COUNTY COUNCIL OF BEAUFORT
Beaufort County Purchasing Department
Post Office Drawer 1228
Beaufort, South Carolina 29901-1228
Telephone (843) 255-2353 ¨ FAX (843) 255-9437
David L. Thomas, CPPO, CPPB
Purchasing Director
E-Mail:
To: All Proposers
From: Dave Thomas, CPPO, CPPB
Beaufort County Purchasing Director
Date: July 8, 2011
Subject: Addendum 1, RFP # 3952/120704 Electronic Monitoring Services for Beaufort County
1. Please change the closing date from July 14, 2011, 3:00 P. M to August 4, 2011, 3:00 P.M.
2. The following questions from interested vendors are included with the County’s response:
1) Will the County please provide an extension of the proposal due date until at least two (2) weeks from the County’s distribution/posting of all answers to vendor questions? Yes, August 4, 2011, 3:00 pm.
2) Per the pre-proposal conference, will this the County please include a copy of the Board approved program policy (or other such document) along with the answers to vendor questions? Yes, we have included in this addendum the Beaufort County Code pertaining to Home Detention and the South Carolina Home Detention Act.
3) We have questions regarding the target timelines for this RFP and resulting services under contract:
a) Will proposing vendor’s names be available via web site or via phone/fax after proposal opening in lieu of attending the opening? Yes
b) When do vendor price proposals become public record? After award approval by committee.
c) When do vendor technical proposals become public record? Same as b above.
d) Are Technical Proposals and Cost Proposals reviewed by the same or different evaluation committee members? They are reviewed by the same committee.
e) Are Cost Proposals evaluated prior to Technical Proposals are evaluated/scored? No.
f) When is the Cost Proposal Evaluation to occur? All parts of each vendors proposal will be evaluated by the committee at the same time.
g) When is the Technical Proposal Evaluation to occur? Same as f.
h) Does Beaufort County anticipate holding Oral Presentations? This is subject to our discretion.
i) If so, when is this anticipated to occur? We estimate two weeks after RFP closing date.
j) If so, will this be with all vendors? A select number of finalists? Only the proposed awardee? Depends on the committee’s selection and vendor initial ranking.
k) If so, how are these presentations to be factored into the overall evaluation? We use the evaluation criteria.
l) Does Beaufort County anticipate holding Equipment Demonstrations / In-field testing? Depends on what the evaluation committee wants to do.
m) If so, when is this anticipated to occur? Not sure.
n) If so, will this be with all vendors? A select number of finalists? Only the proposed awardee? This is up to the evaluation committee.
o) If so, how are these demonstrations to be factored into the overall evaluation? Same as n.
p) Does Beaufort County anticipate conducting Best and Final Offers? This is a committee decision.
q) If so, when is this anticipated to occur? Not know at this time.
r) If so, will this be with all vendors? A select number of finalists? Only the proposed awardee? Not know at this time.
s) If so, how are these BAFO’s to be factored into the overall evaluation? We will use the evaluation criteria published in the RFP.
t) By what method will all proposing vendors be notified of award (website?> email? Phone? US Mail? Other?) Email and phone.
u) Will this contract require County Board/Council and approval in advance of award and, if so, when is this anticipated to occur? Yes, estimated one month after award approved by committee.
v) What date is the contract targeted to commence services? Estimated to begin on September 1, 2011 or October 1, 2011.
4) Certain areas of the RFP call out “shall” or “must” while others call out “should.”
a) How will the County evaluate proposals that do not meet “shall” or “must” requirements? Will these proposals be rejected in their entirety and not evaluated or will the merely be scored down in the evaluation criteria? Scored by the evaluation committee.
b) Certain areas of the RFP call our vendor specific methodology with for accomplishing a monitoring/tracking objective and do so with a “shall” or “must” – Will the County accept and evaluate proposals that offer alternative methodology for accomplishing the overall objective of the “shall” and “must” requirements? Yes.
