Unaccompanied Child Program RFA.docx

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Request for Applications (RFA) for

CONGREGATE CARE SERVICES FOR UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN IN U.S. OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT CUSTODY

ISSUED: June 15, 2021

Document Number: EHSUCPRFA2021LC

Request for Application: Table of Contents

Section 1: Introduction

The purpose of this RFA is to identify potential new bed capacity with qualified congregate care providers in Massachusetts for possible referral to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) Unaccompanied Children (UC) Program.

If you respond to this RFA and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) determines that you meet pre-qualifying criteria, EOHHS will refer you to ORR for consideration. NOTE: Referral to ORR does not guarantee an ORR grant award or licensing by appropriate authorities within Massachusetts.

For example, should your organization apply for and receive a grant or subcontract from ORR, your organization must apply for an appropriate license to operate from the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC). NOTE: Meeting the pre-qualifying criteria in this RFA and receiving a grant/subcontract from ORR does not guarantee approval of licensure.

The Unaccompanied Children (UC) Program is managed by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), an operational division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). By law, HHS has custody and must provide care for each UC, defined as a child who has no lawful immigration status in the United States; has not attained 18 years of age; and, with respect to whom, there is no parent or legal guardian in the United States, or no parent or legal guardian in the United States available to provide care and physical custody. See 6 U.S.C. § 279(g)(2).

Learn more about the Unaccompanied Children Program.

Providers cannot propose congregate care beds for the UC program that are currently or potentially in use/licensed/contracted for MA state child welfare needs.

Section 2: Response Submission Instructions

All procurements posted on COMMBUYS, known as Bids, require the submission of electronic responses, known as Quotes. To submit an electronic Quote, Respondents must register and maintain an active COMMBUYS Vendor account. Questions regarding COMMBUYS should be directed to the COMMBUYS Help Desk at commbuys@mass.gov. In addition, there is a webcast, Locate and Respond to Bid Solicitations in COMMBUYS, that Respondents may find helpful.

Respondents must submit electronic Quotes on COMMBUYS by 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 6, 2021. COMMBUYS will not accept submissions after the specified deadline. The Respondent shall comply with all COMMBUYS electronic submission requirements and file size limits.

A complete Request for Application (RFA) Response shall consist of:

1. A Cover Letter;

2. A completed Response Form; and

3. All required attachments specified.

Each document and document section submitted shall include only information specific to the topic of that document and section. Superfluous information may be disregarded.

EOHHS, in its discretion, may choose to not consider any material that is not presented in accordance with EOHHS’s instructions in evaluating the Respondent’s Response.

The Respondent shall adhere to character and page limits where specified. Respondents are strongly encouraged to not include attachments that are extraneous, duplicative, or do not apply directly to the content requested. The Evaluation Committee will not consider attachments that are not required or narrative that exceeds text responses noted in the Response Form.

Written Inquiries

Potential Respondents may make written inquiries concerning this RFA no later than 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Written inquiries shall be sent via email to Melissa.Morrison@mass.gov. Microsoft Word is the preferred file format; the questions should be numbered but not in a tabular format. A plain text email is also acceptable. EOHHS will review inquiries received by that date and, at its discretion, prepare written responses to questions which EOHHS determines to be of general interest and that help to clarify the RFA. EOHHS reserves the right to edit questions for brevity or clarity. Any written response will be posted on COMMBUYS. Only written responses will be binding on EOHHS. Questions received after the deadline may be disregarded.

Section 3: Response Evaluation

Responses to this RFA shall be evaluated by an Evaluation Committee (Committee) appointed by EOHHS.

Oral Presentation/Finalist Interviews

The Committee may, in its sole discretion, invite those Respondents whose Responses have been judged competitive and responsive in the course of the evaluation to participate in an oral presentation/finalist interview. At that time, the Respondents’ Responses may be discussed and clarified, but not changed in any way. The Committee reserves the right to apply restrictions to the structure and content of the oral presentations, and to instruct the Respondents regarding attendees and the presentation/interview process.

Oral presentations/finalist interviews shall not be open to the public nor to any competitors. Failure of a Respondent to agree to a date and time for a presentation/interview or to make a presentation/interview may result in rejection of the Respondent’s Response.

Site Visits

The Committee may, in its sole discretion and at its convenience, elect to inspect any of the Respondent’s, or Subcontractors’ offices, facilities or resources. Failure to agree to such a site visit may result in rejection of the Respondent’s Response.

Past Performance

The Committee, in its sole discretion, may consider in its review process EOHHS evaluations of a Respondent’s performance in programs or contracts administered by EOHHS, and any corrective actions or restrictions imposed by EOHHS or other Commonwealth agencies. The Committee may also consider any information that may have previously been provided by the Respondent or is otherwise available or known to EOHHS.

