RFP for Attorney for Lenoir County Deparment of Social Services.pdf

Issued: October 7, 2025

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

For

Legal Services for the Lenoir County Department of Social Services

INQUIRIES AND PROPOSALS SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO:

Brittany Naylor Lenoir County DSS Director

Lenoir County Department of Social Services

130 W. King St.

Kinston, NC 28501 Tel: 252-559-6361 brittany.naylor@lenoircountync.gov

Request for Proposal

Legal Services for the Lenoir County Department of Social Services

I. GENERAL SUMMARY

Lenoir County Department of Social Services is currently accepting proposals for a Department of Social Services contract attorney or firm to represent the agency in juvenile and adult services matters. The desired start date for the contract is December 1, 2025 with a tentative duration of at least 1 year, ending on or about November 30, 2026, subject to review and approval, continuing forward each subsequent fiscal year upon contract renewal.

II. WHO MAY RESPOND

Only attorneys who are currently licensed to practice law in the State of North Carolina and maintain an office in North Carolina or law firms including such attorneys, may respond to the

RFP.

III. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Closing Submission Date- Proposals must be submitted no later than 4:00 p.m. on November 10, 2025.

Inquires- Inquiries concerning this RFP should be mailed to:

Brittany Naylor Lenoir County DSS Director 130 W. King St.

Kinston, NC 28501

Or emailed to: brittany.naylor@lenoircountync.gov by 5:00 p.m. on November 3, 2025.

Conditions of Proposal- All costs incurred in the preparation of a proposal responding to this RFP will be the responsibility of the Offeror and will not be reimbursed by Lenoir County

DSS.

Instructions to Prospective Contractors- Your proposal should be addressed as follows:

Brittany Naylor Lenoir County DSS Director 130 W. King St.

Kinston, NC 28501

It is important that the Offeror’s proposal be submitted in a sealed envelope clearly marked in the lower left-hand corner with the following information:

SEALED PROPOSAL FOR LEGAL SERVICES, RFP

Failure to do so may result in the premature disclosure of your proposal. It is the responsibility of the Offeror to ensure that the proposal is receive3d by Lenoir County by the date and time specified above. Late proposals will not be considered.

Right to Reject- Lenoir County reserves the right to reject any and all proposals received in response to the RFP. A contract for the accepted proposal will be drafted based upon the factors described in this RFP.

Small and/or Minority Owned Businesses- Efforts will be made by Lenoir County DSS to utilize small businesses, women and/or minority owned businesses. Offeror qualifies as a small business if it meets the definition of “small business” as established by the Small Business Administration (13 C.F.R. 121.201).

Notification of Award- It is expected that a decision selecting the successful Firm will be made within three (3) weeks of the closing date for the receipt of proposals. Upon conclusion of final negotiations with the successful Firm, all Offerors submitted proposals in response to this Request for Proposal will be informed, in writing, of the name of the successful applicant.

Description of Entity- Lenoir County, N.C. is centrally located in eastern NC approximately 75 miles east of Raleigh and 75 west of Morehead City. Lenoir County DSS exists to provide economic assistance, child support enforcement, and professional social work services to individuals and families living in Lenoir County, and to deliver a large number of specialized and complex federal and state programs designed to assist the County in coping with a variety of social and economic conditions.

DSS assists the people of Lenoir County at all ages and is involved in everything from:

Access to prenatal care, adoptions, day care services, paternity services, child support services, investigating child abuse, neglect, or exploitation reports, providing foster care services, and licensing foster homes;

Protecting disabled adults, helping the elderly and disabled to remain in their homes or assisting with necessary out-of-home placements, acting as guardian for disabled adults, and licensing and monitoring adult care homes;

Ensuring access to necessary health care, providing nutrition services to reduce food insecurity, providing short-term income and employment-related training, and providing emergency assistance with a heating or cooling crisis or sudden financial crisis;

Issuing work permits to juveniles ages 15 to 17 years old, issuing fishing license waivers to Food and Nutrition Services recipients, and registering folks to vote; to

Serving as first responders in times of disaster, and disposing of unclaimed bodies.

