Request for Proposal
For
Unemployment Insurance Services
October 14, 2016
I. INTRODUCTION:
Opportunities for Williamson and Burnet Counties invites qualified firms to submit a Statement of Qualifications to provide unemployment insurance services. The qualified vendor will have demonstrated verifiable experience in the management and administration of unemployment insurance for non-profit agencies. Information required for a complete proposal is listed in the following “Statement of Qualifications” section.
II. BACKGROUND:
Opportunities for Williamson & Burnet Counties (OWBC) was established in 1965 as the area’s official Community Action Agency. The organization is a private, non-profit corporation governed by elected officials, community leaders and target area representatives. Throughout its history, Opportunities has administered a wide range of social service and economic opportunity programs benefiting many. OWBC has an annual operating budget of over $12 million and a staff of more than 200.
Opportunities contracts with an unemployment management firm to oversee the unemployment insurance administration and to represent Opportunities for Unemployment Hearings and Appeals. Opportunities seeks administration in the following areas: claims processing and management, benefit audit services, to include charge backs, technical services, reporting services, and compliance with the Texas Workforce Commission and State Law.
Opportunities currently outsources its unemployment administration since 2007 to a third party administrator. Our 2014 and 2015 Claims have total $143,000 and $139,000 respectively. Our third quarter is usually the highest averaging $100K due to a summer break of our Head Start program.
III. SCOPE OF WORK:
VENDOR shall perform the following services related to Opportunities unemployment insurance program:
o Administer unemployment insurance program accurately and in accordance with state unemployment laws.
o Reduce Opportunities unemployment insurance and administrative costs.
o Provide the Opportunities with a system of periodic timely reports (quarterly) as to potential and actual cost exposure in the unemployment area.
o Process all unemployment claims on behalf of the OWBC Human Resources department to include but not limited to intake of claim, responding to claim, and protesting claims.
o Review unemployment claims decisions and provide Opportunities Human Resources staff with assistance to possible response(s).
o Represent Opportunities at unemployment hearings.
o Prepare unemployment appeals to Texas Workforce Commission Review Committee/Boards.
o Audit experience rate notices and review contribution reports on a quarterly basis to ensure Opportunities is paying the correct amount for unemployment claims.
o Audit claim award, claim duration and liability for accuracy on a quarterly and annual basis.
o Conduct a quarterly and annual audit of benefit charges for accuracy.
o Ensure unemployment claim credits are received and properly posted.
o Reconcile unemployment benefit charges to employee wages paid to detect fraud.
o Review personnel policies and procedures to limit liability when new rules are added.
o Provide educational workshops to management as needed or as deemed necessary by Opportunities.
o Keep Opportunities Management current on unemployment law changes.
o Advise Opportunities of potential action that can be taken to reduce unemployment insurance costs.
o Provide individual claim status reports as needed or requested.
o Provide detailed reports on new claims, pending claims and historical claims.
o Provide quarterly and annual claims summaries by identifying characteristic (e.g., department) as deemed necessary.
o Provide reports on claims charge errors and credits made to unemployment account.
o Provide reporting of all unemployment claims activity and a summary management report on an annual basis. Vendor will report in a comprehensive format that includes all information relevant to the adjudication of an unemployment claim.
IV. DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
The Statement of Qualifications should be prepared in sufficient detail to permit Opportunities to evaluate the proposed vendor’s ability to provide the services described in the Scope of Work and shall provide a written guarantee that the quote will be valid for 3 months following the submittal of the proposal. Responses can be submitted in soft copy format, via email, but interested vendors must provide seven hard copy proposals by due date to our main office at the address below.
