request for proposal.doc.doc

Request for Proposals – Families First Edmonton Final Draft – Approved April 19, 2004

Edmonton Community Foundation

PROGRAM OBJECTIVE: Families First Edmonton (FFE) is a research project designed to test three service delivery models to determine whether the impacts of delivering health services, family support, and recreation services in a coordinated proactive way can lead to better outcomes for low-income families. The research project also seeks to determine the most cost-effective, efficient use of resources to proactively assist low-income families.

CLOSING DATE AND TIME:

Proposal MUST be received by 12 noon on August 19, 2005. With the addition of Perdita Baier to the FFE project team, RFPs can now be dropped off or submitted to:

Attn: Perdita Baier, Project ManagerAlbert Human Resources and Employment

Fort Road Office#200, 13415 Fort Road

Edmonton, Alberta T5A 1C6

6 Copies of Proposal Requested

DATE AND LOCATION OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) BIDDERS MEETING:

Date & Time: June 22, 2005 from 9 a.m. till 12 noon Location: Prince of Wales Armoury – Governors Room

10440 – 108 AvenueEdmonton, Alberta

Attendance at the RFP Bidders Meeting is not mandatory but highly recommended.

Contact Person: Jane Chase, Project Team co-leadPhone: (780) 644-2801 or (780) 427-9824 Fax: (780) 495-3902

Request for Proposals

Families First EdmontonResearch Project

Three Service Delivery Programs


Table of Contents:

Introduction Page 41.0 Scope of Services – Outline of Programs Design Page 5

1.1 Guiding Principles Page 51.1.1. Building on families strengths;1.1.2. Community based;1.1.3. Family centred; and1.1.4. Understanding and respect for family diversity.

1.2 Programs Page 61.2.1. Family Healthy Lifestyle;1.2.2. Recreation Coordination; and1.2.3. Comprehensive.

1.3 Services Page 10 1.3.1. Assessment;1.3.2. Family Centred Support;1.3.3. Supportive Brokerage; and1.3.4. Resource Information.

1.4 Activities Page 11 1.4.1. Case Management;1.4.2. Caseload Management; 1.4.3. Family Engagement and Retention Strategies;1.4.4. Project Coordination;1.4.5. Reflective Supervision;1.4.6. Staff Selection and Retention; and1.4.7. Staff Training.

1.5 Deliverables Page 131.5.1 Financial Reporting;1.5.2 Quarterly and Annual Reporting;1.5.3 Accurate and timely data entry; and1.5.4 Toolkits for each of the programs (Family Healthy Lifestyle, Recreation

Coordination, Comprehensive).1.6 Outcomes Page 14

1.6.1 Research Outcomes;1.6.2 Service Delivery Outcomes; and1.6.3 Practice Development and Processes.

1.7 Family Eligibility, Recruitment, and Referrals Page 171.8 Proponent Qualifications Page 181.9 Length of Contract Page 201.10 Number of Contracts Page 201.11 Cost Page 201.12 Location Page 20 1.13 Reimbursement of Contractor Page 20

2.0 Risk Management Page 20

3.0 Reporting Page 21

4.0 Compliance with Personal Information Protection Act Page 21


5.0 Contents of Proposal Page 225.1 Proposal Format Page 225.2 Mandatory Requirements Page 225.3 Desirable criteria Page 23

6.0 Evaluation Criteria Page 26Evaluation Process and Scoring

7.0 Conditions Relating to Submissions Page 27

8.0 Terms and Conditions Page 27

9.0 Inquiries and Bidders Meeting Page 29

Appendix I Request for Proposal Cover Page Page 30

Appendix II Template for “Operational Budget” Page 31

Appendix III Families First Edmonton Vision, Mission, Operating Principles Page 33and Goals

Appendix IV Map of Designated Geographical Area for Families First Edmonton Page 35


INTRODUCTION

Families First Edmonton (FFE) is a research project designed to determine whether delivering health services, family support, and recreation services in a coordinated way can lead to better outcomes for low-income families. The research project also seeks to determine the most cost-effective, efficient use of resources to proactively assist low-income families.

FFE is a partnership with two co-leads, Alberta Human Resources and Employment (AHRE) and the City of Edmonton Community Services, who are joined by 10 other organizations:

Project Partners

Alberta Children’s Services Alberta Health and Wellness

Alberta Mental Health Board Capital Health

Edmonton Aboriginal Urban Affairs Committee

Edmonton & Area Child and Family Services Authority – Region 6

Edmonton Community Foundation Quality of Life Commission

United Way of the Alberta Capital Region

Community-University Partnership for the Study of Children, Youth, and Families (CUP)

The Families First Edmonton Vision is stronger families through strengthened service delivery, supportive policies, and sound research. The Mission is to improve the well being of low-income families and their children through innovative service delivery, applied research, and well-informed public policy.

The Edmonton Community Foundation is the fiscal agent for Families First Edmonton and in conjunction with the partners, will guide the delivery of the services.

The Contractor who provides the services will be expected to work in collaboration with the FFE partners, through the governance structure established for FFE, in delivering comprehensive services in a coordinated, integrated manner and in a way that respects research protocols. The Contractor will become a member of various FFE Committees and will work with the committees to identify and create more responsive service delivery systems for the families in the Families First Edmonton Research Project.

University of Alberta researchers, using accepted protocols and standards, will follow 1,200 families for 30 months of contracted service delivery programs. They will then follow up with the families for a further three years to determine the longer-term outcomes.

Participation for families is voluntary. Families, who have received Alberta Works Income Support and/or Health Benefits for over 12 months, will be selected at random by Alberta Human Resources and Employment, and will be invited to participate. Those who agree will then be randomly placed in one of four programs:

1 Family Healthy Lifestyle;2 Recreation Coordination;3 Comprehensive (Family Healthy Lifestyle and Recreation Coordination); and4 Existing services (control group).

1.0 SCOPE OF SERVICES


Details of Program Design

1.1 GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The services of all programs and the activities that support the programs will reflect the guiding principles of FFE: 1.1.1. Building on families strengths;1.1.2. Community based;1.1.3. Family centred; and1.1.4. Understanding and respect for family diversity.

1.1.1 Building on Families StrengthsBuilding on families strengths through a Strength-based Model that provides a philosophy and framework with which to work with families in all programs. The Strength-based Model focuses on family capacity and assets rather than deficiencies and problems and utilizes empowerment processes. Empowering processes require a “working with” or collaborative relational stance between staff and families. Valuing family self-determination, valuing family members’ knowledge, believing in family’s/family member’s resourcefulness, and valuing families’ existing social support networks all foster the use of empowering processes when working with families. This encourages families to identify, use, and further develop their strengths, which engenders confidence and optimism.

During the ongoing assessments and family centred supports the staff will collaboratively work with the family to identify their individual and family assets, strengths and desires in order to develop realistic goals. By using the knowledge the family already has about what works for them and by integrating their challenges they will be able to design unique achievable plans, which are also measurable. This positive solution based philosophy will be reflected in both the verbal language and written words.

1.1.2 Community BasedA community-based approach is critical to strengthening individuals and families. It recognizes the importance of working with families to ensure they are supported in their homes and communities through both informal and formal connections to the community. The basic premise of a community-based approach is the recognition that services should be accessible, continuous, comprehensive, and coordinated and should be provided as closely as possible to where people live or work. This requires an approach of working closely with all community partners to ensure appropriate supports are in place for families in the neighbourhoods and communities in which they live and work.

The principle of being community based recognizes the value families place on being part of their community and having knowledge of and the ability to access community activities, services and programs.

1.1.3 Family CentredFamilies come in diverse forms and serve a variety of functions. Families may be made up of members who are joined together because of biological ties, legal ties, or because of mutual consent. They may include a single generation or multiple generations, living in a single household or multiple households. Generally families are made up of individuals who share a common history, experience a degree of emotional bonding, and have shared goals and activities that relate to the physical survival, social protection, and the development of its members. FFE supports families in defining their family based on their own cultural, religious, and personal experiences. The family centred practice will be provided within the specifics of the program to which the family is assigned.


