FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: January 31 2024
Contact: Jon Ebelt, Communications Director, DPHHS, (406) 444-0936, (406) 461-3757
jebelt@mt.gov
DPHHS Announces Notice of Intent to Award Employment and Training Services Contract
The Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) announced today a Notice of Intent to Award has been offered to Maximus US Services, Inc. to provide Employment and Training Services (E&T) to eligible Montanans leveraging certain public assistance programs.
The bid submitted by Maximus received the highest score from an independent review committee as part of the competitive bid process. The State of Montana and Maximus will now begin contract negotiations.
“Once contract negotiations are complete, DPHHS is excited to partner with Maximus to re-invigorate programs that will put more Montanans back to work and drive their self-sufficiency,” DPHHS Director Charlie Brereton said. “Through a new and innovative pay-for-performance model, our ultimate goal is to help our clients find secure and sustainable employment and increase their independence.”
The RFP sought a single statewide contractor to provide E&T services to Montanans referred to the contractor by DPHHS.
The referred individuals are applicants and participants in the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and/or the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance program. Both programs serve low-income Montana families.
E&T programs seek to help referred individuals not only with immediate needs, but to build confidence and capacity for increased education, employability, employment security, and wage enhancement after program services conclude.
Upon conclusion of the current seven-year contracting cycle for existing contractors, DPHHS elected to collapse and consolidate existing contracts into a single performance-based model where a portion of the payment made to the contractor is dependent on when the referred individual achieves one or more of the five desired outcomes.
The list of desired outcomes include one or more of the following: obtaining a Montana HiSET or General Education Development (GED) certification, completing a post-secondary education training program, obtaining employment, retaining employment, or improving their current employment situation after the referral is made.
DPHHS made the decision last year to issue a new RFP due, in part, to the expiration of existing contracts to provide these and other related services. Existing contracts expire on June 30, 2024, and Maximus will officially assume responsibility for statewide E&T service provision on July 1, 2024.
Notably, the RFP requires the new contractor, as needed, to partner with Montana-based organizations and sub-contract with existing service providers to maintain continuity of services and support local communities.
Once contract negotiations conclude and a contract is finalized, DPHHS and Maximus will work with current providers to develop a transition plan.
Public comment on the Notice of Intent to Award can be made through Tuesday, February 7. The public comment portal can be found on the Department of Administration’s website.