Fiscal Year 2025

Question 1:
For the RFPs 0864-25-TX07 and 0864-25-TX07 for Substance Abuse Treatment for Re-entry Court Participants, Individual Counseling is referenced in Section B and not Group Counseling or Group Treatment.  However, there are references later in the RFP (Probation Form 45 and Section C) on group sessions.  Is this RFP strictly looking for members to be served in individual one on one sessions or as regular clinical treatment based on the treatment plan (most likely including group counseling)?

Answer 1: 
These RFPs include Individual Counseling and not Group Counseling or Group Treatment.  The Prob 45s are included as an example of the document used for referral purposes and are not necessarily reflective of the service types required.  Please note that while group counseling is not included, the local services requirement for Project Code 2000 does require the clinician be present for Re-Entry Court premeeting sessions and Re-Entry Court sessions if required.  These are not traditional group treatment sessions; clinicians would primarily be expected to provide updates on participants.

Question 2:
Could you advise on which pages of the RFP/solicitation need to be included in our application package? If possible, could you review our previous contract or direct me to the relevant sections we need to submit?

Answer 2: 
Section L of each RFP contains general instructions for completing proposals.  The instructions in Section L list which areas of Section A to complete, how to provide pricing and other information on Section B, and how to complete the other required documents for submission. We are not able to review previous contracts with vendors to assist in completing current year RFPs.  

Question 3:
Project codes on Section B have amounts filled into the Estimated Monthly Quantity column. Should we leave that as is and multiply those numbers by our total cost per Unit (per 30-minute session) in order to fill in the Unit Price?

Answer 3: 
The Estimated Monthly Quantity (EMQ) is the amount of anticipated referrals per month for a specific service type. The EMQ is not binding and may not reflect actual referrals as treatment needs and other variables may change. The EMQ is provided as an estimate of the volume of referrals.  You do not need to multiply EMQ by total cost.  Instead pleas provide the cost per unit as the unit price.  Please se Section L of the RFP for more information on determining prices.

Question 4:
Project code costs 1401 and 1501 has text filled in stating "unknown,” what should the vendor provide for these codes?

Answer 4: 
Vendors do not need to provide anything for project codes 1401 or 1501, or any other project code where the EMQ is ‘unknown’.  These project codes are billed based either on the actual cost, or on a percentage of fees collected by the vendor.

Question 5:
The RFP references two clauses, Clause 2-5A Inspection of Products (APR 2013) and Clause 2-5B Inspection of Services (APR 2013), can you please provide the full text?

Answer 5: 
The full text is available at Guide to Judiciary Policy, Vol. 14, Appx. 1B (uscourts.gov).  Please find attached the excerpted portion of the Guide for these two clauses, also available here.

Question 6:
Our organization is interested in providing substance abuse and or mental health treatment but is not able to provide treatment for sex offenders. Is treating sex offenders a requirement of substance abuse or mental health treatment RFPs?

Answer 6:
Unless Sex Offender treatment is listed as a specific requirement, vendors are not required to provide sex offender-specific treatment services.  However, clients with sexual offences may be required to undergo treatment for substance abuse or mental health needs outside of sex-offender specific services.  Vendors providing substance abuse or mental health services would need to be able to accept these clients.  Please note that clients with histories of sexual offences are not eligible for participation in Re-Entry Court, so none of these clients would be referred under the RFPs specific to Re-Entry Court participants.

Question 7:
This is my first time submitting an RFP.  Where do I start?

Answer 7:
It is important to start by reading the entire solicitation document.  Section B indicates the specific project codes for each agreement.  Note, the vendor must be capable of providing or subcontracting all required services.  Section C is the actual Statement of Work that provides specifics for each of the project codes, as well as other information regarding the deliverable, non-compliance, staff requirements/restrictions, etc.  Section C also include any local services which provide further descriptors/requirements to specified project codes (there are indicated by an * in Section B next to the project code).  The offeror must be able to comply with the local service requirements.  
Most importantly, SECTION L provides the offeror instructions for the proposals, and the offeror should pay careful attention to the instructions and requirements for proposal submission.  Note, the offeror is not required to submit solicitation sections C, D, E, F, G, H and I as part of its proposal.  Section M includes the Evaluation Factors for Award.  

Question 8:
Do we need to provide copies of documents that show compliance with all applicable business or operating licenses and with fire, safety, and health codes?

Answer 8: 
Yes, vendors must provide any applicable business and/or operating licenses as required by state and local laws and regulations.  These may vary based on the type of treatment being provided. Vendors must also provide copies of appropriate documentation demonstrating compliance with all federal, state and local fire, safety and health codes.

