Delaware Health And Social Services DIVISION OF MANAGEMENT SERVICES PROCUREMENT DATE: NOVEMBER 03, 2009 Hss 10 033 Medicaid Information Technology Architecture (MITA) State Self Assessment AND Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) Automated System Planning FOR DIVISION OF MEDICAID AMD MEDICAL ASSISTANCE Date Due: December 04, 2009 11:15 AM ADDENDUM # 1 PLEASE NOTE: THE ATTACHED SHEETS HEREBY BECOME A PART OF THE ABOVE MENTIONED BID. ___________________________ SANDRA S. SKELLEY, CPPO,CPPB PROCUREMENT ADMINISTRATOR (302) 255-9291 ________________________ TROY MCDANIEL(302)255-9775 Section Pg Question Answer Bidder 1 N/A ii Page ii Indicates a brief "Letter of Interest" must be submitted with your proposal. Where is the Letter to be provided in the proposal? Is this the same as the Transmittal Letter? This is the same as the Transmittal Letter. Maximus 2 NA ii Please clarify what the seven-digit PSC number is for this RFP. The PSC number on this RFP at the top of the page is only five numeric digits: “Request for Proposal # PSC HSS 10-003.” In addition, this number conflicts with the number shown on page i, “PSC HSS 10-033.” Please forgive the confusion over the RFP number. We are adjusting to a new numbering system. The current number is PSC HSS 10-033. Please us it when referring to the RFP. Allan Collautt Associates 3 1.1 1 Does DMMA intend to engage a contractor for IV&V on the takeover MMIS project? If so, will the contractor selected for the MITA SSA and MMIS Automated Systems Planning project be precluded from bidding for the IV&V contract? The state is procuring a takeover of the existing system and fiscal agent responsibilities. At this time the enhancements are unknown. IV & V will be required to the extent necessary. The selected contractor is eligible to provide this service. PSI 4 1.1 1 Is there currently an APD for the MITA SSA and MMIS Automated Systems Planning project? If so, will the APD be made available to offerors? The MITA SS-A and MMIS Planning APD is not available to bidders. PSI 5 1.1 1 The RFP states that Delaware will only accept bids from vendors that are independent from the current fiscal agent. Does this include vendors that worked with or were subcontractors to the current fiscal agent during the most recent MMIS development project? Yes, bids from vendors that were subcontractors of the current fiscal agent during the last MMIS development project will not be accepted. Deloitte 6 1.2 1 This section states, in part that the current fiscal agent contract expires on July 1, 2012. Is the current fiscal agent precluded from bidding on the takeover and enhanced MMIS? No, the current fiscal agent can bid on the takeover and the MMIS enhancements. Maximus 7 1.3 2 The Project Goals section states, in part, that one of the objectives is to "prepare an appropriate advanced planning document"; while Section 4.6 states that an APDU must be developed as part of Phase 3. Has the State already received approval from CMS to limit its options to a takeover and enhancement of its current MMIS? Please clarify. Yes, the State has received approval from CMS to procure a takeover of the MMIS. Maximus 8 1.3 2 Section 1.3 states that, “The objective of the Automate System Planning portion of the project is: to develop the requirements for fiscal agent responsibilities; utilize the approved MITA SS-A and evaluate other needs for system enhancement at takeover; prepare the appropriate advanced planning document (APD); prepare an implementation RFP and; to facilitate meetings and documentation for the selection of a contractor to serve as the Medicaid fiscal agent and systems development contractor.” Is Delaware intending to have the vendor update their existing APD or create a new APD? Per CMS, an Implementation Advance Planning Document (I-APD) is required for a takeover. FOX 9 1.3 2 What is the funding source for the MITA Assessment and MMIS system planning? This project is funded by both Federal and State funds. CJIS 10 1.3 2 How much has been budgeted for the MITA Assessment and MMIS system planning? DHSS cannot provide the estimated budget for this project. Please be realistic in your pricing and present a bid that allows you to provide the services that you are presenting. CJIS 11 1.3 2 What is the funding source for the MMIS takeover and fiscal agent services? If no funding, where will it be sought? MMIS Takeover and fiscal agent services are funded by both CMS and the state. The Department will secure funds through the state budget process and the submission of an APDU as requested in this RFP. CJIS 12 1.3 2 What is the estimated cost of the MMIS takeover and fiscal agent services? Fiscal agent services for 2009 were approximately $14.6 million. DHSS can not provide the estimated budget for the MMIS takeover. CJIS 13 1.3 2 What is the estimated timeframe for releasing the MMIS takeover and fiscal agent services RFP? 2010, 2011, etc...? February 2011 to June 2011; adequate time for a new fiscal agent to assume responsibilities on July 1, 2012 must be considered. CJIS 14 1.3 2 This section of the RFP states that “the MITA SS-A will guide the State in determining necessary upgrades during the transition of the system. The SS-A then becomes an evolving document that directs