Southwest Partnership

Employment and Training services to adults who are eligible for FoodShare in a neighborhood-based setting. Must be able to partner with other providers to meet participants’ complex needs.

Project Details

• Reference ID: 427026-EGH
• Department: Human Services
• Department Head: John Schlueter (Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-06-02T04:59:00.000Z
• Answers Posted By: 2026-06-10T04:59:00.000Z

Evaluation Criteria

• Program Abstract (10 pts) —
  1. Describe your agency, its mission, and how it aligns with the vision, mission, and values of Dane County Dept of Human Services.
  2. Provide a brief description of the services you will be outlining in this proposal. Highlight how it will meet the needs described in this RFP.
• Program Strategies and Activities (35 pts) —
  1. Describe the Employment and Training services you will provide, including specific certifications, skills training, apprenticeships, supported job search, barrier remediation, and connection to employment.     
  2. Describe Outreach activities. How will you identify, connect, and engage potential participants.
  3. List known employer and service partners and their role in this program.
  4. Provide an overview of local labor market expectations/standards and how your program builds skills for job seekers to gain local employment.
  5. Describe your program goals in accordance with this RFP and specific outcomes you expect to deliver, e.g. number of participants who gain employment.
  6. Describe your anticipated staffing plan. If staff positions work in more than one program, explain how time allocated.
• Experience and Qualifications (20 pts) —
  1. Explain your organization’s relationships and partnerships in targeted neighborhood. Discuss length and nature of the relationships.
  2. Provide key staff qualifications.
  3. Describe how your organization recruits and trains staff to work with job seekers who may have multiple barriers to employment, may lack soft skills and technical skills. 
  4. Describe how you ensure staff are culturally knowledgeable, understand language access, and are knowledgeable about generational poverty, legal barriers to employment, and accepted case management strategies.    
  5. Describe your organization’s experience with government funding and programs.
• Quality Improvement (15 pts) —
  1. Explain what data you track and how you track data.
  2. Explain how data is used to drive programming decisions, quality improvement, and staff training.
  3. Explain the process for customer feedback and input. 
• 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

• PROGRAM ABSTRACT (up to 10 points)
• Agency Mission & DCDHS Alignment (required) —

  Describe your agency, its mission, and how it aligns with the vision, mission, and values of Dane County Dept of Human Services.

• Brief Service Description (required) —

  Provide a brief description of the services you will be outlining in this proposal. Highlight how it will meet the needs described in this RFP.

• PROGRAM STRATEGIES & ACTIVITIES (up to 35 points)
• Employment and training services (required) —

  Describe the Employment and Training services you will provide, including specific certifications, skills training, apprenticeships, supported job search, barrier remediation, and connection to employment.     

• Outreach activities (required) —

  Describe Outreach activities. How will you identify, connect, and engage potential participants.

• Employer/Service partners (required) —

  List known employer and service partners and their role in this program.

• Labor market (required) —

  Provide an overview of local labor market expectations/standards and how your program builds skills for job seekers to gain local employment.

• Goals/outcomes (required) —

  Describe your program goals in accordance with this RFP and specific outcomes you expect to deliver, e.g. number of participants who gain employment.

• Staffing (required) —

  Describe your anticipated staffing plan. If staff positions work in more than one program, explain how time allocated.

• EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS (up to 20 points)
• Relationships (required) —

  Explain your organization’s relationships and partnerships in targeted neighborhood. Discuss length and nature of the relationships.

• Key staff (required) —

  Provide key staff qualifications.

   

• Staff training and recruitment (required) —

  Describe how your organization recruits and trains staff to work with job seekers who may have multiple barriers to employment, may lack soft skills and technical skills. 

• Cultural competency (required) —

  Describe how you ensure staff are culturally knowledgeable, understand language access, and are knowledgeable about generational poverty, legal barriers to employment, and accepted case management strategies.    

• Government funding (required) —

  Describe your organization’s experience with government funding and programs.

• QUALITY IMPROVEMENT (up to 15 points)
• Data tracking (required) —

  Explain what data you track and how you track data.

• Data use in program (required) —

  Explain how data is used to drive programming decisions, quality improvement, and staff training.

• Customer feedback (required) —

  Explain the process for customer feedback and input.

• COST (up to 20 points) —

  Points for cost will be awarded using a relative formula. Please enter the annual cost for program services as detailed in this RFP in the pricing proposal section of your response. The response 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

• Budget Backup (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• LOCAL VENDOR PREFERENCE (up to 5 points)
• 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.

• VENDOR INFORMATION —

  Please answer the following questions completely. This section of your agency's response is not scored.

• W9 Upload (required) —

  Upload your company's W9 form.

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

• 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.

• 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?