Submitted Questions and Answers REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NO. PSC - #871 FOR EMPLOYABILITY AND SOCIAL SERVICES TO DELAWARE’S REFUGEE CLIENTS Q: Do you have a list of support agencies for language services? Q: Page 9 indicates that English Language Training must be provided in a concurrent time period with employment services. Must the selected provider offer ELT or can this requirement be met by referring clients to existing ELT providers? A: A list of ESL providers is attached to this document. This is not a comprehensive list of all the providers in the State. The refugee vendor is responsible for identifying the programs that are available in the community and for building relationships with those community resources. If the services that are needed are not available in the community the vendor should be prepared to fill this void. Possible solutions might include having clients access internet training by making computer time available to clients at the vendors office, or by the vendor offering the training themselves. Q: Can you provide definitions of all the acronyms? A: RRP - Refugee Resettlement Program: the name of the program DSS – The Division of Social Services DCIS II – Delaware Client Information System 2 – this is the system used to maintain client data and determine program eligibility. The refugee vendor interacts with this system to receive referrals, discharge clients, and transfer clients. The vendor also makes to clients case notes. IT Technician – Information Technology Technician, or computer support person RCA – Refugee Cash Assistance. A cash grant available to eligible clients the first eight months in the country or for eight months after having been determined a refugee or asylee if already in the Country. RMA – Refugee Medical Assistance. A medical insurance program available to eligible clients the first eight months in the country or for eight months after having been determined a refugee or asylee if already in the Country. TANF – Temporary Assistance For Needy Families – A cash program available to eligible low income families, families that are eligible for TANF receive TANF instead of RCA. ORR – The office of Refugee Resettlement is the federal program that issues grants to States to operate State refugee programs. VOLAG - Voluntary Agency. Any of the nine U.S. private agencies and one state agency that have cooperative agreements with the State Department to provide reception and placement services for refugees newly arrived in the United States. Q: Who develops the Self Sufficiency Test? A: The methods of self sufficiency testing and planning are proposed by the vendor and must be approved by the Division of Social Services. Q: What level of English Proficiency is expected? A: Clients need to be proficient enough to be able to engage in work and/or training activities. Q: Who provides housing? A: Refugees entering the Country are initially assisted with housing by the Volags. After this, clients arrange their own housing, but have available to them the same State, federal, and community services available to any other citizen. The vendor is expected to help client’s find housing and access community resources but is not responsible for providing housing. Q: Is there a set per capita reimbursement? A: No Q: Are we required to be an affiliate with a VOLAG and are they the “middle-man” with whom we invoice and get paid? A: The vendor contracts directly with the Division of Social Services. While it is expected that the vendor has a working relationship with local Volags to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of services for clients, the vendor does not need to have an established contractual relationship with a Volag. Q: What percentage of the budget request can be start-up funds? A: As noted in the RFP this is a100% performance based contract. Budgets should reflect what it will cost to run the program, but contract payments are only made when specific measurable performance goals are met. Q: Do we get a list of the bidders at the meeting? A: Yes Q: Please confirm that no hardcopies (on paper) of a proposal are to be included in the submission; does this include the “Letter of Interest” referenced on pg. 2 of the RFP? A: The letter of interest should be included in the required CD’s as a word or pdf file Q: Pg 7 indicates that “the anticipated number of arrivals and program budget is included.” I did not see either in the RFP. Please indicate where this information can be found. A: As noted earlier and in the RFP the expected annual caseload is expected at 70 to 80 clients with an anticipated monthly caseload average in the mid thirties. Arrivals entering directly into the State tend to be small, usually less then 10 a year, predicting the actual number is difficult as the majority of new arrivals come from out of State. To offer an estimate of the intensity of services required, last state fiscal year 70 clients worked with the refugee vendor; of that group 25 had been in the country less than 12 months. Regarding budget, as noted in the RFP: Budget Proposal Format The projected cost should be detailed using a line item budget format, detailing direct client costs and indirect costs (those not related to direct client services) budget narrative, personnel costs by position including percentage of time devoted to the service, equipment and