5) RFP page 5 calls out “Be administered by the vendor with no cost incurred by neither the County nor the Solicitors Office.
Provide electronic and supervision services at a fair and reasonable cost to the participant
Provide qualified professional staff
Require the least maintenance and low impact on County Staff” Additionally, RFP page 8 calls out “L. A portion of the fees collected for monitoring services will be paid to the County.”
a) Has the County appropriated any funds whatsoever for this contract (such as for indigent participants or participants who cannot pay or refuse to pay) and, if so, what is the amount of County funds appropriated for the initial annual term of this contract? No and none.
b) What annual average percentage of indigent participants at no charge should be included in the proposal pricing? We request all vendors submitting proposal to respond with their plan to provide services to indigent participates.
c) Per the pre-proposal conference, this program will be for both Adult and a small percentage of Juveniles – If the County has not appropriated funds, how does it intent to pay the Contractor for services to Juveniles under this contract? This will be the responsibility of the offender.
d) If the County has NOT appropriated funds, will all participants be required to pay in order to participate in the program and, if NOT, will the County please indicate what maximum percentage proposing vendors should incorporate into their proposal pricing for indigent participation? We would like all vendors to tell us what they are willing to do. Provide the County with your policy.
e) Does the County prefer a fixed price per day or a sliding scale based on the participant’s income? This will be left up to the vendor to propose.
f) What does the County anticipate the average annual income of these Beaufort County program participants? 30K.
g) Is it acceptable to have participants pay in advance (ala a deposit) and, if so, how far (Example: Participants required to maintain a two week advance balance)? Yes
h) If a participant is assessed with the ability to pay program fees but, refuses to pay the program fees:
i. Will the participant be removed from the program for non-payment? Yes.
ii. Will the County ever pay the fees for participants who cannot pay? No.
iii. Will the County ever pay the fees for participants who have been assessed with the ability to pay but, who refuse to pay? No.
iv. Are these same standards required for proposals under this new RFP/contract or is the County willing to evaluate proposals for different approaches to these terms? We will review any exceptions or alternate solutions you are proposing.
i) With regard to “L. A portion of the fees collected for monitoring services will be paid to the County” and “Require the least maintenance and low impact on County Staff”;
i. What annual expenses is the County seeking to offset from these “fees collected for monitoring services will be paid to the County”? Not known at this time.
ii. How many County staff positions, at what approximate annual salary, and at what percentage of their overall time will be spent on this program? The County will provide adequate staff to support the program.
iii. Will “L. A portion of the fees collected for monitoring services will be paid to the County” factor into the RFP Evaluation Criteria for “Fee structure to include warranty and insurance” and, if so, specifically how will this be calculated with the proposal prices to arrive at this scoring? This depends on how the vendor prices the service and the percentage proposed to the County.
6) RFP page 6 calls out “Be administered by the vendor with no cost incurred by neither the County nor the Solicitors Office.
Be in compliance with all state statutes, laws, regulations, standards and policies” and RFP page 9 calls out “F. Provide documentation that your company has satisfied all State requirements to provide Home Detention Services.” Other than the proper business license, please define in detail all “state statutes, laws, regulations, standards and policies” and “State requirements to provide Home Detention Services.” We have included all required laws and policies in this addendum.
7) RFP page 6 calls out “Solicitor’s Office desires to maximize the number of offenders in the program who meet the criteria for placement. This will provide supervision for bonded offenders not previously available. The proposed system shall allow for customization in the supervision for both low-level and high-level offenders.
A. Pre-trial offenders meeting the required criteria for placement,
B. Pre-trial offenders ordered by the Court as a condition of bond,
C. Individuals serving a sentence as ordered by the Court,
D. Individuals due to serious health issues.”
a) May we please have a complete copy of the County’s “criteria for placement” included with the answers to vendor questions? Not available, this will be up to the Judge.
b) Average length of term in the program is critical to quoting pricing in response to this RFP. With regard to “maximize the number of offenders in the program”, what is the anticipated average length of term on the program for each of these target populations? We are not sure. This will depend on how long they are out on bond.
