Overview

Volusia County’s Department of Recovery and Resiliency (DRR) is seeking qualified vendors to provide staff augmentation services that the DRR may wish to utilize on an AS-NEEDED BASIS to supplement or complement existing county DRR staff with at least the levels of experience, skills, abilities, and expertise identified below.  

Authorization for performance of services by the selected Contractor(s) shall be in the form of written task assignments signed by the firm, executed and issued by the County. Each task assignment shall describe the services required, state the commencement and completion date of work, and establish the amount and method of payment. The task assignment will be issued under, and incorporate the terms of, the Contract.  Expiration of the term of the Contract will have no effect upon task assignments issued prior to the expiration date.  Obligations entered therein by both parties shall remain in effect until completion of the work authorized by the task assignment.

Contractor’s personnel shall report on-site between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to the DRR location, 123 W. Indiana Avenue, DeLand, FL 32720. Office space shall be provided by DRR. DRR shall provide IT support including computer workstations, and email accounts. The need for full-time contractor assistance listed under each task below are estimates based on anticipated current needs but in no way represent a guarantee of future expenditures. The DRR reserves the right to request a level of effort that is greater or lesser than the estimates, including the possibility of requiring additional categories.

The Vendor may propose remote work for any staff provided, and the County may consider approval as part of each task assignment. The County expects that the hourly rate for remote work employees will be discounted as a result of reduced overhead costs.

DRR shall have its own System of Record (SOR) for all projects funded through the CDBG-DR funds. DRR will be providing the management of this system, but the awarded Contractor(s) shall use the DRR SOR.

Respondent’s proposal for this project must contain evidence of Respondent's experience and abilities in the specified area and other disciplines directly related to the proposed service. The DRR anticipates awarding this solicitation to one or more qualified vendors.

All of Contractor’s employees who will work directly with clients or have access to the private information of the clients must undergo a Level II background check at the expense of the Contractor. These reports must be provided to the DRR prior to any employee (s) joining the workforce.

Disaster Recovery Grant Reporting System (DRGR) Support Staff

At a minimum, Contractor’s support staff shall be responsible for assisting in developing, maintaining, and managing the County’s DRGR system for DRR in accordance with the County’s Action Plan. Contractor’s support staff shall be responsible for the following:

1. Having sufficient knowledge and understanding of the DRGR system with the ability to revise the existing Volusia County DRGR Action Plan and budget; 

2. Assisting with the generation and submission of quarterly performance reports for review;  

3. Assisting in the distribution of DRGR access across DRR staff, as requested; 

4. Developing best practices and process flow charts for reimbursement packet review, draw request review, and check processing and disbursement that ensure proper quality control, meet HUD’s requirements for documentation, and meet DRR-directed ongoing timelines for draw request review and payment;  

5. Developing Quarterly Progress Reports (QPR’s) for County staff review;  

6. Providing in-depth ongoing training to County staff on 2 CFR Part 200 and all HUD and federal cross-cutting regulations required for establishing systems and process flow charts that will meet HUD compliance;  

7. Providing guidance on DRR’s policies and procedures for reimbursement request review regarding HUD guidelines and help in the revision of existing draw procedures;  

8. Producing draw-down requests for review and approval in DRGR. Providing technical assistance and training to DRR on the requirements for use of DRGR;  

9. Providing DRR with financial procedural support related to processing, reviewing, and drawing reimbursement requests through DRGR; 

10. Providing training to county, contract, or local staff; and,  

11. Assisting with other program needs, if requested. 

The Contractor’s support staff should have a minimum of three years direct experience in DRGR management and/or CDBG-DR financial management, demonstrated expertise in DRGR Action Plan development, experience in producing Quarterly Performance Reports, or a combination of skills and experience to provide Subject Matter Expertise for the scope of work above. 

The Contractor’s support staff shall be proficient in current financial policies and procedures and support processing of a revised or new draw through DRGR within one (1) month of the Notice to Proceed. The awarded Vendor shall have completed DRR staff training within two (2) months of the Notice to Proceed.

