DHS School Management System Soiftware

The State of Illinois Department of Human Services is issuing a Request for Information (RFI) regarding school management software for residential schools. This procurement, posted on December 4, 2025 with a response deadline of December 19, 2025, is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute a binding solicitation or obligation from the state or vendors. Respondents should not submit pricing information as part of their RFI responses. The software solution must be capable of managing operations for residential school facilities and should demonstrate compatibility with the state's cloud hosting infrastructure and IT security requirements. Vendors are expected to comply with comprehensive standards including NIST SP 800-53 controls, FISMA compliance, HIPAA, and IRS 1075 requirements. Required qualifications include the ability to provide annual SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type 2 reports or equivalent third-party security assessments, implement AES-256 encryption for data at rest and in transit, maintain data exclusively within the contiguous United States, and establish documented incident response and disaster recovery procedures with annual testing.

The RFI documents do not specify set-aside designations or restrictions on organization types eligible to respond at this informational stage. No incumbent vendors are identified in the available procurement materials, as this is an exploratory information-gathering process rather than a formal competitive solicitation. Vendors must be prepared to integrate with the state's existing security infrastructure, including support for vulnerability assessment programs, annual risk assessments, audit logging capabilities integrated with the state's security information and event management system, and monthly security reporting. While no specific contract award value is disclosed in the RFI materials, related procurement documentation indicates the state is willing to make significant investments in specialized systems; a concurrent DHS lease procurement in East Peoria totals $594,448.80 over ten years. Interested vendors should anticipate that any subsequent formal solicitation would require compliance with Illinois prevailing wage requirements where applicable, maintenance of $1,000,000 general commercial liability insurance, and adherence to the State Prompt Payment Act for compensation structures.