City and County of San Francisco

Request for Proposals For Human Services Agency

(RFP 467)

TO PROVIDE CONSUMER ADVOCACY SERVICES

FOR SENIORS AND YOUNGER ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES

Services include:

Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP)

HOME CARE ADVOCACY

HOUSING ADVOCACY AND COUNSELING

LEGAL SERVICES FOR SENIORS

LEGAL SERVICES FOR YOUNGER ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES

LONG-TERM CARE CONSUMER RIGHTS ADVOCACY

NATURALIZATION SERVICES

EMPOWERMENT FOR SENIORS AND YOUNGER ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES

Date issued: October 29, 2010

Pre-Proposal Conference:November 8, 2010

Proposal due: December 3, 2010, 3:00 p.m.

1

RFP 467 October 2010

Table of Contents

Page

I. Introduction, Tentative Schedule, and General Definitions……………...... ….....…...………....3

II. Scope of Services...... ……...... ……………...... ….….…...4

III. Submission Requirements...... …………….……..….…...... 5

IV. Evaluation and Selection Criteria...... …….………....…....…....…...6

V. Written Questions and Contract Award....……...... ……………..….…....…..…...... 8

VI. Terms and Conditions for Receipt of Proposals...... ………….…..………...... 8

.

VII. Contract Requirements...... …...... ………..……….….….…...... 10

VIII. Protest Procedures ...... …...………..….……...... …12

IX. Standard Forms………………………………………………………..………………..….……….….13

X. RFP Checklist………………………………………………………………………………………...... 14

XI. RFP Cover Page and Executive Summary Form…………………………………………….…………15

XII. Page Number Form……………………………………………………………………………….……17

XIII. Budget Forms and Instructions………………………………………….…………………………….18

XIV. 2010 Summary of Needs Assessment Findings – Consumer Advocacy……………………………...19

Appendix A – Services to be Provided by Grantee (HICAP)

Appendix B – Services to be Provided by Grantee (Home Care Advocacy)

Appendix C – Services to be Provided by Grantee (Housing Advocacy & Counseling)

Appendix D – Services to be Provided by Grantee (Legal Services for Seniors)

Appendix E – Services to be Provided by Grantee (Legal Services for Younger Adults with Disabilities)

Appendix F – Services to be Provided by Grantee (Long-Term Care Consumer Rights Advocacy)

Appendix G – Services to be Provided by Grantee (Naturalization Services)

Appendix H – Services to be Provided by Grantee (Empowerment for Seniors and Younger Adults with Disabilities)

I. Introduction, Tentative Schedule, and General Definitions

A.Introduction

The City and County of San Francisco Human Services Agency (HSA), Department of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS) plans and administers a variety of federal, state and local programs to assist older and functionally impaired adults and their families to maximize self-sufficiency, safety, health, and independence so that they can remain living in the community for as long as possible and maintain the highest quality of life.

The Department is seeking non-profit agencies, other organizations and individuals to provide various Consumer Advocacy Services to seniors and younger adults with disabilities. Interested respondents may submit a proposal for one or all of the service areas. The Agency expects to make multiple grant awards through this procurement process. The specific services to be granted through this RFP and the estimated annual level of funding potentially available for each service category is illustrated in the table below.

Service Category / Estimated Annual Funding
Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) / $310,000
Home Care Advocacy / $79,000
Housing Advocacy and Counseling / $137,000
Legal Services for Seniors / $790,000
Legal Services for Younger Adults with Disabilities / $83,000
Long-Term Care Consumer Rights Advocacy / $100,000
Naturalization Services / $578,000
Empowerment for Seniors and Adults with Disabilities / $190,000
TOTAL / $2,267,000

The source of funding for these services will be a combination of Federal, State and County revenue. Payment for all services provided in accordance with provisions under these grants shall be contingent upon the availability of Federal, State and County funds for the purpose of providing these services. The City shall not be required to provide any definite units of services nor does the City guarantee any minimum amount of funding for this service.Due to federal and state funding for these services, LBE bid discounts will not be used in this RFP.