The following are principles of family-centred practice: Service delivery guided by the family’s priorities; Following the families lead in decision-making, planning, assessment, and service delivery; and Provision of services for the whole family and choices regarding the level of family participation.

1.1.4 Understanding and respect for family diversityDiversity is simply all the ways we are unique and different from others. Dimensions of diversity include, but are not limited to, such aspects as race, religion and spiritual beliefs, cultural orientation, ethnicity, colour, physical appearance, gender, sexual orientation, physical and mental ability, education, age, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, family status, socio-economic class, profession, language, health status, geographic location, group history, upbringing and life experiences.

Understanding and respect for diversity is fundamental and integral to the families participating in FFE. This principle is realized by honouring diversity through identifying, and supporting appropriate, responsive, flexible and accessible services and practices to all. The building of individual, family, service provider, and community capacity in the area of diversity creates an environment that is more inclusive, mutually respectful and equitable where, diversity is celebrated.

1.2 PROGRAMS

The details of programs delivered by the Contractor: 1.2.1. Family Healthy Lifestyle;1.2.2. Recreation Coordination; and1.2.3. Comprehensive.

1.2.1. Families Healthy Lifestyle ProgramHealth is a resource for living (World Health Organization). For FFE Family Healthy Lifestyle Program this includes knowledge, skills, attitudes, and material resources in three areas:

(a) Acquisition and maintenance of social supports networks (social support);(b) Facilitating appropriate access to primary health care (health); and (c) Development and maintenance of relationships with child care/education providers

(childcare/education). Examples of knowledge includes knowing the typical signs and symptoms of common health

challenges of children, knowing where to access specific help or support, knowing the roles of important providers (e.g., teachers, physicians, child care workers);

Examples of skills include good family communication, problem solving skills and organization abilities;

Attitudes of importance include having the ability to see life’s challenges as opportunities, feeling that you can get the job done, having plans for the future; and

Material resources include income, housing, health care service access including dental care, adequate food, and basic transportation.

The 3 focus areas are further defined to provide a common understanding:

(a) Acquisition and maintenance of social support


All individuals and families operate within continuously changing social networks. These social networks can either enhance or undermine the way we feel, think and behave on a daily basis. Social networks include our relationships with family, friends, neighbours, co-workers, faith communities, organizations and our involvement in social and recreational activities. Some individuals and families benefit from large and diverse social support systems, while others prefer a small circle of friends and activities.

Within the focus area of social support families will have the opportunity to assess their unique and evolving social support systems. Families will identify their current strengths and capacities and develop plans for enhancing their social support systems. The Family Healthy Lifestyle Program will support families with: On-going leveraging of identified opportunities (community activities, groups) and resources

(social services); and Skill development in identified areas (accessing information, parenting, communication, problem

solving etc.).

(b) Facilitating appropriate access to primary health careWhen the primary health care strategy is used to organize health care within a family, a balanced system of supports for health is developed. Linkages to the following supports are required: illness/injury treatment, rehabilitation, illness/injury prevention, and health promotion. Illness/injury treatment, rehabilitation and illness/injury prevention are activities directed toward specific disease processes (including mental health issues), already acting in the family and those common in the community. Health promotion is the process of improving people’s health through enhancing their knowledge of health, enabling them to increase their control over factors and conditions that influence health, and ensuring their access to resources that support health.

Within the focus of primary health care families will have the opportunity to assess their illness/injury prevention/treatment/rehabilitation and health promotion needs. Families will identify their capacities and develop goals for enhancing primary health care access. The basic approaches used in the access of primary health care will be emphasized: partnership, linkage to service, advocacy, mediation, empowerment, and skill building.

Family Healthy Lifestyle Program will develop family knowledge, skill, attitudes, and linkages to material resources that promote access to primary health care in the following areas: Healthy child development (includes but not limited to immunization); Treatment for existing common diseases and injuries, (includes but not limited to facilitating

access to essential drug therapies); Parental and child health and well-being (includes but not limited to access to primary physician

and dental care); and Factors and conditions that influence health (includes safe housing, psychologically safe living

environment, clean water and basic sanitation, nutritious food, social support, basic education, balance of work with leisure and adequate income and working conditions).

(c) Development and maintenance of relationships with child care/education providersChildren benefit when family systems interact cooperatively and collaboratively with childcare and education systems. This focus area will assist families in developing, fostering and maintaining good working relationships with their children’s childcare staff or with teachers and other school staff. These relationships will: Keep the parent informed of the child’s development; Help the parent learn how to inform child care and school staff about their child’s special

strengths, needs, or family situations;


Encourage collaboration in dealing with any issues/challenges that may arise in the child care or school setting; and

Encourage parent involvement when possible, and empower the parent in the parental role.

All families in the Family Healthy Lifestyle Program will receive up to two years of services within which a closure period of three months is planned. In the first six months (phase-in period) each family will be connected with a family support coordinator. Each coordinator will build a caseload of 40 families per coordinator by assessing and initiating services with six to seven families per month and providing services to families who entered the program in the prior months. Recruitment by FFE and referral to the Contractor after the first six months may continue if a complete caseload is not in place or if families drop out within 15 months from the FFE start-up. Participants who move off all forms of low-income assistance (Alberta Works Income Support and Health Benefits) will receive an extension of the services through a three-month closure period of the program to (a) ensure a good transition from FFE with a plan to remain connected to services and (b) allow for any short-term fluctuations between programs. Based on a 35-hour workweek, this averages out to 3.5 hours/month of family-focused services and administration per family over the two years of the program for each family.

1.2.2 Recreation Coordination ProgramRecreation Coordination Program includes an initial and ongoing assessments, education on the benefits of recreation, family centred supports including recreation placements and follow-up, assistance with supports, supportive brokerage and resource information. The Recreation Coordination Program also includes exploration of informal recreation opportunities of interest to families that are of no- or low-cost. Recreation placements are age-appropriate, and skill developmental opportunities that are based on the recreational needs and interests of each child. The recreation placements include a range of recreation programs where skills are developed either by participation in teams or group activities or through lessons, classes, workshops and leagues in music, arts, sports, computer/science, drama and club or cultural activities. Youth employment training may also be included for older youth.

The contract includes funding to support these recreation opportunities; each child is allotted on average $250 per annum to cover registration fees and related required supports to facilitate participation in recreation programs. Assistance with supports is provided based on the needs of the family in the areas of transportation, registration, equipment and childcare. There is flexibility within the recreation funding to adjust the amount each child receives based on child’s choice, recreation resource bank donated spaces, and other factors.

One of the resources required by the Recreation Coordination and Comprehensive Programs is the ongoing identification of community resources offering a variety of recreation opportunities. The Contractor will solicit the community including not-for-profit and for profit organizations to become involved by supporting the work of FFE through a donation or subsidy of one or more recreation spaces in their community organizations. This forms the basis of the Recreation Resource Bank. The base funding of $250 per child can be augmented by community organizations’ participation in a Recreation Resource Bank. The Contractor's role in managing the Recreation Resource Bank will include partnership development, ongoing communication, and a recognition program for partnering organizations.

Families First conducted a nine-month Recreation Coordination pilot in 2003 with 302 children; one of the deliverables of the pilot was the development of a toolkit for the Recreation Coordination Program. The toolkit describes in a user-friendly format the tools and how staff and families use the tools associated with each service (assessment, family centred supports, supportive brokerage,


resource information) and includes the knowledge, language, skill sets, attitudes to be developed and material resources of the Recreation Coordination Program. The Recreation Coordination Toolkit integrates throughout the FFE guiding principles (building on families strengths, community based, family centred, understanding and respect for family diversity). The Toolkit also describes the activities that support the Recreation Coordination Program (case management, caseload management, engagement and retention strategies, project coordination, reflective supervision, staff selection, training).