References

EOHHS, in its sole discretion, may request the Respondent provide references, and may verify or contact any references provided at any time during the evaluation process. Please note: References from staff of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) will not be considered and should not be solicited. In addition, EOHHS reserves the right to request, verify, and contact additional references from any Respondent at any time.

Recommendation to Refer to ORR

After the Evaluation Committee completes its evaluation (and, if applicable, finalist interviews/oral presentations, site visits, and reference checks), the Committee will recommend to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, or her designee, the Respondents whom to refer to ORR for consideration. The Secretary or her designee will make the final decision based on the Committee’s recommendations and what she deems to be in the best interests of the Commonwealth, within her reasonable discretion. EOHHS is under no obligation to refer any respondents pursuant to this RFA.

Section 4: Response Form

A. Respondent Organization

Organization Legal Name: [ ]

Trade name(s) and any other name(s) under which the Organization does, or has done, business: [ ]

Principal Address:

City: [ ] State: [ ] Zip: [ ]

Telephone: ( ) - FAX: ( ) - URL: [ ]

FEIN: [ ]

MMARS Vendor Customer (VC) Code (if known): [ ]

Type of legal entity (e.g., corporation, limited partnership, nonprofit corporation, etc.): [ ]

B. Contact Person

Include the following information for the individual who should be contacted for purposes of discussing any aspect of this completed response form submitted by the Respondent:

First Name: [ ] Last Name: [ ]

Title: [ ]

Telephone: ( ) - FAX: ( ) -

E-mail: [ ]

Contact Person Address (if different):

City: [ ] State: [ ] Zip: [ ]

C. Business Response

Provide the information requested below and attach the required documents.

Cover Letter

Attach a Cover Letter that:

a. Certifies that the information contained in your organization’s Response to this RFA is true and complete;

b. Certifies the Respondent has the capability and willingness to perform all responsibilities set forth in this response;

c. Certifies the Respondent is a business entity registered with the Massachusetts Secretary of State to do business in the Commonwealth, or a government or quasi-governmental organization, that demonstrates experience with direct service provision in areas relevant to the scope of the RFA.

|X| Cover Letter attached.

D. Programmatic Response

Provide your response as directed below.

If you are unable to provide the required information, expressly identify which information is not being submitted, and why. Submit the most comparable information you have available and explain how you will have the capability to perform all program responsibilities.

Organizational Capacity

Organizational Overview

Provide a brief overview of your organization and your proposed Subcontractors to include:

a. Formation date, goals and mission;

b. Current service areas and main funding sources;

c. Experience collaborating with EOHHS, DCF, ORI, community-based organizations, behavioral health services providers, and schools;

d. Experience providing services to refugee and immigrant minors;

e. Ability to ensure cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic sensitivity and respect;

f. Existing advisory boards and history of peer involvement, including a description of their role and capacity for providing programmatic input;

g. Discussion of how the organization’s experience, contractual relationships and staff expertise relate to the Unaccompanied Children Program.

Organizational Structure

Attach a listing of the Board of Directors of your organization.

|X| Listing of Board of Directors attached.

Attach your organizational chart, including names, titles, and reporting relationships of key organization officers, subsidiary relationships and Subcontractors, as well as the location of the proposed program within your organization.

|X| Organizational chart attached.

Contractual Relationships

Attach a list of current contractual relationships with the United States Office of Refugee Resettlement OR the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or any of its agencies, if any, and those completed within the previous three-year period. The listing must include:

a. The contract name/description;

b. The contract term;

c. The total contract budget;

d. The name of the procuring agency.

|X| Contract listing attached.

Programmatic Capacity

Background

1. Is your organization an existing Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) unaccompanied child provider?

☐ Yes ☐ No

2. Please describe:

a. The location of the proposed program

b. The configuration of the proposed program

c. Security for the program and youth

Enter response here; maximum 1,000 characters, including spaces.

3. Are there any open investigations that EEC is currently conducting into your program?

☐ Yes. If yes, please describe in a separate attachment.

☐ No.

Enter response here; maximum 4,000 characters, including spaces.

Bed Capacity

Providers cannot propose congregate care beds for the UC program that are currently or potentially in use/licensed/contracted for MA state child welfare needs. This capacity must be additive and will require new licensure from the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC).

Please describe:

1. Can your organization add bed capacity?

☐ Yes ☐ No

2. How many beds can be added?

Total additional beds _____

The ORR UC program serves children and youth aged 0-17 years. Children 12 years and younger are considered tender age while children 13-17 are considered youth. The program also serves pregnant and parenting youth. Providers will be matched with children and youth based on their state licensure and program ability to house (a) males or females and (b) tender age, youth, or both.

3. Please select the children and youth that your program is licensed and able to house:

☐ Tender age youth (0-12) ☐ Youth 13-17 years of age ☐ Male ☐ Female ☐ Pregnant and/or parenting youth