MK26-31 WIC Compliance Buys and Private Investigations

The State of Utah Division of Purchasing, in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services, is soliciting statements of qualifications for a professional services contract focused on conducting annual undercover compliance investigations of authorized WIC vendors to deter fraud, waste, and abuse of WIC funds. This solicitation, numbered MK26-31, seeks to identify design professional service providers and consultants experienced in compliance auditing. The selected vendor will enter into a five-year base contract with an option for a five-year renewal, enabling a potential total contract period of up to ten years. The procurement follows Utah Procurement Code 63G-6a Part 15, employing a trade-off award process whereby the highest-ranked vendor, based on qualifications and compliance with mandatory minimums, will negotiate pricing considered fair and reasonable. Pricing information is explicitly excluded from submissions. The contract emphasizes stringent compliance and security requirements, including mandatory certifications against economic boycotts and forced labor, as well as adherence to federal and state standards such as FedRAMP/GovRAMP, CJIS, HIPAA, and state-specific administrative rules and policies. Vendors must either possess current FedRAMP/GovRAMP authorization or demonstrate enrollment in the progression program with defined milestones for achieving full authorization within 24 months. Vendor data hosting is required to occur within DTS-managed cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) in Utah, and all proposed technology solutions must comply with State of Utah security policies. The solicitation imposes no formal packaging or bar-coding mandates, nor does it detail cost or invoicing specifics. Proposal submissions must be exclusively electronic via Utah’s Unified Procurement Platform (U3P), adhering to specified document formats and confidentiality markings. The State reserves rights related to background checks on personnel, potential contract amendments to include additional agencies or new technology, and enforces conflict-of-interest mitigation through communication restrictions and proposal consistency requirements. Final acceptance and contract administration remain under the oversight of the State of Utah.