SSAS_PT_RFP_Responder_Questions_and_Answers.pdf

SSAS PT RFP Responder Q&A 1

Social Security Advocacy Services Request for Proposal

Responder Questions and Answers

Published September 30, 2026, Event ID 200018583

The State of Minnesota through the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), Housing and Support

Services Division, issues this Questions and Answers document regarding the request for proposals referenced above, which was posted on September 9, 2026.

Responses to Questions:

1. QUESTION: Will we be able to get this presentation sent to us after?

ANSWER: Yes, copies of the responder’s conference presentation were emailed on September 18, 2026.

2. QUESTION: Can you clarify what it means by “received benefits in the past?” Does this mean at anytime in the past? Or is there a timeframe that applies to “received these benefits in the past?”

ANSWER: There is no timeframe. Clients who currently receive or have previously received at least one of the following public assistance benefits: General Assistance (GA); or Housing Support Program (HSP, formerly GRH); or Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) will be eligible for services under the new contract.

3. QUESTION: Would be able to limit an area of support to a county or will we need to expand services across the whole state?

ANSWER: Contracted providers are allowed to choose which county or counties in the State of Minnesota they would like to serve.

4. QUESTION: How many individuals can be registered as a user for online payment system?

ANSWER: Currently, there is no limit on the number of registered users for the Social Security Advocacy

Services online payment system.

5. QUESTION: Do we have to do the SWIFT registration, if we already have a SWIFT number?

ANSWER: If you are already registered as a supplier with SWIFT, you should have access to sign into the portal. Please contact the Supplier Help Line at EFThelpline.mmb@state.mn.us or call 651-201-8106 if you need further assistance.

SSAS PT RFP Responder Q&A 2

6. QUESTION: Can you please provide the contact information for the “tenancy administrator” in

Oracle/Cloud as our account has been inactivated and the prompt to follow through the chat help for

Oracle say we need to contact the tenancy admin.

ANSWER: Please contact the Supplier Help Line at EFThelpline.mmb@state.mn.us or call 651-201-8106 for assistance.

7. QUESTION: Do you have specific security requirements for the computers we use for this work?

ANSWER: Contracted providers must comply with the applicable security, privacy, and data protection requirements described in the RFP sample professional technical contract (Attachment C, pg. 19-34 of 65) and Data Sharing and Business Associate Agreement (Attachment D, pg. 54-65).

8. QUESTION: For the medical records reimbursement, is the $250 reimbursement per individual, or per year?

ANSWER: Reimbursements are limited to each approved case and not per individual or per year.

9. QUESTION: Would we be required to assist individuals outside our agency? We serve high numbers internally and would be very busy.

ANSWER: No, that is not a requirement. You may choose to only assist individuals within your agency.

10. QUESTION: So, we would track all the clients we are helping to apply but would only receive payment if they were approved, correct?

ANSWER: Yes, that is correct.

11. QUESTION: Can you say more about the process of becoming a Registered Representative?

ANSWER: This contract requirement is regulated by the Social Security Administration (SSA). SSA requires the appointed representative to be registered by submitting Form SSA-1699. Please refer to Social Security

Representative Registration webpage for more information.

12. QUESTION: On the MNSSAS system, are we able to continue to note 3373 being completed, or are we just noting information related to the application, IE faxing stuff to DDS, address changes?

ANSWER: You may continue to do this for cases currently created in the system. Starting on 1/1/2027, you will only be allowed to create a case in the system when you are ready to invoice DHS for payment.

13. QUESTION: We are a current SSAS provider. To log into the Swift account is it the same username and password as the payment system?

ANSWER: It depends on what username and password you created for these systems. These are two different systems that are separate from one another. Each requires setting up a username and password.

SSAS PT RFP Responder Q&A 3

14. QUESTION: Is this for participants that are preexisting to us? If so, once they exit our programming then would we exit assisting them? And if so where do their advocacy services, then go to?

ANSWER: You may choose to only serve people who are preexisting within your agency or serve anyone who contacts you. Your Social Security appointment of representation stays with the person, unless you withdraw your representation. If you are unable to continue your advocacy services, you should refer your client to another Social Security Advocacy Services contracted provider.

15. QUESTION: Regarding application question #10 about collaborating with MN community partners to serve the target population, what opportunities exist to collaborate with these community partners? Would

DHS assist in connecting us with these partners as our firm is not located in MN? We would be eager to collaborate with MN community partners. And from what we understand of the contract that seems almost necessary to effectively serve the target population.

ANSWER: DHS assists with collaboration by listing your agency's contact information in the SSAS online directory. This directory serves as a primary resource for individuals and agencies to connect with DHS contracted providers. We strongly encourage all providers to network independently and build relationships with existing agencies to support the target population.