The Contractor will use the Recreation Coordination Toolkit for the delivery of this program and continue to improve the toolkit over the lifetime of the project. This toolkit will be available to all Proponents. The Recreation Coordination Toolkit is available at http://www.cup.ualberta.ca:16080/ffe/ All families in the Recreation Coordination Program will receive up to two years of services within which a closure period of three months is planned. In the first six months (phase-in period) each family will be connected with a recreation coordinator. Each coordinator will build a caseload of 100 families per coordinator by assessing and initiating services with 20 families per month and providing services to families who entered the program in the prior months. Recruitment by FFE and referral to the Contractor after the first six months may continue if a complete caseload is not in place or if families drop out within 15 months from the FFE start-up. Participants who move off all forms of low-income assistance (Alberta Works Income Support and/or Health Benefits) will receive an extension of the services through a three-month closure period of the program to (a) ensure a good transition from FFE with a plan to remain connected to services and (b) allow for any short-term fluctuations between programs. Based on a 35-hour workweek, this averages out to 1.4 hours/month for family-focused services and administration per family over the two years of the program for each family.

1.2.3 Comprehensive ProgramThe Comprehensive Program is the integration of the Family Healthy Lifestyles and Recreation Coordination Programs to families assigned to this program. All families in this program will receive up to two years of services within which a closure period of three months is planned. In the first six months (phase-in period) of the Comprehensive Program each family will be connected with a family support coordinator that will provide services in the three focus areas of Family Healthy Lifestyle and recreation coordination. Each coordinator will build their caseload of 30 families per coordinator by assessing and initiating services with five families per month and providing services to families who entered the program in the prior months. Recruitment by FFE and referral to the Contractor after the first 6 months may continue if a complete caseload is not in place or if families drop out within 15 months from the FFE start-up. Participants who move off all forms of low-income assistance (Alberta Works Income Support and/or Health Benefits) will receive an extension of the services through a three-month closure period of the to (a) ensure a good transition from FFE with a plan to remain connected to services and (b) allow for any short-term fluctuations between programs. Based on a 35-hour workweek, this averages out to 4.6 hours/month for client-focused services and administration per family over the two years of the program for each family.

1.3 SERVICES

The following is a summary of the services that will form part of all the programs:1.3.1. Assessment;1.3.2. Family Centred Support;1.3.3. Supportive Brokerage; and 1.3.4. Resource Information.

http://www.cup.ualberta.ca:16080/ffe/


1.3.1 AssessmentThe assessment is a continuous collaborative process initiated by the coordinators with the families referred by FFE. The chosen framework for assessment will be as transparent as possible to the families. This will give the families a framework to think about the specifics of the program to which they are assigned, AND it will promote independence of problem solving by families.

The assessment will also be part of the supervisory practices that includes debriefing and training. The assessment will be advanced with training and supervision, thus enhancing the delivery of an individualized program of service over time.

1.3.2 Family Centred SupportBased on the assessments, the family and coordinator will collaboratively develop a plan identifying areas to work on within the specifics of the assigned program. The family and coordinator will collaboratively review, update and make changes to the family plan regularly. The coordinator will provide ongoing support and consultation as required. Family centred support based on an ongoing assessment will include a variety of activities such as: sharing of knowledge, skills, attitudes and material resources in a collaborative way, supportive brokerage to resources within the parameters of the program, and resource information for the family in areas outside of the parameters of the program. The family centred supports can occur in a variety of settings within the family home or in the community and includes various means of contact (i.e., phone, mail, and in person contact).

At times families may require crisis management that will be provided through supportive brokerage and/or referral to appropriate community resources depending on the program to which the family is assigned.

1.3.3 Supportive BrokerageSupportive assistance as required by the family, where the coordinator assists the family to obtain information, and/or connect to community resources with regards to the program the family is receiving. The brokerage includes supportive follow-up with the family.

1.3.4 Resource InformationThe coordinators will provide supportive brokerage in areas designated by each program. In areas outside the program the coordinators will provide resource information to the family to use in a self-directed manner. For example in the Recreation Coordination Program supportive brokerage will be provided to connect the families to recreation opportunities and the related required supports (e.g., transportation, equipment, etc.), resource information will be provided to families in the areas outside of recreation coordination (e.g., counseling, housing, family violence interventions, etc.).


1.4 ACTIVITIES

The following is a summary of activities that will support the programs:1.4.1. Case Management;1.4.2. Caseload Management; 1.4.3. Families Engagement and Retention Strategies;1.4.4. Project Coordination;1.4.5. Toolkit Development; 1.4.6. Reflective Supervision;1.4.7. Staff Selection and Retention; and 1.4.8. Staff Training.

1.4.1 Case ManagementThe coordinators will engage families in their assigned program for up to a two-year period. The number of contacts and length of contacts will vary with each family although a minimum level of contact will be required with each family. The initial minimum contact for Family Healthy Lifestyle Program and Comprehensive Program is at least once a month and for Recreation Coordination Program at least once every two months, based on the family plan this may be adjusted after the initial 6 months of service.Each program includes a three-month closure period where families work towards the ability to meet their needs, consider and use their strengths, have plans to achieve their family healthy lifestyle or children/family recreation pursuits or both. The coordinators will provide a three-month closure period to families that no longer require the program assigned or no longer meet the criteria of receiving Alberta Works Income Support and/or Health Benefits.

1.4.2 Caseload ManagementWithin the parameters of the project, the contractor will have a caseload management system to tailor the intensity of service according to family needs, and progress. Based on family needs and preferences, the contractor will adjust intensity of service over the course of the program.

Each month 150 families will be referred to the Contractor during the first six months (50 families/program/month). The Contractor will contact the families and complete the initial assessment with each family within two weeks of the FFE referral. If families drop out during the first 15 months of the programs or if targets are not met during the first six months, additional families will be referred by FFE in order to meet the targets of 900 families, 300 in each program.

1.4.3 Family Engagement and RetentionEngagement and retention are important aspects of successful service and of valid research. A range of issues that may impact families, and the Contractor have been outlined (see Section 1.7.1.4 for families and Section 1.8.2 for Contractors). Many provide challenges to successful engagement and retention of participants in FFE. For this reason, engagement and retention practice utilized in all programs and any strategies specific to one of the programs need to be developed, described, and implemented. Even with well-implemented practices of engagement and retention, a certain percentage of FFE participants will exit the program prematurely. It is expected that the contractor will record the context of these decisions. This information will be required for analysis of outcome and will serve as the platform for the development of enhanced practices in the area of engagement and retention.


1.4.4 Project CoordinationThe Contractor will be expected to manage the service delivery of the three programs including staff selection, training and reflective supervision, delivery of services based on the assigned program to 900 families, and associated administrative duties including data management, team meetings, and collaboration meetings with FFE and researchers.

The Contractor will become a member of various FFE Committees and will work with the committees to identify and create more responsive service delivery systems for the families in the Project. The Contractor will also work with the Researchers on research-related activities that include monitoring, auditing and reporting on “practices”, outcomes and indicators of success and data audits.

An issue identification process is used to manage project issues in a consistent manner to support informed decision-making, including assessment of potential impacts, and assessment of the recommendation of proposed resolution. An issue identification form is used that includes the reasons for raising the issue, a description of the issue, and its impacts on the project, and recommended actions. It is the responsibility of the FFE partner or Contractor that identifies the issue to ensure the issue is addressed through the established protocols. In the event that resolution of an issue results in a change to project scope, schedule or budget, a Change Request Form is used to evaluate its impacts on the project. A conflict resolution mechanism is incorporated into the governance structure of FFE.

1.4.5 Reflective SupervisionReflective supervision creates a relationship for learning that involves three key elements reflection, collaboration, and regularity. Reflection requires consideration on how recreation coordinators and family support coordinators, in their efforts to partner with families to accomplish positive outcomes, are being effective in the process or are having trouble. Supervision helps coordinators and supervisors understand why the change process is seemingly stalled at times or how personal values may have affected the manner in which coordinators respond to situations with families, other coordinators, or supervisors.

