The City seeks Proposals from qualified individuals or organizations with experience providing Homeless Outreach and Engagement services.

The contract term is twenty-four (24) consecutive months.

From the date this RFP is issued until a proposer is selected and the selection is announced by the Purchasing Agent, proposers may not communicate with any City staff, commissioners or officials regarding this procurement, except at the direction of Jerome Wakefield, JD, QPA, Purchasing Agent, in charge of the solicitation. Any unauthorized contact may disqualify the proposer from further consideration. Contact information for the single point of contact is as follows:

Designated Contact Person
Najja Davis, QPA
Assistant Purchasing Agent
City of Newark
Division of Central Purchasing
47-63 Green Street
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Phone Number: (973) 733-3776
Email: [email protected]

Proposers should carefully review all instructions, mandatory requirements, specifications, standard terms and conditions set out in this RFP and promptly notify the Purchasing Agent identified above in writing of any ambiguity, inconsistency , unduly restrictive specifications, or error which they discovered upon examination of this RFP. This should include any terms or requirements within the RFP that either preclude the proposer from responding to this RFP or add unnecessary cost.

This notification must be accompanied by an explanation and suggested modification and be received by the deadline for receipt of inquires set forth below. The City will make any final determination of changes to the RFP.

Proposers with questions or requiring clarification or interpretation of any section within this RFP must address these questions in writing, via the ProcureNow Question/Answer Tab via the City's e-Procurement portal, on or before, Wednesday, September 22, 2021 by 12:00 pm. Each question must provide clear reference to the section, page, and item in question. Questions received after the deadline may not be considered. All questions submitted and answers provided shall be electronically distributed to bidders following this solicitation on the City's e-Procurement Portal.

The City will provide written answers to proposers’ questions. Any other form of interpretation, correction, or change to this RFP will not be binding.

No pre-proposal conference is scheduled.

By submitting a response to this RFP, proposer agrees to acceptance of the standard terms and conditions as set out in this RFP. Much of the language included in the standard terms and conditions reflects requirements of New Jersey law. Requests for additions or exceptions to the standard terms and conditions including any necessary licenses, or any added provisions must be submitted via the e-Procurement Portal by the date for receipt of written questions and must be accompanied by an explanation of why the exception is being sought and what specific effect it will have on the proposer’s ability to respond to the RFP or perform the contract. Any material exceptions requested and granted to the standard terms and conditions language will be addressed in any formal written addendum issued for this RFP and will apply to all proposers submitting a response to this RFP. The City will make any final determination of changes to the standard terms and conditions.

This RFP and any addenda, the proposer’s RFP response, including any amendments and any clarification question responses, shall be included in any resulting contract. The City’s contract contains the contract terms and conditions which will form the basis of any contract between the City and the selected proposer. In the event of a dispute as to the duties and responsibilities of the parties under this contract, the contract, along with any attachments prepared by the City, will govern in the same order of precedence as listed in the contract.

To be eligible for consideration, a proposer must meet the intent of all mandatory requirements. The City will determine whether a proposer’s RFP response complies with the intent of the requirements. RFP responses that do not meet the full intent of all requirements listed in this RFP may be subject to point reductions during the evaluation process or may be deemed non-responsive.

By submitting a response to this RFP, proposer agrees to an understanding of and compliance with the specifications and requirements described in this RFP.

The proposals must be submitted by an individual authorized to legally bind the business submitting the proposal. The proposer’s submission of a proposal in response to this RFP guarantees that the offer bas been established without collision and without effort to preclude the City from obtaining the best possible supply or service. Proof of authority of the person signing the RFP response must be furnished upon request.

A proposal may not be modified, withdrawn or canceled by the proposer for a sixty (60) day period following the deadline for proposal submission as defined in the Schedule of Events and proposer agrees in submitting the proposal.

Business entities are advised of their responsibility to file an annual disclosure statement of political contributions with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.27, if they receive contracts in excess of $50,000.00 from public entities in a calendar year. Business entities are responsible for determining if filing is necessary. Additional information on this requirement is available from ELEC at 888-313-3532 or www.elec.state.nj.us.

