REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR GOODWILL YOUTHBUILD GED/High School Education Instruction Issued By: Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region YouthBuild Program 714 S 27 th St Tacoma, WA 98372 November 13, 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page Number I. Introduction 3 II. Agency Background 5 III. Scope of Services 5 IV. Desired Qualifications 6 V. Proposal Requirements 6 VI. Evaluation Process 6 VII. Term of Contract 7 2
I. INTRODUCTION Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region is seeking a qualified educational institution vendor to provide GED and/or High School Completion classes to youth participating in the YouthBuild Program. The educational institution must be able to provide qualified instructors that can provide culturally relevant services to youth at the Goodwill Campus at 714 S. 27 th Street, Tacoma WA 98409. The program is anticipated to begin on January 1, 2016, running cohorts of programs through December of 2018. The selected educational institution may not be prohibited, suspended or debarred from work on contracts associated with the United States Government. The contract to be executed with the successful Contractor shall be in accordance with Section III. SCOPE OF SERVICES. This Request for Proposals (RFP) document outlines the requirements, selection process and the documentation necessary to submit a responsive proposal for this service. Proposals should be submitted via email to Audra Laymon, Youth Programs Manager, by 4:00 PM December 14, 2015. Audra Laymon Youth Programs Manager Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region 714 S. 27 th St. Tacoma WA 98409 audral@goodwillwa,org No proposal will be accepted after the deadline. Late proposals will be deleted or returned to the Proposer unopened. All accepted proposals become the property of Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region and must be provided without cost to Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region. All proposals shall be considered valid for a period of ninety (90) days from the proposal closing date and shall contain a statement to that effect. Proposals accepted shall be subject to applicable laws and regulations governing public disclosure. Any information received within the proposal will be considered part of the public record of this procurement. In the event that it is necessary to revise any part of the RFP, timely addenda will be provided to all prospective Respondents. Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, to waive minor informalities and irregularities in the proposal submission process, to extend the date for submittal of responses, to request additional information and data from any or all Respondents, to supplement, amend or otherwise modify the RFP, to cancel this request with or without the substitution of another RFP, to reissue the RFP, to negotiate further with all Respondents within the competitive range and to accept a proposal which is considered to be in the best interest of Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region. At any time prior to the specified time and date set for the responsive submittal, a Respondent or their designated representative may withdraw, modify or submit an alternative proposal. Any response 3
modification must be executed by an authorized person and submitted prior to the response submittal date in accordance with submittal instructions above. By submittal of a response pursuant to this request, the Respondent certifies that they have not paid or agreed to pay any fee or commission, or any other thing of value contingent on the award of this contract, to any employee, official or current consultant of Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region. The Respondent certifies that the financial information in this response has been arrived at independently and without consultation, communication or agreement for the purpose of restricting competition as to any matter relating to such costs with any other response or Respondent. EEO: Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) organization, which does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, age, marital status, nation origin, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability in consideration of a contract award. The successful Contractor will be required to comply with all EEO federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Participation: Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region is committed to ensuring that all firms regardless of race, color, sex or national origin have equal opportunity to participate in Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region contracts. Small businesses, minority owned businesses, and women owned businesses are encouraged to apply. If a specific DBE goal has been set for this contract, it will be clearly stated in these specifications. If a goal is not stated it shall be understood that no specific goal has been assigned to this contract; however, contractors and subcontractors are required to comply with the following: Non-Discrimination Assurances: The contract or subcontractor shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, or sex in the performance of this contract. The contractor shall carry out applicable requirements of 29 CFR in the award and administration of DOL-assisted contracts. Failure by the contractor to carry out these requirements is a material breach of this contract, which may result in the termination of this contract or other such remedy as Goodwill deems appropriate. Prompt Payment: The contractor agrees to pay each subcontractor under this prime contract for satisfactory performance of its contract no later than thirty days from the receipt of each payment the prime contractor receives from Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region. The prime contractor agrees further to return retainage payments to each subcontractor within thirty days after the subcontractor s work is satisfactorily completed. Any delay or postponement of payment from the above time frames may occur only for good cause following written approval of Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region. This clause applies to both DBE and non-dbe subcontractors. 4