In the context of reflective supervision, collaboration means that the coordinator and supervisor share responsibility for figuring out together how the coordinator can increase his or her ability to support families effectively, and facilitate change amid growth. In the context of a collaborative relationship, power is mutually held. Reflective supervision requires a commitment by supervisors to regularly scheduled opportunities for coordinators to thoughtfully discuss their work with children and families.

1.4.6 Staff Selection and RetentionSelection of coordinators and supervisors will be based on personal characteristics and skills as well as education and experience. Coordinators and supervisors must have the requisite skills and personal ability to work with families that includes understanding and respect for family diversity in a supportive non-judgmental manner in order to build working relationships.

Family Healthy Lifestyle and Comprehensive Programs Supervisors will have skills in providing ongoing support and reflective supervision to

coordinators and have a minimum qualification of a Registered Social Worker, Community Health Nurse, or a degree in Human Ecology or equivalent with experience working with families in a holistic service delivery model. Supervisors will have a minimum of five years supervisory experience.

Coordinators will have a minimum qualification of a two-year diploma or equivalent in education, social work, early childhood development, child/youth work, community rehabilitation, health or


related field, and have experience working with families and an appreciation of the dynamics of the whole family.

Recreation Coordination Program Supervisor will have skills in providing ongoing support and reflective supervision to

coordinators. The supervisor will coordinate the Recreation Resource Bank and have a minimum qualification of either a Bachelor of Physical Education/Recreation or equivalent, and experience working with children and families of diverse backgrounds and community development experience for a minimum of five years.

Coordinators will have a minimum qualification of a recreation/physical education degree/diploma or related degree/diploma, and have experience working with children and families with diverse backgrounds in the area of recreation.

Retention of staff will require the Contractor to establish competitive salaries and benefits to attract and retain qualified staff.

1.4.7 Staff TrainingWell-implemented and described training is a key to sustainability and transfer of effective programs, both important outcomes of FFE. For this reason, a training plan is required for each program (Recreation Coordination, Family Healthy Lifestyle, and Comprehensive) for initial and ongoing training with attention to the who, what, when, and where.

Initial and ongoing training of the services common to all programs will be required (assessment, family centred supports, supportive brokerage and resource information), the guiding principles (building on family strengths, community based, family centred, understanding and respect for family diversity) and the specifics of each program. Administrative duties common to all programs including data management will need to be incorporated into the training plan.

The final training plan will be completed in collaboration with FFE (e.g., research protocols and the Recreation Coordination Program).

1.5 DELIVERABLES

1.5.1. Financial ReportingThe research project seeks to determine the most cost-effective, efficient use of resources to proactively assist low-income families. Financial reporting the costs of each program is a crucial component of the research, which includes reporting the various costs to delivering each program including human resource costs, materials and infrastructure, administration and other expenses quarterly. The Contractor is also expected to provide annual audited financial statements of the organization with schedules for each of the three programs.

1.5.2. Quarterly and Annual ReportingThe Contractor is expected to provide quarterly and annual summary reports of the services delivered in each program, the activities supporting the programs, the collaborative process and the issues, successes and challenges. This will include statistical summaries of services provided to families and the activities supporting the programs.


1.5.3. Timely and accurate data entryTimely and accurate data entry is crucial to the delivery of services to families and to understanding the practices and outcomes associated with each program from a research perspective. The Contractor will be expected to monitor and ensure coordinators complete timely and accurate data entry. In addition to the Contractor’s monitoring, the researchers will be verifying that data is accurate and complete on a weekly basis.

1.5.4. ToolkitsA toolkit approach to practice development, will result in a written product that will ensure adherence, promote sustainability, and enable transfer of the practices associated with the FFE approaches. Well described “how to” toolkits is one of the keys to sustainability and transfer of effective programs, both important outcomes of FFE. For this reason, each program of FFE (Recreation Coordination, Family Healthy Lifestyle, and Comprehensive) will be documented in toolkits. Toolkit development for each program is an ongoing process, overseen by the FFE contractor in partnership with the research team.

The Recreation Coordination Toolkit was initiated in the 2003 Recreation Pilot and is available as to all Proponents as an example. This toolkit will be used as a basis for the Recreation Coordination Program and will be enhanced as the Contractor delivers the program as part of the ongoing process to document the practices. The Recreation Coordination Toolkit is available at http://www.cup.ualberta.ca:16080/ffe/

The “how to” will describe and revise as necessary the practice associated with each of the services and a selection of appropriate tool(s) for each service (assessment, family centred supports, supportive brokerage, and resource information) within each program (Recreation Coordination, Family Healthy Lifestyles, and Comprehensive).

The toolkits will also describe in a user-friendly format how staff and families will use the tools associated with each service. For each service the knowledge, language, skill sets, attitudes to be developed and material resources of each program will be described. The Contractor will be required to integrate the guiding principles (building on family strengths, community based, family centred, understanding and respect of family diversity) into all aspects of the “how to” and the tools of the toolkits. The Toolkits describe the activities that support the programs (case management, caseload management, engagement and retention strategies, project coordination, reflective supervision, staff selection, training).

The Contractor will be expected to develop and ensure the toolkits are updated on a regular basis as the knowledge, language, skill set, attitudes to be developed and material resources of the services, programs, and activities that support the programs evolve and additional tools are identified as useful to coordinators and families.

1.6 OUTCOMESThere are 3 levels of outcomes in the project: research and service delivery outcomes and practice development and processes. Research outcomes (1.6.1) will be measured by the researchers and with research funds independent of the Contract. Data will be collected at eight points: at the onset of participation, every 6 months during the two years of the programs, and then annually for three years following the programs. Interviewers independent of the service delivery provided by the Contractor will complete the data collection. Data collection will involve interviews, surveys, and other techniques.



Service delivery outcomes (1.6.2) will guide the delivery of services by the Contractor. The Contractor will be required to document outcomes for each family in the Canadian Outcomes Research Institute, Hull Outcome Monitoring and Evaluation System (HOMES). For more information on HOMES see www.hmrp.net/CanadianOutcomesInstitute

Practice development and processes (1.6.3) involved in service delivery and collaboration will be documented. Of necessity, the contractor will be involved in the research processes. Data will be collected using interviews, focus groups, document reviews and the like.

1.6.1 Research OutcomesA family centred and outcome focused project that will explore the outcomes achieved by different programs. Examples may include:Families are more self-sufficient that could be measured by: Employment; Use of social assistance; Use of other public systems; Self report.Families members are more confident in their ability to care for their family that could be measured by: Child welfare involvement; Use of crisis services; Use of the health care system; Self report.Family members experience improved health and well being that could be measured by: Developmental progress of children; Use of recreation as part of healthy lifestyles; Self report.Families have enhanced resilience that could be measured by: Parenting skills; Social supports networks; Structure and flexibility in family routines; Communication and problem solving; Family linkages to the community; Self report.

1.6.2 Service Delivery Outcomes

1.6.2.1 Family Healthy Lifestyle Program Families are better able to communicate their needs and strengths with regards to three

focus areas: Acquisition and maintenance of social supports networks (social support); Facilitating appropriate access to primary health care (health); and Development and maintenance of relationships with child care/education providers

(childcare/education). Families have social supports, childcare/education, and health plans to meet their needs. Families consider and use their strengths. Families have identified needs met with regards to their social supports,

childcare/education, and health. Enhanced commitment of service providers to increasing accessibility to their programs.

http://www.hmrp.net/CanadianOutcomesInstitute


1.6.2.2. Recreation Coordination Program Families are more informed about the benefits of recreation. Children/youth/families are able to make more informed choices regarding recreation

activities and supports to recreation. Parents have an improved ability to select appropriate recreation activities with their

children. Families have recreation plans to meet their needs. Parents have an improved ability to advocate for their families recreation needs Children/youth have improved skills through participation in recreation activities. Families have identified needs met with regards to recreation. Enhanced commitment of service providers to increasing accessibility to their programs.

