This is a Request for Proposals (RFP) from the State of Delaware, Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, for WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Services. The objective is to increase breastfeeding initiation and duration among WIC-eligible pregnant and breastfeeding women. Proposals are due by June 29, 2026. Key requirements include providing education, support, and encouragement to mothers, maintaining a private breastfeeding room, ordering and distributing approved educational materials and breast pumps, and maintaining accurate records and statistics. The contract will be awarded based on the most advantageous proposal, considering qualifications, methodology, scope of work responses, ability to recruit and train staff, and cost evaluation. Vendors must submit all required attachments and forms electronically. The contract term is one year with four optional one-year extensions.
The deadline for receipt of proposals is June 29, 2026, at 1:00 PM EDT. The estimated project start date is October 1, 2026.
Payments for services will not be made in advance of work performed. The state of Delaware may require holdback of contract monies until acceptable performance is demonstrated, as much as 25%. Vendors are invited to offer value-added discounts for specific payment terms.
The vendor will provide a warranty that the deliverables provided pursuant to the contract will function as designed for a period of no less than one year from the date of system acceptance. The warranty shall require the vendor to correct, at its own expense, the setup, configuration, customizations or modifications so that it functions according to the states requirements.
The contract shall be awarded to the vendor whose proposal is most advantageous, taking into consideration the evaluation factors set forth in the RFP. The state of Delaware is not obligated to award the contract to the vendor who submits the lowest bid or the vendor who receives the highest total point score.
Vendors must provide Delaware licenses and/or certifications necessary to perform services, responses to the RFP scope of work, complete all appropriate attachments and forms, and provide proof of insurance. General evaluation requirements include qualifications of the vendor, methodology proposed, responses to the scope of work, ability to recruit, hire, schedule, and train qualified applicants, and evaluation of costs.
The state of Delaware may include in the final contract liquidated damages provisions for nonperformance. Failure to comply with licensing requirements may subject the vendor to applicable fines and/or interest penalties. Failure to provide mandatory reports may result in corrective action, up to and including the possible cancellation of the award.
A prebid meeting has not been established for this request for proposal.
Protests based on any omission or error, or on the content of the solicitation, will be disallowed if these faults have not been brought to the attention of the designated contact, in writing, at least ten calendar days prior to the time set for opening of the proposals.
Failure to respond to any request for information within this proposal may result in rejection of the proposal. Vendors directly contacting state of Delaware employees risk elimination of their proposal. Any individual, business, or entity currently debarred or suspended is ineligible to bid. Proposals that do not meet or comply with the instructions of this RFP may be considered non-conforming and deemed non-responsive and subject to disqualification.