V. CONTACT INFORMATION AND TIMELINE:
o Contact Name: Tadim Leasure, HR Director
o Client Name: Opportunities for Williamson and Burnet Counties
o Address: 604 High Tech Drive, Georgetown, TX 78626
o Telephone: 512-763-1400
o Email:
RFQ Process / Due DateRFP Issue Date / Friday, October 14, 2016
Proposer Questions Due / Friday, October 21, 2016
Response to Proposer Questions / Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Proposal Due Date / Monday, October 31, 2016
Proposal Review and/or Presentations / November 7th through November 18th 2016
Selection of Preferred Vendor / Friday, December 2, 2016
Anticipated Project Start / Sunday, January 1, 2016
VI. PROPOSAL GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS
The following guidelines and requirements must be followed in preparing and submitting a proposal. Proposals should be presented in the following manner and format:
An Introduction Letter from the person or persons authorized to sign on behalf of the company
o Title Page: RFP number and revision number, Company Name, Address, Web Site Address, Telephone Number, Fax Number, Email Address and Contact Person.
o Table of Contents
o Executive Summary
o Solution: Proposed solution, including the features, benefits and uniqueness of the solution. Include performance standards and hosted applications.
o Schedule: The implementation time schedule associated with the solution.
o Fees: Include a bulleted list of exact deliverables associated with the stated fees.
o Terms Conditions: Include a copy of standard contract terms and conditions.
o Qualifications Credentials
Statements made in the proposal are binding, therefore a representative of the company that is authorized to do so, preferably an officer of the company, must sign the proposal before final submission.
You may be bound by the price quoted in the proposal if your proposal is accepted within 3 months after submission. The price quoted should be inclusive. If the price excludes certain fees or charges, a detailed list of fees must be provided with a complete explanation of the nature of these fees. Services or products offered which are beyond the scope of the stated requirements may be included in the proposal; however, they must be separately identified and priced.
If the execution of work to be performed requires the hiring of sub-contractors, this must be clearly stated in the proposal. WBCO retains the right to refuse the sub-contractors you have selected. By submitting a proposal, you agree to all terms and conditions of this Request for Proposal.
VII. SCOPE
Your proposal should address:
o Details of services provided by your unemployment administration service.
o Features and functions of your unemployment administration service.
o Operational performance standards and quality assurance practices related to the provision of hosted applications.
o Recommendations for any additional services or functions deemed to be worthwhile as part of the overall implementation, along with detailed value propositions for those services or functions, and corresponding pricing quotes.
IIX. QUALIFICATIONS AND CREDENTIALS
Please provide the following information with respect to your company and the proposed system solution:
o References. Provide the customer name, contact name(s), and telephone number(s) for at least three customer references that WBCO may contact regarding the proposed services and system.
o Statement regarding status as to HIPAA compliance (vendor processes, system, etc.)
o Description of general services, over and above specific elements covered above.
o Specific staffing information with respect to OWBC (e.g., how many and what personnel will be assigned to the account, and what their level of availability will be during and after implementation).
o Detail regarding what type(s) of interaction you foresee between your company and OWBC.
o Description of your procedure for technical issue resolution.
IX. EVALUATION CRITERIA
The following criteria form the basis upon which OWBC will evaluate proposals. The mandatory criteria must be met. The mandatory criteria for this project are:
o Receipt of your proposal no later than October 28, 2016.
o Cost of proposal: Candidates must provide pricing identifying the following
· Cost per service and basis (e.g., per employee, etc.)
· Per user costs for on-line services (reporting, etc.)
· Implementation costs
· Any other fees or costs associated with unemployment Administration
§ On-going maintenance fees, identifying available levels and associated cost
§ Consulting rates/fees
§ Suitability of the proposal- proposed solution meets the needs and criteria set forth in the RFP
Proposals that meet the mandatory requirements, as stated above, will be evaluated against the following criteria.
§ Candidate’s experience- Candidate has successfully competed similar projects and has the qualifications necessary to undertake the service. Demonstrated performance in outsourcing of unemployment administration.
§ Price- the price falls within the budget range established for this project. Preference will be given to proposers who are able to provide the level of services required and who offer the most advantageous price.
§ Proposal presentation- the information is presented in a clear, logical manner.