1.6.2.3. Comprehensive Program Families are better able to communicate their needs and strengths with regards to the three

focus areas of: Acquisition and maintenance of social supports networks (social support); Facilitating appropriate access to primary health care (health); and Development and maintenance of relationships with child care/education providers

(childcare/education). Families have social supports, education, and health and recreation plans to meet their

needs. Families consider and use their strengths. Families have identified needs met with regards to their social supports,

childcare/education, health and recreation. Families are more informed about the benefits of recreation. Children/youth/families are able to make more informed choices regarding recreation

activities and supports to recreation. Parents have an improved ability to select appropriate recreation activities with their

children. Parents have an improved ability to advocate for their families recreation needs. Children/youth have improved skills through participation in recreation activities. Enhanced commitment of service providers to increasing accessibility to their programs.

1.6.3 Practice Development and Processes Practices associated with the services of each of the three programs (e.g., the guiding

principles, assessment, family centred supports, supportive brokerage); Processes of practice development (e.g., toolkit development, training and reflective

supervision and engagement and retention strategies for both families and staff); Experiences of the families participating in the FFE programs; Practices associated with the activities that support the services (e.g., case management,

caseload management, project management, human resources practices, data management);

Processes involved in the collaboration with the FFE partners and community organizations families are referred to in the supportive brokerage model.


1.7 FAMILY ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS, RECRUITMENT & REFERRAL

1.7.1 Eligible families will be: 1.7.1.1. Families receiving Alberta Works Income Support and/or Health Benefits continuously over

the past 12 months at time of referral;1.7.1.2. Have at least one child between 0 – 18 years of age; 1.7.1.3. Will reside in the designated geographical areas of Edmonton [east of 127 Street north of the

Yellowhead Trail and east of 121 Street south of the Yellowhead Trail to the river within the City of Edmonton city limits] (See Appendix VI for map of designated area). If families during the program period move out of the geographical area but continue to live within the City of Edmonton they will continue to receive services; and

1.7.1.4. May have one or more of the following issues: Mental Health Issues (e.g. higher rates of stress, depression, behavioural problems in

children); Transportation issues; Childcare issues; Adequate housing issues; Lower levels of literacy/education /occupation skill levels; Limited or sporadic work history; Ongoing dependency on financial benefits and long tenure on social assistance; Poor problem solving skills leading to inappropriate decision making; Limited interpersonal and communication skills; Addiction issues; Relationship and parenting issues; Social exclusion from their community; Lack of awareness of existing services and their benefits; Use of crisis interventions; Difficulty with budgeting and money management; Experience of family violence; and/or Ineffective management of common and chronic health concerns.

1.7.2 Family Recruitment and Referral Eligible families will be offered the opportunity to be part of FFE research project and will provide written informed consent prior to any collection of data. Participating families will be assigned randomly to one of the four programs by the Researchers.

Families will be recruited into the project over a six-month period with 200 families entering the project each month for a total of 1200 families. FFE Researchers will refer a total of 300 families to three of the four programs, to the Contractor (total of 900 families). Family Healthy Lifestyle Program; Recreation Coordination Program; and Comprehensive Program.

The fourth program is a control group and has 300 families accessing services through existing systems and services available to them with no additional support. The Contractor will have no responsibilities to provide a program to this fourth group.

The Contractor will provide services to a total of 900 families during the 30-month period, with 300 families participating in each of the three programs. All families in these three programs will receive


up to 24 months of services, which includes a three-month closure period. The FFE Researchers will recruit 200 families per month, 50 will be randomly assigned to the control group and will refer 150 families to the Contractor each month during the first six months, 50 families/program/month. If families drop out during the first 15 months of the programs or if targets were not met during the first six months, additional families will be referred in order to meet the targets of 900 families, 300 in each program. In either case, additional families will continue to be referred until targets are met, or the first 15 months have passed, whichever comes first. The Contractor will contact the families and complete the initial assessment with each family within two weeks of the FFE referral. The Contractor will report changes of address, reasons for dropouts, and months of service received by each family to the Researchers in a timely manner.

TimelineControl

(Research Responsibility

only)

Recreation Coordination

Program

Family Healthy Lifestyle Program

Comprehensive Program

TOTAL

Month 1 50 50 50 50 200Month 2 50 50 50 50 200Month 3 50 50 50 50 200Month 4 50 50 50 50 200Month 5 50 50 50 50 200Month 6 50 50 50 50 200TOTAL 300 300 300 300 1200Months 7-15 # to reach or

maintain 300 families

# to reach or maintain 300

families


families

# to reach or maintain 300 families


families

Participants who no longer qualify for low-income assistance (Alberta Works Income Support and/or Health Benefits) are no longer eligible for the program. To ensure a good transition from FFE, families will receive three months of continued services to facilitate continued connections to services. These families will be replaced by new referrals after their closure period is completed (within the first 15 months of the program).

1.8 PROPONENT QUALIFICATIONS 1.8.1. Proponent Qualifications

The Proponent’s organizational culture, vision, mission and operating principles must be aligned and relate to FFE vision, mission, operating principles and goals (See Appendix IV FFE Vision, Mission, Operating Principles and Goals).

The Proponent has project management experience within the last five years.

The Proponent has knowledge, experience and proven background in the understanding and working with:

1) Identified target client populations within the last three years;2) In the area of Recreation within the last three years; and3) In the three focus areas of Family Healthy Lifestyle Program within the last three years.

Due to the nature of the project the Contractor will be required to work collaboratively with the researcher and partners in ways that are not common in contracted services. All parties including the Contractor must ensure communication is clear, information is timely and tolerate ambiguity at times as all parties work toward solutions. The Contractor will respect the operating principles of FFE, and


follow the protocols to manage change and issue resolution that are part of the Families First Edmonton Project Management approach approved by all the partners. The Proponent has an understanding, experience, willingness, and ability to work within a research project and with a range of partners in collaboration.

The Proponent should have experience working with outcome based measurements and program planning evaluation and should have experience with Canadian Outcomes Research Institute Hull Outcome Monitoring and Evaluation System (HOMES).

Proponent must provide references from relevant bodies and individuals who can attest to Proponent’s competencies, capabilities and experience related to this proposal and previous contracts. References should include at least two previous Clients and two community related agencies/professional organizations or sub-contractors, etc. During the evaluation process FFE will check references and requires that the references are satisfactory in order to continue in the selection process.

Proponents will be asked to provide the most recent audited financial statements (for the last fiscal year) of their organization. During the evaluation process FFE will review the audited financial statements to verify the organization’s financial viability.

1.8.2. Issues that may impact Contractor: Drop-out rates; Transient or mobile population; Awareness of Aboriginal and Immigrant cultures and family diversity; Appropriate staff available, recruited, and retained; Connection to Community Resources; Knowledge of, and ability to offer the range of services within the 3 programs (Family

Healthy Lifestyle, Recreation Coordination, and Comprehensive); Knowledge of, and ability to work within a research project; Monitoring of outcome data collection; Monitoring and participatory observation of practices implemented; Commitment to developing collaborative relationships with the research team; Knowledge of, and ability to work with a Logic Model; Knowledge of, and ability to work with HOMES Database; Ability to work with the range of partners in FFE in a collaborative, solution based,

integrated manner; Range of families in project including families on Alberta Works Income Support and/or

Health Benefits; and/or Families’ resistance to change.


1.9 LENGTH OF CONTRACTThe length of contract includes 30 months of service delivery with an additional ten weeks for start-up. Contract start date will be no earlier than November 2005 and expected service delivery to begin on January 1, 2006. The exact start dates will be negotiated with the successful proponent. There will be a review of the contract on an ongoing basis to ensure services are satisfactorily provided and outcomes are being achieved.

1.10 NUMBER OF CONTRACTSIt is anticipated that one contract will be awarded in Edmonton for the delivery of all the programs specified in this Request for Proposals.

