RFP for WIC Div Undercover Buys Contract

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services issued Request for Proposal 20-2149 on July 30, 2020, for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program Compliance Investigative Services, with proposals due August 13, 2020, at 1:59 p.m. Eastern Time. The State seeks a contractor to provide trained undercover compliance investigators to conduct fraud and abuse investigations at WIC-approved vendors throughout Michigan, with an estimated 250 compliance buys annually and approximately 30 hearings annually (10 in-person and 20 virtual). The contractor must hire and maintain investigative staff to perform compliance buys at vendor locations identified by the Program Manager, with the anticipated contract begin date of October 1, 2020, for an initial three-year term through September 30, 2023, and the option to renew for up to two additional one-year periods at the State's sole discretion. Key deliverables and requirements include obtaining and maintaining licensure as a licensed Private Investigator in Michigan in good standing, submitting proof of licensing and bonding, organizational charts, staffing information, and a completed project plan within 30 days of contract effectiveness. The contractor must ensure investigators are female (unless otherwise directed), at least 18 years old, able to blend into target communities with cultural and linguistic competencies, and willing to testify under oath at hearings. Additionally, investigators are prohibited from wearing covert body cameras during compliance buy operations, and the contractor must provide a flat pricing schedule across all geographic regions with no regional rate differentiation, with anticipated distribution of compliance buys as follows: Southeast Michigan at 44 percent, Central Michigan at 35 percent, and Northern Michigan at 20 percent. Proposals are evaluated on Schedule A Statement of Work Requirements (40 percent weight), Staffing (30 percent weight), and State of Michigan Experience and Prior Experience (30 percent weight), with proposals receiving 80 or more technical evaluation points eligible for pricing evaluation.

This is a firm fixed-price contract with variable pricing based on a per-buy unit rate, and the pricing schedule must include all administrative, managerial, material, supply, and travel costs, with no reimbursement beyond the unit price per compliance buy. The solicitation specifies that only currently licensed private investigators in Michigan are eligible to bid; general professional services firms or "secret shopper" firms without private investigator licensing are explicitly ineligible to respond. No specific incumbent vendor or current contractor information is provided in the RFP materials, nor was a bidders conference or site visit scheduled. The contract is subject to federal provisions including Equal Employment Opportunity, Davis-Bacon Act compliance if applicable, debarment and suspension requirements, and Byrd Anti-Lobbying Amendment certification for contracts exceeding $100,000. While no specific award value or budget range is detailed in the available documentation, the State reserves the right to consider prior performance, economic impact to Michigan, and total cost of ownership factors in award decisions. The RFP does not indicate any designated set-asides for disadvantaged enterprises or minority-owned businesses.