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Michigan.gov/MiProcurement
BIDDER QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Request for Proposal No. 250000002174 Foster Care Placement Gaps Analysis
| Q # |
| Document and Section |
| Page # |
| Bidder Question |
| State Response |
| 1 |
| N/A |
| N/A |
| Does the State have a proposed budget for this project? |
| The State is unable to share the budget. The State would like the bidder to submit a competitive bid based on the requirements of this RFP. |
| 2 |
| N/A |
| N/A |
| Is there a recommended grant amount or range that applicants should be bidding within? |
| See response to Question # 1 above. |
| 3 |
| N/A |
| N/A |
| Will non-Michigan based applicants be considered? |
| Yes. See Proposal Instructions, Section 6, Evaluation Process. |
| 4 |
| RFP Timeline |
| 1 |
| Does the state have a desired date all activities in the contract should be complete by? |
| See contract period within Standard Contract Terms, page 18 and Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 2.1 Timeframes. |
| 5 |
| Proposal Instructions, Section 5 |
| 3 |
| May we submit sample reports (and other "supplemental" attachments) in PDF format only if we do not have access to those in modifiable formats? |
| See Proposal Instructions, Section 5, Delivery of Proposal for requirements. |
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 30 MB per document.
| 6 |
| Proposal Instructions |
| 2 |
| To confirm, applicants need to complete only the forms listed within the RFP? Will an additional narrative be expected or required? If so, is there a page limit? |
| See Proposal Instructions, Section 1, Proposal Preparation and Section 5. Delivery of Proposal. These Sections identify what and how documents should be submitted. |
| 7 |
| Proposal Instructions, Section 14 |
| 6 |
| May we submit the "Confidential Treatment Form" as a PDF only? We cannot include an authorized signature in a file with modifiable format. |
| See response to Question # 5 above. |
| 8 |
| Standard Contract Terms |
| N/A |
| Our legal team had concerns about the general contract terms (namely IP rights and indemnity). Is there a process to submit a redlined RFP or note concerns to be worked out prior to execution of the contract? |
| Yes. See Proposal Instructions, Section 6, Evaluation Process. |
| 9 |
| Standard Contract Terms |
| 18 |
| Would the State consider a proposal from a vendor who would complete the scope of work in less than the one-year period of performance? |
| See Proposal Instructions, Section 6, Evaluation Process. |
| 10 |
| Standard Contract Terms |
| 27 |
| What data will be provided? What data system is used within Michigan? How will data be transferred? |
| Data will be provided on spreadsheets based on data requested or needed to complete the tasks. The State utilizes the Michigan Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (MiSACWIS) in Michigan for foster care data and the Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS) |
system for licensing data.
| 11 |
| Vendor Questions Worksheet |
| 11 |
| Must all three qualifications specifically relate to Michigan or foster care services, or would experience in other states and/or similar human services fields (e.g., child care, behavioral health) be considered acceptable? |
| See Vendor Questions Worksheet, Section 5. |
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.
| 12 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work |
| 36 |
| What is the total period of performance for the described statement of work? |
| See Standard Contract Terms, page 18. |
| 13 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work |
| 36 |
| May we submit letters of support from subcontractors, key personnel from other organizations, etc? |
| See Proposal Instructions, Section 1, Proposal Preparation. |
| 14 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Background |
| 36 |
| What tools are used by MDHHS to assess acuity or level of treatment need? How frequently are these assessments conducted? |
| The main tool is the Child Assessment of Needs and Strengths. There are different areas of assessment based on the age of the child. These are conducted at least once every 90 days. |
| 15 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Background |
| 36 |
| How many placement resource providers are currently utilized by MDHHS? |
| There are approximately 4,000 licensed foster homes in Michigan. |
| 16 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Scope |
| 36 |
| What data quality challenges should the vendor anticipate? (e.g. Gaps in data availability, Conflicting source data)? |
| The purpose of this contract is to assess placement gaps and data trends to enhance current foster home recruitment, kinship placement and residential treatment outcomes. This project is aimed at determining strengths, gaps, and opportunities in the state’s current systems and services by county and region. The end goal is to produce data sets that can lead to actionable recommendations to address identified gaps and barriers. Since data sets will depend on the Contractor’s recommendations, challenges cannot be anticipated at this time. This question is not able to be answered due to the data set request being contingent upon the Contractor’s determination of what is needed to conduct the gap analysis. |
| 17 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1.A.2. |
| 36 |
| Please elaborate on the expected experience element related to knowledge of MDHHS existing foster home recruitment and relative placement trends and practices. Is this mandatory experience or would the State consider a vendor who has relevant experience from work in other states and/or individuals with prior Michigan Government experience? |
| See Proposal Instructions, Section 6, Evaluation Process. |
The State will evaluate the Bidder’s response to requirements in Statement of Work Sections 1.1A.1 and 2. as written.
