Specialized and Private Licensed Placement Agencies

Agency:	State Government of Arkansas
State:	Arkansas
Type of Government:	State & Local
NAICS Category:	541990 - All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 561320 - Temporary Help Services 561612 - Security Guards and Patrol Services
Posted Date:	Nov 16, 2023
Due Date:	Dec 20, 2023
Solicitation No:	710-24-0017
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STATE OF ARKANSAS

Department of Human Services

Office of Procurement

700 Main Street

Little Rock, Arkansas 72201

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

RFP SOLICITATION DOCUMENT

SOLICITATION INFORMATION

Solicitation Number: 710-24-0017

Solicitation Issued: November 16, 2023

Description:

Specialized and Private Licensed Placement Agencies

Agency:

Department of Human Services, Division of Children and Family Services

SUBMISSION DEADLINE

Proposal Submission

Date and Tune

December 20, 2023, 1:00

p.m., Central Time

Proposal Opening

Date and Time:

December 20, 2023, 2:00 p.m.,

Central Time

Proposals shall not be accepted after the designated bid opening date and time. In accordance with Arkansas Procurement Law and

Rules, it is the responsibility of Contractors to submit proposals at the designated location on or before the bid opening date and time.

Proposals received after the designated bid opening date and time shall be considered late and shall be returned to the Contractor

without further review. It is not necessary to return “no bids” to the Office of Procurement (OP).

Drop off Address:

DELIVERY OF RESPONSE DOCUMENTS

Arkansas Department of Human Services

Attn: Office of Procurement

700 Main Street Slot W345

Little Rock, AR 72201

United States mail

(USPS):

Arkansas Department of Human Services

Attn: Office of Procurement

P.O. Box 1437 Slot W345

Little Rock, AR 72203-1437

Commercial Carrier

(UPS, FedEx or

USPS Exp):

Proposal’s Outer

Packaging:

OP Buyer:

Email Address:

DHS Website:

OSP Website:

Arkansas Department of Human Services

Attn: Office of Procurement

112 West 8th Street, Slot W345

Little Rock, AR 72201

Delivery providers, USPS, UPS, and FedEx deliver mail to OP’s street address on a schedule determined by

each individual provider. These providers will deliver to OP based solely on the street address. Prospective

Contractors assume all risk for timely, properly submitted deliveries.

Seal outer packaging and properly mark with the following information. If outer packaging of proposal

submission is not properly marked, the package may be opened for proposal identification purposes.

 Solicitation number  Date and time of proposal opening  Vendor’s name and return address

OFFICE OF PROCUREMENT CONTACT INFORMATION

Karrie Goodnight

Buyer’s Direct Phone Number:

DHS.OP.Solicitations@dhs.arkansas.gov

OP’s Main Number:

https://humanservices.arkansas.gov/do-business-with-dhs

http://www.arkansas.gov/dfa/procurement/bids/index.php

501-320-3906

501-396-6045

Solicitation Document

Solicitation No. 710-24-0017

SECTION 1 – GENERAL INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS

• Do not provide responses to items in this section unless specifically and expressly required.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

This Request for Proposal (RFP) is issued by the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS), Office of

Procurement (OP) for the Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to obtain Specialized and Private

Licensed Placement Agencies (SPLPA/PLPA). These agencies will provide foster care services in family homes for

children who cannot be maintained in their own homes and have been placed in foster care. The service is for

children and youth statewide that are referred by or in the custody of the State. The Office of Procurement is the

sole point of contact throughout this solicitation process.

1.2 INTERGOVERNMENTAL/COOPERATIVE USE OF PROPOSAL AND CONTRACT

In accordance with Arkansas Code §19-11-249, this proposal and resulting contract is available to any State

Agency or Institution of Higher Education that wishes to utilize the services of the selected proposer, and the

proposer agrees, they may enter into an agreement as provided in this solicitation.

1.3 TYPE OF CONTRACT

A. As a result of this RFP, OP intends to award a contract to multiple Contractors.

B. The term of this contract shall be for one (1) year. The anticipated start date for the contract is July 1, 2024.

Upon mutual agreement by the Prospective Contractor and agency, the contract may be renewed by OP, on a

year-to-year basis, for up to six (6) additional one-year terms or portions thereof.

C. The total contract term shall not be more than seven (7) years.

1.4 ISSUING AGENCY

The Office of Procurement (OP), as the issuing office, is the sole point of contact throughout this solicitation

process. Vendor questions regarding this Bid Solicitation should be made through the Issuing Officer as shown on

page one (1) of this document.

1.5 BID OPENING LOCATION

Bids submitted by the opening date and time will be opened via video conference. DHS will publish a link to the live

bid opening on the DHS website for public access. Individuals will not be permitted to attend in-person. If the bid

opening cannot be held as scheduled due to technical or other issues, DHS will publish an updated schedule and

video conference link on the DHS website.

1.6 ACCEPTANCE OF REQUIREMENTS

A. The words “must” and “shall” signify a Requirement of this solicitation and that the Contractor’s agreement to

and compliance with that item is mandatory.