Relocation Specialist

At a minimum, the Relocation Specialist shall be responsible for supporting DRR in the design and implementation of relocation programs, including the Temporary Relocation Assistance (TRA) program and all required Uniform Relocation Act (URA) procedures. This may include, but not be limited to, the following: 

1. Drafting and revising TRA/URA Standard Operating Procedures and workflow diagrams;  

2. Providing expertise to inform DRR and DRR’s SOR developers with building or modifying workflow modules in the SOR. Skills sought include policy and programmatic expertise to inform DRR and DRR’s developers of best practices and do not include SOR development skills;  

3. Assisting with the execution of the TRA program in accordance with the SOP;  

4. Conducting reviews of TRA applications for financial, programmatic, and data integrity; 

5. Coordinating with vendors to troubleshoot eligibility and benefit issues;  

6. Overseeing the mailing and tracking of required notices; 

7. Monitoring URA compliance; and, 

8. Providing training to County, contract, or local staff. 

The Relocation Specialist should have a minimum of three years direct experience in HUD program and/or CDBG-DR URA processes for a county grantee or sub-recipient with similar scope of service needs to Volusia County. 

The Relocation Specialist shall already have expertise in CDBG-DR regulations and URA regulations. The Relocation Specialist shall complete training for DRR staff within one (1) month of the Notice to Proceed and provide finalized URA and/or TRA Standard Operating Procedures and Policies within two (2) months of the Notice to Proceed. 

Buyout and Acquisition Specialist

The Buyout and Acquisition Specialist shall provide Subject Matter Expertise in the implementation of a CDBG-DR buyout/acquisition program. This may include, but not be limited to, the following:

1. Assisting in the development of Disaster Risk Reduction Areas (DRRA’s) in coordination with County staff;  

2. Providing expertise to inform DRR and DRR’s SOR developers with building or modifying workflow modules in the SOR. Skills sought include policy and programmatic expertise to inform DRR and DRR’s developers of best practices and do not include SOR development skills;  

3. Helping launch application intake and communication strategy with applicants within DRRA’s;  

4. Assisting in the development of DRR’s Buyout and Acquisition manuals, procedures, and policies. Provide Subject Matter Expertise to DRR staff regarding program improvements and Action Plan revisions; 

5. Ensuring all buyout and acquisition activities are in compliance with DRR policies and procedures, manuals, HUD and cross-cutting Federal regulations, and County law;  

6. Assisting in the implementation of all aspects of the Buyout and Acquisition program from applicant intake to closeout;  

7. Providing training to county, contract, or local staff; and,  

8. Assisting with other program needs, if requested. 

The Buyout and Acquisition Specialist should have a minimum of three years’ experience in a buyout and acquisition program for a CDBG-DR grantee or sub-recipient of equivalent size to Volusia County. Buyout and Acquisition Specialist shall have assisted in finalizing DRR’s Buyouts and Acquisition manual and associated Standard Operating Procedures within two months of Contract start date. 

Quality Assurance/Quality Control Specialists

The Quality Assurance/Quality Control Specialists shall provide internal quality assurance and quality control functions and provide training to existing and new DRR staff. This may include, but not be limited to, the following:

1. Providing expertise to inform DRR and DRR’s SOR developers with building or modifying workflow modules in the SOR. Skills sought include policy and programmatic expertise to inform DRR and DRR’s developers of best practices but do not include SOR development skills; 

2. A Quality Assurance/Quality Control Specialist shall review the Duplication of Benefits (DOB) and Verification of Benefits (VOB) determinations for applicants completed by DRR’s case managers according to DRR’s established policies, HUD and cross-cutting Federal regulations, and county law;  

3. Quality Assurance/Quality Control Specialists, at a minimum, shall be responsible for the following: 

• 1. Developing a monitoring plan;

• 2. Monitoring DRR’s programs and subrecipients for compliance according to DRR’s policies and procedures, Volusia County laws and regulations, and HUD and cross-cutting Federal regulations;

• 3. Conducting on-site monitoring visits with the County’s subrecipients for all procurement, financial, construction and other activity;

• 4. Checking for quality and compliance all the products completed by the County’s prime contracting firms, the Construction Management firm, or the firms procured by subrecipients, including awards, environmental reviews, damage inspections, and all other outputs as requested;

• 5. Monitoring and tracking all changes to DRR’s policies and procedures, Action Plans, manuals and checking all policy changes for County and Federal regulations compliance;

• 6. Interfacing with DRR’s internal training team to describe all changes made to policies and procedures;

• 7. Providing training to county, contract, or local staff;

• 8. Assisting with other program needs, if requested.