supplies, travel, contractual, etc. The bidder should describe any factors that may have an impact on the contract cost and should provide a suggested performance based payment schedule. See the Performance Contracting section for a more thorough discussion of performance based contracting and examples This current federal fiscal year the program was performance based contracted with a maximum contractual limit of $57, 600. Q: Pg. 8 references “world-of-work.” Is this a specific, pre-existing curriculum? If so, where can I find more information about it? A: This is not a specific curriculum but rather describes orienting clients to the expectations of employers and the behaviors that are expected/appropriate in employment settings. Q: Pg. 9 notes that services must be provided in a manner that is linguistically and culturally compatible with a refugee’s background. Can you please provide demographic information about DE’s refugee populations, e.g., most prevalent country(ies) of origin. Do you anticipate any changes in the refugee population, e.g., new arrivals from particular countries in the coming year(s)? A: The chart below shows the number of clients per country of origin that the refugee vendor worked with during the federal fiscal year ending September 30, 2008. Liberia 25 Cameroon 10 Sierra Leone 9 Kenya 6 Ghana 5 Congo 2 Cuba 2 Ethiopia 2 Haiti 2 Afghanistan 1 El Salvador 1 Guatemala 1 Guinea 1 Honduras 1 Ivory Coast 1 Moldova 1 During the last six months we have noted an increase in Afghani and Iraqi special immigrants; it is expected these groups will represent a larger percentage of the population as legislation allowing them limited access (8 months) to refugee services was passed just within the last year. In 2008 at least one poultry producer was working with agencies to bring Hmong into Sussex County to work. The Hmong are coming from refugee camps in Thailand after fleeing Laos. This effort has not yet resulted in any new refugees coming into the State. Q: Pg 9 states that refugee specific services should be provided “through a separate service system.” This is unclear. Can you please expand upon what is meant by a “separate service system?” A: the intent of the above statement is that the refugee vendor provides services in a program designed and run specifically for refugees. For example if a bidder suggests they have a current case management program servicing hard to employ clients and their proposal is to add another case manager to their existing program to meet the new volume of refugee referrals this would likely not meet the desire of the State to have a “separate service system” for refugees. Q: Pg 10 notes that “any costs to replace or upgrade PCs or software…will be borne by the contractor.” Does this mean that we cannot include such equipment costs in our proposed budget? A: Bidders should estimate what it will cost them to run the program inclusive of computer hardware, software, and support. The contract will not pay for anything outside of the attainment of performance goals. The budget is required to determine the bidder’s ability to provide the service and the contract amount the bidder believes is necessary to effectively provide the service. Q: Pg 10 states that the contract may be extended beyond the first contract year, but that “there will be no additional price considerations.” Does this mean that the budget agreed upon in the first year of the contract will remain flat for any future extension(s)? A: The statement reads: This contract may be extended on a yearly basis for 5 years following September 30, 2010 upon the agreement of all parties, the availability of funds and that there be no additional price considerations. A: This statement does not preclude renegotiation of the contract amount should a significant population increase or decrease occur or the program is significantly restructured as a result of State or Federal Regulations. As opposed to renegotiation though, if the program changes significantly the program may be re-bid. Q: Where are the projected concentrations of the refugee population in Delaware? Q: Pg 10 indicates that if only one bidder is selected, they will be required to deliver services statewide. Can you please provide information and data about the geographic dispersion of refugee populations? For example, do specific refugee groups reside in the North vs. South, or in Wilmington vs. New Castle, etc.? A: As noted in the RFP, the expected annual caseload is estimated at 70 to 80 clients with an anticipated monthly caseload average in the mid-thirties. Refugee concentrations tend to follow the population density patterns of the State with approximately 60% living in New Castle and the remaining 40% distributed across the 2 southern counties. Specific large concentrations of refugee groups living in specific areas has not been found. The one exception to this is we know a large number of Haitian entrants live in Sussex County. For the most part this group has not sought access to refugee services and we tend to see a very small number in the refugee program. If at some point they should begin to request services more frequently, we would expect to see the demand for services increase in Sussex County. Additional Questions Generated During the 6/15/09 Pre-Bidders Conference Q: It appears that the program is front loaded, for example there is a lot of activity with