Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for State Vocational Rehabilitation (Combined or General)
The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan must include the following descriptions and estimates, as required by sections 101(a) and 606 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by title IV of WIOA.
- l. Interagency Cooperation with Other Agencies
In accordance with the requirements in Section 101(a)(11)(C) and (K), describe interagency cooperation with and utilization of the services and facilities of agencies and programs that are not carrying out activities through the statewide workforce development system to develop opportunities for community-based employment in integrated settings, to the greatest extent practicable for the following:
- l. Interagency Cooperation with Other Agencies
l. 4. State use contracting programs;
Current Narrative:
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts operates a Supplier Diversity Program (SDP), which encourages the award of state contracts in a way that strengthens and increases business opportunities for Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs), Women Business Enterprises (WBEs), Service-Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises (SDVOBEs),Veteran Business Enterprises (VBEs), Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Business Enterprises (LGBTBEs); and Disability-Owned Business Enterprises (DOBEs). MRC participates in this program as part of statewide contracting as an equal opportunity initiative. This is factored into scoring of procurements.
Under all procurement requests, all bidders are required to make a significant financial commitment (“SDP Commitment”) to partnering with one or more SDO-certified or recognized diverse business enterprise(s) or non-profit organization(s). This SDP Commitment is expressed as a percentage of contract sales that would be spent with the SDP Partner(s).
After contract award (if any), the Total SDP Commitment shall become a contractual requirement to be met annually on a Massachusetts fiscal year basis (July 1 – June 30) for the duration of the contract. The minimum acceptable Total SDP Commitment is shall be 1%. Bidders to procurements are awarded additional evaluation points for higher SDP Commitments.
No contracts are permitted to be issued without an SDP Commitment that meets the requirements stated herein. This requirement extends to all Bidders regardless of their own supplier diversity certification.