RFP 1112 Online Community Resource Portal for Children and Families

New York State (NYS) continues to transform its child welfare system toward a more upstream prevention strategy involving providing increased services and resources to families sooner. Such early prevention efforts strengthen families to prevent child abuse and maltreatment and enable children to remain safely in their homes with their families. The NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) has released this request for proposals (RFP) to solicit competitive proposals for an online platform that will serve as a connection point and resource hub for county-based local departments of social services (LDSS) staff. New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services will not be part of this platform in this offering. OCFS seeks to provide a reliable resource that supports, strengthens, and empowers families. This online resource/platform must be easy to navigate and accessible via iOS and Android mobile devices.

Through the use of this new online platform, OCFS aims to support child welfare work of the counties that provide or administer the full range of publicly funded social services to individuals and families. The goal of the proposed online platform is to bridge the gap between common tangible items that are needed by families (i.e. beds, mattresses, bedding, furniture, clothing, and housing repair services) to community partners (also referred to as “regional teams of responders”) who may be willing to provide these items to families. This platform will give LDSS child welfare staff access to a network of community providers willing to donate the requested items to meet the needs of vulnerable children and families.

This RFP is federally funded through the Child Abuse and Neglect Grant. (NCCAN) Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($350,000) is anticipated to be available annually for three years, for a total of $1,050,000. NYS reserves the right, at the sole discretion of OCFS, to increase the amount of funding awarded under this contract with a corresponding increase in time and/or additional work to be performed. The manner in which increases or extensions are applied to this contract will be in alignment with the federal notice of award and in the best interests of the state.

Purpose and Procurement Objectives

OCFS seeks proposals for an Online Community Resource Portal for Children and Families that LDSS caseworkers can use to obtain resources for children and families. These resources will primarily include economic and concrete supports to strengthen children and families, such as:

• concrete supports;
• housing repair services;
• education-related materials;
• basic household supplies such as food, clothing, beds/bedding, cleaning supplies, diapers; and
• transportation.

The online platform must also have the following capabilities:

• Provide and store information related to case management services, such as confidential family and household information.
• Track submitted needs requests.
• Provide detailed analytical reports.

In addition, the chosen vendor must continuously work to curate partnerships with local organizations, businesses, faith-based organizations, and individuals to expand the network of community responders participating in the resource portal within each region (Regional Teams of Responders).

This procurement covers all of New York State outside of New York City . Applicants must submit a proposal that serves 57 counties. Please note: The five New York City (NYC) counties are NOT included under this RFP. The submitted proposal must include a schedule timeline that reflects the vendor's plans to gradually increase their coverage annually over the three-year contract term so there is a presence in each of the 57 counties by 2028. Please note that applications should propose to launch services in at least? of the counties (19) each year of the contract to achieve full implementation.

Please see the RFP document located on the "Documents" tab for additional information and submission requirements.