future enhancements.” Question: Does the State envision the SS-A resulting in recommendations for major system projects beyond and outside of the MMIS in order to achieve Department and State goals? How much involvement does DMMA envision from other DHSS Divisions (referring to the list of other DHHS Divisions on Page 3, Section 2.1 of the RFP)? Yes, the SS-A will help direct future enhancements that affect the Medicaid enterprise and could involve other DHSS Divisions in the future. BDMP 15 2.3.1 4 This section states that “one co-project director will be assigned from this unit and will be responsible for overall project coordination with DMMA business staff and fiscal agent staff.” Question: Will this resource be available to both phases of the project, both the MITA SS-A activities and the MMIS Automated System Planning? Yes BDMP 16 2.3.4 4 What involvement does the State anticipate the current fiscal agent will have in the Phase 1 work of the SS-A? The fiscal agent will provide SMEs to support the MITA state self-assessment in all necessary business processes for both the “As-Is” and “To-Be” processes. BDMP 17 2.3.4 4 What role will EDS play in this project? EDS, now known as HP Enterprise Services, will provide SMEs to support the MITA state self-assessment in all necessary business processes for both the “As-Is” and “To-Be” processes. In support of the RFP, HP will provide a MMIS turnover plan and a statement of resources and requirements necessary to operate the MMIS system and support fiscal agent responsibilities for DHSS. IMET 18 3.1 6 This Section states, in part, that the Division and IRM will appoint co- Project Directors. Please clarify to which co-Project Director the contractor Project Manager reports? The contractor Project Manager will report to the Division (DMMA) Project Director. The IRM Project Director will be consulted on technical and contractual decisions. Maximus 19 3.1 6 Section 3.1 states that, “The Division Project Director will serve as primary coordinator to ensure that SS-A tasks and Joint Application Design (JAD) sessions take place with the appropriate subject matter experts (SME).” However, RFP Section 4.1.5 states that the “contractor project manager is expected to coordinate and facilitate meetings with Division Subject Matter Experts (SME).” Who will be responsible for managing meeting invites through the State’s Outlook or other scheduling system? The Division Project Director will identify the appropriate resources to participate. The contractor project manager will be the primary organizer of meeting invites through outlook. However, the state will assist. FOX 20 3.1 6 In other projects we have found value in having a senior manager participate as a member of Project Oversight Committee. Will DMMA allow the contractor’s Project Director to participate as part of the Project Oversight Committee? The contractor's Project Director may participate in committee meetings as a consultant but will not be empowered with the project oversight functions of this committee. PSI 21 3.2 7 What kind of Subject Matter Experts will the State supply? Will there be one SME from each Division, or will additional SMEs be available? The state anticipates assigning a state SME from each business area within the Division that can identify and pull in additional SMEs as needed. Multiple individuals ranging from senior managers to field staff will be participating. Allan Collautt Associates 22 3.3 7 This section states that systems documentation may be missing, incomplete, out of date or inaccurate. Does this include information related to the existing MMIS and Case Management systems? How does the State envision ensuring the contractor has accurate information related to the current environment and systems? System documentation is fairly complete for all systems affected by this project. Subject matter experts may need to provide details or supplemental documentation for fixes, workarounds, and recent upgrades. PSI 23 3.3 7 This Section states, in part, that "system documentation may be missing, incomplete, out of date or inaccurate". It is difficult for a Contractor to accurately assess the scope of work required to successfully propose a solution for this RFP without knowing the extent of the lack of system documentation that is available. Would you please be more specific on the nature of this issue? See answer to #22 Maximus 24 3.3 7 Because the MITA SS- A planning, scheduling and identification of knowledgeable resources is a task not to be underestimated, will State staff be made available to schedule the needed meetings (meeting rooms and personnel) and work within the limitations of the State scheduling system (protocols) if applicable? Yes, state staff will assist with resource scheduling as needed. BDMP 25 3.3 7 Because no State staff will be assigned to the project full time, and because all State staff will be working on this project in addition to their regular responsibilities, how will scheduling and priority conflicts be resolved between regular duties and project needs. Staff understand the importance of this project. Advanced scheduling will be emphasized to all involved. The detailed project plan will help us anticipate demands and provide proper coverage for