1. Content of Proposal. Proposer should address all requests for information and qualifications set forth in this RFP.
2. Failure to Comply with Instructions. Proposers failing to comply with the instructions in this RFP may be subject to point deductions.
3. Copies Required and Deadline for Receipt of Proposals. Proposers must submit one (1) proposal to the City via the e-Procurement Portal prior to 10:15 am on Thursday, September 30, 2021.
4. Late Proposals. Regardless of cause, late proposals will not be accepted and will automatically be disqualified from further consideration. It shall be the proposer’s sole risk to assure submission by the designated time. Late proposals will not be accepted in ProcureNow system.

1. City Not Responsible for Preparation Costs. The costs for developing and delivering responses to this RFP and any subsequent presentations of the proposal as requested by the City are entirely the responsibility of the proposer. The City is not liable for any expense incurred by the proposer in the preparation and presentation of their proposal or any other costs incurred by the proposer prior to execution of a contract.
2. All Timely Submitted Materials Become City Property. All materials submitted in response to this RFP becomes the property of the City.

This RFP is issued under the authority of the City of Newark. The RFP process is a procurement option allowing the award to be based on the attached Evaluation Criteria. No other evaluation criteria, other than as outlined in the RFP, will be used.

The City encourages free and open competition among proposers. Whenever possible, the City will design specifications, proposal requests, and conditions to accomplish this objective, consistent with the necessity to satisfy the City’s need to procure technically sound, cost-effective services and supplies.

All information received in response to this RFP, including copyrighted material, subject to public disclosure and may be made available for public viewing after the time for receipt of proposals has passed with the following four exceptions: (1) bona fide trade secrets meeting the requirements of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Title 30, chapter 14, part 4, MCA, that have been properly marked, separated, and documented; (2) matters involving individual safety as determined by the City; (3) any company financial information requested by the City to determine vendor responsibility, unless prior written consent has been given by the proposer and (4) other constitutional protections, or as otherwise not subject to disclosure according to OPRA guidelines.

Upon opening the proposals received in response to this RFP, the Purchasing Agent in charge of the solicitation will review the proposals and separate out any information that meets the referenced exceptions in Section 2.2.1 above, providing the following conditions have been met:

• Confidential information is clearly marked and separated from the rest of the proposal.

• The proposal does not contain confidential material in the cost or price section.

• An affidavit from a proposer’s legal counsel attesting to and explaining the validity of any trade secret claim asserted by the proposer.

Information separated out under this process will be available for review only by the Purchasing Agent, the evaluation committee members, and limited other designees. Proposers must be prepared to pay all legal costs and fees associated with defending a claim for confidentiality in the event of an open public records request from another party.

All proposals will initially be classified as either “responsive” or “non-responsive.” Proposals may be found non-responsive any time during the evaluation process if any of the required information is not provided; the submitted price is found to be excessive or inadequate as measured by attached Evaluation Criteria; or the proposal is not within the plans and specifications described and required in the RFP. If a proposal is found to be non-responsive, it may be subject to point deductions.

The City will determine whether a proposer has met the standards of responsibility. Such a determination may be made at any time during the evaluation process if information surfaces that would result in a determination of non-responsibility. If a proposer is found non-responsive, the determination must be in writing, made a part of the procurement file and mailed to the affected proposer.

The City will evaluate the proposals and recommend whether to award the contract to the firm determined to best meet the needs of the City or, if necessary, to seek discussion in order to determine the firm to be selected. All responsive proposals will be evaluated based on stated evaluation criteria. The City may consider such factors as accepted industry standards and a comparative evaluation of all other qualified RFP responses in terms of differing quality and contractual factors. These will be used to determine the most advantageous offering to the City.

Selection and award will be based on the proposer’s proposal and other items outlined in this RFP. Submitted responses may not include references to information located elsewhere, such as internet websites or libraries, unless specifically requested. Information or materials presented by proposers outside the formal response or subsequent discussion may not be considered.

After receipt of all proposals and prior to the determination of the award, the City may initiate discussions with one or more proposers should clarification be necessary. Proposers may also be required to make an oral presentation and/or product demonstration to clarify their RFP response or to further define their offer. In either case, proposers should be prepared to send qualified personnel to the City of Newark to discuss technical and contractual aspects of the proposal. Oral presentations/demonstrations, if requested, shall be at the proposer’s expense.