a client at the beginning of the process and tapers off as time goes on. A: That would be a fair representation for the entire population; but specific clients will require a relatively “high” intensity services for longer periods of time or a greater intensity of services at times of crisis. Q: There is a lot of emphasis on translation services. A: Yes, clearly the vendor needs to be able to communicate with the clients. Bidders should include in their budget the anticipated cost of translation services. Q: If some of the poultry plants bring in an additional number of refugees to work in the plant thus increasing our numbers how that would affect us contractually? A: If there is a significant increase in the number of refugees requesting services, there would be no additional funding. DSS and the contractor would need to work together to identify other community resources and to prioritize service delivery by client need. Q: What is the average age of the client? A: Generally between 20 and 30 years old. Q: Is the average client typically male? A: During the first four month period of federal fiscal year 2009 the refugee vendor worked with 22 males and 26 females. Q: Does this contract include additional funding for ELS? A: No, the selected vendor would be expected to help the client find funding for this if it was needed. For example funding may be available through DOL. Q: The federal grant is $75,000 and the current contract the Social Services Vendor is capped at $57,600, where are the additional funds placed? A: The State uses the remaining funds for services such as supporting a State Refugee Coordinator position, translation services for eligibility determination, DSS case management, and computer system changes. Other benefits that the client may receive from the Division of Social Services, such as refugee cash assistance, food benefits, child care, and refugee medical assistance are not funded through the grant to provide social services. Q: The last paragraph in the section titled “Performance Contracting” discusses the performance based reimbursement structure and gives an example. Can a vendor suggest an alternative performance based reimbursement? A: Yes, but it is suggested that you review the proposed structure. Q: Is the vendor responsible to develop the assessment tool? A: Yes. Q: May the refugee vendor share performance payments the TANF vendors receive when a refugee client obtains a job. A: Any such agreement would be out of the scope of this contract and would be the result of an agreement between the refugee and TANF vendor. DSS does not prohibit such an arrangement. Delaware ESL Providers GED/ESL, Del-Tech (Georgetown) Delaware Technical & Comm College Seashore Highway, P.O. Box 610 Georgetown, DE 19947 * Email Address: derby@outland.dtcc.edu * EXT 5546 Del-Tech Owens Campus: (302) 856-5400 * FAX: (302) 858-5456 ABE/GED/ESL, Del Tech-Terry Campus (Dover) Delaware Technical and Comm College 100 Campus Drive Dover, DE 19901 * Web Site: www.dtcc.edu/terry * Email Address: apierce@dtcc.edu * Del Tech Terry Campus: (302) 857-1283 * FAX: (302) 857-1296 ESL, Del Tech-Wilmington Campus 333 Shipley Street Wilmington, DE 19801 * Web Site: http://www.dtcc.edu * Email Address: zelaya@hopi.dtcc.edu * English as a Second Language (ESL): (302) 571-5336 * FAX: (302) 577-2548 Appoquinimink Adult Basic Education 504 South Broad Street Middletown, DE 19709 * Web Site: www.apposchooldistrict.com * Appoquinimink Programs: (302) 378-5037 * Alternative number: (302) 378-5283 * FAX: (302) 378-0362 Casa San Francisco, Educational Activities 127 Broad Street Milton, DE 19968 * Main: (302) 684-8694 * Alternate: (302) 684-8708 * FAX: (302) 684-2808 Christina Adult Education Programs Christina School District Office 83 East Main Street Newark, DE 19711 * Web Site: http://www.doe.k12.de.us/edudir/edudirstart.asp * Email Address: mclainw@christina.k12.de.us * Phone: (302) 454-2400 * FAX: (302) 454-2005 Even Start/ESL, (KC/SC) DE Early Childhood Center Mispillion & West Streets Harrington, DE 19952 * Email Address: pmtuckerson@lf.k12.de.us * Main: (302) 398-8945 * Alternate: (302) 424-7552 * FAX: (302) 398-8983 James Groves Adult Education & Summer School Programs, Wilmington 100 North DuPont Road Wilmington, DE 19807 * Main: (302) 651-2709 * FAX: (302) 658-7137 James Groves Adult High School, Middletown Middletown Middle School 504 South Broad Street Middletown, DE 19709 * Web Site: apposchooldistrict.com * Main: (302) 378-5037 * FAX: (302) 378-0362 James H. Groves Adult High School, Georgetown 17099 County Seat Hwy. P.O.Box 351 Georgetown, DE 19947 * Web Site: http://sussextechtraining.net * Email Address: tcordier@sussexvt.kiz.us * Adult Education: (302) 856-9035 * FAX: (302) 856-7875 James H. Groves Adult High School, Woodside 823 Walnut Shade Road P.O. Box 102 Woodside, DE 19980 * Web Site: http://www.polytech.k12.de.us * Main: (302) 697-4545 * FAX: (302) 697-4544 MARK Literacy Center More Adult Readers in Kent County 430 New Castle Avenue Dover, DE 19901 * Main: (302) 678-4952 Polytech Adult Education, (KC) 823 Walnut Shade Road P.O. Box 102 Woodside, DE 19980 * Main: (302) 697-4545 * FAX: (302) 697-4544 Sussex Tech Adult Education Division 17099 County Seat Highway Georgetown, DE 19958 * Web Site: http://www.SussexTechTraining.net * Email Address: jkreitzer@sussexvt.k12.de.us * Main: (302) 856-9035 * FAX: (302) 856-7875