Each grant shall have an original term of three (3) years, effective from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2014. In addition, the Human Services Agency shall have one option to extend the term for a period of one year, which the City may exercise in its sole, absolute discretion.

A 2010 Summary of Needs Assessment Findings related to consumer advocacy needs for seniors and younger adults with disabilities (Section XIV) is provided to assist interested vendors in better understanding the needs of the target populations.

B.Tentative Schedule

RFP Issue Date October 29, 2010

Pre-Proposal ConferenceDate November 8, 2010, 9:00AM

1650 Mission St, Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94103

Deadline for QuestionsNovember 19, 2010, 3:00PM

Proposals Due Date December 3, 2010, 3:00PM

C.General Definitions

City / City and County of San Francisco
DAAS / Department of Aging and Adult Services
Disability / A condition attributable to mental or physical impairment, or a combination of mental and physical impairments including hearing and visual impairments, that results in substantial functional limitations in one or more of the following areas of major life activity: self-care, receptive and expressive language, learning, mobility, self-direction, capacity for independent living, economic self-sufficiency, cognitive functioning, and emotional adjustment.

Frail

/ An older individual is determined to be functionally impaired because the individual either: (a) Is unable to perform at least two activities of daily living, including bathing, toileting, dressing, feeding, breathing, transferring and mobility and associated tasks, without substantial human assistance, including verbal reminding, physical cueing or supervision. (b) Due to a cognitive or other mental impairment, requires substantial supervision because the older individual behaves in a manner that poses a serious health or safety hazard to the individual or to others.

Grantee

/ Awarded Agency
HSA / Human Services Agency of the City and County of San Francisco (SFHSA)
Low Income / Having income at or below 300% of the federal poverty line defined by the federal Bureau of the Census and published annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Minority / An ethnic person of color who is any of the following:
a) Black – a person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa, b) Hispanic – a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish or Portuguese culture or origin regardless of race, c) Asian/Pacific Islander – a person whose origins are from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh, Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Samoa, Guam, or the United States Territories of the Pacific including the Northern Marianas, d) American Indian/Alaskan Native – an American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut, or Native Hawaiian. Source: California Code of Regulation Sec. 7130.
OCM / Office of Contract Management, San Francisco Human Services Agency.
OOA / Office on the Aging
Senior / Person who is 60 years of age or older
Younger Adult with Disability / Person aged 18 to 59 living with a disability

II. Scope of Services

The Scope of Services is to be used as a general guide and is not intended to be a complete list of all work necessary to complete the project.

Appendices A – H attached to this RFP define the work tasks assumed necessary to provide each of the specific Consumer Advocacy Services for the City and County of San Francisco. Respondents to this RFP must propose to provide services as specified in the Services Requested section for each category offered through this RFP to be eligible for grant award.

III. Submission Requirements

A.Time and Place for Submission of Proposals

Proposals must be received by the timeline specified in Section I.B. Postmarks will not be considered in judging the timeliness of submissions. Proposals may be delivered in person and left with a Contract Manager with the Human Services Agency Office of Contract Management at 1650 Mission Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94103 or mailed to:

David Flores, Jr., MPA, Senior Contracts Manager

Office of Contract Management

San Francisco Human Services Agency

1650 Mission Street, Suite 300

San Francisco, CA 94103

Electronic PDF proposals should be e-mailed to: David.Flores @sfgov.org. Respondents shall submit three (3) original hard copies and a PDF copy of the proposal clearly marked with the RFP number and titleto the above location. Proposals that are submitted by fax will not be accepted. Late submissions will not be considered.

Please note: Respondents proposing to provide more than one of the services identified in this RFP need to submit separate proposals for each service they propose to provide.

B. Format

Please print double-sided to the maximum extent practical, and bind the proposal with a binder clip, rubber band, or single staple, or submit it in a three-ring binder. Please do not bind your proposal with a spiral binding, glued binding, or anything similar. You may use tabs or other separators within the document.

For word processing documents, it is preferred that text is unjustified (i.e., with a ragged-right margin) and a serif font (e.g., Times Roman, and not Arial) is used, and that pages have margins of at least 1” on all sides (excluding headers and footers).

C.Content

Organizations interested in responding to this RFP must submit the following information, in the order specified below. An RFP Checklist (Section X) has been provided to assist Respondents with organizing their proposal.

1. Cover Page - Introduction and Executive Summary (use form provided in Section XI) – Maximum of two (2) pages allowed

Submit the cover page signed by a person authorized to obligate the organization to perform the commitments contained in the proposal. Submission of this document will constitute a representation by the organization that the organization is willing and able to perform the commitments contained in the proposal.

Briefly describe your understanding of the requested services under this RFP, the needs, and issues involved in providing the services. Identify the specific services your agency proposes to provide and briefly describe your proposed program model/approach to deliver these services. Please include a discussion on how your agency meets the minimum qualifications as specified in this RFP (refer to Section IV, Item A.).

Table of Contents (use form provided in Section XII)

Each proposal package should contain a complete table of contents showing page numbers. All pages in the package must be numbered consecutively, and major sections must be indexed.

2. Organization Qualifications and Capacity - Maximum of six (6) pages allowed, excluding References and Corrective Action Plans

a)Organization Description – briefly describe your organization.

b)Organizational Capacity – briefly describe the organization’s capacity to provide the services proposed. Please indicate the following:

  • Number of staff available to provide proposed services to the target population.
  • Familiarity with providing proposed services to the target population.
  • References/letters of reference (two required).

c)Business name of the agency and the legal entity for which a proposal will be submitted such as: Corporation, Co-partnership, and Combination etc.

d)Number of years the agency has been in business under the current business name, as well as prior business names, if any.

e)Description of a maximum of three grants or contracts, if any, completed during the last three years showing: Year, Type of services, Dollar amount of services provided, Targeted geographic area, Granting agency, size of the project and the nature of services provided.

f)Details of any failure or refusal to complete a contract/grant. Details of any fiscal or programmatic corrective actions within past three years. Include copy of last three years’ programmatic, fiscal, and compliance evaluation/monitoring reports and/or compliance letter from granting agencies.

g)Disclosure of controlling interest in any other organizations providing equivalent or similar services.

h)Disclosure of financial interest in any other lines of business.

i)Names of persons and corporations with whom the Respondent has been associated in business as partners in each of the last three years. Governmental agencies are exempt from this requirement.

j)Disclosure of any litigation including Respondent, subcontracts, or any principal officers thereof in connection with any contract or grant.

3. Program Approach and Budget – Maximum of six (6) pages allowed, excluding required Budget documents

Provide the following information in your proposal:

a)Description of your agency’s specific program approach to deliver the service components proposed and how this program approach or service model will appropriately address the needs of the target population (be sure to address all applicable items listed in Section II. Scope of Services and Appendices A -H).

b)Description of the specific measures to be implemented to ensure performance outcomes and service objectives will be met. This should also include a discussion of specific methods for collection of necessary service utilization and performance outcome and/or customer satisfaction data.

c)A three-year program budget, Budget Justification, and Cost Allocation Plan. Please refer to the instructions outlined in Section XIII and use only HSA approved forms.

d)Discussion of planned leveraging of other resources (i.e., fund raising, in-kind contributions, etc.), if any, to support the program approach proposed.

IV. Evaluation and Selection Criteria

A. Minimum Qualifications

Any proposal that does not meet these minimum requirements by the deadline for submittal of proposals will be considered non-responsive and will not be eligible for award of the contract. Accordingly, respondents must:

  1. Possess at least two (2) years experience providing same or similar Consumer Advocacy Services to those requested in this RFP.
  2. Possess a minimum of two (2) years serving the target populations identified in the Scope of Services for each service requested. These populations may include, but are not limited to: the elderly, younger adults with disabilities, those with mental health and substance use issues and housing needs.
  3. Demonstrate the ability to provide cultural and linguistically appropriate services to the target population.
  4. Possess all necessary licenses, permits, approvals and authorizations necessary in order to perform the Work and conduct the vendor’s business.
  5. Demonstrate the willingness and ability to comply with the City contracting requirements set forth in Section VII of this RFQ.

Please note: Respondents submitting proposals that have previously been contracted by the City and County of San Francisco to provide goods and/or services must successfully demonstrate compliance with performance/monitoring requirements specified in previous grants/contracts (corrective actions) in order to be considered responsive to this RFP. Documented failure to correct performance/monitoring deficiencies identified in past City and County grants/contracts may result in Agency disqualification to participate in this RFP.

B. Selection Criteria

The proposals will be evaluated by a selection committee comprised of parties with expertise in the service areas identified in this RFP. The City intends to evaluate the proposals generally in accordance with the criteria itemized below.

A)Cover Page – Introduction & Executive Summary / 25
Respondent understanding of the services proposed, as well as the needs and issues involved in providing the services.
Brief description of Respondent’s proposed program model/approach to deliver requested services.
Brief description of how Respondent meets minimum qualifications to provide the services proposed.
B)Organization Qualifications and Capacity / 35
Description of the organization and its capacity to provide the services proposed.
Organization’s experience in providing proposed services to the target population.
Respondent’s past performance under grant/contract for services similar to those proposed. This will include performance under previous grants/contracts with the City and County of San Francisco.
Quality of references and documentation in support of Respondent’s proposal.
C)Project Approach & Budget / 40
Description of Respondent’s specific program approach to deliver the services proposed and how this program approach or service model will appropriately address the needs of the target population.
Description of the specific measures to be implemented by the Respondent to ensure performance outcomes and service objectives will be met. This should also include a discussion of specific methods for collection of necessary service utilization and performance outcome and/or customer satisfaction data.
Reasonableness of the Respondent’s budget as it relates to the services proposed and usual and customary charges for these types of services per regional and industry practice.
Discussion of Respondent’s planned leveraging of other resources (i.e., fund raising, in-kind contributions, etc.), if any, to support the program approach proposed.
Total Available Points / 100

V. Written Questions and Contract Award

A. Written Questions

Proposers are encouraged to submit written questions before the due date stated in Section I.B. to the individual designated in Section VI.B. All questions will be addressed and any available new information will be provided in writing via email to proposers. All written questions must be submitted on or prior to November 19, 2010, 3:00PM.

B. Contract Award

The Human Services Agency will select a proposer(s) with whom Human Services Agency staff shall commence contract negotiations. The selection of any proposal shall not imply acceptance by the City of all terms of the proposal, which may be subject to further negotiations and approvals before the City may be legally bound thereby. If a satisfactory contract cannot be negotiated in a reasonable time the Human Services Agency, in its sole discretion, may terminate negotiations with the successful proposer and begin contract negotiations with another proposer.

VI. Terms and Conditions for Receipt of Proposals

A. Errors and Omissions in RFP

Proposers are responsible for reviewing all portions of this RFP. Proposers are to promptly notify Human Services Agency, in writing, if the proposer discovers any ambiguity, discrepancy, omission, or other error in the RFP. Any such notification should be directed to the Human Services Agency promptly after discovery, but in no event later than five working days prior to the date for receipt of proposals. Modifications and clarifications will be made by addenda as provided below.

B. Inquiries Regarding RFP

Inquiries regarding the RFP must be directed to the individual identified in Section III.A. All written questions must be submitted on or prior to November 19, 2010, 3:00PM.

C. Objections to RFP Terms

Should a proposer object on any ground to any provision or legal requirement set forth in this RFP, the proposer must, not more than ten calendar days after the RFP is issued, provide written notice to the Department setting forth with specificity the grounds for the objection. The failure of a proposer to object in the manner set forth in this paragraph shall constitute a complete and irrevocable waiver of any such objection.