Legal Services for the Department of Social Services (DSS)

The County is required to designate a legal firm to institute and defend legal actions in which the local Department of Social Services is a party, as mandated in the Maryland Code and Court Rules, Human Services book, Title 3: Local Departments of Social Services Subtitle 6, 3-601: Legal Services to Local Departments.

The selected firm will provide legal representation and consultation services to the Department on matters of child protective services, in-home preservation services, and adult protective services.  The firm will compose and file petitions for guardianship of the person and/or property; medical guardianship, petitions for emergency guardianship as well as facilitate and appear for court proceedings related to Children in Need of Assistance (CINA) and Termination of Parental Rights (TPR).

Project Details

• Reference ID: 26-604
• Department: Procurement
• Department Head: - (-)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-04-15T18:00:00.000Z
• Pre-Proposal Meeting: 2026-04-08T15:00:00.000Z — Microsoft Teams

Evaluation Criteria

• WORK PROPOSAL (20 pts) —

  This document shall be clearly titled “Work Proposal” on each page of the section.  Each page shall also have the Contractor’s name and be numbered either as an individual section or as a part of the whole.  The section shall contain the Contractor’s full understanding of the County’s needs as stated herein.  The section shall contain the Contractor’s full understanding of the County’s needs, a brief history of the Contractor, and details of why the Contractor feels that they are eligible and best suited to work with the County if awarded.

• QUALIFICATION OF CONTRACTOR (20 pts) —

  This document shall be clearly titled “Qualification of Contractor” on each page of the section.  Each page shall also have the Contractor’s name and be numbered either as an individual section or as a part of the whole.  This document shall contain qualifications and technical competence of the Contractor and staff.  Included shall be a statement describing the Contractor’s background information, history, resources, and track record of such projects, as well as résumés for key staff, and all licenses and/or certifications required to perform services. It should also include:

  1. 1. Resumes for each licensed attorney of the firm who will be assigned to this project.
     2. Qualifications of non-attorney staff members
     3. Knowledge and experience with the Frederick County Court/Juvenile Court system or court experience in a similar size jurisdiction.
     4. Knowledge and experience drafting and filing petitions for Child Welfare and Adult Protection.
• IMPLEMENTATION (20 pts) —

  This information shall be provided in a document titled "Implementation" on each page of the section.  Each page shall also have the Contractor’s name and be numbered either as an individual section or as a part of the whole.  The document shall include the methods Contractor would employ to ensure the program is fully operational to provide the required services by July 1, 2026.  This document shall also describe the timeline to ensure access all required services will be available to staff on July 1, 2026.

• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (20 pts) —

  This document shall be clearly titled "Professional Development" on each page of the section.  Each page shall also have the Contractor's name and be numbered either as an individual section or as a part of the whole.  This section shall describe any professional development provided to staff to strengthen knowledge and skills on legal matters involving Child Welfare and Adult Protection.

• REFERENCE FOR SIMILAR PROJECTS (20 pts) —

  This document shall be clearly titled “References” on each page of the section.  Each page shall also have the Contractor’s name and be numbered either as an individual section or as a part of the whole.  References for projects of a similar size scope and complexity that the Contractor has completed within the last five (5) years shall be outlined in this section.  This document shall address the Contractor’s competence and expertise in projects of similar scope and size.

• PRICE PROPOSAL (10 pts) —

  The second step of evaluation will be examination of the price proposal.  Price proposals shall be submitted on the Price Proposal Cover Page and shall be in a separate, sealed envelope.

• PRESENTATION AND INTERVIEW (10 pts) —

  After identifying the short list of the most qualified Contractor(s) based on the evaluation criteria, Contractor(s) may be required to clarify proposals by making individual presentations in an interview with the evaluation committee. If selected, Contractor shall be available for presentations on TBD.  If these dates change for any reason, all submitting Contractors will be notified via email to the Contractor’s representative.

Submission Requirements

• Technical Proposal Signature Page (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Acknowledgement of Addenda (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Contractor's Reference Information (required) —

  Provide the name, address, telephone number and email address of at least five entities for which the Contractor has provided similar items/services during the past three years, including City, County or State governments, if applicable.  References may NOT include Frederick County government or its employees.

• Affidavit Form (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Two (2) Certifications of Compliance (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Insurance Requirements (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Technical Proposal from Vendor (required)
• Price Proposal (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Is this project for Services or Commodities? (required)
• Pricing (required) —
  • Choose Option 1 when you have set line items, for example:
    • This is a quote for goods or commodities.
    • This is a public works bid, with a pricing table that can be uploaded into OpenGov Procurement from an Excel spreadsheet.
    • Seeking services for hourly rate schedules.
  • Choose Option 2 when you need vendors to provide you with the line items.
• Will there be a Pre-Proposal Conference? (required)
• Attendance for Pre-Proposal Conference (required)
• Phone Number for Vendors to Call-In for Pre-Proposal Conference (required)
• Will there be a Site Visit for this project? (required)
• Attendance for Site Visit (required)
• Date of Site Visit (required)
• Time of Site Visit (required)
• Location of Site Visit (required)
• Tentative Presentation/Interview Dates (required)
• Agreement Term (required)
• Is a Bid Deposit applicable to your project? (required)
• Bid Deposit Amount (required) —

  If bid deposits do not apply to your project, insert "Bid Deposit Amount is not applicable."

• Is a Performance Bond applicable to your project? (required)
• Performance Bond Amount (required) —

  If performance bonds do not apply to your project, insert "Performance Bond Amount is not applicable."

• Is a Payment Bond applicable to your project? (required)
• Payment Bond Amount (required) —

  If payment bonds do not apply to your project, insert "Payment Bond Amount is not applicable."

• Can you provide the Estimated Contract Value Group for the resulting contract? (required)
• Estimated Contract Value Group (required) —

  Insert amounts, i.e.= $250,000.00 and $500,000.00

• Description of items/services (required)
• Minimum Years of Experience (required) —

  Enter number in words and number in (): Example Five (5).

• How the County is going to award this project (required) —
  • Select "to award" if there will only be one contractor awarded the contract.
  • Select "make one or more awards" if there will be more than one contractor awarded the contract.
• Length of Contract Period (required) —

  Enter number only.

• Contract Start Date (required)
• Number of Renewal Options (Spelled out) (required)
• Number of Years Prices are protected from increase (Spelled out) (required)
• Which is applicable to your project? (required)
• Do you require the contractor to supply samples? (required)
• Type of Item/Service being solicited (required)
• Date work must be completed by: (required) —

  Enter the date that the work must be completed by. If there is no completion date, please enter N/A.