RFP P17-08, Speech Language Pathology Questions & Answers 1 We are located in the state of Florida and we do not have an office in the State of Georgia. Is it your preference for a company to have an office in the State of Georgia? FCS does not have a requirement for location, but may consider location in the evaluation. The primary decision will be rooted in qualifications, adherence to terms and specifications and other subjective criteria, as well as cost. 2 To confirm, does the district intend to award to a single or multiple vendors? Please read Section 1.0 of the Special Terms and Conditions 3 Could you please let me know the projected weekly hours of service for the SLP? TBD, but please read Section 1.0 of Special Terms and Conditions for general estimates of SLPs 4 Would you consider certified therapy assistants such as SLPA or CFY? Please read 4.0 for minimum requirements of Vendor and SLPs 5 How many working days will the SLP work during the school year (For Example: 180 days or less)? Varies depending upon the need but the general school year is 180 days. 6 For what grades will the SLP provide services and what will be the caseload? Varies depending upon the need but most full time SLPs average 50-55 students
7 Can you please clarify the specific formatting requirements for the final bid submitted? Please submit a bound proposal that is organized with sections and tabs so the reader can logically understand and retrieve information as necessary during the evaluation process 8 Are resumes required at the time of proposal submission or only upon award? For potential individual SLPs, resumes are not required for the RFP. However, FCS still requests information pertaining to the labor which will be managing the day-to-day operations (see Section 3.3 of Special Terms and Conditions) 9 If resumes are required, our candidates are actively interviewing for 2017-18 positions. What are the consequences if the candidates presented in our proposal are no longer available by the time of the selection/interviews and we must present you with other candidates? N/A 10 If Forsyth County School System (FCSS) will find a permanent employee of the district and our services will no longer be needed, will the school provide the awarded vendor with a 30 day out termination written notice? Depending upon the situation. Please consult Section 4.0 of the Special Terms and Conditions. You may also submit your preferences for this to which the Special Education department can evaluate and score. 11 Do you require vendors to guarantee the provision of therapy services, or is it understood that vendors will begin recruiting on a best efforts basis upon contract award? FCS understands the candidate pool is fluid. 12 Can we incur in any penalties or be liable for any damages for not having a SLP available upon your school s request in a timely manner or would your school terminate the RFP contract with our company? Please consult Section 4.0 but in general FCS would not seek damages for failure to perform; however, it might affect status within the pool and future business opportunities.
13 What would be the payment terms of FCSS (Net 30)? 14 To pay invoices, does the board meet monthly to release payment for the month? Do you remit payment only once a month? If so, do you have a calendar or specific time of month the board meets to approve payments? There is a monthly schedule utilized by Finance, but is subject to change. FCS pays monthly. 15 Will your school provide laptops/computers and/or an email account to the contracted providers during their assignment? Each therapist will have his or her own separate email account. Each therapist will have access to a desktop computer in their therapy room. In addition, full time therapists will be issued a staff laptop computer. 16 Who will be the representative from FCSS to determine which materials/equipment are required for the Therapy? Varies but are employees of the Special Ed Department 17 Will therapists have access to internet capabilities, computers/laptops/ipads, office supplies, fax/copy machine at FCSS?, agency therapists are provided the same materials as staff therapists. 18 Would the district pay for mileage travelling between school campuses on the same day? If so, what will be the district IRS Standard Rate?, travel is reimbursed at the State base rate. 19 When is the anticipated award date? TBD, but anticipated between mid-june and July 1.
