Vermont Department of Health
Sealed Bid
Request for Proposals
Project Title: Evaluation Contractor for the Strategic Prevention Framework Partnership for Success II Grant, hereafter referred to as the “PFS” Grant.
Contract Period: May 20, 2013 to May 19, 2016
Date RFP Issued: January 25, 2013
Bidders Conference: There will be no bidder’s conference for this bid
Date of Bid Closing: March 8, 2013
Date of Bid Opening: March 11, 2013
Location of Bid Opening: VDH, 108 Cherry Street, Suite 207, Burlington VT
Single Point of Contact: Lori Uerz
Contact Address: Vermont Department of Health,
Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs
PO Box 70, 108 Cherry Street
Burlington, Vermont 05402-0070
Phone: 802-652-4149 Email:
1. Overview
1.1 Requests for Proposals
The Vermont Department of Health (VDH), Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs (ADAP) is seeking proposals for evaluation of the 3-year Partnership for Success (PFS) Grant, with the possibility of a partial or full year of funding based on federal requirements. Anticipated contract period will be May 2013 through May 2016. Contractor is not required to be a Vermont company; however, it is required to have staff available on site.
VDH/ADAP is seeking a contractor with experience in training, research and evaluation of prevention initiatives and familiarity with the substance abuse prevention delivery systems in Vermont. Experience in research or evaluation of grants from the following agencies is preferred: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP); Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experience in a state or national level evaluation of the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) State Incentive Grant (SIG) is also preferred.
1.2 Background and Need Statement
Vermont leads the nation for underage alcohol consumption and binge drinking with 37% of those aged 12-20 years old reporting having an alcoholic drink in the past month, and 25% of this age group reporting binge drinking in the past month (National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2009). While overall state-level prevalence rates of prescription drug misuse are below the national average, treatment demand for opiates other than heroin has increased more than ten-fold over the past decade. The State of Vermont has declared prescription drug misuse/abuse as an epidemic in light of the physical and economic toll it has taken on state resources and residents.
The Vermont Department of Health has identified Youth and Young Adult Substance Use Prevention as one of four permanent priorities of the State Health Improvement Plan (currently under development). Core functions of VDH include provision of technical assistance, training and data to local partnerships. The goal is to support development of the necessary capacity, skills and tools for community-based health assessments, implementation and refinement of effective public health programs and policies, and evaluation of the impact of such interventions. VDH’s Office of Local Health and 12 District Health Offices are an essential part of the infrastructure for this work. District Offices serving the six high need health districts will coordinate implementation of the PFS initiative by convening community partners to conduct district-wide needs assessment, prioritization, planning and capacity building. Each district will include in their assessment, an examination of health disparities within their region and will include specific plans for addressing these disparities. Prevention activities to be implemented will intentionally encompass a variety of evidence-based strategies that collectively address multiple developmental stages of youth and young adults, through multiple levels of intervention, and that have the potential to influence a range of behavioral health issues
The PFS initiative will apply the Strategic Prevention Framework (http://captus.samhsa.gov/prevention-practice/strategic-prevention-framework) to reduce underage drinking and prescription drug misuse and abuse among 12-25 year olds in six of twelve VDH health districts identified as having high need, and to strengthen the prevention infrastructure at the state, regional and community levels using the existing health district structure as the primary mechanism to implement the framework. This proposal builds on the successes achieved in Vermont through the SPF-SIG http://healthvermont.gov/adap/documents/SPF-SIG_EvalExecutiveSummaryApr2012.pdf
including both the reduction of substance use among persons under 25 and in building statewide prevention capacity using this public health planning approach designed to help States and communities identify needs, and build the infrastructure for effective, sustainable substance abuse prevention services.
