Description

PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCEThere will be a virtual pre-proposal conference for this Solicitation on February 17, 2021 at 1:30 pm. To join via Google Meet:https://meet.google.com/wgq-nqxe-ptpOr join by phone‪(US) +1 475-441-9184 PIN: ‪295 564 363#Attendance is: OptionalINSTRUCTIONSITEMS TO SUBMIT AS SUPPLIERS ATTACHMENTS FOR THIS RFPQ:Proposal Your Proposal must be a Word or pdf document; computer generated or typewritten, single spaced, space-and-a-half or double spaced, formatted for 8.5” x 11” paper. All pages should be numbered. Margins should be at least ½ inch on all sides. Font size can be no smaller than 12 points. Proposals using smaller font sizes or smaller margins may be rejected. The Proposer is required to submit a written narrative for each question asked in the Proposal Questions and Evaluation Criteria section of the RFPQ for Group 2.1 Programmatic Questions and Group 2.2, Responsible Business Practice Questions. Submit these responses to the questions as a complete proposal response and upload in the "Supplier Attachment" section of the Sourcing Event. Please label with your agency’s name. Proposers must respond to all the questions listed in the Proposal Questions and Evaluation Criteria section. The format for each question response should be as follows: the group number and question number (example: Group 2.1.1). Proposal page limit is 6 pages. This equates to not more than 3 sheets of paper that are printed on both sides, or 6 pages printed on only one side. We recommend that you not use cover sheets or any extra materials as these will count as pages. Only 2 files can be submitted - the proposal and the optional Appendix 1. Excess pages will be removed and will not be evaluated.  After uploading the proposal, Proposers need to check the “Yes” button for each question in the Questions section of the RFPQ. If Proposer has a formal partnership such as MOUs, QSOAs or letters of commitment, etc.(Question 2.1.4), upload as a Supplier Attachment in the Sourcing Event. This document does not count towards the page limits and should be labeled as Appendix 1 Partnership Agreements. SERVICE DESCRIPTION, FUNDING AND CONTRACTING INFORMATIONPURPOSE AND OVERVIEW The Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS), on behalf of the City of Portland and Multnomah County, is seeking Proposers from whom it may purchase Alternative Shelter services. Proposals should be from community based organizations (CBOs) interested in creating alternative shelter opportunities for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Multnomah County.This procurement involves a two-stage qualification process. Stage I: Agency QualificationIn Stage I of the qualification process, prospective Suppliers will be evaluated on their organizational capacity to provide services and their service delivery values. Only Suppliers qualified in Stage I are eligible to respond to Stage II, where they will establish their qualifications to deliver specific components of Alternative Shelter.Stage II: Qualification for Alternative Shelter services Stage II will invite Suppliers qualified through Stage I to demonstrate their interest and qualification to provide specific components of Alternative Shelter through written project proposal(s). Suppliers who are qualified through Stage II to provide components of Alternative Shelter will be eligible to contract for those services with JOHS at any time over the five (5) year Contract Period. Specific project proposals received in Stage II will be considered solely as a means to qualify entities for specific service components based on the merit and expertise demonstrated in the proposal; this RFPQ process will not be used to select specific Supplier proposals for funding. Contract awards will be determined through a separate allocation process.INTRODUCTION AND PROGRAM HISTORYOn any given night, more than 2,000 people live unsheltered in neighborhoods throughout Multnomah County.  They may be sleeping in a tent, in a vehicle, in an abandoned building, under an overpass, in a park, or on the sidewalk with little more than a blanket and a tarp. The unsheltered population is disproportionately made up of People of Color, and a significant majority of those who are unsheltered report having significant mental health and/or addiction disorders. With COVID 19 causing further economic crisis for many of our lowest income households, the number of unsheltered people is likely to rise even further in the coming year.While our community has significantly expanded congregate shelter capacity over the past five years, and has invested in alternative shelter strategies as well, there is a need for more and more diverse sheltering offerings. Recently, there has been a surge in interest among faith organizations, neighborhood associations, advocates, and members of the unsheltered community to help be part of the sheltering solution. The purpose of this RFPQ is to embrace those calls and to use public resources to facilitate the realization of those community-driven solutions to our need for additional and more diverse shelter offerings. GOALS, VALUES AND OTHER IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS Joint Office of Homeless Services HistoryLike other communities across the country, our area has experienced significant increases in homelessness and decreases in housing affordability over the last decade. The Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS) was established in 2016 to oversee the delivery of services to people experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County in an effort to increase system efficiency and better respond to community needs. The JOHS represents a shared commitment between Multnomah County and the City of Portland to making services easier to access for those in need.Staff of the JOHS administer contracts for services, manage systems of care, oversee system reporting and evaluation, conduct homeless street counts and one night shelter counts, and write proposals to and monitor funds issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care, as