all duties. BDMP 26 3.4 7 This section states that State staff are on site from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM on State business days. Will contractor staff be limited to those work hours when they are on-site? No, on site staff will not be limited to these work hours. PSI 27 4 9 Does the state expect the prime contractor to meet all qualifications for demonstrated experience from Section 4 on page 9 of the RFP independently, or will the state consider the team’s (prime contractor and subcontractor(s)) collective experience to satisfy the requirements? The state will consider the collective experience of contractor and subcontractors but expects strong oversight and coordination of subcontractors by the prime contractor. HSC 28 4 9 Paragraph 2 of the section states that the bidders must have demonstrated experience and depth in the areas provided in the bulleted list. Are vendors to describe their experience in response to this section or in response to RFP Section 6.2.7? Section 4 defines what we expect of a contractor for this project. Bidders must discuss each of these subsection requirements and deliverables in the appropriate sections of the proposals as described in Section 6. Maximus 29 4 9 This section states that we must respond to each subsection in Section 4. However, there are several sections (such as 4.1.3: Offshore Project Work) that do not seem to need a response. In those cases, are we to simply indicate our acceptance of that section? Yes, bidders must discuss each of these subsection requirements in their proposals to acknowledge their responsibilities under this RFP. Maximus 30 4 9 Will the State consider accepting a vendor with no direct MITA experience, but with experience related to MITA? The state prefers direct MITA experience but will consider all proposals that meet minimum requirements. Allan Collautt Associates 31 4.1.1 9 Is the State able to pay additional travel costs at the State allowed rates for contractor staff travel, or are all travel related costs to be included in a Firm Fixed price? See 6.3.1 - Additional charges to deliver the proposed services such as travel, supplies, and postage will not be considered. These and other miscellaneous expenses will be included in the firm fixed price. BDMP 32 4.1.1 9 This section of the RFP states that “the State will provide office space including furniture, phones and network connectivity for all on- site project staff.” Question: Will the successful bidder be able to connect non State issued laptops and computers into the State network, or will the State issue a defined number of work stations that can access the State network? The state will purchase work stations on behalf of vendor project staff working at the state site. Vendors will not be permitted to connect any non-state hardware to the state network. SSL-VPN is available for staff needing off-site access to the state network. The sentence in section 4.1.1 of the RFP that reads, "Contractor will be responsible for all other office necessities including workstation and required software." should be changed to "Additionally the State will be responsible for office necessities including hardware and software for this project. Vendor will detail the office hardware and software requirements including costs in the business proposal." BDMP 33 4.1.1 9 This section states, in part, that office space including furniture, phones and network connectivity for all on- site project staff". Please clarify for how many Contractor project staff such space and connectivity will be provided. Will the State also provide printing and faxing access for the consultants? Also, each of our proposed consultants will have laptops provided for use on this project. Please indicate whether the State will provide Internet access for consultant's email access and whether there are any State requirements for such laptops. Vendor will specify how many staff are proposed to work on- site. These staff will be connected to the State network and have internet access and state email addresses for the duration of their project work. See response to question 32. Maximus 34 4.1.1 9 Section 4.1.1 states “The State will provide office space including furniture, phones and network connectivity for all on-site project staff. Contractor will be responsible for all other office necessities including workstation and required software.” Does the State have any limitations on the number of workspaces available to vendors? Specific office requirements will be discussed with the selected vendor. See response to question 32. FOX 35 4.1.1 9 Section 4.1.1 states that “The State will provide office space including furniture, phones and network connectivity for all on-site project staff. Contractor will be responsible for all other office necessities including workstation and required software.” Will the State be providing WiFi or other open network connectivity for contractor workstations? No. See response to question 32. FOX 36 4.1.1 9 This section states, in part, that the "key contractor staff are required to be on-site the majority o the time at the Biggs Building or the Lewis Building on the DHSS Campus in New Castle, Delaware". Please clarify what you mean by the majority of the time. Vendor