20 What are the Required Documents for the Therapists to start working at FCSS? For Example: Fingerprint, State License, Criminal Background Check, TB Test, any other specific Certifications. Please consult Section 4.0 of the Special Terms and Conditions 21 Will FCSS consider a Price Range depending on the candidates level of experience or do you only want a flat-fixed rate? FCS seeks a fixed rate 22 Can you provide the current incumbent vendor(s) providing services? Primarily Two, but has varied over the years. What is the incumbent vendor(s) current fee rate(s)? Ranges between 56.10 to 58 23 Has your current vendor(s) been able to satisfy your service needs? 24 How many needs were filled by contractors last year? Please read Section 1.0 of the Special Terms and Conditions 25 Supplemental Health Care What is the reason this bid is being offered as an RFP? FCS selected the RFP because cost, while important, is not the primary criteria when selecting partners for this type of service. The RFP allows us to evaluate other noncost, subjective criteria to ensure we are selected to best fit and best value as determined by FCS personnel.
26 Supplemental Health Care If there were previous suppliers, please provide those company names, FCS currently contracts with Cobb Pediatric and Progressus Therapy 27 Supplemental Health Care Was the school district satisfied with the current provider(s)? 28 Supplemental Health Care What was the annual spend for SLP contract services for the past school year? Estimated 1.7 Million 29 Supplemental Health Care Could the district provide the current rates contracted by suppliers? Varies from 56.10 to 58. 30 Are you currently working with any agencies providing SLP services to your District? 31 Who are your current SLP vendors and what prices do they charge? Please see Question 22 of the Posted Q&A document
32 Have these vendors been able to meet all of your SLP needs? 33 How many SLP therapists (FTE) did each vendor provide to your District for the current 2016-2017 school year? NA for bidding purposes, please read Section 1.0 of the Special Terms and conditions for current overall usage and estimated future use 34 How many contract SLP therapists (FTE) do you anticipate needing for the upcoming 2017-2018 school year? Please read Section 1.0 of the Special T&C of the RFP 35 Do you require that therapist resumes and/or licensure be submitted with the proposal? Please read Section 4.0 of the Special Terms and Conditions 36 How many hours are in a typical school day (i.e. how many hours are therapists allowed to be on-site and billing)? Varies depending upon the need, but typically the same hours as school 37 How many work days are they assigned for the school year? Varies, but typically aligned with the school calendar (See Question 4 of the Q&A) 38 What is the average SLP caseload in your District? See Question 6 of the Q&A
39 Do you anticipate awarding to one or multiple vendors? If multiple, how many? Please read Section 1.0 of the Special T&C 40 How will you utilize and notify awarded vendors for your staffing needs? Please read Sections 1.0 Through 6.0 of the Special T&C 41 What are the factors considered in evaluating proposals for award? FCS is not publishing weighted criteria at this time 42 Will assigned therapists have access to therapy materials, supplies, equipment, evaluation kits, and protocols provided by your schools? Please see Question 15 and 17 of the Q&A 43 Will assigned therapists have access to computers/ laptops and printers provided by your schools? Please see Question 15 and 17 of the Q&A 44 Is the contracting agency able to bill for both direct and indirect treatment time (paperwork, meeting, teacher consultations, etc.)? Usual and customary, please detail in your proposal 45 How many schools are typically on a SLP therapist s caseload? See Question 6 of Q&A
46 Are you looking for information on our management staff that will supervise this project or information on specific SLPs expected to work on this project? Your corporate staff 47 If you are looking for resumes on specific SLPs expected to work on this project, is it acceptable for us to submit resumes and licensure details after it is determined if we are selected as an awarded vendor? We are careful to only submit resumes of those SLPs who have given us permission to do so. In that regard, given the national, state, and local shortage of SLPs, we frequently can be more effective at providing valid, quality resumes once we determine if we have been selected as a vendor, and have actual positions to offer interested candidates. N/A, see Question 8 of the Q&A 48 Does your historical use of contract therapists indicate that they typically remain employed throughout the school year, or that they are replaced during the school year if the district is able to locate a direct hire? N/A 49 Our therapists can complete the necessary paperwork for Forsyth County Schools to bill and receive reimbursements from Medicaid, but we do not bill Medicaid directly. Is this in alignment with your expectations? Please include your services in the RFP for evaluation 50 Have the current providers met your needs for Speech Language Pathology? 51 What are the names of your current vendors providing Speech Language Pathology to the district? Threapy, Progressus, Building Blocks