well as other state and federal funding programs. These operations affect the lives of tens of thousands of adults, youth, and families experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County.The JOHS is guided by the shared values and common agenda of the A Home for Everyone partners. In 2014, the City of Portland, Multnomah County, Home Forward, and the City of Gresham joined with others to invest in A Home for Everyone (AHFE) and develop a comprehensive strategy for addressing homelessness. AHFE unites elected officials and people who have experienced with leaders from the faith, philanthropy, business and nonprofit communities around a shared vision and carefully chosen strategies in housing, employment, health, and emergency services. The AHFE plan can be found at https://ahomeforeveryone.net/.A Home for EveryoneThe vision of A Home for Everyone (AHFE) is that no person should be homeless, and that everyone needs a safe, stable place to call home. AHFE supports policy development in conjunction with Multnomah County, the City of Portland, the City of Gresham and Home Forward, and is staffed by the Joint Office of Homeless Services. This RFPQ is grounded in the following AHFE guiding values andprinciples: Prioritize vulnerable populations Promote racial and ethnic justice Use data‐driven assessment and accountability Engage and involve the community Strengthen system capacity and increase leveraging opportunities The long‐standing solutions to prevent and end homelessness transcend available resources and multiple systems of care – foster care, domestic violence, community justice, health, mental health and addictions. To permanently end homelessness, we must strengthen efficiencies in our current system and better align other resources towards ending homelessness.Culturally Specific ServicesCulturally specific services are services provided for specific populations based on their particular needs, where the majority of members/clients are reflective of that community. These use language, structures and settings familiar to the culture of the target population to create an environment of belonging and safety in which services are delivered. Culturally specific organizations typically refer to organizations with a majority of members/clients from a particular community. Culturally specific organizations also have a culturally focused organizational identity and environment, a positive track record of successful community engagement, and recognition from the community served as advancing the best interests of that community. These definitions describe the organizational and programmatic elements intended to eliminate structural barriers and create environments that ensure safety and belonging.TARGET POPULATION SERVED The target population is people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. FUNDINGIn order to encourage the expansion of alternative shelter options, the JOHS has identified a total of $3 million to support alternative shelter projects. We anticipate that up to $2.0 million will be made available to support the one-time  set-up costs of alternative shelter projects, and $1.0 million will be allocated to support ongoing shelter operating and program expenses. The $1.0 million will be budgeted as an ongoing commitment so that operating support can extend beyond the first year. These sums will only make a meaningful impact on the amount of alternative shelter if, as intended, they leverage substantial community-level investments of space, materials, labor and funding. In addition to providing limited financial support, the JOHS will provide technical assistance to successful proposers to address legal, programming and other issues that may arise, and will have some capacity to assist with site identification for proposers that do not yet have a site for the shelter program that they envision. The JOHS is working with public landowners to identify potential sites that could be assigned to successful proposals. Funding of the work described in this RFPQ is not guaranteed. Fluctuations in funding year to year should be expected. The County cannot assure that any particular level of work will be provided and the contract will permit the County to add or remove work as necessary depending on availability of funding.SCOPE OF SERVICES Proposers may offer any of a wide range of shelter options as alternatives for people sleeping unsheltered and unsanctioned in public spaces in the City of Portland and Multnomah County (e.g. ‘villages’, safe parking programs, modular shelters, etc). Any proposal that demonstrates that the shelter program suggested will be an improvement for participants over sleeping unsheltered in unsanctioned public spaces will be considered. However, proposals should demonstrate the relationship between the benefits to participants of the proposed program and the costs of creating and maintaining the program. Alternative shelter programs may involve the use of outdoor and/or indoor spaces, permanent and/or temporary structures. Although a shelter program does not have to put a time limit on how long someone may stay, every shelter must be understood to be a temporary living situation that offers safety, stability, and support to facilitate.FISCAL REQUIREMENTS AND REPORTING Reporting the provision and effectiveness of services, including cost effectiveness, are important components of JOHS contract requirements. To ensure that appropriate data is collected, reporting requirements may change based on the needs of partnering funders, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the State of Oregon, Multnomah County, and the City of Portland. Thus, additional or changes to reporting requirements may be identified at a later date based on the needs of the County to evaluate provision and effectiveness of services.CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONOnce selected in the allocation process, the County will initiate contract negotiations with the Proposer. Multnomah County may, at its option, elect to negotiate general contract terms and