staff must work out of an office on the DHSS Campus for more then 50% of the time spent on this project. Vendor staff are expected to be a consistent physical presence throughout this project; participating in meetings and meeting face to face with staff. Maximus 37 4.1.2 10 The eighth bullet in this section states that the bidder shall “identify the offsite single point of contact who will serve as the project manager of offsite resources” and “describe how this project manager and the on-site project manager will interact.” Question: Is it required that the offsite single point of contact be named as key personnel and remain the active point of contact throughout both phases, or is the State comfortable allowing different people to fill this role depending on the phase and work being performed? This role can be served by different individuals based on the phase of the project. BDMP 38 4.1.5 11 What will be the major differences between the focus of the bi-weekly status meetings and the focus of the monthly milestone meetings? Bi-weekly status meeting is expected to focus on current deliverables in progress and the associated staff. Monthly milestone meetings will focus on the overall project’s progress and involve project steering committee, project directors and project managers. Allan Collautt Associates 39 4.2 11 This section states, in part, that "the up-to-date project plan must be created and maintained weekly" and yet Section 4.6 Deliverables on page 14 states, in part, that the project plan must updated at least bi-weekly. Please clarify if the project plan must be updated weekly or bi-weekly. This is an error in section 4.2. The project plan must be updated at least bi-weekly, as indicated in section 4.6. Maximus 40 4.4 12 This section states, in part, that "Vendors must comply with DTI policies and standards and DHSS Information Technology Standard, which will be distributed at the pre-bid meeting upon vendor signature of a non-disclosure agreement" and yet the cover sheet to this RFP states, "A pre-bid meeting will not be held". Please clarify whether all of the applicable information is available through the links provided in Appendix D and/or provide the appropriate links to an amended Appendix D. It is not anticipated that this information will be necessary for the assessment and planning project. This information will be supplied to the selected vendor if necessary. Maximus 41 4.4 12 This section states that Vendors must also comply with DTI policies and standards and DHSS Information Technology (IT) Standards, which will be distributed at the pre-bid meeting upon vendor signature of a non- disclosure agreement. Since a pre-bid meeting is not being held, will the State share these standards or are they not necessary in the development of vendor proposals? See response to question 40. PSI 42 4.4 12 The second paragraph of Section 4.4 indicates that the DHSS Information Technology (IT) standards will be distributed at the pre-bid meeting upon vendor signature of a non- disclosure agreement. However, the cover page of the RFP indicates that no pre-bid meeting will be held. How will these standards be distributed to potential bidders? See response to question 40. CSG 43 4.6 13 The sentence under the table states that “except for Phase 1, vendors may propose a different sequence of phases and deliverables. Schedule 1 of Appendix F (Project Cost Forms) must also reflect this same sequence.” Question: To clarify, is it correct to state that if the vendor proposes a different sequence, then the Appendix F cost forms must be amended to follow the newly proposed sequence? Yes BDMP 44 4.6 12 Section 4.6 states that, “DHSS may grant approval, reject portions of or reject the complete document, request contractor revisions be made, or may state the inability to respond to the deliverable until a future specified date.” The Contractor must manage to an agreed project schedule. For this reason, can the State indicate a future date limitation for instances where an inability to respond to the deliverable until a future specified date would occur? For example, a future response date could not exceed 5 business days from the original response date. This will be discussed with the selected vendor. FOX 45 4.6 12 This section indicates that the two State Project Directors must approve each deliverable. Is there a process in place to handle situations if the Project Directors do not agree on deliverable acceptance? In this event the Director of the division or designee will make a final decision. PSI 46 4.6.1 13 How much time after the project start does the State expect that SMEs will need to educate the contractor on the project environment before the contractor is required to “present an overview of the project” as its first deliverable? The state expects a contractor to have knowledge of the process and be able to present an overview of the contracted services along with the contractor’s methodology for performing the service. The environment will be discussed in the first week and the project overview is required within two weeks of project start. Allan Collautt Associates 47 4.6.2 15 This deliverable calls for the use of UML to graphically depict the Medicaid business processes. Is UML a