Child Care Administrator’s Improper Payments Information Technology Guide

Download Guide in Word (993 KB) or PDF (635KB) format.

F. Summary

As States research and plan approaches to preventing, identifying, and redressing improper payments in their subsidized child care programs, they are often faced with the challenge of upgrading their existing IT infrastructure or acquiring new IT products and services. With limited funding and the high cost and complex nature of many IT projects, it is important for States to make prudent procurement decisions to ensure that they meet business and service objectives on time and within budget.

The most important tasks in any procurement process are clearly defining the business needs and stating the desired outcomes or problem to solve. Defining needs early in the process saves cost in every phase of the project life cycle.

In their procurement, States can choose to either specify the desired solution or articulate the problem and allow vendors to bid one or more solutions. To make this important decision, project team members must understand the current business processes and technical environment, research promising practices in other States and industries, prioritize the business requirements, and identify technical and budget constraints.

If the State cannot purchase the service or product from a State-approved vendor list, a RFP is the most likely procurement method. Key successful factors to consider when developing a successful RFP include, establishing a project team that includes some key stakeholders, developing a procurement management plan, and putting together a RFP library for use by the team and prospective bidders.

Emerging IT applications that support improper payment activities for the child care program provides incentives for States to explore solutions with the vendor community. This dialogue can be fostered through an RFI, issuing draft RFPs for comment, pre-bid meetings, product demonstrations, and oral presentations.

In constructing the RFP, States should be mindful of the following common mistakes:

• Poorly written or illogical content;
• Providing too little detail;
• Lack of imagination;
• Poorly scoped;
• Failing to account for business needs; and
• Overly strict interpretation of the “Cone of Silence.”

With careful planning, States can avoid each of the following factors:

• Unclear business needs or unclear deliverables;
• Unlimited liability terms;
• Deliverable-based payment schedules;
• Hiring a separate Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) vendor;
• Unnecessary constraints; and
• Cost-plus contracts.

The aforementioned mistakes can lengthen project life cycle and drive up the cost of contracts. States should be methodical when evaluating vendors and solutions. States also should consider innovative procurements, such as e-procurement, commoditization, solution-based solicitation, and performance-based contracting, as they embark on their IT procurements.