4. Quality Assurance/Quality Control Specialists should have demonstrated expertise in single-family recovery programs including rehabilitation, reconstruction, elevation, and construction management for single-family programs; 

5. Quality Assurance/Quality Control Specialists should have demonstrated expertise in other programs as defined by the County’s Action Plan, and in programs that support the eligibility determination of housing programs, including but not limited to, infrastructure, economic development, environmental review, damage assessments, and site-specific environmental reviews; and, 

6. The Quality Assurance/Quality Control Specialists should have a minimum of three (3) years’ experience in compliance or equivalent work for a CDBG-DR grantee or subrecipient similar in size and/or scope to Volusia County. The Quality Assurance/Quality Control Specialists shall be proficient in all policies and procedures including HUD, County and Federal regulations; shall develop a comprehensive quality control/quality assurance and monitoring plan; and start enacting the plan within one (1) month of the Notice to Proceed. 

Program Support Subject Matter Experts

Services provided by the CDBG-DR Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) shall include drafting program policies, guidebooks, forms, field memoranda and guidance documentation for DRR review. This may include, but not be limited to, the following:

1. Working with DRR staff to recommend refinements to operation, documents, and policy to support the consistent and efficient implementation of federal requirements, and to assist with HUD reporting requirements;  

2. Supporting DRR staff during HUD monitoring visits;  

3. Reviewing requests for information from field staff which require interpretations of program policy based upon case specific facts; 

4. Providing training to DRR staff and DRR vendor personnel;  

5. Conducting analyses on current processes and working with DRR team leads to identify, document, and prioritize process improvements; 

6. Monitoring construction and application processing to identify the root causes of production bottlenecks and providing technical assistance to DRR staff to increase production levels; 

7. Developing and issuing Process Improvement Implementation Plans; and, 

8. Assisting DRR staff with ongoing planning related to future disaster response.

The SMEs shall provide Subject Matter Expertise for CDBG-DR program planning. The SMEs shall at a minimum be responsible for:

1. Providing Subject Matter Expertise on housing programs, mitigation activities, buyout and acquisition programs, infrastructure programs, and all other CDBG-DR funded recovery actives as needed;  

2. Drafting and revising DRR Policies and Procedures including but not limited to the DRR Housing Manual in accordance with the County Action Plan, County and Federal Laws, as needed;  

3. Providing Subject Matter Expertise in CDBG-DR application intake and process; 

4. Providing expertise to inform DRR and DRR’s SOR developers with building or modifying workflow modules in the SOR. Skills sought include policy and programmatic expertise to inform DRR and DRR’s developers of best practices and do not include SOR development skills; 

5. Providing training to county, contract, or local staff; and, 

6. Assisting with other programs, if needed. 

Housing Repair and Reconstruction Subject Matter Experts

Repair and Reconstruction SMEs should have a minimum of five years direct experience in CDBG-DR program policy and/or implementation for a grantee or sub-recipient of equivalent or greater scope of service and size to Volusia County, considerable knowledge of CDBG-DR best practices and HUD regulations and demonstrated ability to provide expert recommendations to senior leadership.

The Housing Repair and Reconstruction SME shall have expertise in at least the following areas:

1. CDBG-DR housing programs including buyout and acquisition, single family homeowner programs;

2. Income verification, duplication of benefits, infrastructure, Section 3, Davis Bacon, and URA requirements; 

3. Demonstrated strong writing, analytical, leadership and communications skills; and, 

4. All other CDBG-DR program activities as needed.

Duplication of Benefits Subject Matter Experts

Duplication of Benefits SME should have a minimum of three years direct experience in CDBG-DR program policy and/or implementation for a grantee or sub-recipient of equivalent or greater scope of service and size to Volusia County.

