation. Allows federated single sign-on (SSO) for business partners, as well as citizen-based applications.

C. MILogin Multi Factor Authentication (MFA, based on system data classification requirements). Required for those applications where data classification is Confidential and Restricted as defined by the 1340.00 Michigan Information Technology Information Security standard (i.e., the proposed solution must comply with PHI, PCI, CJIS, IRS, and other standards).

D. MILogin Identity Proofing Services (based on system data classification requirements). A system that verifies individual’s identities before the State allows access to its IT system. This service is based on “life history” or transaction information aggregated from public and proprietary data sources. A leading credit bureau provides this service.

To integrate with the SOM MILogin solution, the Contractor’s solution must support SAML, or OAuth or OpenID interfaces for the SSO purposes.

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Bidder must explain how they will meet the requirements for Access Control and Authentication:

1.6. End-User Operating Environment

The SOM environment is X86 VMware, IBM Power VM, MS Azure/Hyper-V and Oracle VM, with supporting platforms, enterprise storage, monitoring and management.

Contractor must accommodate the latest browser versions (including mobile browsers) as well as some pre-existing browsers. To ensure that users with older browsers are still able to access online services, applications must, at a minimum, display and function correctly in standards-compliant browsers and the state standard browser without the use of special plugins or extensions. The rules used to base the minimum browser requirements include:

· Over 2% of site traffic, measured using Sessions or Visitors (or)

· The current browser identified and approved as the State of Michigan standard This information can be found at https://www.michigan.gov/browserstats. Please use the most recent calendar quarter to determine browser statistics. Support is required for desktop and mobile and tablet browsers identified with over 2% of site traffic.

Contractor must support the current and future State standard environment at no additional cost to the State.

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Bidder must describe any State system access requirements that are necessary for the Bidder to perform its obligations on a timely basis, including but not limited to, physical or remote access to State networks, servers, or individual workstations:

Bidder must describe if it can comply with the current environment and how it intends to comply with any future changes to the user environment. And if not, describe what end user operating environment its solution supports:

Bidder must describe if it can support the original environment throughout the term of the contract:

Bidder must describe how it communicates changes to its roadmaps:

Bidder must identify any plug-ins necessary for the proposed solution to meet the system requirements of…