Ohio Administrative Code
Title 5101:9 - ODJFS Practices
Chapter 5101:9-4 - Acquistion and Procurement
Section 5101:9-4-07.1 - Procurement methods

(a) CFSAs or local WIOA areas may acquire by micro-purchase any supplies or services in which the aggregate dollar amount does not exceed the micro-purchase threshold as set by the federal acquisition regulation at 48 C.F.R. subpart 2.1.

(b) Micro purchases may be awarded without soliciting quotes for acquisitions of supplies or services if:

(a) For purchases where price is the overriding factor and which involve standardized products or services (e.g., office equipment and supplies) and where the aggregate acquisition costs are greater than the micropurchase threshold but do not exceed the lower of the local small purchase threshold or the federal small purchase threshold as set by 48 C.F.R. subpart 2.1 for purchases involving U.S. department of health and human services (HHS) and U.S. department of labor (DOL) funds and U.S. department of agriculture (USDA) food and nutrition service funds (FNS), CFSAs and local WIOA areas may use relatively simple and informal procurement methods by obtaining price or rate quotations from an adequate number of qualified sources but not less than three sources, if available.

(b) For purchases where price is not the overriding factor but are relatively simple and straight forward purchases that are greater than the micropurchase threshold and do not exceed the lower of the local small purchase threshold or the federal small purchase threshold as set by 48 C.F.R. subpart 2.1, and where relative quality and performance must be evaluated (e.g., consultant services), CFSAs and local WIOA areas shall seek proposals from an adequate number of qualified sources, but not less than three sources if available. CFSAs and local WIOA areas shall maintain a list of qualified sources from which to solicit proposals, and the list shall include qualified sources that have expressed an interest in providing products or services to the CFSA or local WIOA area. The CFSA and local WIOA area must identify and document the evaluation factors included in the solicitation and their relative importance. Awards will be made to the responsible source whose proposal is most advantageous to the program, with price and other factors considered.

(a) CFSAs and local WIOA areas shall use sealed bids (formal advertising) under the following conditions:

(b) CFSAs and local WIOA areas shall adhere to the following procedural requirements in administering sealed bids (formal advertising):

(a) CFSAs and local WIOA areas shall use proposals when the conditions are not appropriate for the use of sealed bids, micro-purchases, small purchases, or non-competitive procurement. The technique of proposals is normally conducted with more than one source submitting an offer, either a fixed price or cost reimbursement type contract is awarded, and the following conditions are met:

(b) CFSAs and local WIOA areas shall comply with the following procedural requirements in administering competitive proposal procurements, commensurate with the scope and complexity of the acquisition:

(a) CFSAs and local WIOA areas may use noncompetitive procurement only when the award of a contract is infeasible under the micropurchasing threshold, and one of the following conditions applies:

(b) Noncompetitive procurement requires the mutual discussion and arrangement of terms of a transaction or agreement for the purpose of arriving at a common understanding of contract essentials such as technical requirements, schedules, prices, and terms. From any noncompetitive procurement in excess of the small purchase threshold, written documentation must be included in the records to show why a noncompetitive procurement was used . Such justification must include the following items:

(a) If the county is a member of the department of administrative services cooperative purchase program, purchases may be made by CFSAs and local WIOA areas under the competitively bid state purchasing contracts. Because the state completes competitive procurement, purchases made through state purchasing contracts excluding master maintenance agreements (MMA) meet all of the requirements contained in section 125.04 of the Revised Code are not subject to the requirements contained in paragraphs (C)(1) to (C)(2) of this rule.

(b) An agency cannot access state purchasing contracts when competitive bidding by the county has already occurred unless the state purchasing contract has the same terms, conditions, and specifications at a lower price.

(c) A CFSA or local WIOA area may also use the price contained in a state purchasing contract in other competitive selection procedures performed pursuant to this rule.

(a) Purchases for foster care placement services that include public and private agency foster homes, group homes, children's residential centers, residential parenting facilities, adoption services and other services performed by a public children services agency (PCSA) in the discharge of its duties under Chapter 5153. of the Revised Code, including services on behalf of a child in the custody of a PCSA and purchases made pursuant to rule 5101:2-47-23.1 of the Administrative Code, will generally be considered to follow the small purchase procedures or noncompetitive proposals of this rule when they are purchased for individually specific cases. The need for these purchases shall be documented by the PCSA in records that support each case.

(b) When purchasing case specific services other than foster care placement and adoption services, and where there are contractors in close proximity providing substantially similar services, and who are equally qualified to meet the service need presented; the PCSA shall document that the process of awarding the contract was done in a manner that demonstrates that a cost comparison of the contractors has been performed.

(c) A PCSA may not establish an exclusive or preferential relationship with foster care maintenance providers, adoption services providers, or other service contractors to the exclusion of all other foster care maintenance providers, adoption service providers or service contractors, with the exception of those relationships resulting from the competitive means as described in this rule. In addition to following such procurement procedures, the PCSA shall also document the reasons for seeking an exclusive relationship with the foster care maintenance provider, adoption service provider, or service vendor. Such documentation shall include a demonstration that the foster care maintenance provider, adoption service provider, or service contractor is qualified to meet the needs of all children and families who will receive services from the provider or vendor, and provide assurances that no child or family will be denied services due to the exclusive nature of the relationship with the foster care maintenance provider, adoption service provider, or service contractor.

(d) Procurements of goods and services made by a PCSA shall conform to the requirements of this rule. This includes the purchase of child welfare services that benefit children and families that are not purchased in response to a specific case need. Examples of such services include, but are not limited to, outreach and recruitment campaigns; promotional items; training for staff, adoptive families, and foster parents; master contracts for home studies from third parties; visitation center leases; child abuse prevention campaigns; and foster parent liability insurance master contracts.