Contract awards, if any, will be made to the proposer who the City determines who best can provide the services required and provides all required documents. Formal contracts incorporating this RFP, including attachments hereto, and the selected proposals, will be executed by all parties.

The City reserves the right to terminate any contract entered into as a result of this RFP provided written notice has been given to the proposer at least thirty (30) days prior to such proposed termination date.

The prices herein shall not include any Federal or Excise Taxes of Sales Tax imposed by any state or municipal government. All taxes must be deducted from prices quoted and must be shown separately under items where applicable. The City will not furnish Federal Tax Exemption certificates unless the tax is shown separately. The City's purchase order (Vendor's Copy) will serve as the State Tax Exemptions Form.

No officer, or employee, elected or appointed in any municipality shall be interested directly, or indirectly, in any contract or job for work or materials, or the profits thereof, or services to be furnished or performed for such municipality (R.S. 40:69A 163 Chap.210--P.L. 1950).

Pursuant to P.L. 1971, c. 198 (40A:11-18) the proposer must agree to comply with the provision of American goods and products to be used where possible.

On all contracts for public works, the respondent must comply with the provisions of R.S. 34:11-56, et. seq., which law provides that laborers, workers and mechanics while engaged on work under the contract shall work not more than eight hours in any one day, except as otherwise provided for in said statute, and that the prevailing rate of daily wages in the locality where the work is performed shall be paid to the mechanics, workmen and laborers engaged in the work under the contract. It is understood and agreed by the Contractor that, in addition to the abovementioned provision, the said Contractor will obey and comply with the Laws of the State of New Jersey, and in the event said Contractor shall violate the provisions of New Jersey State Statutes Annotated, R.S. 34:11-56, and Chapter 213, Public Laws of the State of New Jersey 1962, or any other statutes of the State of New Jersey, then this contract shall be voided at the option of the City of Newark. The Contractor shall pay to all mechanics, workmen and laborers employed in the work contained under this contract the prevailing rate of wages pursuant to the provisions of New Jersey Statutes Annotated; R.S. 34:11-56 and shall further comply with all of the provisions of New Jersey Statutes Annotated; R.S. 34:11-56. The Contractor further agrees that he shall comply with Chapter 213, Public Laws of the State of New Jersey 1962. The provisions of same shall be considered part of these specifications. It is further understood and agreed that all labor employed by the Contractor on this project shall be such as will work with other trades employed on the project so that there will be no dissension between trades. All labor employed on this project shall conform to local labor Union practices.

Pursuant to Revised Statutes 10:2-1 et seq., Respondent agrees that:

• In the hiring of persons for the performance of work under this contract or any subcontract hereunder, or for the procurement, manufacture, assembling or furnishing of any such materials, equipment, supplies or services to be acquired under this contract, no contractor, nor any person acting on behalf of such contractor or subcontractor, shall, by reason of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation or sex, discriminate against any person who is qualified and available to perform the work to which the employment relates.

• No contractor, subcontractor, nor any person on his behalf shall, in any manner, discriminate against or intimidate any employee engaged in the performance of work under this contract or any subcontract hereunder, or engaged in the procurement, manufacture, assembling or furnishing of any such materials, equipment, supplies or services to be acquired under such contract, on account of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation or sex.

• There may be deducted from the amount payable to the contractor by the contracting public agency, under this contract, a penalty of $ 50.00 for each person for each calendar day during which such person is discriminated against or intimidated in violation of the provisions of the contract.

• This contract may be canceled or terminated by the contracting public agency, and all money due or to become due hereunder may be forfeited, for any violation of this section of the contract occurring after notice to the contractor from the contracting public agency of any prior violation of this section of the contract.

• This contract may be canceled or terminated by the City of Newark, and all money due or becomes due hereunder may be forfeited, for a second or any subsequent violation of the terms or conditions of this section of the contract.

