The City of Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services is seeking interested and qualified Respondent for its Doula Specialized Services RFP

October 13, 2020

City of Chicago

Department of Family and Support Services

Legal Advertisement Request Form

 

DESCRIPTION: Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS), Children Services Division (CSD), Chicago Early Learning (CEL) Support Services, Doula Specialized Services RFP

 

The City of Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services is seeking interested and qualified Respondent for its Doula Specialized Services RFP. The overall goal of the Doula Specialized Services RFP is to improve birth outcomes and promote the attachment process by providing prenatal support and education, support during the labor and delivery process, and postnatal home visits aimed at promoting strong parent-child relationships and paving the way for a smooth transition to long-term home visiting services. The program should recruit and serve the most vulnerable families, supporting them to stay enrolled as long as the parent chooses. Doula Specialized Services may commence at the beginning of the third trimester of pregnancy and continue for two months after the child is born for a total of five months. The service delivery is mostly in the parent’s home, except for socializations and parent meetings.

The Doula Specialized Services program model is not intended to be a stand-alone service but instead must be integrated and provided concurrently, as a supplement, ideally within a Prevention Initiative (PI)-funded evidence-based home visiting program that aligns with the Chicago Early Learning (CEL) Standards. Families transitioning to PI home visiting programs, coordination of services should include articulating how the doula and long-term PI home visitor will work together to introduce services to expectant families. They must also coordinate home visits in the perinatal period to avoid duplication of services while ensuring that the long-term home visitor begins a relationship with the family early enough to ensure a smooth transition from doula/home visitor services to just home visiting services. The home visitor, concurrent to the doula, continues to develop a relationship with the family so that the family continues to feel supported at the end of the Doula Specialized Services program. This may mean that home visitors and doula schedule home visits together. The Chicago Early Learning Standards help guide the implementation of services of the Doula Specialized Services program.

For more information, please refer to the application posted on the City of Chicago’s eProcurement page: https://eprocurement.cityofchicago.org/OA_HTML/OA.jsp?OAFunc=PON_ABSTRACT_PAGE&PON_NEGOTIATION_STATUS=ACTIVE

 

A note about the City’s eProcurement System:

For those who have not done business with the City of Chicago before, registration in iSupplier is the first step to ensuring your agency’s ability to conduct business with the City of Chicago and DFSS.

Please allow five to seven days for your registration to be processed.

Current contractors need only to start an application via their existing iSupplier/eProcurement account.

All vendors must have a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) and an IRS W9 for registration and confirmation of vendor business information.

 

RFP DUE DATE/SUBMISSION LOCATION:

November 24, 2020

12:00, NOON CST

 

Proposals must be submitted via on-line application.

E-mailed or faxed proposals will not be accepted.

 

PRE-SUBMITTAL CONFERENCE:

A Pre-Proposal Webinar will be held on October 22, 2020 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00, noon

Please register prior to the Webinar’s start using the link found in the RFP and above. A link to the completed Webinar will be available on-line after the time and date listed above for those who cannot attend at the live scheduled time. The purpose of this pre-submittal event is to clarify the RFP process and the scope of the required services.  Attendance is not mandatory, but it is strongly suggested that interested applicants attend.

 

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