required standard for the modeling or can the contractor choose a different standard? Yes, UML is the required standard for modeling the business processes. PSI 48 4.6.2 16 This section states that the implementation plan should “take into account the initiatives and planned changes as represented in current system change controls.” Question: Does this sentence reference the change control system for the current MMIS? Can the State quantify the current changes and initiatives in queue? This sentence references change controls for the current MMIS. At this time there are 186 enhancement and 123 maintenance change controls in queue. BDMP 49 4.6.2 16 This section states, in part, that Deliverable 10: Deliver and Submit SS-A to CMS, that the completed SS-A is the deliverable and also references the APDU that is part of Phase 3. It is our understanding that the completed SS- A must be submitted to CMS as part of an APD or APDU not as a separate document. Please clarify whether the State considers Phase 2 to be complete and able to be invoiced for with the completion of the SS-A and that the submission of the completed SS-A is not required until the submission of the APDU in Phase 3. The completed SS-A will be submitted to CMS along with the APD in Phase 3 and not submitted independently in Phase 2. The approval of the SS-A as deliverable 10 will complete Phase II and allow for the invoicing of Milestone 2. Maximus 50 4.6.3 17 Will the contractor be expected to conduct debriefings with any losing bidders who request them? No. This is a State responsibility. Allan Collautt Associates 51 4.6.3 17 In regard to vendor selection, does DHSS want the selected contractor to prepare a Proposal Evaluation Plan and associated score sheets Yes Deloitte 52 4.6.3 17 In regard to vendor selection, does DHSS want the selected contractor to assist with answering questions from potential bidders? Yes Deloitte 53 4.6.3 17 In regard to vendor selection, does DHSS want the selected contractor to assist with contract negotiation in connection with the resulting fiscal agent contract Yes, the State seeks assistance with contract negotiation that results in the final fiscal agent contract. Deloitte 54 4.6.3 17 What is the expected turn-around time from CMS to review and approve submitted deliverables? CMS has a total of 60 days to review each APD, Contract, and RFP. The clock is suspended while the state answers any CMS questions. North Highland 55 4.6.3 17 Once the APD and RFP are approved by CMS, what is the expected timeline for procurement (e.g., how long does the State expect it will take to get to a signed contract?)? 3 - 6 months North Highland 56 5.1.2 19 If the contractor is only required to submit resumes for two key staff as stipulated in Section 4.1, will scoring for the “Organization, staff qualifications and experience with similar projects” be based solely on the two resumes submitted or will additional consideration be given to those key staff positions identified by the contractor but not referenced in the RFP? Vendors have the opportunity to present the qualifications of other key personnel and any relevant experience within the Technical proposal. See 6.2.3, 6.2.6, and 6.2.7. Deloitte 57 6.1 20 This section states, in part, that "All CD files shall be in PDF and Microsoft Word formats. Please clarify whether the States wants each document in both PDF and Microsoft Word format. Both formats are required. Maximus 58 6.1 20 As a publicly-traded company, our financial statements are already available to the public. Do we still need to provide this information on the "Corporate Confidential Information" CDs or can it be placed on the non- confidential CDs? Vendors are not required to place information on a Corporate Confidential Information CD. However, if the vendor does not want this information released under the FOIA please exclude the information from the proposal and indicate that the information is confidential in the appropriate section of the proposal. Then include the information on the Corporate Confidential Information CD. These items are 1) any financial information relating to the company or organization (not the RFP pricing or budget); 2) Resumes; 3) Organization Charts. Maximus 59 6.1 20 We understand that resumes and project organizational charts are to be provided on the "Corporate Confidential Information" CD. Are we to electronically redact or black out this information from the non-confidential CDs or are we to provide this information only on the CDs containing confidential information? See response to question 58. Maximus 60 6.1 20 Are hard copies of the required forms to be submitted with the original transmittal letter or just provided on the CDs? We only need an original hard copy of the Transmittal letter. All other required forms should be submitted as a file on a CD. Maximus 61 6.1 20 Please confirm that the technical and business proposals should be submitted on separate CDs. This seems to be inferred but is not directly stated in Section 6.1. This is correct. CSG 62 6.1.4 21 This section also references a bidders' meeting, but the cover sheet for the RFP states, "A pre-bid meeting will not be held". Please clarify. Disregard pre-bid meeting references. A pre-bid meeting was not necessary