IV. NATURE AND SCOPE OF WORK

The primary purpose of this position is to provide legal representation and consultation to Child Protective Services staff. The attorney will represent the Lenoir County Department of Social Services in juvenile abuse, neglect, and dependency court, which currently operates on a schedule of one full court day every two weeks. The attorney will be responsible for the presentation of evidence in the hearings of these cases. Outside of court the attorney will prepare court orders for the judge’s review and approval. The attorney is expected to read DSS Court Reports and Guardian ad Litem Court Reports before the hearing and to conduct court staffing, meeting with the individual social worker or supervisors to plan the recommendations which DSS will make to the court in each case. For new cases, the attorney will review the case and assist in the drafting of each new petition filed. Representation of DSS in these cases occasionally also requires filing a termination of parental rights petition in order to facilitate adoption or representing DSS in the appellate courts when a case is appealed.

A secondary purpose of this position is to provide legal representation and consultation with Adult Protective Services staff to represent DSS in Incompetency hearings and Guardianship hearings before the Clerk of Court.

The position requires a thorough knowledge of child welfare and adult protective services law.

Occasionally the attorney will respond to subpoenas and motions to disclose confidential DSS records from attorneys in civil domestic cases. The attorney will also occasionally act as backup attorney for the contract child support attorney when there is a conflict of interest in a case.

There may be other duties as assigned.

Anticipated Time Required for the Position: This position is anticipated to require full-time hours of approximately thirty-seven and a half (37.5) hours a week.

V. PROPOSAL CONTENTS- The Offeror shall, as a minimum, include the following in its proposal:

a. Legal Experience- The Offeror should describe its legal experience, including the names, addresses, contact persons, and telephone numbers of at least three clients, preferably including clients similar to Lenoir County DSS. Experience should include the categories identified in Section IV, Nature and Scope of Work.

b. Organization, Size, Structure, and Areas of Practice- If the Offeror is a firm, it should describe its organization, size, structure, areas of practice, and office location(s). Indicate, if appropriate, if the firm is a small or minority owned business. Overall supervision to be exercised (including Organizational Chart, as appropriate).

c. Price- The proposal should include information on the hourly billing rates of each attorney or other legal staff who is expected to work on this representation and charges for expenses, if any, such as legal research, copies, and faxes. The proposal should include a monthly flat fee that would be charged to advise on routine matters that could be handled over the telephone or otherwise without extensive research or other legal work. Lenoir County DSS reserves the right to negotiate with the Offeror on the structure of the billing.

VI. ATTORNEY QUALIFICATIONS

Offerors must have considerable knowledge of case, statutory, regulatory, common law, judicial and quasi-judicial procedures and the rules of evidence. This position must possess ability to conduct civil litigation. Must have ability to interpret and apply constitutional provisions, statutes, court decisions, administrative regulations, and other precedents. This position should also be able to analyze facts, evidence, and legal instruments, and be able to express conclusions and arguments clearly and logically in oral and written form. This position must be able to maintain effective working relationships, should have significant knowledge of and ability to use correct grammar, vocabulary, and spelling to compose and/or proofread correspondence, court orders, and other materials. The position must possess the ability to work with people with courtesy and tact in performing public contact duties that may be sensitive in nature. Must possess a thorough knowledge of Federal/State Adult Services and Child Welfare standards regarding specific language required in court orders, and the appropriate time frames for filing legal documents within the judicial system.

Offerors shall identify relevant judicial and litigation capabilities as well as technical and necessary skills, qualifications and experience that they consider appropriate to the evaluation of their ability to successfully undertake the proposed contract and meet all RFP objectives.

VII. PROPOSAL EVALUATION

a. Submission of Proposals- All proposals shall include an original and 3 hard copies.

b. Evaluation and Procedure and Criteria- The Lenoir County Social Services Director and appropriate staff will review proposal and make recommendations to the Lenoir County Manager for final approval. The Lenoir County Lenoir County Social Services Board may request a meeting with some qualified Offerors prior to final selection.

Meetings may be conducted electronically. Proposals will be reviewed in accordance with the following criteria:

i. Proposed approach to the Scope of Work

ii. Level of experience of the individual(s) identified to work on this matter

iii. The Offeror’s experience with similar clients and legal matters

iv. Response from References

v. Cost; and

vi. Interviews, if conducted.