Forensic Analysis

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is soliciting proposals through a firm, fixed-price Request for Proposal (RFP 696-IG-26-P034) for comprehensive forensic analysis services and expert witness testimony. The TDCJ-Office of the Inspector General seeks a qualified contractor to provide forensic examination and analysis for the identification of urine stains and feces stains from physical evidence associated with inmates, including expert witness testimony for criminal court proceedings. Respondents must possess current accreditation from either the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) or American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) in forensic testing with biology discipline credentials specifically including serology and nuclear DNA testing capabilities, and must maintain crime laboratory accreditation and forensic analyst licensure throughout the contract term in compliance with ISO/IEC 17025 standards. The contractor must deliver test results within 180 days of receipt and provide completed results within five working days of test completion, with submission of separate per-test pricing for urine and feces stain analysis and per-court-appearance pricing for expert witness testimony. The written questions deadline is April 27, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. CDT, with proposals due May 13, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. CDT via the Bonfire Hub portal and service commencement on September 1, 2026. Evaluation criteria consist of 40% cost, 35% technical capability, 15% past performance, and 5% each on financial strength and experience. The contract term includes a one-year Base Period (September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027) with four optional one-year renewal periods available through August 31, 2031, with the Department reserving the right to extend services for up to six additional months for transition purposes.

The solicitation documents do not specify set-aside designations or restrictions limiting responses to particular types of organizations or disadvantaged enterprises, and no incumbent vendors or current contractors are identified in the available materials. However, comprehensive insurance requirements must be satisfied, including workers' compensation, commercial general liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, professional liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, commercial crime insurance of $1,000,000, and cybersecurity insurance of $1,000,000. The contractor must maintain TX-RAMP certification if utilizing cloud services and comply with FBI-CJIS security standards for data encryption and breach notification within one working day of discovery. All respondents must complete and submit required certifications addressing suspension and debarment status, conflicts of interest, employment eligibility verification through E-Verify, human trafficking prohibitions, cybersecurity training compliance, and various Texas state policies. The solicitation does not provide explicit budget ranges or award values; however, the firm, fixed-price structure requires detailed budgets and budget narratives from respondents explaining cost derivation for each service category across the Base Period and optional renewal periods. No specific site visits or bidders' conferences are scheduled for this procurement.