The goals and objectives of the proposed project also relate directly to Vermont’s Healthy People 2020 goals, which include development of community-based capacity to respond to public health needs, and increased collaboration to assure health equity for all Vermonters. The goals of the Vermont PFS initiative are to:
· Reduce underage drinking and binge drinking among persons aged 12 to 25
· Reduce prescription drug misuse and abuse among persons aged 12 to 25
· Increase state, regional and community capacity to prevent underage drinking and prescription drug misuse by implementing a targeted regional approach
2. Scope of Work
The Vermont Department of Health, Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs seeks an Evaluation Contractor to assist the Division in this project. The Contractor will be expected to assume responsibility for the development and execution of the Partnership for Success (PFS) Grant evaluation plan, which includes instrumentation, data collection, data analysis, and the preparation of evaluation reports. The contractor will work closely with and be a participatory member of both the State Epidemiology Outcome Workgroup (SEOW) and Evidence-based Strategies Workgroup to ensure that the data necessary to support the needs assessment and evaluation requirements for the project are readily available.
Contractor will assume primary responsibility for coordinating process and outcome data collection at the state and regional level. Contractor will be expected to work closely and consult with state and district-level program staff, and grantees to consult and provide ongoing support on evaluation design, program monitoring, regular reports, data collection, program implementation, monitoring and technical assistance and evaluation-related activities at the local level. Contractor will have a staff person located on-site in Burlington, VT, who will be available to state and district office staff and have a working knowledge of Vermont’s 2005-2011 Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant (SPF SIG) implementation and evaluation, as the PFS is a continuation of the SPF SIG efforts.
Responsibilities will include design, distribution, tracking, and processing of data collection instruments, data analysis, conducting literature searches and reviews, and providing support for the data management and analysis activities needed for the needs assessment component of the project. It will also include reports on evaluation activities for inclusion in required quarterly reports to the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention as well as final and summary reports on evaluation activities and outcomes from the project. Specific evaluation requirements for the Partnership for Success grant are detailed on pages 9-13 of the of the federal RFA at http://www.samhsa.gov/grants/2012/sp_12_004.aspx
3. General Provisions
3.1 Contract Terms
The selected contractor will sign a contract with VDH to carry out the specifications and provide the activities detailed in the proposal. Terms and conditions from this RFP and contractor’s response will become part of the contract. This contract will be subject to review throughout its entire term. VDH will consider cancellation upon discovery that a contractor is in violation of any portion of the agreement, including an inability by the contractor to provide the products, support and/or service offered in their response.
3.2 Contract Award
VDH may award one or more contracts and reserves the right to make additional awards to the same vendor or other vendors who submitted proposals at any time during the first year of the contract if such award is deemed to be in the best interest of VDH.
3.3 Ownership of Work Product and Intellectual Capital
Except for proprietary or commercial software, VDH will have all ownership rights to the documentation designed, developed, and/or utilized for this contract. All data, technical information, materials gathered, originated, developed, prepared, used or obtained in the performance of the contract, including, but not limited to, all reports, surveys, plans, charts, literature, brochures, mailings, recordings (video and/or audio), pictures, drawings, analyses, graphic representations, notes and memoranda, and written procedures and documents, regardless of the state of completion, which are custom developed and/or are the result of the services required under this contract, shall be and remain the property of VDH and shall be delivered to VDH upon 30 days notice by VDH. A vendor shall not sell a work product or deliverable produced under a contract awarded as a result of bids without explicit permission from VDH.
3.4 Penalties and/or Retainage
VDH will enforce penalties if grantee fails to meet the performance measures as defined in Section 3.7 Contractor Performance Guidelines.
3.5 Subcontractors
Any subcontractors hired by the primary contractor must adhere to the same standards and contract provisions applicable to the primary contractor. The primary contractor retains overall responsibility for contract performance. The primary contractor must advise VDH of intent to hire a subcontractor and provide the name of company, name of president/owner and location of company. VDH reserves the right to reject the hiring of subcontractor during the term of contract.
3.6 Invoicing
All invoices are to be submitted by the Contractor on the Contractor's standard invoice. The invoice must include the following: a signed signature, name and address for remittance of payment by the state, the contract number, and date of performance and a brief description of the service or product provided.