A. Pre-trial offenders meeting the required criteria for placement = ___ days anticipated average length of term on program
B. Pre-trial offenders ordered by the Court as a condition of bond = ___ days anticipated average length of term on program
C. Individuals serving a sentence as ordered by the Court = ___ days anticipated average length of term on program
D. Individuals due to serious health issues = ___ days anticipated average length of term on program. At this time, we cannot provide this information. This will be a new program.
8) RFP page 6 calls out “C. The successful vendor shall provide Home Detention Services to Solicitor’s Office; to include:
1. Electronic Monitoring services for tracking, curfew and alcohol supervision
2. General supervision of offenders
3. Monitoring of court ordered conditions
4. Employment monitoring or tracking of employment searches
5. Offender funded substance abuse testing and detection as required
6. And other services authorized under the Home Detention Act ”
a) In regard to “1. Electronic Monitoring services for tracking, curfew and alcohol supervision”
i. With regard to “alcohol supervision” does this program operate on a “zero tolerance” program for all participants (prohibiting any consumption) or is it merely monitoring consumption within the legal limits? Depends on what the Judge orders.
ii. Will all participants placed on “alcohol supervision” all so be placed on either “Electronic Monitoring services for tracking, curfew”? If NOT, what percentage are anticipated to be placed sole on standalone “alcohol supervision” withOUT “Electronic Monitoring services for tracking, curfew”? Same answer as i.
iii. Volume is critical to quoting pricing in response to this RFP. With regard to “maximize the number of offenders in the program”, how many participants are anticipated to be placed on each of these technologies in each of these target populations in the first thirty (30) days of the new contract? We are not sure due to this being a new program for us. We will leave this up to the vendor to recommend for each category.
A. Pre-trial offenders meeting the required criteria for placement:
= __ Tracking participants in the first thirty (30) days of the new contract
= __ Curfew Monitoring participants in the first thirty (30) days of the new contract
= __ Alcohol Supervision participants in the first thirty (30) days of the new contract
B. Pre-trial offenders ordered by the Court as a condition of bond
= __ Tracking participants in the first thirty (30) days of the new contract
= __ Curfew Monitoring participants in the first thirty (30) days of the new contract
= __ Alcohol Supervision participants in the first thirty (30) days of the new contract
C. Individuals serving a sentence as ordered by the Court
= __ Tracking participants in the first thirty (30) days of the new contract
= __ Curfew Monitoring participants in the first thirty (30) days of the new contract
= __ Alcohol Supervision participants in the first thirty (30) days of the new contract
D. Individuals due to serious health issues
= __ Tracking participants in the first thirty (30) days of the new contract
= __ Curfew Monitoring participants in the first thirty (30) days of the new contract
= __ Alcohol Supervision participants in the first thirty (30) days of the new contract
b) Volume is critical to quoting pricing in response to this RFP. With regard to “maximize the number of offenders in the program”, how many participants re anticipated to be placed on each of these target populations in the first six (6) months of this new contract?
A. Pre-trial offenders meeting the required criteria for placement:
= __ Tracking participants in the first six (6) months of the new contract
= __ Curfew Monitoring participants in the first six (6) months of the new contract
= __ Alcohol Supervision participants in the first six (6) months of the new contract
B. Pre-trial offenders ordered by the Court as a condition of bond
= __ Tracking participants in the first six (6) months of the new contract
= __ Curfew Monitoring participants in the first six (6) months of the new contract
= __ Alcohol Supervision participants in the first six (6) months of the new contract
C. Individuals serving a sentence as ordered by the Court
= __ Tracking participants in the first six (6) months of the new contract
= __ Curfew Monitoring participants in the first six (6) months of the new contract