1.11 COST FFE has a projected budget of $5.5 million for service delivery of all three programs for the 30 months of services and ten weeks of start-up. Contract funding is provided on the fiscal year of April 1 – March 31. FFE has secured funding for the operations of the project to March 31, 2007. Ongoing funding of this project is dependent on FFE partners, private foundations and grants to secure adequate funds.

1.12 LOCATIONThe location of the service should be within the designated geographical area of the project and easily accessible for all clients, including individuals with disabilities. (See Appendix VI for Map) The location of services must be easily accessible by public transportation and some client parking must be available.

1.13 REIMBURSEMENT OF CONTRACTORThe Contractor will be reimbursed in quarterly installments as per the project administration budget, approved by FAMILIES FIRST EDMONTON, and on condition of written confirmation and verification from FAMILIES FIRST EDMONTON the amount required per quarter that the CONTRACTOR is carrying out the RESEARCH to include RESEARCH OUTCOMES as intended.

.

2.0 RISK MANAGEMENT

Proposals must outline a risk management plan that identifies, analyzes and provides a methodology to minimize or eliminate the risks associated with the contract.

Risks may include but are not limited to: Potential for High Drop-out Rates;

One of the risks associated with a Research project is the potential for high drop-out rates. Knowledge of the client population and the ability to engage and retain clients for the program are essential components of a successful program. Proponent should provide a client engagement and retention plan with strategies to achieve high retention rates. FFE Researchers will also have engagement and retention strategies to compliment the Contractor’s plan.

Client Files;Proponents will need to provide strategies to ensure that client files are accurately maintained and secured as required by PIPA legislation.

Need for Third-Party Liability - A condition of contracting is that contractors have appropriate and adequate insurance.


Contractors should provide a letter from WCB indicating that they have coverage or proof of Employer’s Liability Insurance.

Intervention Records Checks for all staff in direct client service delivery position (formerly CWIS checks)

3.0 REPORTING

The Contractor will be required to provide quarterly and annual reports: Canadian Outcomes Research Institute Hull Outcome Monitoring and Evaluation System

(HOMES) database reports. The Contractor must have the computer capacity to utilize the HOMES database.

Quarterly narratives of services delivered in each program, the activities supporting the programs, collaboration with FFE partners and external community agencies and challenges, successes issues and their resolutions.

Quarterly updates on toolkits development and documentation of practice. Financial Reporting – quarterly invoices and annual audited financial statement with schedules

for each program.

4.0 COMPLIANCE WITH PERSONAL INFORMATION PROTECTION ACT (PIPA)

Information gathered during the contract period is subject to privacy legislation governing the Contractor. Information means any records in any form, including notes, images, audiovisual recordings, x-rays, books, documents, maps, drawings, photographs, letters, vouchers and any other information that is related, written, photographed, recorded electronically or stored in any manner, but does not include software or any mechanism that produces records.

The Personal Information Protection Act has a significant effect on all operations of the Contractor. The Act applies to records in an organization’s custody or control. As a result, records in the hands of the Contractors are subject to both the access and privacy provisions of the Act. For more information on privacy legislation see websites www.psp.gov.ab.ca and www.oipc.ab.ca.

The Contractor will comply with the privacy requirements of Personal Information Protection Act insofar as it applies to the Contractor’s operations and the personal information the Contractor has access to, collects, or uses in providing the services under the contract.

The Personal Information Protection Act imposes an obligation on Contractors to protect the privacy of individual whose information may be involved in meeting contract requirements. The Contractor will be required to protect the confidentiality and privacy of each individual’s personal information accessible to the Contractor or collected under the contract. The Contractor shall include in its proposal a detailed plan describing measures to meet each of the following requirements:

Notification to Clients of the purpose for the collection of their personal information

Protection of that personal information from unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure

Due to the research nature of Families First Edmonton, a Research Agreement between the Contractor and the Researchers will be developed that outlines the terms and conditions of the sharing of information between the Researchers and the Contractor based on the approved Ethics Proposal in accordance to the Tri-Council Policy Statement on Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans and the University of Alberta Ethical Guidelines for Research Involving Human Participants.

http://www.oipc.ab.ca/

http://www.psp.gov.ab.ca/


5.0 CONTENTS OF PROPOSAL

5.1 Suggested GuidelinesEvaluation of proposals is made easier when Proponents respond in a similar manner. The following format and sequence should be followed in order to provide consistency in Proponent response and to ensure that each proposal receives full consideration.

Six copies of the Proposal.

Proposal should be no longer than fifty (50) pages (excluding appendices). Appendices must also not exceed fifty (50) pages of directly related information.

Proposal should use a minimum of 12-point font, in Times New Roman script, on letter size paper.

All pages should be consecutively numbered through the Appendices.

When referring back to the Request for Proposals (RFP), please reference the page and section rather than restating the RFP.

Proponent should use the Operation Budget Template as provided for each program and provide a combined budget for all programs using the Summary Budget Template.

Proponents should organize desirable criteria in the order listed in the RFP information.

COMPLETED PROPOSAL COVER PAGE (Appendix I)

TABLE OF CONTENTS Show the page numbers of all major headings. Clearly indicate the location of Mandatories (see Section 5.2 of this RFP) and Desirables (see Section 5.3 of this RFP).

BODY – see Section 5.31. Financial Viability2. Program Description 3. Proponent Qualifications 4. Ready, Willing, Able to Provide Services5. Cost

5.2 MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

The following are mandatory requirements. Proposals not clearly demonstrating that these requirements are met will not be evaluated. Proposal must include a completed copy of the Request for Proposal Cover Page provided by

Edmonton Community Foundation (Appendix I). Proposal must be received by closing date and time. Faxed or e-mailed copies will not be

accepted. Please see Section 7, Conditions relating to submissions. Proponent must provide the name and contact phone number of three references:

1) Two references from related community agencies/professional organizations or sub-contractors; and

2) Two references from clients.


5.3 DESIRABLE CRITERIA

Information included in this proposal will provide the basis for decisions made by the Contract Selection Committee. It is the responsibility of the Proponent to ensure that sufficient, pertinent, concise and verifiable information is included in the proposal. Extraneous or unclear material will hinder evaluation of the proposal. It is recommended that any supporting documentation considered necessary to an understanding of the main issues of the proposal be included as an appendix.

Proposals meeting the mandatory requests will be further assessed against the following criteria:

1. Financial Viability

Please provide the most recent audited financial statements (for the last fiscal year), failure to do so will result in the proposal not receiving further consideration. A qualified independent reviewer, who is not part of the Contract Selection Team, will assess financial viability. If your financial statements do not indicate financial viability your proposal will not receive further consideration.

2. Program Description:

2.1 Provide description of how the Families First Edmonton Guiding Principles will be incorporated:

(a) Building on Families Strengths Describe the elements of a strength-based model and how your staff will incorporate this philosophy and framework into the delivery of the programs.

(b) Community Based Describe how you will incorporate the community-based principle into practice and how your staff will incorporate this guiding principle in the delivery of the programs with families.

(c) Family Centred Describe how you will incorporate family-centred principles and practice into the delivery of the programs to which the family is assigned.

(d) Understanding and respect for family diversity Describe how you will incorporate understanding and respect for family diversity in the services of the programs and the activities that support the programs.


2.2 A program design that includes descriptions of the following Services:

(a) Assessment Describe in general the assessment process, the chosen assessment framework that incorporates FFE guiding principles for all FFE programs. You should include the tools you would use with families to assess strengths and needs in the 3 focus areas of Family Healthy Lifestyle Program, describe how these tools would be used and the rationale for selection of the tools.

(b) Family Centred Support Provide a descriptive list of the tools that may be used with families by staff in the three focus areas of the Family Healthy Lifestyle Program (identification of tools and rationale for inclusion). From this list of tools please provide two tools that may be used with families in the Family Healthy Lifestyle Program; describe how these tools would be used and incorporate the knowledge, language, skill sets, attitudes to be developed and material resources that may be required.

(c) Supportive Brokerage Describe the practice of supportive brokerage. Identify the community resources that the Family Healthy Lifestyle Program may access and provide a brief description of the existing linkages/relationships you currently have with these community resources.