conditions, services, pricing, implementation schedules, and such other terms as the County determines are in the County’s best interest. If negotiations fail to result in a contract, the County reserves the right to terminate the negotiations and initiate contract negotiations with another qualified Proposer(s). This process may continue until a contract agreement is reached.CONTRACT AWARD AND ALLOCATION PROCESSThis is a formal, competitive, Request For Programmatic Qualifications (RFPQ) process as provided for under the authority of PUR-1. No contracts will be issued as a result of this RFPQ process. Our intent is to establish pools of qualified vendors who will be eligible for potential contract awards. There is no limit on the number of vendors that may be qualified under this RFPQ process.Multnomah County strongly encourages the participation of Minority-Owned, Women-Owned, Emerging Small Businesses, Service Disabled Veteran and Organizations in providing these services.ALLOCATION PROCESSEntirely separate from this qualification process, in Stage II the JOHS will initiate and award requirements contracts to those qualified providers who demonstrate the desired experience, skills, proficiency, certifications and area of specialty. The JOHS will conduct a rigorous funds allocation process to distribute available funds according to known system requirements and priorities. Allocations will only be made to providers who previously qualified under this RFPQ. The funding allocation process will be a formal one, requiring JOHS to document their findings and determinations in writing that lead to specific funding allocations or to the continuation of funding allocations. Vendors may not protest funding allocation decisions. Funding allocation decisions will be made from an overall County system of care perspective. Allocation priorities and selection criteria may include: County and Department strategic priorities Overall system of care needs and deficiencies RFPQ proposal information and evaluation input from the RFPQ raters Provider/system stability Provider experience Number and type of funded slots/beds Underimposed requirements or restrictions (i.e. nonprofit, designated vendor, etc.) Specific population coverage Services provided in client’s native language Geographic service coverage Coverage of specific treatment modalities Customer feedback (Clients, referral sources, etc.) Ability to leverage additional funding Client needs (including psychological needs) and trends Provider economy of scale Past performance (recidivism rates, engagement, etc.) Certification status Extent of provision of like services by any one agency Other factors as deemed appropriate by the funding allocation team Since the allocation process considers a variety of factors, funding may go to qualified Proposers who did not earn the highest overall RFPQ qualified score. Therefore, it will be possible to qualify under this RFPQ process and not receive a funding allocation due to resource limitations and other factors. The JOHS cannot predict a case load for these services and does not guarantee any particular volume of business will be offered to any applicant who qualifies to provide services, nor is there any guarantee that the JOHS will use the services of any applicant who is issued a contract by virtue of this application.After Purchasing provides written solicitation results to all Proposers and with the completion of the separate allocation process by the JOHS, JOHS staff will contact the successful and qualified Proposer(s) who will receive an allocation for contract negotiations. The County will be awarding Requirements Contracts for these services. Requirements Contracts do not guarantee any level of funding and funding levels may change from year to year. All Proposers seeking to provide services must submit a proposal and receive a minimum of 70% of the total points possible in order to qualify. The County reserves the right to qualify additional suppliers for these services as it deems necessary. All qualified suppliers will be added to one vendor pool, from which contracts will be awarded through the allocation process.CONTRACT TERM This RFPQ will qualify Suppliers for a period of five (5) years. Qualified Suppliers will remain eligible for contract awards during this period. JOHS reserves the right to withdraw this RFPQ at any time, reissue a subsequent RFPQ, or terminate the resulting contracts, if any, at any time. COMPENSATION AND METHOD OF PAYMENT Services will be contracted and paid on a cost reimbursement basis unless otherwise specified. JOHS required billing processes must be followed for contractors to receive payment as outlined in the Multnomah County Contractor’s Fiscal Policies and Procedures Manual:https://multco.us/finance/fiscal-compliance and the JOHS Contract.Cost reimbursement Contracts are paid monthly based on expenditure reports.COOPERATIVE PURCHASING   Not used for this solicitation.INSURANCE REQUIREMENTSThe table below reflects the minimum insurance required of a Contractor to provide this service. Additional insurance coverage may be required depending on the key features of service delivery chosen by the Contractor. Final insurance requirements will be subject to negotiation between and mutual agreement of the parties prior to contract execution.Minimum insurance requirements: Type of Insurance Amount Per Occurrence Aggregate Commercial General Liability $1,000,000 $1,000,000 $2,000,000 Workers Compensation -- Required -- At the time of proposal submission, Proposers must meet the following minimum requirements. Failure to provide any of the required documents or meet any of the below requirements shall result in rejection of the proposal.The Proposal response must be received by Multnomah County Purchasing no later than 4:00 P.M. local Portland time on the proposal submission deadline.Proposer Representations and Certifications The Proposer must certify that they agree to the Proposers Representation and Certification terms in the Pre-requisite page of the Sourcing Event.

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