for this project. Maximus 63 6.2.6 25 Section 6.2.6 specifies that resumes and an organization chart are to be provided as part of the response to the “Staff Qualifications and Experience” section of the proposal. However, Section 6.1.6 on page 21 indicates that the resumes and organization charts are to be provided via separate CD and marked as confidential. Please clarify the instructions for providing this information. See response to question 58. CSG 64 6.1.6 & 6.2.6 21& 25 Section 6.1.6 states “The following items, if required in response to this RFP, are to be included in a separate section of your proposal and marked as confidential. These items are: 1) any financial information relating to the company or organization (not the RFP pricing or budget); 2) Resumes; 3) Organization Charts.” Section 6.2.6 states “Resumes will be formatted as outlined in Appendix E and included in this section [Section F: Staff Qualifications and Experience] of the proposal. Bidder must also provide an organization chart of all proposed staff.” Should resumes and organizational charts be included in the content of Volume I: Technical Proposal, Section F: Staff Qualifications and Experience and/or should they be in the Corporate Confidential Information CD? See response to question 58. FOX 65 6.2.3 24 The Executive Summary section states that the Executive Summary is limited to a maximum of ten (10) pages. Is a Contractor correct to assume that other sections have no page limit unless specified in the RFP? Yes Maximus 66 6.3.1 26 Has a budget been established for the planning project and, if so, can you share? See answer to #10. North Highland 67 7.10 29 This Section states, in part, that invoices are to be submitted monthly for services completed in the preceding month, and yet Section 4.6 Deliverables states that invoicing would happen following the approval of all deliverables for a phase. Please clarify the invoicing process. Vendors may invoice for each milestone approved in the previous month. Maximus 68 7.2 27 This section indicates that payments will be made for milestones after the related deliverables are approved by DHHS. Is the State willing to consider paying for each deliverable independently as they are approved? No, the state will make milestone payments. PSI 69 7.2 27 This section of the RFP states that payments will be made “based upon the contractor’s satisfactory completion and State approval of the identified scheduled milestones.” However, Section 7.10 on Page 29 states that “invoices are to be submitted monthly.” Question: Can the State please clarify invoicing and payment frequency? Should they occur monthly, when a deliverable is approved, or at the approved completion of a milestone? Would the State consider some type of percentage of payment for deliverables? See answer to question 67 and 68. BDMP 70 7.3 27 Section 7.3 indicates that the contract term is 18 months from the contract signature date (3/19/2010) but the project start date in Section 6.1.5 is 4/1/2010. Please verify that the contract term is 18 months from 3/19/2010 rather than 18 months from 4/1/2010. Yes, the contract term is 18 months from the contract signature date. CSG 71 7.3 27 The Terms and Conditions indicate the possibility for up to two additional one year renewals. If these renewals are necessary, how will the State price the services required? The State will request a proposal from the vendor for additional services. PSI 72 7.6 28 Would the State agree that Contractor shall have the right to remove or reassign key persons as a result of circumstances beyond Contractor’s reasonable control, including but not limited to resignation, illness, or disability of such Staff Member and that in the event such a situation arises, the Contractor shall not be subject to reduced payments? This section addresses circumstances within and beyond the control of both contractor and the state. Depending on the situation, the state may reduce project payments due to a vacancy in vendor staff positions. Such vacancies can impact the timeliness and quality of deliverables that the state expects from the selected vendor. PSI 73 7.6 28 This section states that in the event that a staff position becomes temporarily or permanently vacant for any reason, the DHSS may “reduce payments to the Contractor in the amount equal to the vacated positions pay rate for the time period the position is vacant.” Question: This statement seems unusual for a fixed price contract where the product is the deliverable not a certain number of hours. Will the State please comment on this unusual requirement? See response to question 72. BDMP 74 7.8 28 This section states, in part, that "The Department reserves the right to terminate any contractual agreement without prior notice in the event the State determines that State or federal funds are no longer available to continue the contract". In the event of termination for convenience, would the State consider adding a clause that states…The State would reimburse the Contractor for costs incurred as a result of an early termination for convenience? Such costs would include start-up costs, penalties incurred as a result of cancelled leases and all other direct costs. No Maximus 75 Appx A 34 Number 11 Standards