Advocacy Services for Individuals Experiencing Domestic Abuse

Program will provide advocacy services for victims of domestic violence predominantly in the form of legal advocacy (not representation) to include safety planning, helping clients understand their legal options, and assist victims with court-related paperwork as needed.

Project Details

• Reference ID: 427023-PMW
• Department: Human Services
• Department Head: John Schlueter (Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-05-09T04:59:00.000Z
• Answers Posted By: 2026-05-16T04:59:00.000Z

Evaluation Criteria

• Overview of Advocacy Services for Victims of Domestic Abuse (15 pts) —

  Please limit your response to this section to one (1) page.

  1. Give an overview of the program including any partnerships you may have in providing legal advocacy rather than legal representation for victims of domestic violence.  Describe your proposed service delivery locations and access methods (courthouse, office, phone/virtual, outreach), and your anticipated staffing coverage during court hours.
  2. If your program is seeking to partner with another entity(ties) in order to provide the service, please provide a brief description of this partnership and attach a letter from the proposed partner supporting this proposal and confirming the partnership structure. 
• Program Implementation and Staffing of Advocacy Services for Victims of Domestic Abuse (30 pts) —

  Please limit your response to this section to three (3) pages.

  1. Describe the specific program activities and staffing for the Advocacy Services for Individuals Experiencing Domestic Abuse. The staffing description should include the staff roles and their intersection of duties (advocates vs supervisor vs volunteers). Include the strategies the program will use to ensure Dane County residents can access this service. Please include your intended service access workflow from referral to service. Please describe the court appointment accompaniment process including how requests for all advocacy services are handled and prioritized.
  2. Describe how your program design will meet the needs of persons of different backgrounds and socio-economic backgrounds as well as persons who are parents of minor children. Please include a description of your agency’s language access plan, disability accommodations, culturally responsive practices, and trauma-informed approach.
  3. Describe the timeline to fully implement the proposed program model.
• Qualifications to Operate an Advocacy Services Program for Victims of Domestic Abuse (20 pts) —

  Please limit your response to this section to two (2) pages.

  1. Describe your agency’s experience delivering advocacy services for persons who are victims of domestic abuse or intimate partner violence including the types of advocacy services offered and how these services were delivered. Please provide 1-2 examples of similar legal advocacy support your agency has conducted, and include annual clients served, hours delivered, court accompaniment volume (if known) and outcomes/feedback measures.
  2. If you are proposing a partnership with another agency or entity, explain your experience partnering with another entity to successfully execute a program model.
  3. Please upload position descriptions for all proposed program staff positions, including supervisory positions. Each position description must specify the minimum qualifications required for the position, including, as applicable, certifications, licensure, credentials, education, and experience.
• Quality Review Practices (15 pts) —

  Please limit your response to this section to one (1) page.

  1. Describe your agency’s quality review and improvement practices and how these practices will be deployed for the proposed program.
  2. Describe your agency’s experience and ability to meet the minimum reporting required in this RFP.
• Cost (20 pts) —

  Points for cost will be awarded using a relative formula. The proposal with the lowest cost will receive the maximum number of points available for this section. All other proposals will receive a proportion of the cost points according to the following calculation:

  (Lowest Proposed Cost ÷ Respondent’s Proposed Cost) × Maximum Cost Points Available = Score

  In plain language: the lowest-cost proposal earns all available points. Other proposals earn fewer points based on how their cost compares to the lowest. For example, if your proposal costs twice as much as the lowest proposal, you would receive about half of the cost points.

• Local Vendor Preference (5 pts) —

  Per Dane County ordinance, a local Dane County vendor automatically receives five (5) points toward the evaluation score.

  Vendors located within the counties adjacent to Dane County (Columbia, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Rock, or Sauk) automatically receive two (2) points toward the evaluation score.

  Locally Operated Vendor means a supplier or provider of equipment, materials, supplies, or services which has an established place of business within Dane County and whose business is registered and authorized to do business in the State of Wisconsin. An established place of business means a physical office, plant, or other facility. A post office box address does not qualify a vendor as a Locally Operated Vendor. Dane County Ordinance 25.04(5)

Submission Requirements

• RFP DOCUMENT UPLOADS
• Upload your Proposal (required) —

  Please DO NOT include Cost information in this section.

