STATE OF WASHINGTON

OFFICE OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION AND QUOTATION (RFQQ)

RFQQ NO. 18-500

PROJECT TITLE:  Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) Information Technology Design & Investment Plan

PROPOSAL DUE DATE: April 26, 2018, 3:30 PM, Local Time, Olympia, Washington, USA.

ESTIMATED TIME PERIOD FOR CONTRACT: May 25, 2018 – December 31, 2018

BIDDER ELIGIBILITY:  This procurement is open to those bidders who satisfy the minimum qualifications stated herein and that are available for work in Washington State.

CONTENTS OF THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS:

1. Introduction
2. General Information for Bidders
3. Proposal Contents
4. Evaluation and Award
5. Exhibits
   1. Certifications and Assurances
   2. Sample Contract with General Terms and Conditions
   3. Wage Theft Certification

Note to Vendors:  This RFQQ and amendments will be available on the Office of Financial Management (OFM) website at http://ofm.wa.gov/contracts_procurements/default.asp. Vendors are also encouraged to register on the Department of Enterprise Services (DES), Washington Electronic Business Solution (WEBS) Procurement Website at http://des.wa.gov/services/ContractingPurchasing/Business/Pages/WEBSRegistration.aspx. All RFQQ amendments or bidder questions/OFM answers will be posted on the OFM website and on WEBS.

Highlights from the RFQQ. Click on the link above for the full document.

PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

The Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), is issuing this Request for Proposals (RFP) to acquire services to develop a strategic information technology design and investment plan.

The Washington State Legislature established a new Department of Children, Youth, and Families which will combine the current Department of Early Learning (https://del.wa.gov/ ) with the  Children’s Administration (CA) (https://www.dshs.wa.gov/ca) and, in a later phase, the Juvenile Rehabilitation (JR) (https://www.dshs.wa.gov/ra/juvenile-rehabilitation) and the Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ) (https://www.dshs.wa.gov/ra/office-juvenile-justice ) components of the Department of Social and Health Services.  The legislation sets out a year of planning and preparation, with the new agency formally beginning operations on July 1, 2018. 

The new agency’s mission and design was informed by recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Delivery of Services to Children and Families (Commission).  Some key themes.

• Parents and families facing challenges must be offered needed and appropriate services earlier to improve the healthy development of children and youth, protect them from harm, and disrupt multigenerational trauma.
• Services need to be better integrated, with a greater focus on prevention.
• Services should be science-based, have aligned outcomes, share near-real-time data, and create a more cohesive continuum of care.

The Commission concluded that a robust data and technology capability is fundamental to these objectives.  The legislature has requested the development of an IT design and investment plan required to effectively integrate the organizations and to meet the goals of the new department.  DCYF submitted an initial high-level plan to create the investment plan to the legislature in December 2017.   (Establishing the Department of Children, Youth, and Families:  Report to the Legislature, pp 24-27, Appendices C and D.)

The Commission, supported by an Information Technology Workgroup, identified several technology needs and opportunities for the new agency, including:

• An upgrade to FamLink, the state’s Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS).  This is the core database of at-risk children and youth and its interface is used by caseworkers, licensors, and most employees at CA. It includes all information about children, youth, adults, and families who have become involved, even tangentially, with CA.
• The development of a new payment system to pay foster homes, childcare providers, and other vendors of services to children, youth, and families. Both CA and DEL use the Social Services Payment System (SSPS), a 40-year-old program written in COBOL and running on a mainframe. The new program would be a more modern design, either SAAS or running on a PC server back-end that is more flexible and easier to maintain.
• The development of a Master Data Management Strategy. Existing program systems will need updates over a short time horizon to implement identity management using the Office of the Chief Information Officer’s “master data management” strategy. This is necessary to coordinate service delivery in real time for at-risk children and youth.
• An analysis of the technology direction for various functions of the new agency, such as:

• licensing functions
• background checks
• cost allocation
• positive time capture
• recovery account tracking
• Develop enhanced data warehouse functionality to power advanced analytics for evaluation, performance improvement, and accountability including:
  • Predictive analytics or a robust data analytic capacity to ensure program outcomes with the most efficient use of resources.
• • A daily dashboard and other business intelligence capabilities for DCYF and other child- and youth-serving agencies.
  • Ability to create an integrated report on outcomes each year for accountability purposes.

The Commission’s IT Work Group identified systems that will be impacted by the creation of the new department, and analysis has begun of the upgrades and enhancements needed. In some cases, the needed system improvements are already part of current technology planning within DSHS and DEL. In other cases, the creation of the new entity will require new technology support. The short-term and long-term costs associated with these systems will be a key part of the transition to the new department.

It is important to note that there are potential federal matching funds available for some of the system costs. Enhancement of eligibility systems can potentially access 90 percent federal funding through a waiver of cost allocation rules that is effective through 2018. In addition, modification of child welfare systems to meet the new Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System regulations can be funded at 50 percent federal match.