3.7 Contractor Performance Guidance
All bidders will be held to specific performance review criteria over the life of the contract to ensure that project deliverables as outlined in the RFP and attested to in the Scope of Work are being met. Review of project deliverables will occur at intervals agreed upon by both the State and the Contractor and designated in the contract.
Performance Measures:
1. Contractor must complete or address at least 80% of approved contracted work plan each quarter
2. Contractor must provide a final evaluation report 6 months after the conclusion of the project.
3. Additional performance measures may be added depending on approved proposal and contract negotiations
3.8 Contractor Staffing
Key staff member(s) must be assigned to this contract for the full duration proposed. None of the key staff member(s) may be reassigned or otherwise removed early from this project without explicit written permission of the VDH.
The Contractor must identify staff member(s) who will remain on this project until completion, unless indicated otherwise in the Contractor’s proposal. The Contractor may propose other staff members as “key” if desired. The Contractor will make every reasonable effort to ensure that the early removal of a key staff member has no adverse impact on the successful completion of this project.
3.9 Key Contractor Responsibilities
The selected Contractor must assume primary responsibility for the implementation of the contract specifications and activities.
3.9.1 The Contractor will successfully implement the plan to accomplish the
tasks described and defined in the Scope of Work.
3.9.2 The Contractor must abide by all State policies, standards and protocols as
provided, and defined in this contract. Before commencing work on this Agreement the Party must provide certificates of insurance to show that the following minimum coverage is in effect. It is the responsibility of the Party to maintain current certificates of insurance on file with the state through the term of the Agreement. No warranty is made that the coverage and limits listed herein are adequate to cover and protect the interests of the Party for the Party’s operations. These are solely minimums that have been established to protect the interests of the State.
Workers Compensation: With respect to all operations performed, the Party shall carry workers’ compensation insurance in accordance with the laws of the State of Vermont.
General Liability and Property Damage: With respect to all operations performed under the Agreement, the Party shall carry general liability insurance having all major divisions of coverage including, but not limited to:
Premises - Operations
Products and Completed Operations
Personal Injury Liability
Contractual Liability
The policy shall be on an occurrence form and limits shall not be less than:
$1,000,000 Per Occurrence
$1,000,000 General Aggregate
$1,000,000 Products/Completed Operations Aggregate
$ 50,000 Fire/ Legal/Liability
Party shall name the State of Vermont and its officers and employees as additional insureds for liability arising out of this Agreement.
Automotive Liability: The Party shall carry automotive liability insurance covering all motor vehicles, including hired and non-owned coverage, used in connection with the Agreement. Limits of coverage shall not be less than: $1,000,000 combined single limit.
Party shall name the State of Vermont and its officers and employees as additional insureds for liability arising out of this Agreement.
Professional Liability: Before commencing work on this Agreement and throughout the term of this Agreement, the Party shall procure and maintain professional liability insurance for any and all services performed under this Agreement, with minimum coverage of $_N/A__ per occurrence, and $_N/A aggregate
3.9.3 The Contractor must abide by all Federal Regulations if applicable to this
contract.
4. Management Structure and General Information
4.1 Project Management
The Contractor will be accountable to the Public Health Program Administrator and holds responsibility for the project deliverables, schedule and adherence to contract provisions. The Contractor must abide by all VDH standards and protocols as defined by the Public Health Program Administrator.
4.2 Status Reports
The Vermont Department of Health reserves the right to call meetings with the contractor either in person or by conference call to ensure that unresolved issues are resolved during this contract period. The contractor will be accountable in advising the Program Manager of this contract or designee when/if performance measures agreed upon will not be met. The following status reports will become part of the contract. They include the following:
Contractor will submit monthly invoices
Contractor will complete quarterly:
a. federal requirements in the Management Reporting Technology (MRT) data collection system