ACUITY TOOL RESEARCH

The South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (SCDDSN) is procuring consulting services to pilot an acuity-based level of need assessment tool for individuals receiving residential services through Home and Community-Based waivers and intermediate care facilities. The primary objective is to develop and implement a normed assessment instrument specific to the South Carolina population, with key deliverables including coordinating assessor training, ensuring Spanish translation capability, analyzing pilot data to establish residential tier thresholds, and providing recommendations for statewide implementation. Offerors must demonstrate expertise in measurement, statistical analysis, evaluation, psychiatry or psychology, psychometric training, medical evaluation, and background working with individuals with disabilities. Key personnel are required to possess doctorates in relevant fields with documented work experience. The solicitation's evaluation criteria allocate 40 points for technical approach, 35 points for qualifications, 10 points for business proposal factors, and 20 points for pricing. The original proposal deadline of December 21, 2023, was amended to February 13, 2024, at 10:00 AM, with an award announcement scheduled for February 28, 2024. Proposals must be submitted electronically through the South Carolina procurement portal, with questions due by December 4, 2023.

The solicitation does not mandate specific set-asides for minority businesses, and offerors may be sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporate entities, tax-exempt corporations, or government entities. Eligible vendors must be registered with a State Vendor Number and comply with state certifications, including HIPAA Business Associate Agreement requirements and ethics certifications. The contract period is one year with one optional one-year renewal, for a maximum term of two years, with an estimated start date of January 30, 2024, and end date of January 29, 2026. Pricing must be submitted as a lump sum total for consulting services, broken out by deliverable milestone, along with a separate expense schedule for travel and reimbursable costs using Federal Travel Regulations as guidance. No specific budget range or award value was explicitly stated in the solicitation documents. The assessment tool details cannot be shared prior to award, and the project will focus on existing residential services clients rather than new service seekers. DDSN will provide assessors for the pilot, eliminating the need for vendors to supply them, and no survey platform for data collection is required.