for Subcontractors states, in part, that "The use of subcontractors on this project must have the prior approval of the State". Please clarify whether a Contractor can propose the use of subcontractors in its proposal. Is the subcontractor approval process only applicable for the awarded Contractor? Will this occur during contract negotiations? Please list all subcontractors (if any) proposed for this engagement. The use of specific subcontractors will be discussed with the selected vendor. Maximus 76 Appx A, 21 35 This section states “If the proposer wishes to have M/W/D business enterprise status taken into consideration, they should summit proof of such certification with their bid response.” In which volume should the M/W/D Business Certification be included in the bid response? Include this information in the Technical Proposal. FOX 77 Appx C 43 Number 10 states "The Contractor agrees to provide to the Division Contract Manager, on an annual basis, if requested, information regarding its client population served under the Contract by race, color, national origin, or disability". Please clarify this statement. How would a Contractor have access to this information? This requirement does not apply to this engagement. The contractor will not be serving a client population directly. Maximus 78 Appx C 49 Under Section D Miscellaneous Requirements, #1, 4, and 5 reference three DHSS Policy Memoranda to which the Contractor must comply. Although we checked the DHSS web site, we were unable to locate these documents. Please make these Memoranda available to bidders to ensure that bidders can understand what the requirements are for these DHSS Policy Memoranda. Detailed information will be supplied to the selected vendor if necessary. Policy Memorandum # 46 is written to protect the right of residents/clients of the Department of Health and Social Services to be free of abuse/neglect/financial exploitation/significant injury/mistreatment and to ensure that instances of abuse/neglect/financial exploitation/significant injury/mistreatment are reported appropriately, in compliance with federal code. Policy Memorandum #40 is written to ensure provision of safe, secure environment for patients, residents, and employees. DE code requires a criminal background check of all seeking employment in long term care facilities. To that end, it is this policy that is written wherein DHSS requires criminal background checks of all persons hired or promoted into any permanent or temporary long-term care or psychiatric facility operated by DHSS. Policy Memorandum #36 is written to delineate minimal requirements of contractors who are engaging in a contractual agreement to develop community based residential arrangements for those individuals served by Divisions within DHSS. This policy seeks to enhance the transparency of the operations within DHSS Divisions and their contractors. Maximus 79 Appx F 57 Can you please validate our assumption that the individual deliverable costs shown on the Project Cost Form will be the total cost of each deliverable without reduction for the retainage and the M1 and M2 costs will then be the sum of their deliverables minus 10%? This is correct. PSI 80 NA What are the project timelines (anticipated begin and end dates)? There is no section in the RFP I just wanted to know if the project was anticipated for more than 1 year? The Department anticipates the project to begin April 1, 2010 and expects the project to last more then 1 year. Adequate time for a new fiscal agent to assume responsibilities on July 1, 2012 must be considered. IMET 81 NA The RFP includes cost breakdown by milestone and deliverable, yet it also requires the responding vendor to provide an hourly rate. The milestone/deliverable cost should be inclusive of the staff cost (rate). Please look into this or provide alternatives. The Department requires a fully loaded rate for the specific job positions held on this project by vendor staff. This allows quick assessment of costs for the department and the vendor in the event of an unforeseen change in project scope. This doesn’t necessarily equate to the level of effort that the vendor staff put into the project deliverables and milestones. IMET 82 NA What are the technology preferences, other than MITA framework 2.0. Only the most current MITA framework, currently version 2.0, can be utilized. Proteans 83 NA Are there any integration/interface with existing systems/applications. No Proteans 84 NA If the answer to above is true, what information can we have about these systems so that our proposal includes effort involved in the same. See answer to question # 83 Proteans 85 NA What is the planned procurement timing on the IV&V for the planned MMIS implementation? See answer to question # 3 North Highland 86 NA Will a bidder that bids on this RFP be precluded from bidding on the pending MMIS IV&V opportunity? See answer to question # 3 North Highland 87 NA Given these extraordinary economic times, are there any limitations for this project that we should be aware of as we develop the scope of work and fees? Does the State have an estimated budget range for these services? Not at this time. However, the State will review proposed costs very closely. See answer to # 10. BDMP