Justice-Involved Employment Pathways Program Design - CCRI

The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) is seeking qualified firms to design a comprehensive collective-impact model for creating education and employment pathways specifically targeting justice-involved individuals. The primary objective is to develop a strategic approach that will enable justice-involved individuals to gain equitable access to employment and educational opportunities. Proposals are due by April 3, 2023, at 10:00 AM EDT, with a vendor question and answer period running from March 6 to March 20, 2023. The procurement will result in an initial three-year contract beginning upon vendor selection. Evaluation criteria will include technical merit, proposed cost, and the vendor's proposed Minority/Women/Disability Business Enterprise (ISBE) participation rate. Vendors must submit separate technical and cost proposals electronically through the Ocean State Procures system, and must demonstrate expertise in designing workforce development strategies for marginalized populations. The technical proposal should outline a comprehensive methodology for creating pathways that address barriers to employment and education for justice-involved individuals.

The state strongly encourages participation from minority-owned, women-owned, and disability-owned business enterprises, with vendors receiving evaluation points based on their proposed ISBE utilization rate. While no specific contract value or budget range was explicitly stated in the documents, the RFP includes detailed insurance requirements that vendors must meet, including $1,000,000 in liability coverage, $100,000 in workers compensation, $1,000,000 in automobile liability, and $500,000 in crime coverage. Vendors must comply with Rhode Island's affirmative action and non-discrimination policies, and the state reserves the right to award the contract to the most qualified vendor or to cancel the solicitation at its discretion. The procurement is contingent on the availability of appropriated funds, and successful vendors must be prepared to meet or exceed their proposed ISBE utilization rate as a condition of the contract award. Ownership disclosure is required for all vendors, with specific requirements for publicly and privately traded companies.