N.J. Admin. Code § 10:3-3.3 - Request for proposal

(a) The departmental component or CHSAC/designated entity shall issue a public announcement of the availability of funds for the purchase of services in accordance with N.J.S.A. 52:14-34.4, 34.5 and 34.6. The announcement shall be made in a manner to permit reasonable competition among eligible provider agencies. The departmental component shall publish the announcement on the Department of Human Services (DHS) website for public notices and publications directed toward minorities. In addition, the departmental component may choose to do one of the following as a second notification: mail the announcement to identified prospective provider agencies, including those that may provide similar, but not the specific service requested, minority organizations and culturally diverse and sensitive groups or advertise in newspapers of general circulation. The Office of Contract Policy and Management (OCPM) will upload the announcement of the notice of the RFP on the Department of Human Services webpage at www.state.nj.us/humanservices/providers/grants/nofa/index.html.

(b) The departmental components may choose to have bidders conferences. Technical information regarding the RFP may be disseminated at such a meeting.

(c) The CHSACs/designated entities, at minimum, shall use the standards set forth in this subchapter when they are delegated the responsibility to solicit proposals on behalf of the Department. The Department shall be a signatory to the contract in this instance. In all other instances, the departmental component shall notify the CHSACs/ designated entity of the RFP, if appropriate.

(d) The proposal process shall be completed within 120 days of publication of the RFP notice on the DHS website, inclusive of all protest processes. See N.J.A.C. 10:3-3.13 for exceptions.

(e) Within three business days after a potential applicant has requested a proposal package, the departmental component or the CHSAC/designated entity shall forward a proposal package to, or the package may be picked up by, those prospective applicants responding to the public announcement. In addition, when the CHSAC/designated entity has been delegated the responsibility to solicit proposals on behalf of the Department, all appropriate Department procedures, as set forth in this subchapter, and county procedures, as appropriate, shall be followed. The proposal package shall contain, at a minimum, the following information and requirements:

1. The amount of funds available, the source of funds, the purpose, scope, and goals of the programs and services solicited, and any specific conditions, requirements, and/or constraints such as spending caps or match requirements;

2. A list of requirements which must be fulfilled for the proposal to be evaluated;

3. The type of provider agencies eligible to submit a proposal for consideration;

4. A request for a list of the board of directors and officers of the applicant agency;

5. The address to which the completed proposal must be sent, the submission deadline (time and date) after which no applications will be accepted, time frames for review of the proposal and awarding of contracts, and the target date for implementation;

6. The name and address of a contact person who can provide technical assistance;

7. Funding proposal evaluation criteria (see N.J.A.C. 10:3-3.8);

8. A disclaimer stating the following: "The Department reserves the right to reject any and all proposals when circumstances indicate that it is in its best interest to do so. The Department's best interest in this context, include, but are not limited to, loss of funding, inability of the applicant to provide adequate services, indication of misrepresentation of information and/or noncompliance with State and Federal laws and regulations, any existing Department contracts, and procedures set forth in this subchapter";

9. The following statements:

i. "It is anticipated that the resulting contract will contain approximately (insert amount) dollars in funding;"

ii. Needed for the privatization of State service and/or program only:

(1) "In accordance with guidelines established by the New Jersey Executive Commission on Ethical Standards, be advised that Department employees or former employees are eligible to submit proposals to this RFP."

(2) "These services were previously State operated. Therefore, if awarded this contract, your provider agency may be responsible to maintain, administer and dispose of public records previously maintained by the State of New Jersey as defined by N.J.S.A. 47:3-16 and must agree to do so under the terms of the contract."

10. The appropriate information, forms and a list of required supporting documents as set forth in N.J.A.C. 10:3-3.6;

11. A copy of Executive Order No. 189(1988), regarding conflict of interest (see Appendix A, incorporated herein by reference);

12. The URL of the DHS/OCPM website where the Contract Reimbursement Manual and Contract Policy and Information Manual may be reviewed and downloaded prior to proposal. The URL of that link is www.state.nj.us/humanservices/ocpm/home/resources/manuals;

13. The terms and conditions which must be met to comply with specific funding requirements and Departmental contracting rules;

14. The Statement of Assurances and the requirement that it shall be properly signed by the Chief Executive Officer or equivalent and returned with the application package. See Appendix B incorporated herein by reference; and

15. A statement explaining the Department's protest process and that protest process by the departmental component must be completed within the time frame specified in the RFP or within 30 days after receipt of the CHSAC/designated entity recommendation, and that protest process by the CHSAC/designated entity must be completed within the 90-day process time period and prior to the recommendations being sent to the departmental component.

Notes

N.J. Admin. Code § 10:3-3.3

Amended by R.1993 d.597, effective 11/15/1993.
See: 25 N.J.R. 3694(b), 25 N.J.R. 5165(a).
Amended by R.1997 d.532, effective 12/15/1997.
See: 29 N.J.R. 3959(a), 29 N.J.R. 5314(a).
Rewrote (a); in (c), inserted the second sentence; in (e), added two day requirement for mailing of proposal packages; rewrote (e)9; inserted (e)9i and (e)9ii; inserted (e)14 and recodified existing (e)14 as (e)15.
Amended by R.1998 d.551, effective 11/16/1998.
See: 30 N.J.R. 3193(a), 30 N.J.R. 4043(a).
In (a), deleted "as defined in Section 10:3-3.2" at the end of the third sentence, and rewrote the fourth sentence as the fourth and fifth sentences; in (d), substituted "120 days of publication of the RFP notice in the New Jersey Register" for "105 days of publication" following "within"; and in (e), substituted a reference to three business days for a reference to two working days in the first sentence, rewrote 9i, substituted "Needed" for "In a RFP" at the beginning of 9ii, substituted "A copy" for "Notification" at the beginning of 11, and substituted a reference to informal reviews for a reference to reviews and substituted a reference to 30 days for a reference to 15 days in 15.
Administrative change.
See: 31 N.J.R. 872(c).
Amended by R.2009 d.211, effective 7/20/2009.
See: 41 N.J.R. 66(a), 41 N.J.R. 2790(a).
Rewrote (a), (e)12 and (e)15; and in (d), substituted "on the DHS website, inclusive of all protest" for "in the New Jersey Register, inclusive of all informal review".
Administrative change.
See: 41 N.J.R. 3091(b).