| 18 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1.A.2. |
| 36 |
| Could you elaborate on the expectation for "Knowledge of MDHHS existing foster home recruitment and relative placement trends and practices"? If a vendor has not previously provided services specifically to MDHHS foster care, are there alternative ways to demonstrate relevant qualifications? |
| See response to Question # 17 above. |
| 19 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1.B. |
| 37 |
| Has similar analysis been conducted previously? If so, was it performed internally by MDHHS or outsourced to a vendor? |
| Yes, this has been conducted internally, and with assistance through an outside entity. |
| 20 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1.B. |
| 37 |
| While the scope of services appears to be quantitatively focused, would it be appropriate for vendors to incorporate qualitative methods (e.g., surveys or interviews of foster homes) to more effectively identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities in outreach and recruitment strategies at the county and regional levels? Or would such approaches be considered outside the scope of this RFP? |
| The State would like the bidder to propose a Foster Care Placement Gaps Analysis plan and describe in detail how they will comply with the requirements of the RFP. |
| 21 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1.B. |
| 37 |
| Is the contractor expected by the State to receive, process, and analyze data—including person-level data—within the contractor's own system? |
| See response to Question # 20 above. |
| 22 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1.B. |
| 37 |
| What are the primary data sources or systems expected to support the required data analysis? Does the State expect the contractor to utilize a unified, integrated data source, or to perform data integration from multiple segmented system sources? |
| See response to Question # 20 above. |
| 23 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1.B.1.a. |
| 37 |
| Will all the data required for this engagement be provided to the selected vendor by MDHHS, or will the vendor have to collect some data on their own? |
| Yes, the data required for this engagement will be provided to the selected vendor. |
| 24 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1.B.1.c. |
| 37 |
| The solicitation uses the phrase “templatizing” to describe manipulating data into a final form for child welfare agencies. Is the vendor expected to produce an interactive data tool, or a collection of data sets? |
| See Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1.B.1.c, the State would like the Bidder to describe in detail how they will comply with this requirement. |
| 25 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1.B.1.d. |
| 37 |
| Is the vendor expected to produce an interactive data tool, or a collection of data sets? |
| See response to Question # 24 above. |
| 26 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1.B.1.d. |
| 37 |
| Is there a preferred software platform that MDHHS recommends or requires for the “foster home estimator tool”? For example, should it be based in Microsoft Excel, Power BI, Tableau, or more advanced analytics platforms like Azure, or statistical software like R, or SAS? |
| See response to Question # 20 above. |
| 27 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1.B.1.d. |
| 37 |
| Is the vendor expected to utilize any specific data software or file formats, especially for the foster home estimator tool. If so, which ones? |
| See response to Question # 20 above. |
| 28 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1. B.3.a. |
| 38 |
| The “Statement of Work,” section 1.1(B)(3), describing the utilization analysis, mentions that capacity is to be determined through an analysis that includes “provider preferences” and the “age range of the providers’ license.” Are those data readily available in a structured electronic format suitable for transmission to the selected vendor? If not, is the State able to describe the process by which the selected vendor would compile those data. |
| Yes, this data is readily available and will be provided by the State. |
| 29 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 1.1.B.3.a. |
| 38 |
| The solicitation references “provider preferences” as a data point to be included in the placement utilization analysis. What is meant by this? Has the data been collected and stored in a systematic way? |
| These reference preferences licensed foster homes have for placements (i.e. age range, gender, medical needs, etc.). This is stored data that can be shared. |
| 30 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 2, Timeframes |
| 29 |
| What are the specific timeframes for delivering the contract activities? |
| See response to Question # 4 above. |
| 31 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 3.3 Key Personnel. |
| 40 |
| Are there any formatting requirements (or page limits) for the required resumes? |
| See Proposal Instructions, Section 5, Delivery of Proposal for requirements. |
| 32 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 3.3 Key Personnel. |
| 40 |
| Can the State provide further clarification on “Key Personnel must be specifically assigned to the State account”, particularly regarding expectations for time allocation and full-time equivalent (FTE) dedication? |
| See Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 3.3 A, Item 4. |
| 33 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 3.3 Key Personnel. |
| 40 |
| Can you provide additional details on the staffing requirements, including the specific roles, responsibilities, and qualifications expected for key personnel? |
| See Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 3.3, A and 3.3 B. |
Per Section 3.3 B, Qualifications will be measured by education and experience with particular reference to experience on projects similar to that described in the RFP.
| 34 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 4.2 Reporting. |
| 44 |
| Should the "samples of required reports" be proposed/suggested templates? Or rather - examples of completed/final reports from similar past projects? |
| Samples of required reports may be either proposed/suggested templates or completed/final reports from similar projects. |
| 35 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 5 Pricing |
| 44 |
| What is the overall budget allocated for this engagement? |
| See response to Question # 1 above. |
| 36 |
| Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 5 Pricing |
| 44 |
| What is the total length of the contract? |
| See response to Question # 4 above. |
| 37 |
| Schedule B, Pricing. |
| 46 |
| Must the pricing schedule only include a single, weighted rate for all staff; or are respondents permitted to submit a schedule that breaks down the hourly rate and estimated number of hours by project role? |
| See Schedule B, Section 1. The Contractor must provide a pricing schedule for the proposed Contract Activities using the table included in Schedule B. |
| 38 |
| Schedule B, Pricing. |
| 46 |
| The contract terms describe a twelve-month engagement with up to four option years. For the purposes of pricing, can you confirm if the vendor should price the full possible five years or only the first year? |
| Pricing should be submitted for the contract term identified in Standard Contract Terms, page 18. |
| 39 |
| Schedule B, Pricing. |
| 46 |
| The contract terms describe a twelve-month engagement with up to four option years. For the purposes of pricing, is the State able to describe the work that will be required during the option years, once the analysis is completed during the initial 12-month term? If that work will substantively differ from the gap analysis, are respondents permitted to divide up the pricing schedule by project year? |
| See response to Question # 38 above. If option years are exercised, it will be based upon continuation of the services outlined in the RFP. |
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