Question 9:
For pricing in Section B, we are only required to provide unit pricing, and then the Government uses that information to determine Total Evaluated Price (TEP)?

Answer 9: 
Correct.  The vendor is only required to provide the unit price.  As a part of evaluation of offers, the government will conduct Total Evaluated Price (TEP) calculations to determine lowest overall cost.  The process of TEP calculations are detailed in Section M. Please note that evaluations are conducted using a lowest-price technically acceptable model.  Offers found to not comply with the requirements in the RFP would not be accepted, regardless of price.

Question 10:
The completed RFP and required documents may result in an RFP packet that is too large to send in one file.  Can multiple files be submitted? How should documents best be arranged?

Answer 10: 
Yes, multiple files can be submitted.  Please clearly note in the subject line of each email the solicitation number for which you are submitting responses. If  multiple files are included in one email, please note in the body of the email which documents are in which file.  If more than one email is required for one response, please note that in the body of each email.  There is no specific requirement for how to organize responses; however, generally following the order of the sections in the RFP is helpful.  If vendors have any issues or concerns with submitting documents, please contact Sam Casselton at 612-664-5458.

Question 11:
Is there a predetermined price list that unit prices should be based on, or any other guidance for determining a unit price?

Answer 11:
There is no predetermined price list, and vendors are responsible for determining a competitive unit rate in accordance with fair market pricing.  The vendor should consult the Statement of Work to understand the work requirements when determining the amount to charge for project codes. Acceptable prices will include the unit price, no charge, subcontracting, and factor in no shows.  The judiciary will award the agreement based on an evaluation of those offerors who represent the best value after evaluation in accordance with the factors and subfactors in the solicitation.  The offeror’s initial offer shall contain the offeror’s best terms. For additional information on the contract award, consult Section L of the solicitation document.  Additionally refer to Section L for the instructions and required attachments for submitting a complete proposal, which includes a Certification of Compliance Statement (Attachment A), Background Statement (Attachment B), and Staff Qualification Form (Attachment C).

Question 12:
What is required for a certificate of occupancy?

Answer 12:
Please see section L paragraph 2d, which requires copies of compliance with all federal, state, and local fire, safety, and health codes.  

Question 13:
Can we submit a proposal for an area where we do not currently have an office but plan to open an office if awarded the contract?

Answer 13:
The offeror must have a site within the catchment area at the time the proposal is submitted.  Section M - Evaluation Factors for Award sets forth the items required regarding the site and describes how on-site visits will be conducted for those offeror’s whose proposals are determined technically acceptable based on the criteria and meet the lowest price requirement.  

Question 14:
Do we need an office in the catchment area to submit a proposal?

Answer 14:
Yes, the offeror must have a site within the catchment area at the time the proposal is submitted (see answer #13). 

Question 15:
What monitoring reports are required to be included in the offer?

Answer 15:
Paragraph 2a of Section L contains the requirements for monitoring reports and describes other acceptable documents in the absence of monitoring reports. Please note that monitoring reports are to be submitted for the location solicited.  If a location has never had a previous agreement with federal, state, or local agencies please indicate that.

Question 16:
I am interested in providing services under multiple BPAs.  Do I need to submit a separate proposal, or can I indicate the BPAs of interest in a cover letter?

Answer 16:
The vendor must submit a completed RFP for each BPA in which the vendor is interested.  Each RFP references a specific catchment area.  If the vendor has a site in more than one catchment area, the vendor must respond and submit a completed RFP packet for each appropriate corresponding BPA number in which that vendor is interested in providing services.  

Question 17:
What do I have to include in the Background Statement?

Answer 17:
This information is specified in Section L.  If the offeror is using a proposed subcontractor, this same information (paragraphs 2 a – d) is required of the subcontractor.  With regard to the submission of monitoring reports, please note in Section L that monitoring reports are for the locations solicited.  

Question 18:
Some of the catchment areas list multiple counties or multiple zip codes.  Is the offeror required to have a site in each listed area?

Answer 18:
No, the offeror is not required to have a site within every county or zip code located within the identified catchment area. For example, if the catchment area includes counties A, B, and C, and the offeror only has a site in county C, that would meet the requirements.  However, the offeror must have a least one site located within the catchment area (see Section L).  If the offeror has multiple sites available within the catchment area, in accordance with Section L, the offeror should include each site the offeror intends to utilize under that specific BPA/catchment area.