REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL - Louisiana DCFS

1 1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL CHAFEE FOSTER CARE INDEPENDENCE PROGRAM FOR DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES RFP #:_____ PROPOSAL DUE DATE/TIME: MAY 20, 2016/4:30 PM State of Louisiana Office of State Procurement (April 12, 2016) 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I. ADMINISTRATIVE AND GENERAL INFORMATION Background .. 5 Purpose .. 6 Goals and Objectives .. 7 Definitions .. 7 Schedule of 8 PROPOSAL Submission .. 8 Mandatory (or Desirable) Qualifications for Proposer .. 9 PROPOSAL Format .. 9 Number of Copies of PROPOSAL .. 11 Legibility/Clarity .. 11 Confidential Information, Trade Secrets and Proprietary Information .. 11 PROPOSAL Clarifications Prior to Submittal .. 12 Pre- PROPOSAL Conference .. 12 Proposer 12 Errors and Omissions in PROPOSAL .. 12 Changes, Addenda, Withdrawals.

2 12 Withdrawal of PROPOSAL .. 12 Waiver of Administrative Formalities .. 12 PROPOSAL Rejection/RFP Cancelation .. 12 Ownership of PROPOSAL .. 12 Cost of Offer Preparation .. 13 Taxes .. 13 Determination of Responsibility .. 13 Use of Subcontractors .. 13 Written or Oral Discussions/Presentations .. 13 Best and Final Offers (BAFO) .. 13 Acceptance of PROPOSAL Content .. 14 Evaluation and Selection .. 14 Contract Award and Execution .. 14 Notice of Intent to Award .. 14 Right to Prohibit Award .. 14 Insurance Requirements .. 15 Indemnification and Limitation of Liability .. 15 Payment .. 16 Termination .. 16 Termination of the Contract for Cause .. 16 Termination of the Contract for Convenience .. 17 Termination for Non-Appropriation of Funds .. 17 Assignment.

3 17 Audit of Records .. 17 Civil Rights Compliance .. 17 Record Ownership .. 17 Entire Agreement/Order of Precedence .. 17 Contract Changes .. 18 3 Substitution of Personnel .. 18 Governing Law .. 18 Claims or Controversies .. 18 Code of Ethics .. 18 Corporate Requirements .. 18 PART II. SCOPE OF WORK/SERVICES Overview .. 18 Period of Agreement .. 19 Task and Services .. 19 23 Scope of Work Elements .. 24 Functional Requirements .. 24 Technical Requirements .. 24 Project Requirements .. 24 PART III. EVALUATION Cost Evaluation .. 27 PART IV. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS Performance Requirements .. 28 Performance Measurement/Evaluation .. 29 ATTACHMENTS Certification Statement .. 29 Sample Contract .. 30 .. 38 4 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR CHAFEE FOSTER CARE INDEPENDENCE PROGRAM FOR DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES PART I: ADMINISTRATIVE AND GENERAL INFORMATION (REV.)

4 11/10/2014) Background This REQUEST for PROPOSAL (RFP) is issued by the Department of Children and Family Services, herein referred to as dcfs or the department . The dcfs provides for the public child welfare functions of Louisiana , delivering services through a state administered system of a central state office, nine (9) regional offices and less than (40) parish offices covering the sixty-four (64) parishes of Louisiana . A parish is a subdivision of the state similar to a county in other states. Through partnerships with the Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ) and the federal tribes located in Louisiana , dcfs also supports the delivery of child welfare services to those populations of youth who are considered children in foster care.

5 dcfs Regions Parishes in each dcfs Region Alexandria Rapides, Vernon, Avoyelles, Concordia, Grant, Winn, Catahoula, and LaSalle Baton Rouge East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Iberville, East Feliciana, West Feliciana, and Pointe Coupee Covington Livingston, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington Greater New Orleans Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines and St. Bernard Lafayette Lafayette, Iberia, St. Martin, St. Landry, St. Mary, Acadia, Vermilion, and Evangeline Lake Charles Calcasieu, Beauregard, Allen, Cameron, and Jefferson Davis Monroe Caldwell, East Carroll, Franklin, Lincoln, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, Richland, Tensas, Union, and West Carroll Shreveport Bienville, Claiborne, Jackson, Red River, Caddo, DeSoto, Webster, Bossier, Sabine, and Natchitoches Thibodaux Lafourche, Terrebonne, St.

