WSNT2026-002 Workforce Center Mgmt & Ops

Workforce Solutions North Texas (WSNT) Board is soliciting proposals through a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the comprehensive management and operation of four Workforce Centers located in Wichita Falls, Bowie, Graham, and Vernon, Texas, along with mobile and work-from-home service options serving eleven North Texas counties. The selected contractor will assume responsibility for day-to-day operations, staffing management, service design and delivery, and performance achievement across multiple federally and state-funded programs including WIOA (Adults, Youth, and Dislocated Workers), TANF-Choices, SNAP E&T, TAA, Wagner-Peyser Employment Services, RESEA, SEAL, and Business Services Assistance. Key deliverables and objectives include comprehensive workforce development encompassing business and employer services, job seeker services, training services, follow-up services, and support services aligned with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act standards. The contractor must maintain minimum operating hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, assume responsibility for approximately 77 current workforce center staff positions, and ensure equal opportunity and nondiscrimination in service delivery while maintaining annual single or program audits and preserving records for seven years. Proposals will be evaluated across five criteria: Organizational Capacity and Capability (60 points), Workforce Center Services (100 points), Demonstrated Experience and Effectiveness (55 points), Financial Management (35 points), and Cost Analysis/Cost Reasonableness (50 points), with an additional 10 bonus points available for VetHUB Certified Vendor status and up to 100 interview points; a minimum score of 70 percent (210 points) is required for consideration. Critical submission deadlines include a Letter of Intent to Bid due April 13, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. CST, a deadline for submitting questions on April 14, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. CST, and proposals due May 14, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. CST, with contract commencement on October 1, 2026.

Eligible proposers include government agencies, community-based organizations, for-profit entities, and partnerships or consortiums with all members eligible; ineligible proposers include individuals, debarred entities, those with outstanding state financial obligations, organizations providing direct training or education services, and elementary or secondary schools. WSNT strongly encourages the selected contractor to retain current workforce center staff during an initial six-month probationary period at their current salaries and benefits to maintain service continuity, and the successful proposer must provide first consideration in employment to displaced current workforce center employees and open enrollment in insurance benefits effective October 1, 2026. The Board will cover all facility, equipment, and technology costs, and contractors are prohibited from budgeting for facilities, rent, utilities, phones, or information technology infrastructure. The approximate year-one contract value is $3,000,000, with budgets limited to administrative and operational costs including personnel wages, fringe benefits, insurance, bonding, audit services, professional services, and indirect costs not exceeding 10 percent; for-profit entities are permitted to include profit in their proposal budgets subject to negotiation based on attainment of performance benchmarks. Funding derives from the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Texas Workforce Commission. The initial contract term runs through September 30, 2027, with potential annual renewals for up to four additional years, not to exceed five years total, subject to satisfactory performance and fund availability.