B. A Contractor’s proposal will be disqualified if a Contractor takes exceptions to any Requirements named in this

RFP.

C. Contractor may request exceptions to NON-mandatory items. Any such request must be declared on, or as an

attachment to, the appropriate section’s Agreement and Compliance Page. Contractor must clearly explain the

requested exception and should reference the specific solicitation item number to which the exception applies.

(See Agreement and Compliance Page.)

D. DHS must not be required to accept any requested exceptions. Only exceptions expressly accepted by DHS

will become part of the resulting contract.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

A. Unless otherwise defined herein, all terms defined in Arkansas Procurement Law and used herein have the

same definitions herein as specified therein.

B. “Prospective Contractor”, means a responsible offeror who submits a proposal in response to this solicitation.

“Prospective Contractor”, “Contractor”, “bidder”, “vendor” and “respondent” are used synonymously in this

document.

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Solicitation Document

Solicitation No. 710-24-0017

C. The terms “buyer” and “Issuing Officer” are used synonymously in this document.

D. The terms “Request for Proposal”, “RFP,” “RFP Solicitation,” “Bid Solicitation” and “Solicitation” are used

synonymously in this document.

E. “Responsive proposal” means a proposal submitted in response to this solicitation that conforms in all material

respects to this RFP.

F. “Proposal Submission Requirement” means a task a Prospective Contractor shall complete when submitting a

proposal response. These requirements will be distinguished by using the term “shall” or “must” in the

requirement.

G. “Requirement” means a specification that a Contractor’s commodity and/or service must meet or exceed in the

performance of its contractual duties under any contract awarded as a result of this RFP. These

specifications will be distinguished by using the terms “shall” or “must” in the requirement.

H. “State” means the State of Arkansas. When the term “State” is used herein to reference any obligation of the

State under a contract that results from this solicitation, that obligation is limited to the State Department using

such a contract.

1.8 RESPONSE DOCUMENTS

A. Original Technical Proposal Packet

The following items are Proposal Submission Requirements and must be submitted in the original Technical

Proposal Response Packet.

1. A hard copy of the original Technical Proposal Response Packet must be received on or before the bid

submittal date and time. Copy should not be two sided.

2. The Technical Proposal Response Packet should be clearly marked “Original” and must include the

following:

a. Original signed Response Signature Page. (See Technical Proposal Response Packet.)

b. Original signed Agreement and Compliance Form. (See Technical Proposal Response Packet.)

c. EO 98-04 Contract and Grant Disclosure Form, Attachment A. (See Standard Terms and Conditions,

Disclosure.)

d. Technical Proposal response to the Information for Evaluation section included in the Technical

Proposal Response Packet.

e. Other documents and/or information as may be expressly required in this Bid Solicitation.

3. The following items should be submitted in the original Technical Proposal Response Packet.

a. Copy of Contractor’s Equal Opportunity Policy. (See Equal Opportunity Policy.)

b. Signed addenda to this RFP, if applicable. (See Requirement of Addendum.)

c. Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT), if applicable. (See Technology Access.)

4. DO NOT include any other documents or ancillary information, such as a cover letter or

promotional/marketing information.

B. Official Bid Price Sheet. (See Pricing.)

1. Contractor’s original Official Bid Price Sheet must be submitted in hard copy format.

2. Contractor should also submit one (1) electronic copy of the Official Bid Price Sheet, in PDF format,

preferably on a flash drive. A CD will also be acceptable. All items on flash drive or CD should be in

PDF format.

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Solicitation Document

Solicitation No. 710-24-0017

3. The Official Bid Price Sheet, including the hard copy and electronic copy, must be separately sealed from

the Technical Proposal Packet and should be clearly marked as “Pricing”. Vendor must not include any

pricing in the hard copies or electronic copies of their Technical Proposal Packet.

C. Additional Copies and Redacted Copy of the Technical Proposal Response Packet

In addition to the original Technical Proposal Response Packet and the Official Bid Price Sheet, the following

items should be submitted:

1. Additional Copies of the Technical Proposal Packet

a. Three (3) complete hard copies (marked “COPY”) of the Technical Proposal Response Packet.

b. Four (4) electronic copy of the Technical Proposal Response Packet, preferably on flash drives. A CD

will also be acceptable. All items on flash drive or CD should be in PDF format.

c. All additional hard copies and electronic copies must be identical to the original hard copy. In case of

a discrepancy, the original hard copy shall govern.

1.9 ORGANIZATION OF RESPONSE DOCUMENTS

A. It is strongly recommended that Contractors adhere to the following format and suggestions when preparing

their Technical Proposal response.

B. The original Technical Proposal Response Packet and all copies should be arranged in the following order:

• Response Signature Page.

• Agreement and Compliance Form.

• Signed Addenda, if applicable.

• E.O. 98-04 – Contract Grant and Disclosure Form.

• Equal Opportunity Policy.