Duplication of benefits SME should have demonstrated expertise in:

1. Experience generating analysis for the purpose of calculating and duplication of benefits analysis for numerous projects; 

2. Demonstrated expertise in policy generation or implementation of CDBG-DR single-family housing programs, infrastructure programs, buyout/acquisition programs, or a combination of skills and experience in CDBG-DR policy generation or implementation. 

CDBG-DR Environmental Review Specialist

Services provided by the CDBG-DR Environmental Review Specialist may include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Documenting program compliance with federal environmental regulations including NEPA; 

2. Providing expertise to inform DRR and DRR’s SOR developers with building or modifying workflow modules in the SOR. Skills sought include policy and programmatic expertise to inform DRR and DRR’s developers of best practices and do not include SOR development skills; 

3. Reviewing area-wide (Tier 1) environmental review records prepared by DRR’s contractors for compliance and accuracy; 

4. Reviewing site-specific environmental reviews prepared by DRR’s contractors for compliance and accuracy;  

5. Providing environmental Subject Matter Expertise in all of Volusia County’s Action Plan-defined programs including, but not limited to, housing programs, buyouts and acquisitions, and infrastructure repair; and, 

6. Providing training to County, contract, or local staff. 

The Environmental Review Specialist should have a minimum of three (3) years direct experience in providing environmental review Subject Matter Expertise for a grantee or subrecipient of equivalent or greater scope of service and size to Volusia County. Consultant should have prior experience authoring or reviewing area-wide (Tier 1) environmental review records and authoring or reviewing site-specific (Tier 2) environmental reviews. The Environmental Review Specialist shall be expected to have reviewed and provided recommendations for DRR’s environmental review process within one month of Contract Award and to have improved the speed of Tier 2 environmental review approvals, defined by achieving a review and approval pace that is quicker than the average of the last three (3) months’ pace prior to Contract Award.

CDBG-DR Infrastructure Specialist

Services provided by the CDBG-DR Infrastructure Specialist shall include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Providing expertise to inform DRR and DRR’s SOR developers with building or modifying workflow modules in the SOR. Skills sought include policy and programmatic expertise to inform DRR and DRR’s developers of best practices and do not include SOR development skills;  

2. Preparing, updating, and maintaining Infrastructure policy manuals, operational procedures, and workflow diagrams;  

3. Providing training to County, contract, or local staff to ensure program compliance; 

4. Providing Infrastructure Subject Matter Expertise in all of Volusia County’s Action Plan-defined programs including but not limited to housing programs, buyouts, and acquisitions; and,  

5. Assisting with other programs, if needed. 

The Infrastructure Specialist should have a minimum of three (3) years direct experience in providing infrastructure Subject Matter Expertise for a grantee or subrecipient of equivalent or greater scope of service and size to Volusia County. Infrastructure Specialist should have prior experience authoring CDBG-DR infrastructure policies and/or implementing CDBG-DR infrastructure programs.

The Infrastructure Specialist shall review and provide recommendations on the improvement of DRR’s infrastructure programs and policies within one (1) month of Notice to Proceed and shall be expected to assist in the generation of program policies and recommendations for new Action Plans within the allowed time of expected CDBG-DR awards to Volusia County, as defined by the expected Federal Register.

As-Needed Project Managers

The Project Manager(s) may be responsible for assisting DRR staff with project management to support the development, coordination, and operation of DRR’s programs. The Project Manager(s) will be used to provide staff augmentation in areas where internal resources are limited, on an as-needed basis. The Project Manager(s) should have a minimum of three (3) years of project management or equivalent. Prior experience in CDBG-DR housing programs is preferred.

As-Needed Project Coordinators

The project coordinators shall serve as application intake specialists and provide as-needed case management. They shall provide eligibility review analysis, duplication of benefits analysis, ancillary services referral, and basic case management. The project coordinators shall have experience in customer service and have strong communication skills. It is expected that project coordinators live in the community and work in the DRR office.