• Position Descriptions (required) —

  Please upload position descriptions for all proposed program staff positions, including supervisory positions. Each position description must specify the minimum qualifications required for the position, including, as applicable, certifications, licensure, credentials, education, and experience.

• Budget Backup (required) —

  Please download the workbook, complete, and upload the completed workbook here.

• W9 Upload (required) —

  Upload your company's W9 form.

  NOTE: The W9 is required to be signed within the past 12 months

• Supplemental Document Upload —

  Upload any additional or required information documents that supplements this solicitation.

• VENDOR INFORMATION
• Agency UEI number:
• Registration with Wisconsin DFI (required) —

  At the time of contracting with the Department of Human Services, agencies must be registered entities in good standing with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions.

  Please check this box to indicate that your agency is registered or will be registered in good standing with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions. 

• Please explain. (required) —

  You've indicated that your agency is not and will not be registered with Wisconsin DFI. At the time of contracting with the Department of Human Services, agencies must be registered entities in good standing with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions.

• Local Vendor Preference (required) —

  Select a Local Vendor Preference:

  Vendors located within Dane County automatically receive five points toward the evaluation score.

  Vendors located within the counties adjacent to Dane County (Columbia, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Rock, Sauk) automatically receive two points toward the evaluation score.

  Vendors located outside of Dane County of the 7 counties adjacent to Dane County would choose "No Preference".

  NOTE: A post office box address does not qualify as an established place of business.

• Fair Labor Practice Certification (required) —

  Has your company been found by the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") or the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission ("WERC") to have violated any statute or regulation regarding labor standards or relations in the seven years prior to the date this bid submission is signed?
  
  If yesis answered, a copy of any relevant information regarding such violation is required to be uploaded with your bid submission.
  

  Additional information about the NLRB and WERC can be found using the following links:
  www.nlrb.gov and http://werc.wi.gov.

• Cooperative Purchasing (required) —

  Reference Guidelines - Section F.

  Does your company agree to furnish the commodities or services of this bid to municipalities and state agencies?

• Designation of Confidential and Proprietary Information (required) —

  Please specify what information you wish to designate as confidential and proprietary. Please identify section/ pages/ topic /documents, etc.

  NOTE: Pricing sections cannot be designated as confidential and proprietary.

  If nothing will be designated, simply type "None" in the section below.

• RFP ADDENDA
• I understand that if any addendum is issued I will have to acknowledge the posted addendum. (required)
• If an addendum is posted after I have submitted my proposal response and the resulting addendum requires action to be taken either in the Specification Section or Pricing Section, I understand that: (required) —

  1. I will have to unsubmit my proposal response.

  2. I will have to acknowledge the posted addendum.

  3. I will have to take action in responding to the changes on either the Specification Section or Pricing Section.

  4. I will then have to resubmit my proposal response.

  Further instructions on addendum(a) postings can be found here.

• SIGNATURE DECLARATION
• Solicitation Response Declaration (required) —

  In submitting and confirming this solicitation response, we certify that we have not, either directly or indirectly, entered into any agreement or participated in any collusion or otherwise taken any action in restraint of free competition; that no attempt has been made to induce any other person or firm to submit or not to submit a solicitation response; that this solicitation response has been independently arrived at without collusion with any other vendor competitor or potential competitor; that this solicitation response has not been knowingly disclosed prior to the opening of bids to any other vendor or competitor; that the above statement is accurate under penalty of perjury.

  Further, by submitting this solicitation response, firm agrees with all the terms, conditions, and specifications required by the County in this solicitation and declares that the corresponding solicitation response and pricing are in conformity therewith.

  I have read and understood the entire document.

  I declare under penalty of false swearing under the law of Wisconsin that the foregoing is true and correct.

• Signed on: (required) —

  Write in month, day, year and city/state in which the submission occurred.

  Example: June 27, 2025 in Madison, WI

• Electronically signed by: (required) —

  Provide First Name, Last Name and Title

• Project Description (required) —

  Please provide a brief description of the intended purchase.

• Pricing table required? (required) —

  Always select "Yes" unless this is a Highway WisDot Design Project

• External Pricing Document? (required) —

  Is an external pricing document being used?