Enhanced communications

The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDDS), is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for professional services to provide enhanced communications support for Deaf service recipients. The vendor will deliver facilitated communication opportunities for Deaf individuals receiving residential habilitation services across all three Delaware counties (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex), enabling routine conversations between service recipients, support staff, and housemates, while also providing educational training to Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) regarding Deaf Culture and functional American Sign Language (ASL) vocabulary. Services will be provided at a target rate of 5-6 homes weekly, with up to three homes visited per day for up to 8 hours, occurring twice per week, along with 20-minute training sessions for residential support staff and monthly progress reports submitted to DDDS. Evaluation criteria include qualifications (25 points), experience with service recipients having intellectual or developmental disabilities who are Deaf and use ASL (20 points), experience with person-centered philosophy and self-determination (10 points), ability to recruit, hire, schedule, and train qualified staff (10 points), cost effectiveness (25 points), and references (10 points). Key deadlines include a non-mandatory pre-bid meeting on June 10, 2026, at 1:00 PM EDT; a question submission deadline of May 22, 2026, at 4:30 PM EDT; and a proposal due date of July 8, 2026, at 1:00 PM EDT through the Euna Procurement portal, with estimated award notification on August 31, 2026. The contract term is one year with four optional one-year extensions, for a maximum of five years, with compensation structured as hourly rates for services and mileage reimbursement at the State's rate of $0.50 per mile.

Vendors must be Delaware-licensed or certified as required for the services and comply with all applicable federal and state laws, including HIPAA requirements and data security standards under the Department of Technology and Information (DTI) Terms and Conditions. Required qualifications include maintaining Commercial General Liability insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence/$3,000,000 aggregate and either Medical/Professional Liability, Errors and Omissions, or Product Liability coverage at $1,000,000 per occurrence/$3,000,000 aggregate, providing at least three business references, completing a background check per Delaware Sex Offender Central Registry requirements, and submitting all required vendor forms including a Vendor Information Sheet, Non-Collusion Statement, Exceptions Form, Confidentiality Form, Business References form, and any applicable Subcontractor Forms. The RFP does not explicitly identify set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises, though vendors are required to disclose diverse vendor certification status. No incumbent vendor or current contractor information is provided in the solicitation documents. The State reserves the right to award multiple vendors, reject any or all proposals, and may extend the contract on a month-to-month basis for up to three months after the full contract term ends; however, no specific budget range or award value is detailed in the available documentation.