All contracts and purchases of materials and supplies are subject to the provisions of Section 2:4-14 of the City Administration Code, Revised Ordinances of the City of Newark, New Jersey, which follows:

(a) All contracts hereafter made by or on behalf of the City of Newark or any of its departments or subdivisions with any corporation, person or persons for the performance of any kind of work or the sale, furnishing or delivery of any material or supplies of any nature shall contain a provision that the laborers, workers and mechanics engaged in said work or in the manufacture, sale or delivery of said material or supplies shall not work more than eight hours in any one day while so engaged; and that the said laborers, workers and mechanics shall be paid the prevailing rate of wages for the type of work to be done in the territory in which it is to be performed; and shall contain a further provision that the violation of the foregoing provision shall constitute a breach of the Contract, and that the said foregoing provision shall be considered to be a contractor for the benefit of said workers, laborers and mechanics upon which said laborers, workers and mechanics shall have the right to maintain action for the difference between the prevailing rate of wages and the wages actually received by them; and all such contracts shall contain the further provision that in case any dispute arises as to the amount of the prevailing rate of wage, said dispute shall be referred to the Commissioner of Labor of the State or to such person as will be designated by said Commissioner of Labor as an arbitrator to settle said dispute, the parties to be bound by decision of such arbitrator.

(b) All advertisements for Request for Proposals and all specifications in pursuance of any law requiring the advertisement for Request for Proposals shall include specific reference to this section.

While the City has every intention to award contracts as a result of this RFP, issuance of the RFP in no way constitutes a commitment by the City to award and execute any contract. Upon a determination that such action would be in its best interest, the City, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to cancel or terminate this RFP; reject any or all proposals received in response to this RFP; waive any undesirable, inconsequential, or inconsistent provisions of this RFP which would not have significant impact on any proposal; not award if it is in the best interest of the City not to proceed with contract execution; or if awarded, terminate any contract if the City determines adequate funds are not available.

The proposer shall agree to comply with all Federal and State legislation and regulations governing Fair Employment Practice, including but not limited to Title VI of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964, Executive Order 11246 September 1965 and the rules, regulations and relevant orders of the Secretary of Labor. No employee of the City of Newark or a member of the immediate family of an employee of the City of Newark may submit a proposal for this contract, nor should an employee of the City of Newark be an employee of the contractor submitting a proposal on this contract.

The proposer shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless all City members and agents of the City against claims, demands, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorney’s fees) without limitation, and claims of personal or bodily injury or death. The proposer shall maintain for the duration of the contract, at its own expense, insurance as required in the Scope of Work.

1. Both parties agree to comply with all requirements of the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability act of 1996 (“HIPPA”) as may be amended from time to time, and the corresponding HIPPA regulations for the confidentiality and security of medical information. If awarded the bid, the contract shall:

• Not share or disclose protected health information other than as permitted or required by law

• Use appropriate safeguards to protect the confidentiality of the information

• Report any use or disclosure not permitted

Proposer, by execution of the contract, shall thereby indemnify and hold the City of Newark harmless from any and all liabilities, claims, actions, costs and penalties which may be incurred as the result of the failure of the contractor to comply with the requirements of HIPPA or any other statute or case law protecting the privacy of persons using its services.

2. The City of Newark shall retain all of its rights and interest in any and all documents and property both hard copy and digital furnished by the City to the successful proposer (contractor) for the purpose of assisting the contractor in the performance of the contract. None of the documents and/or property shall, without the written consent of the City, be disclosed to others or used by the contractor or permitted by the contractor to be used by their parties at any time except in the performance of the resulting contract.

3. Award of any contract pursuant to these specifications shall in all cases be subject to availability of funds duly appropriated for these purposes. Any contract as awarded shall immediately cease to be in effect at such time as funds cease to be available for these purposes.

4. Proposers shall comply with the applicable regulations of the Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor, made pursuant to the so-called "Anti- Kickback Act" of June 13, 1934 (48 Stat. 948:62 State. 862; title 18 U.S.C., Sec 874; and Title 40 U.S.C. Section 276c) and any amendments or modifications thereto.

5. Proof of licensure for any activity regulated by the State of New Jersey and required to do the work required under this specification, for either the firm or the person responsible for the work, shall be provided as required by the City of Newark.