2023 Department Of Juvenile Justice

The Commonwealth of Kentucky's Auditor of Public Accounts is conducting a noncompetitive negotiated procurement to select a qualified firm to perform a comprehensive performance audit of Kentucky's eight pre-adjudication juvenile detention facilities located in Adair, Boyd, Breathitt, Campbell, Fayette, Jefferson, McCracken, and Warren counties. The audit will evaluate departmental policies, procedures, protocols, conditions of confinement, staffing levels, mental health services, and incident reporting for the period January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2022, and must assess progress made in response to a 2018 assessment by the Center for Children's Law and Policy. Key deliverables include a preliminary report submitted to the Legislative Oversight and Investigations Committee by October 15, 2023, and a comprehensive final assessment. Required qualifications include demonstrated experience reviewing state agency juvenile detention facilities and programs, technical capabilities for data management and protection, and authority to conduct interviews with front-line employees and law enforcement agencies while maintaining confidential work papers exempt from subpoena and Kentucky Open Records Act requests. Respondents were required to submit responses by July 26, 2023, at 3:00 PM to the Auditor of Public Accounts at 209 St. Clair Street, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, with written questions due July 1, 2023. The RFI explicitly stated it did not constitute a commitment to issue a bid, award a contract, or pay response preparation costs, and vendors were instructed to provide time and cost estimates rather than formal bids.

The procurement is restricted to entities possessing experience in reviewing state juvenile detention agencies, as mandated by Senate Bill 162, which directs the APA to procure services through noncompetitive negotiation. The selected entity must enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Legislative Research Commission and possess authority under KRS 43.080 and KRS 43.090 to obtain agency records and compel witness testimony. No specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises are identified in the available documentation. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are referenced in the solicitation materials. The solicitation does not specify a funding range or contract amount, instead requesting vendors to provide detailed cost breakdowns by category and rate as part of their response to inform subsequent contract negotiations. Interested firms should contact Timothy Gutman at 502-564-5841 or Tim.Gutman@ky.gov for additional information regarding this procurement opportunity.