• Other documents and/or information as may be expressly required in this Bid Solicitation. Label

documents and/or information so as to reference the Bid Solicitation’s item number.

• Technical Proposal response to the Information for Evaluation section of the Technical Proposal

Packet.

1.10 CLARIFICATION OF RFP SOLICITATION

A. Contractor may submit written questions requesting clarification of information contained in this Bid Solicitation.

Written questions should be submitted via email by 4:00 p.m., Central Time on or before November 24, 2023.

Submit questions to the OP buyer as shown on page one (1) of this Bid Solicitation. It is the contractor’s

responsibility to guarantee receipt of the questions by the specific time and date. DHS accepts no responsibility

for accurate or timely receipt of email submission.

B. The attached response template (Attachment B) should be used for submission of all written questions. For

each question submitted, Vendor should reference the specific solicitation item number to which the question

refers. Written questions submitted in a different format may not be answered by DHS.

C. Contractor’s written questions will be consolidated and responded to by the State. The State’s consolidated

written response is anticipated to be posted to the OP website by the close of business on December 6, 2023.

D. Answers to verbal questions may be given as a matter of courtesy and must be evaluated at contractor’s risk.

D. Oral statements by OP shall not be part of any contract resulting from this solicitation and may not

reasonably be relied on by any vendor as an aid to interpretation unless it is reduced to writing and

expressly adopted by DHS.

1.11 RESPONSE SIGNATURE PAGE

A. An official authorized to bind the Contractor(s) to a resultant contract must sign the Response Signature Page

included in the Technical Proposal Response Packet.

Contractor’s signature on this page shall signify contractor’s agreement that either of the following shall

cause the contractor’s proposal to be disqualified:

1. Additional terms or conditions submitted intentionally or inadvertently.

2. Any exception that conflicts with a Requirement of this Bid Solicitation.

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Solicitation Document

Solicitation No. 710-24-0017

1.12 AGREEMENT AND COMPLIANCE FORM

A. Contractor must sign Agreement and Compliance Form relevant to each section of the Bid Solicitation

Document. The Agreement and Compliance Form is included in the Technical Proposal Response Packet.

B. Contractor’s signature on that form shall signify agreement to and compliance with all Requirements within the

designated section.

1.13 SUBCONTRACTORS

The utilization of subcontractors will not be allowed for services provided under this solicitation.

1.14 PRICING

A. Contractor(s) shall include all pricing on the Official Price Bid Sheet only. Any cost not identified by the

successful contractor but subsequently incurred in order to achieve successful operation shall be borne by the

Contractor. The Official Bid Price Sheet is provided as a separate PDF file posted with this Bid Solicitation.

B. To allow time to evaluate proposals, prices must be valid for 180 days following the bid opening.

C. The Official Bid Price Sheet, including the hard copy and electronic copy, must be separately sealed from the

Technical Proposal Packet and should be clearly marked as “Pricing”. DO NOT submit any ancillary information

not related to actual pricing in the sealed pricing package. The Official Bid Price Sheet is provided as a

separate file posted with this Bid Solicitation.

D. Contractor must not include any pricing in the hard copies or electronic copies of their Technical Proposal

Packet. Should hard copies or electronic copies of their Response Packet contain any pricing, the response

shall be disqualified.

E. Failure to complete and submit the Official Bid Price Sheet shall result in disqualification.

F. All proposal pricing must be in United States dollars and cents.

G. The Official Bid Price Sheet may be reproduced as needed.

1.5 PRIME CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITY

A. A single contractor must be identified as the prime contractor and shall be the sole point of contact.

B. The prime Contractor shall be held responsible for the contract and jointly and severally liable with any of its

subcontractors, affiliates, or agents to the State for the performance thereof.

1.16 INDEPENDENT PRICE DETERMINATION

A. By submission of this proposal, the Contractor certifies, and in the case of a joint proposal, each party thereto

certifies as to its own organization, that in connection with this proposal:

• The prices in the proposal have been arrived at independently, without collusion; and

• No prior information concerning these prices has been received from, or given to, a competitive

company.

B. Evidence of collusion shall warrant consideration of this proposal by the Office of the Attorney General. All

Contractors shall understand that this paragraph may be used as a basis for litigation.

1.17 PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

A. Submission documents pertaining to this Bid Solicitation become the property of the State and are subject to

the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

B. In accordance with FOIA and to promote maximum competition in the State competitive bidding process, the

State may maintain the confidentiality of certain types of information described in FOIA. Such information may

include trade secrets defined by FOIA and other information exempted from the Public Records Act pursuant to

FOIA.

C. Contractor may designate appropriate portions of its response as confidential, consistent with and to the extent

permitted under the Statutes and Rules set forth above, by submitting a redacted copy of the response.

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Specialized and Private Licensed Placement Agencies

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See Also

description	agency	opening date/time	bid number	buyer
Specialized and Private Licensed Placement Agencies	Arkansas Department of Human Services	12/20/2023 02:00 PM CST	710-24-0017