2.3. A plan that includes descriptions of the following Activities that will support the programs:

(a) Case Management Describe the approach to case management, specifying the proposed client flow, from point of FFE referral, management of client focused service delivery and related administrative duties for each program and closure period. Describe your plans for monitoring progress and delivery of case management activities and quality assurance of both service delivery and data management (e.g., client file documentation and established procedures for file maintenance).

(b) Caseload Management Describe the plan for managing caseloads during the engagement, assessment, ongoing family centred supports, and closure period for families with differing levels of progress or service intensity.

(c) Family Engagement and Retention Describe the engagement and retention approaches you will use with families for all programs and any that may be specific to one of the programs.

(d) Toolkit Development Describe the plan or approach for the development of the Toolkits. Various components of the Toolkit will be included in the Proponent’s description of the services, and activities that support the programs.

(e) Project Coordination Describe how within the parameters of the project, the project coordination/management will be accomplished and provide a project plan including: 1). Development Phase (infrastructure, key administrative processes, service delivery plan, initial toolkit development, and date ready to receive referrals); 2) Implementation Phase (plan for the delivery of services & activities that


support programs, reporting requirements); 3) and Closure Phase (plan for closure with families, toolkit finalization, final report and client documentation).

(f) Reflective Supervision Describe the philosophy and activities of reflective supervision.

(g) Staff Selection and Retention Describe the screening and interview processes that target personal characteristics, knowledge, skills, education and attitudes, and strategies to recruit and retain qualified skilled staff in the programs. Describe in detail the staffing model with job descriptions for each position including minimum qualifications and experience with the above information for each program (Family Healthy Lifestyle, Comprehensive, and Recreation Coordination).

(h) Staff Training Describe initial training and ongoing training for Family Healthy Lifestyle Program and Comprehensive Program with attention to the who, what, when, and where for each program and the required administrative duties, including how to ensure continuation of services in the event of staff turnover. Please provide a rationale for the training plan proposed.

2.4 Descriptions of the following Program Specifics:

(a) Recreation Coordination Program The Recreation Coordination Toolkit provides information on partnership development, implementation, and recognition for the Recreation Resource Bank. Please provide additional ideas for partnership development, implementation and recognition.

(b) Comprehensive Program Describe how the components of the Recreation Coordination and Family Healthy Lifestyle will be integrated into the Comprehensive Program.

2.5 Partnership Agreements or Sub-contracting Arrangements

Proponent should clearly indicate any partnership agreement or sub-contracting arrangement or anticipated agreement or arrangement within their proposal. Copies of any current legal agreements and letters of intent should be included. In the event that the proponent chooses to subcontract with another provider to offer any component of the program, it is essential that the roles and responsibilities of each organization be clearly outlined in the proposal. It will be important to clearly indicate client flow between organizations if subcontractors are included in the delivery of the program. It is equally important to include letters of support from all proposed subcontractors. These letters should be included in an appendix and attached to the body of the proposal.

3. Proponent Qualifications:

(a) Provide a brief description of your organizational culture, vision, mission and operating principles and how these are aligned and relate to FFE vision, mission, operating principles and goals.

(b) Provide a description of your project management experience within the last 5 years as it relates to managing projects of this scope and complexity.


(c) Provide a description of your knowledge, experience and proven background in the understanding and working with:

1) Identified target client populations within the last 3 years;2) In the area of Recreation within the last 3 years; and3) In the three focus areas of Family Healthy Lifestyle within the last 3 years.

(d) Provide a description of your understanding, experience, willingness, and ability to work within a research project and with a range of partners in collaboration.

(e) Provide a description of your experience working with outcome based measurements and program planning evaluation and Canadian Outcomes Research Institute Hull Outcome Monitoring and Evaluation System (HOMES).

4. Ready, Willing and Able to Provide Services:

(a) Provide a risk management plan that identifies, analyzes and provides a methodology to minimize or eliminate the risks associated with the contract (see section 2.0).

(b) Provide a human resource implementation plan including:1) Recruitment and retention plan to attract and retain qualified staff, including

competitive salaries and benefits and strategies to retain qualified skilled staff.2) A contingency plan for the continuity of client service in the event of key staff leaving

or unforeseen business events.

5. Cost of Delivering the Program:

Provide operating budgets for each program for the start-up phase and 30 months of the programs based on a fiscal year of April 1 to March 31 (Fiscal Year 1 will be 2005/2006).

(a) Total costsTotal costs of delivering the three programs relative to the published budgeted for FFE provided in summary budget.

(b) Value for money. Evaluation of the value for money will occur by examining the three operational budgets provided by comparing distribution of costs across the three programs and the portion of the budget allocated to services and support as opposed to administration costs.

Template provided. See Appendix II.

6.0 EVALUATION CRITERIA

Evaluation Process and Scoring

The evaluation process includes the following steps: A Contract Selection Committee formed by Families First Edmonton evaluates the proposals. The Committee first checks proposals against the Mandatory Criteria. Proposals not meeting

all Mandatory Criteria will not receive further consideration. Proposals that do meet all of the Mandatory Criteria will then be assessed and scored against

the Desirable Criteria. Proposals meeting the minimum score in each of the desirable criteria will then be evaluated

for cost effectiveness.


Short-listed Proponents may be contacted to arrange for an interview. The interview will be held for clarification only. The evaluation criteria scores for the short-listed Proponent(s) will be adjusted if appropriate, given the clarification provided in the interview.

References will be checked. Edmonton Community Foundation reserves the right not to contract with Proponents whose references are not satisfactory.

Please provide the most recent audited financial statements (for the last fiscal year), failure to do so will result in the proposal not receiving further consideration.

The intent is to enter into negotiations with the Lead Proponent. Subject to successful negotiation and execution of a contract, the successful Proponent will provide the required services.

Criteria: Weight Minimum Score Required

1. Financial Viability 2% 2%

2. Program Description 59% 42%

3. Proponent Qualifications 20% 14%

4. Ready, Willing and Able to Provide Service 9% 5%

5. Cost of Delivering the Program 10% 7%

100% 70%

7.0. CONDITIONS RELATING TO SUBMISSIONS

Proposals must be received no later than 12:00 noon on August 19,2005 at:Edmonton Community Foundation

710 Royal Bank Building10117 Jasper Avenue

Edmonton, Alberta, T5J 1W8

Six (6) copies of each proposal must be submitted in a sealed envelopes clearly marked:(Proponent’s Name)

Families First Edmonton Research ProjectAttention: Jane Chase

8.0 TERMS AND CONDITIONS

TerminologyThrough this Request for Proposal, terminology is used as follows:(a) "Contract" means the written agreement resulting from this Request for Proposals executed by the

Edmonton Community Foundation on behalf of Families First Edmonton and the Contractor;(b) "Contractor" means the successful Proponent to this Request for Proposals who enters into a

written Contract with the Edmonton Community Foundation;(c) "must", "mandatory", or "required", means a requirement that must be met in order for a proposal

to receive consideration;(d) "Proponent" means an individual or a company that submits, or intends to submit, a proposal in

response to this Request for Proposals;(e) "should" or "desirable" means a requirement having a significant degree of importance to the

objectives of the Request for Proposals.


Submitted Proposals Late proposals will NOT be considered. The Edmonton Community Foundation reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals

in whole or in part. Submitted proposals will not be returned. All responses to this solicitation must be in English.

Requests for Additional Information Proponents may be required to supply supplementary information after the closing date for

submissions. Short listed Proponents may be contacted to arrange for an interview.

Amending a Proposal By submission of a clear and detailed written notice, the Proponent may amend or withdraw their

proposal prior to the closing date and time. Upon closing time, all proposals become irrevocable. The Proponent will not change the wording of its proposal after closing and no words or

comments will be added to the proposal unless requested by Edmonton Community Foundation for purposes of clarification.