16. QUESTION: If we are no longer servicing the participant in our programming (MFIP, housing) then would we continue to be their advocate?

ANSWER: This depends on your agency’s policy. Your Social Security appointment of representation stays with the person, unless you withdraw your representation. If you are unable to continue your advocacy services, you should refer your client to another Social Security Advocacy Services contracted provider.

17. QUESTION: Will we be required to verify a claimant is or was receiving county benefits before we have the

1696 signed? Or, do we take them for their word? If not required to verify, will we be notified in some way if there are eligibility issues?

ANSWER: Since this is a contract requirement, we highly recommend that you verify a client’s public assistance benefit status before signing the SSA-1696 form. Please contact us and we will help verify a client’s eligibility. Additionally, the data you provide in the client activity reports will help us identify any issues. We will notify you if we find any eligibility issues.

18. QUESTION: Can we apply even if we aren’t a registered representative and get the training now before the contract begins? Trying to better understand – regarding the second part of this question, is there specific training around servicing as an advocate?

ANSWER: Yes, you can still apply, however you cannot do this work without having at least one registered representative. We are not currently offering this training, but there are other organizations that provide training.

19. QUESTION: I still can't get into the system even trying different browsers, can you please provide the help email or name of a human who can help as there is a dead end using the chat help in Oracle.

ANSWER: Please contact the Supplier Help Line at EFThelpline.mmb@state.mn.us or call 651-201-8106 for assistance.

SSAS PT RFP Responder Q&A 4

20. QUESTION: Through the vault, you can verify their current benefits but cannot verify if they received them in the past. So, we will need to contact you every time to verify they have received benefits in the past?

Did you clarify how far back in the past to be eligible?

ANSWER: We will be able to help verify client eligibility. There is no timeframe. Contracted providers can help children and adults if they currently receive or have previously received at least one of the following public assistance benefits: General Assistance (GA); or Housing Support Program (HSP, formerly GRH); or

Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP).

21. QUESTION: Is SMRT a program that would be considered a "county benefit", although it is a state program. Can we help someone who is SMRT Certified, but have never received a county cash program?

ANSWER: No. Under this new contract, providers can help children and adults if they currently receive or have previously received at least one of the following public assistance benefits: General Assistance (GA); or

Housing Support Program (HSP, formerly GRH); or Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP).

22. QUESTION: Are we required to offer both SSI and SSDI support or can we focus on one or the other?

ANSWER: You may provide services for either SSI, SSDI, or both SSI and SSDI.

23. QUESTION: To confirm, Emergency General Assistance (rent/security deposit assistance) eligibility is not included as an eligible program?

ANSWER: Yes, that is correct.

24. QUESTION: What if someone is on MFIP but only receiving MFIP food support? There are times when a family's other income may mean they are not receiving a cash benefit through MFIP and only the food portion of the program. There are reasons for a family to continue on MFIP because there can be other benefits like the Child Care assistance program. I am thinking this might come up when helping families apply for SSI for a child and the parent's work income means they are no longer getting the MFIP cash portion of the MFIP grant.

ANSWER: Contracted providers can help children and adults if they currently receive or have previously received at least one of the following public assistance benefits: General Assistance (GA); or Housing

Support Program (HSP, formerly GRH); or Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP).

25. QUESTION: We have not used the Swift system to "bid" on an RFP for services in the past. It is indicating we need to enter a price per unit. What do we enter in this field?

ANSWER: SWIFT events require at least one Line Item when they are created, this is something that cannot be bypassed by bidders. To fulfill the system requirements the bidder needs to put a monetary value in the

“Your Unit Bid Price” field. As a bidder you need to enter a .01 (a penny) in the field to submit a bid. For additional assistance, please contact the OSP Help line, at 651-201-8100, option 1 by email at

OSPHelp.line@state.mn.us. Another resource is the OSP Vendor Liaison, Ellie Pflager, at 651-201-8148 or swift.vendortraining@state.mn.us

SSAS PT RFP Responder Q&A 5

26. QUESTION: I am having difficulty signing into the portal to start the process for renewing our DHS contract. I used my email and asked to reset my password but never received an email to reset it.

ANSWER: For login assistance, please contact the SWIFT help desk: Phone: 651-201-8106, Email:

EFThelpline.mmb@state.mn.us

27. QUESTION: Where do I find in the RFP what documents need to be submitted?

ANSWER: Please review the PDF of responder’s conference presentation. Page 28 lists the required and optional documents that are needed for proposal submission. Additionally, this information is in Section 3.1 of the RFP, found on page 7 of 65.

28. QUESTION: We intend to submit an RFP. The new contract will exclude individuals whose only source of public assistance is MA. Will cases opened under the current contract be grandfathered in and eligible for payment?

ANSWER: We are working on a solution on how to handle these cases. We will share more details once it is finalized.

REMAINDER OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK