City and County of San Francisco
Request for Qualifications for the Human Services Agency
(RFQ 466)
to provide client advocacy services
Date issued: November 8, 2010
Pre-Conference Date: November 15, 2010 9:00 a.m.
Response due: December 14, 2010 3:00 p.m.
1
P-590 (3-07)
Request for Qualifications (RFQ) #466 Client Advocacy Services
Table of Contents
Page
I. Introduction and Schedule 2
II. Scope of Work 2
III. Submission Requirements 6
IV. Evaluation and Selection Criteria 7
V. Pre-Proposal Conference (Submission of Written Questions) and Contract Award 8
VI. Terms and Conditions for Receipt of Qualifications 9
VII. Contract Requirements 12
Appendices:
A. Standard Forms: Listing and Internet addresses of Forms related to 14
Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, to Business Tax
Declaration, and to Chapters 12B and 12C, and 14B of the
S.F. Administrative Code.
B. Executive Summary and Cover letter 16
C. RFQ Completion Checklist 17
D. Page Number Form 18
I. Introduction and Schedule
A. Project Description
The City and County of San Francisco Department of Human Services (DHS) is seeking a qualified contractor to provide advocacy services to clients in Shelters and Transitional Housing Programs.
The purpose of the contract is to provide client advocacy services and to monitor the emergency shelters and transitional housing programs to ensure adherence to the Uniform Shelter Grievance Policy and the Transitional Housing Grievance Procedure for Denials of Service. The advocates will attempt to resolve conflicts regarding warnings and denials of service between clients and providers informally, whenever possible. The advocates will represent clients who have been denied services at the program’s internal hearing as well as at the shelter arbitration or transitional housing external hearing.
This contract shall have an original term of three years, effective from 7/1/11 to 6/30/14. In addition, the City shall have the option to extend the term for two additional years, which the City may exercise in its sole, absolute discretion.
B. Schedule
The anticipated schedule for selecting a contractor is:
Qualification Phase Date
RFQ issued by the City November 8, 2010
Pre-proposal conference November 15, 2010, 9:00 a.m. at 1650 Mission
Street, Suite 300, San Francisco
Deadline for submission of written questions November 19, 2010, 3:00 p.m. to
Qualifications due December 14, 2010 3:00 p.m. at 1650 Mission
Street, Suite 300, San Francisco
Schedule may change if necessary
II. Scope of Work
The Scope of Work is to be used as a general guide and is not intended to be a complete list of all work necessary to provide services. For the purpose of this RFQ the following definitions will apply:
Contractor / To Be DeterminedDHS / Department of Human Services of the City and County of San Francisco
Client Advocates / Individuals who will advocate on behalf of clients who are being denied service at shelter and transitional housing programs, and act as a link between the Shelter Grievance Advisory Committee, clients, and providers. The individuals will be hired by the contractor.
Shelter Grievance Policy / A written policy outlining the procedure to be followed in issuing warnings and denials of services and conducting internal shelter hearings and arbitration hearings.
Transitional Housing Grievance Procedure for
Denials of Service / A written policy outlining the procedure to be followed in issuing denials of services and conducting external grievance hearings.
Grievance Policies / Refers to both the Shelter Grievance Policy and the Transitional Housing Grievance Procedure for Denials of Service.
Shelter Grievance Advisory Committee / An independent 10-15 member oversight committee appointed by the Human Services Commission having the authority to oversee the grievance process and make recommendations for improvements.
Internal Shelter Hearing / An appeal hearing conducted by shelter management upon request of a client who is contesting his/her denial of shelter services.
Arbitration Hearing (shelters) / A hearing conducted by a neutral party upon the request of a client who disagrees with the result of the internal shelter hearing. The arbitrator’s decision is final.
External Grievance Hearing (transitional housing programs) / A hearing conducted by a neutral panel upon the request of a client who disagrees with the result of the internal hearing at the transitional housing program. The panel’s decision is final.
Target Population
The target population for this service will be clients residing in city-funded shelters and transitional housing programs. The shelters are described below.
Single Adult Shelters
Shelters with populations 18 years of age and older include Dolores Street Community Services – Santa Maria/Santa Martha and Santa Ana Shelters, Episcopal Community Services – Next Door and Sanctuary Shelters, Hospitality House, Providence Foundation, St. Vincent DePaul MSC – South and Larkin Street Youth Services Lark Inn (Youth 18 -24 years of age).
Family Shelters
Family shelters provide private rooms for families for three to six months. Services provided focus on locating permanent housing but also provide a wide array of services needed by families. The family shelters include Compass Family Shelter, Hamilton Family Residence and Emergency Center, Providence Foundation Summer and Winter Shelter sites and St. Joseph’s Family Center. In addition Compass Connecting Point, the centralized intake agency for the family shelters, is served by the Client Advocates Program. Clients served are families consisting of 1 or 2 adult caretakers (must be 18 or over) and one or more minor children (under 18 years of age) or pregnant women in their third trimester or in their fifth month of a high risk pregnancy.
Transitional Housing Programs
Families may reside in the program from six to eighteen months. In additional to assisting families to find permanent housing, there is a focus on increasing self-sufficiency and acquiring abilities needed to permanently end the cycle of homelessness. Assistance includes developing short and long term educational/vocational goals such as college or job training, counseling and therapy, parenting, support and education groups, money management and independent living skills.
The transitional programs include Compass Community Services Clara House serving families, Larkin
Street Youth Services G-House serving 18 – 24 year olds, Hamilton Family Center Transitional Housing
Program serving families and San Francisco Network Ministries SafeHouse providing services for women leaving prostitution.
Demographic Information on Single Adults and Families Served
The populations served include a wide range of ethnic and cultural diversity. Most all are low-income and all are homeless.
Shelter Demographics
Age/Male or Female
Male (18 and over) / Female (18 and Over) / Children (under 18)Single Adults / 76 % / 24 %
Families / 16 % / 33 % / 51 %
Single Adults TH / 74 % / 26 %
Families TH / 9 % / 37 % / 54 %
Ethnicity
Black / Asian / Latino / Multiple / Native Am / White / UnknownSingle Adults / 39 % / 4 % / 15 % / 23 % / 1 % / 18 %
Families / 36 % / 4 % / 34 % / 11 % / 8 % / 7 %
Single Adults TH / 30 % / 3 % / 13 % / 19 % / 3 % / 25 % / 7 %
Families TH / 28 % / 4 % / 20 % / 8 % / 15% / 22 % / 3 %
TH = Transitional
Description of Services
Contractor shall provide Client Advocates who will perform the following services during the term of this contract:
A. Act as liaison between shelter residents, transitional housing program participants, and provider staff in resolving conflicts related to denials of service or potential denials of service.
B. Refer unresolved issues to appropriate individuals (program management, point person(s) at DHS, Shelter Grievance Advisory Committee).
C. Represent client, upon request, at program internal hearings, shelter arbitration hearings, and transitional housing external grievance panel hearings.
D. Maintain records on client complaints and program internal hearings, shelter arbitrations, and transitional housing external grievance hearings.
E. Provide reports as requested to the Shelter Grievance Advisory Committee and the point person(s) at DHS.
F. Monitor shelter compliance with the Shelter Grievance Policy and the Transitional Housing Grievance Procedure for Denials of Service.
G. Contact program management to discuss issues/patterns relating to implementation of the Grievance Policies as issues arise and notify the point person(s) at DHS.
H. Make good faith efforts to resolves conflicts that arise with shelters and transitional housing programs. If conflicts cannot be resolved, the appropriate DHS Program Manager will intervene.
Sample Contract Objectives
The Department is committed to measuring the impact of its investments in community services. The outcome measures, including goals and targets, will be developed and agreed upon during the contract negotiation process, but in response to this RFQ, applicants should indicate their capacity and willingness to collect data and report on client-based outcomes.
Service Objectives
On an annual basis, Contractor will meet the following service objectives:
A. Respond to 100% of client requests for intervention prior to denial of service with shelter administration.
B. Respond to 100% of shelter and transitional housing program administration's request for outreach to clients in danger of being denied services.
C. Meet with or talk with shelter and transitional housing program administration on an as needed basis to discuss issues around the Grievance Policies or to discuss patterns of program procedure/policies/staff performance which conflict with the intent of the Grievance Policies.
D. Refer 100% of unresolved issues to appropriate individuals (program management, the point person(s) at DHS, Shelter Grievance Advisory Committee).
E. Attend 100% of the meetings of the Shelter Grievance Advisory Committee and present the advocates’ monthly reports.
F. Attend “town hall” or “community” meetings at shelters and transitional housing programs as needed to inform clients about grievance policies.
G. Client advocates will meet quarterly with representatives from Housing & Homeless Programs to discuss relevant issues and concerns.
Outcome Objectives
On an annual basis, Contractor will meet the following service objectives:
A. 90% of client requests for representation at shelter internal hearings will be met.
B. 100% of client requests for representation at transitional housing internal hearings will be met.
C. 100% of client requests for representation at shelter arbitration hearings will be met.
D. 100% of client requests for representation at transitional housing external grievance hearings will
be met.
E. A minimum of 50% of clients who are represented by the Shelter Client Advocates will be able to retain shelter services.
III. Submission Requirements
A. Time and Place for Submission of Response packages
Response packages must be received by 3:00 p.m., on December 14, 2010. Postmarks will not be considered in judging the timeliness of submissions. Response packages may be delivered in person and left with Larry Chatmon, at 1650 Mission Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, (415) 557-5330 (e:mail ). Response packages must be delivered in person.
Respondents shall submit three (3) hard copies and one (1) electronic pdf copy of the response package to the above location. Response packages that are submitted by fax will not be accepted. Late submissions will not be considered.
B. Format
In an effort to conserve resources, please print double-sided to the maximum extent practical, and bind the proposal with a binder clip or single staple. 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, the department prefers that text be unjustified (i.e., with a ragged-right margin) and use a serif font (e.g., Times Roman, and not Arial), and that pages have margins of at least 1” on all sides (excluding headers and footers), and each page is numbered.
If your response is lengthy, please include a Table of Contents.
C. Content
Organizations interested in responding to this RFQ must submit the following information, in the order specified below:
1. Introduction and Executive Summary
Submit a letter of introduction and executive summary of the response package. The letter must be signed by a person authorized by your organization to obligate your organization to perform the commitments contained in the proposal. Submission of the letter will constitute a representation by your organization that your organization is willing and able to perform the commitments contained in the proposal.
2. Organization Qualifications
Provide information on your organization’s background and qualifications which addresses the following:
a. Name, address, and telephone number of a contact person; and
b. A brief description of your organization, as well as how any joint venture or association would be structured; and
c. For agencies submitting proposals that have previously been contracted by the City and County of San Francisco to provide goods and/or services, this must also include documentation that the agency has successfully demonstrated compliance with performance/monitoring requirements including any corrective action plans specified in previous grants/contracts.
3. Program Description
a. Please describe your service plan including how items in the Description of Services
will be provided for clients.
4. Team Qualifications
a. Provide a list identifying: (1) each key person on the project team, (2) their resumes, (3) the role each will play in the project, and (4) a written assurance that the key individuals listed and identified will be performing the work and will not be substituted with other personnel or reassigned to another project without the City’s prior approval.
b. Provide a description of the experience of each project team member especially in relation to the minimum qualification requirements described in Section IV A, “Minimum Qualifications.”
IV. Evaluation and Selection Criteria
A. Minimum Qualifications
In order to be considered for this RFQ, respondents must possess the following minimum qualifications listed below.
1. Three years experience providing similar services specified in this RFQ.
2. Three years experience working with homeless or other disadvantaged populations.
Please note: Agencies 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 contracts/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 contracts/contracts may result in Agency disqualification to participate in this RFQ.