Successful Proposal By submission of a proposal, the Proponent agrees that should its proposal be deemed successful,

the Proponent would enter into an Agreement with Edmonton Community Foundation.

Sub-Contracting Using a sub-contractor (who must be clearly identified in the proposal) is acceptable. This

includes a joint submission by two Proponents having no formal corporate links. However, in this case, one of these Proponents must be prepared to take overall responsibility for successful interconnection of the two products or service lines and this must be defined in the proposal.

Sub-contracting to any firm or individual whose current or past corporate or other interests may, in the Edmonton Community Foundation on behalf of Families First Edmonton’s opinion, give rise to a conflict of interest in connection with this project will not be permitted. This includes, but is not limited to, any firm or individual involved in the preparation of this solicitation document.

Liability for Error While Edmonton Community Foundation on behalf of Families First Edmonton has used

considerable efforts to ensure an accurate representation of information in this solicitation document, the information contained in this solicitation document is supplied solely as a guideline for Proponents. The information is not guaranteed or warranted to be accurate by Families First Edmonton, nor is it necessarily comprehensive or exhaustive. Nothing in this solicitation document is intended to relieve Proponents from forming their own opinions and conclusions with respect to the matters addressed in this solicitation document.


Agreement with Terms By submitting a proposal the Proponent agrees to all the terms and conditions of this solicitation

document. Proponents who have obtained the document electronically must not alter any portion of the document, with the exception of adding the information requested. To do so will invalidate the proposal.

Edmonton Community Foundation reserves the right to modify the terms of the solicitation at any time at its sole discretion prior to the closing date of the competition.

Acceptance of Terms and Conditions The Agreement to be negotiated and executed by Edmonton Community Foundation on behalf of

Families First Edmonton.

Use of the Request for Proposals This document or any portion thereof, may not be used for any purpose other than the submission

of proposals.

Information Collected Information means any records in any form, including notes, images, audiovisual recordings, x-

rays, books, documents, maps, drawings, photographs, letters, vouchers and any other information that is related, written, photographed, recorded electronically or stored in any manner, but does not include software or any mechanism that produces records.

Confidentiality of Information Information pertaining to the Partners of Families First Edmonton obtained by the Proponent as a

result of participation in this project is confidential and must not be disclosed without written authorization from Families First Edmonton.

Notification of Competition Results Proponents will be notified of the results of the competition within approximately 45 days after

the competition closes.

9.0 INQUIRIES AND BIDDERS MEETING

Questions that arise regarding the Request for Proposals (RFP) should be faxed to Jane Chase at (780) 644-2801 or email [email protected] no later than June 20, 2005. These questions will be addressed at the Bidders Meeting. Notes will be taken during the Bidders Meeting and the questions and responses will be posted on the Families First website http://www.cup.ualberta.ca:16080/ffe/ We will continue to entertain questions until three weeks prior to RFP closing date (July 29, 2005). Responses to these questions will be posted on the website two weeks prior to RFP closing date (August 5, 2005). No further information will be provided after this time.

The Selection Committee will be hosting a Bidders’ Meeting on:

Date & Time: June 22, 2005 from 9 a.m. till 12 noon Location: Prince of Wales Armoury – Governors Room

10440 – 108 Avenue

Edmonton, Alberta



APPENDIX I

RFP Cover Page

Information collected on this form will be used to review your proposal. If you have any questions about the collection of this information, you may contact Jane Chase by phone or email at: Phone: (780) 644-2801; email: [email protected]

1. Project Title:_____________________________________________________________

2. Organization (Operating) Name:_____________________________________________

3(i). Organization (Legal) Name:_________________________________________________(if different from above)

3(ii). Alberta Registry Number:___________________________________________________

3. Mailing Address:__________________________________________________________

4(i). Delivery Address:_________________________________________________________

(if different from above)

4. Contract Person and Position:________________________________________________

5(i). Phone Number:____________Fax Number:____________E-Mail:__________________

5. Alternate Contact Person and Position:________________________________________

6(i). Phone Number:____________Fax Number:____________E-Mail:__________________

6. Name and Position of Authorized Signing Officer:_______________________________(Please Print)

7. Signature of Authorized Signing Officer:_______________________________________


Appendix II

Template for “Operational Budget” for each of the 3 programs based on a fiscal year of April 1 – March 31.

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4A. STAFFING COSTS

AdministrationSalaries for Each PositionBenefits

Total Administration

Client Service PositionsSalariesBenefits

TOTAL STAFFING COSTS (A)B. DIRECT CLIENT COSTS

Recreation ProgrammingTOTAL DIRECT CLIENT COSTS (B)

C. FACILITY COSTSMortgage or Lease PaymentsProperty TaxesNatural GasElectricityWater/SewerMaintenance/RepairsMaintenance of Land and BuildingFacility SuppliesFacility InsuranceOther – Specify _______________________

______________________________________________

TOTAL FACILITY COSTS (C)D. VEHICLE COSTS

Lease/Rental of VehiclesMaintenance/RepairsInsuranceMileage AllowanceOther – Specify _______________________

______________________________________________

TOTAL VEHICLE COSTS (D)


E. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTSOffice Expenditures

Office Supplies and PostageTelephone and CommunicationsMaintenance/RepairsLease/Rental of Office Equipment

Total Office Expenditures

Other AdministrationStaff RecruitmentStaff TrainingStaff TravelLegal FeesHomes Database LicenseAccounting/Audit FeesBank ChargesConsultant Fees ____________________

________________________________________

Total Other AdministrationTOTAL ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS (E)

F. FIXED ASSEST Computer Hardware/SoftwareOtherTOTAL FIXED ASSESTS (F)

TOTAL EXPENDITURES (A) + (B) + (C) + (D) + (E) + (F)


Appendix III

Families First Edmonton Vision, Mission, Operating Principles and Goals

VISIONStronger families through strengthened service delivery, supportive policies, and sound research.

MISSIONTo improve the well being of low-income families and their children through innovative service delivery, applied research, and well-informed public policy.

PRINCIPLESAs the Families First Edmonton Research Project partners work toward their Vision, and Mission, their decisions and actions are guided by the Operating Principles and Service Delivery Principles listed below.

Operating PrinciplesAccountability That the project has clear roles and responsibilities of the various

committees, delineating the work as described in the project charter and research project work plan.

Effective Communication That communication is clear, information is timely and partners tolerate ambiguity as they implement the research project work plan and work towards solutions.

Trust and Respect That partners demonstrate respect for each other’s unique roles and organization’s mandates while promoting a climate of trust, openness, collaboration and support for the project.

Integrity That partners value the integrity of the research design and support the balance between research and innovative service delivery.

Recognition That partners celebrate their successes and accomplishments throughout the project.

Service Delivery PrinciplesEthical That partners demonstrate ethical and positive regard for project

clients, including being clear about and honouring the boundaries of confidentiality. Information collection is consistent with FOIP legislation and the Health Information Act.

Voluntary Participation That participation by families is voluntary.Practical That assessment tools are useful for the clients and front-line workers.Strengths-Focused That the supports provided to families by Families First Edmonton

recognize the strengths within these families.Integrated Services That the partners and service providers effectively collaborate to

ensure seamless integrated services are provided to families.


GOALS

1. Families and children participating in Families First Edmonton will experience improved family health and resilience.

2. Families will access services earlier and in a more preventative way resulting in cost savings.

3. Collaboration of partners, researchers, service providers and families will create more proactive and responsive service delivery systems.

4. The Family Healthy Lifestyle Program and Recreation Coordination Program practices will be well-documented enabling transferability.

5. Research will result in knowledge that informs health and social policy and service delivery practices.


APPENDIX IV

Families First Edmonton Geographical Area

East of 127 Street north of the Yellowhead Trail

East of 121 Street south of the Yellowhead Trail to the river

Within the City of Edmonton city limits

127 Street

121 Street

Yellowhead Trail

request for proposal.doc.doc

Technology

edmonton page

edmonton research project

families cupthe families

proposal cover page

edmonton ffe

lowincome families

location page

proposals families