6 Charles, St. James, Assumption, St. John the Baptist, and Ascension. 5 The Chafee Foster Care Independence Program is a federally funded program provided by the department statewide through contract providers. The program has been provided in Louisiana since 1999. The purpose of the federal funds under which the program operates was to enable state programs to be designed and conducted, in accordance with Sections 475 and 477 of the United States Social Security Act: (1) to identify children who are likely to remain in foster care until 18 years of age and to help these children make the transition to self-sufficiency by providing services such as assistance in obtaining a high school diploma, career exploration, vocational training, job placement and retention, training in daily living skills, training in budgeting and financial management skills, substance abuse prevention, and preventive health activities (including smoking avoidance, nutrition education, and pregnancy prevention).

7 (2) to help children who are likely to remain in foster care until 18 years of age receive the education, training, and services necessary to obtain employment; (3) to help children who are likely to remain in foster care until 18 years of age prepare for and enter postsecondary training and education institutions; (4) to provide personal and emotional support to children aging out of foster care, through mentors and the promotion of interactions with dedicated adults; 6 (5) to provide financial, housing, counseling, employment, education, and other appropriate support and services to former foster care recipients between 18 and 21 years of age to complement their own efforts to achieve self-sufficiency and to assure that program participants recognize and accept their personal responsibility for preparing for and then making the transition from adolescence to adulthood; (6) to provide the services referred to in this subsection to children who, after attaining 16 years of age, have left foster care for kinship guardianship or adoption; and (7) to ensure children who are likely to remain in foster care until 18 years of age have regular, ongoing opportunities to engage in age or developmentally-appropriate activities as defined in section 475(11) of the Social Security Act.

8 Purpose The purpose of this REQUEST for PROPOSAL (RFP) is to obtain competitive proposals as allowed by Louisiana Revised Statute 39:1593 et seq. from bona fide, qualified proposers who are interested in providing Chafee Foster Care Independence Program services within Louisiana . The Department seeks proposals from proposers capable of serving a minimum of all parishes within a particular dcfs region. It is anticipated at least one (1) PROPOSAL per dcfs region will be accepted and separate contracts developed for each dcfs region to fully serve the whole state. One proposer may submit separate proposals for separate contracts for each dcfs region a proposer is interested in serving. Acceptance of a PROPOSAL for contracted services within one dcfs region will not guarantee acceptance of a PROPOSAL by the same proposer for any other region.

9 Each PROPOSAL submitted for each dcfs region will be independently reviewed and analyzed for the needs of that region and in comparison with all other proposals submitted for that particular region A proposer must have or plan to have by the initiation of the contract, a physical presence of staff and an office within each dcfs region for which the proposer submits a PROPOSAL to serve. In the event proposals were not submitted for a specific dcfs region, dcfs reserves the right to negotiate a contract (based on the evaluation criteria) with one of the respondents of the RFP to cover the additional regions. The PROPOSAL must demonstrate the following: Service to youth ages 14 through 26 in dcfs , OJJ or federal tribal custody; who aged out of dcfs , OJJ or federal tribal custody; or, who entered a Guardianship or Adoption arrangement out of dcfs , OJJ or federal tribal custody from foster care after age 16.

10 Education and training on the basic skills necessary to live independently o Developmentally appropriate to each youth referred o Targeted to the individually assessed needs of each youth referred o Continuously evolving instructional experiences based on ongoing assessment of each youth s functional skill level o Involve experiential learning activities for the youth to practice and demonstrate skill development in each instructional area o Geographically and logistically convenient to each youth referred as well as the caretakers of the youth. All proposed programs shall be based on Positive Youth Development principles, have a clear program philosophy, be strengths-focused in approach, have an experiential learning methodology for youth knowledge development and demonstrate evidence of capacity to build youth independence.