52 What are the current bill rates for each of the vendors providing Speech Language Pathology to the district? Varies from 56.10 to 58 53 How many SLPs have each of your vendors provided to the district during the 2017-2018 school year? Please read Section 1.0 of the Special T&C of the RFP 54 Has the district had any open or unfilled positions during the 2017-2018 school year? No 55 How many SLPs are there in the district, including district employees and contracted employees combined? Not necessary in order to respond to the RFP as written 56 How many contracted employees work fulltime during the 2017-2018 school year? How many contracted employees work parttime? Please read Section 1.0 of the Special T&C of the RFP 57 What was the annual expenditure for all services during the 2017-2018 school year? Approximately 1.7 Million 58 Will the district provide the CF Supervision, or is the company expected to provide it? Both, per the terms of the RFP
59 Do you have an estimate of total therapy hours required? If hours for the next school year have not been determined, could you provide us with the total therapy hours that were required this school year? Please read Section 1.0 of the Special T&C of the RFP. Time will not permit the calculation of current hours. Please respond to the terms of the RFP 60 Once the vendors for this current solicitation are awarded, will they be given the # of open positions that they can fill? Please Read 4.6 of the RFP 61 Will each company awarded a contract have an equal opportunity to provide candidates for open positions, or will the companies with the lowest bill rates get first opportunity to place candidates? Case by case basis per the needs of FCS 62 Are bill rates all-inclusive for the entire day, including assessment, therapy, meetings, planning, documentation, report writing, etc.? Usual and customary, please submit with your response 63 Does the district reimburse the contracting company separately for mileage for travel between school sites? Please see #18 of the Q&A document 64 Is the travel time and mileage from school to school billable? Usual and customary, please submit with your response 65 Does the district provide computers for contracted employees? Question 15 of the Q&A
66 Does the district provide the assessments and materials to be used for evaluations and treatment services? 67 Does the district provide an orientation? Not Formal 68 What s the typical caseload for therapists? Question 6 of Q&A 69 How many schools are typically on a therapist s caseload? Varies depending upon overall workload 70 How many working days for therapists each school year? Question 5 of Q&A 71 Does the district provide necessary training sessions, i.e. Medicaid training, that are needed in order for the contracted employees to do their jobs effectively and meet the job expectations? Some training may be offered if/when applicable, but FCS expects to hire SLPs qualified and up to date 72 Does the district use an on-line IEP system? If yes, which one? Not necessary in order to respond to the RFP as written
73 What is the approximate date/timeline that bidders will be notified? Question 19 of Q&A 74 Once the award has been made, how will vendors be notified of the decision? Email 75 How are the Evaluation Criteria weighted? Question 41 of Q&A 76 Are there any special registrations, state regulations, certifications or actions that we need to have or apply for in order to submit a bid? If yes, what are they? Please read 3.0 through 5.0 of the Special Terms and Conditions of the RFP 77 Progressus Therapy On what date do you anticipate making this award and notifying vendors of the award status? Please see question #19 of the Q&A document 78 Progressus Therapy Who are the current vendors for Speech Language Pathology (SLP) services? Your company, Therapy, Building Bridges; rates vary from 56.10 to 58 79 Progressus Therapy Have your current vendors been able to meet all of your current SLP services need?
80 Progressus Therapy How many SLPs does the district have on staff? See Section 1.0 of the RFP 81 Progressus Therapy Are therapist resumes required at the time of proposal submission or only upon award? Please see Question 8 of the posted Q&A 82 Progressus Therapy How many SLP openings does the district anticipate filling with this RFP? Please see Section 1.0 of the RFP 83 Progressus Therapy Is the district interested in SLPs with specialized skill sets? Please See Section 4.0 of the RFP 84 Progressus Therapy Is the district interested in bilingual SLPs?, but not as a requirement, feel free to submit the languages your company offers