Respondent Questions, Inquiries and Contact with Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region Staff: Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region is committed to providing all prospective Respondents with accurate and consistent information in order to ensure that no Respondent obtains an undue competitive advantage. To this end, from the date of this RFP through award of contract, all questions and inquiries shall be addressed to: Audra Laymon Youth Programs Manager Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region 714 S. 27 th St. Tacoma WA 98409 253.573.6746 audral@goodwillwa,org Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region reserves the right to disqualify any Respondent who contacts a Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region official, employee, or agent concerning this Request for Proposals other than in accordance with this section. II. AGENCY AND PROGRAM BACKGROUND Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region (formerly Tacoma Goodwill) opened in 1921 as the 19th Goodwill agency in the United States, offering training and assistance for people in our community. While Goodwill is no longer in the business of repairing donated items, Goodwill employs hundreds of people in the cycle of donations, processing, and resale of these goods. Goodwill training programs offer on-the-job skills help our clients to move to competitive jobs in today s economy. YouthBuild is a program of Goodwill which is funded 80% by a 1.1 million dollar award by the United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration. This program is an Equal Opportunity Program/Employer and Auxiliary Aids and Services are available upon request to individuals with Disabilities. III. SCOPE OF SERVICES A. Description Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region is seeking a qualified educational institution vendor to provide GED and/or High School Completion classes to youth participating in the YouthBuild Program for youth at the Goodwill Campus at 714 S. 27 th Street, Tacoma WA. The program is anticipated to begin on January 1, 2016, running cohorts of programs through December of 2018. B. Primary Duties 5
The educational institution must be able to provide qualified instructors that can provide culturally relevant services to youth from the ages of 16-24. Duties include: 1. The education portion of the project will be 20-30 hours per week, Monday through Friday. (Excluding holidays) 2. The educational institution must be able to assess and test youth using the CASAS assessment test as well as provide the ability to test for young adults to acquire the GED or high school degree in 2016 and beyond. 3. The selected educational institution and its staff must be willing to cooperate and coordinate with the YouthBuild staff and administration. 4. The educational institution must be willing and able to work with low-income youth of different ethnicities and learning abilities. 5. The educational institution must be willing to participate in quarterly evaluations of instructor performance and offer staff development and training plans for instructors. 6. The educational institution must be willing and able to provide timely and accurate financial reports including billings. IV. DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS A. Ability to grant High School or Post-Secondary credit for student achievement/experience B. Direct teaching staff trained in Youth Culture Competency V. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS To assist the Evaluation Committee in the review of submitted proposals, Respondents should organize proposals in the following order: A. A summary of firm s qualifications as they relate to the duties and desired qualifications described above. B. Describe your firm s experience providing GED and like services to community agencies. C. A discussion of the qualifications and experience of key personnel assigned to this service, along with detailed résumés. D. Proposed fee schedule. 6
E. A list of references knowledgeable of your firm s community agency related work. Include contact names, telephone numbers, and addresses. F. Any proposed language changes to the sample contract, as outlined under Section VII, TERM OF CONTRACT. VI. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS Proposals will be evaluated by an evaluation committee. The Respondent selected for contract award will be chosen on the basis of the greatest benefit to Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region, not necessarily on the basis of lowest fee. Goodwill reserves the right to recommend contract award based solely on the original proposals or to interview and negotiate further with those Respondents deemed to be within the competitive range. The evaluation committee will recommend a course of action for contract award. Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region will give preference to bidders who have the ability to assign high school or post-secondary credits for student achievements. Preference will also be given to bidders who are able to provide financial, labor, and/or in-kind match to the project. The criteria to be used in the evaluation of proposals, along with respective weighted importance, are as follows: CRITERIA POINTS 1. Qualifications and experience of firm 20 2. Qualifications and experience of key personnel 20 3. Ability to assign credit and/or match to the project 15 4. Understanding and quality of proposed services 15 5. Cost 20 6. References 10 TOTAL 100 VII. TERM OF CONTRACT The anticipated term of this contract shall be for two (2) years and shall commence January 1, 2016. See the attached sample contract (Exhibit A ) to be executed with the successful contractor. It is unnecessary for the Respondent to sign or return the sample contract with the proposal, but all prospective Respondents should note and be aware of the terms and conditions expected of this agreement and submit any proposed language changes to the Youth Programs Manager no later than fourteen (14) calendar days prior to proposal due date in order to allow review and response time. 7