The New York State Office of Children & Family Services (OCFS) announces a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for qualified entities to administer Hearing Officer services to the Bureau of Special Hearings (BSH) under contract.

The BSH, under OCFS, provides the forum for citizens to challenge a wide variety of decisions made by local and state social services officials. Hearings are held in a variety of areas including, but not limited to, foster care removals, enforcement of day care regulations and laws, enforcement of laws and regulations relating to family homes for adults, adoption applications, reimbursement of local social services districts for foster care expenditures, and issues relating to decisions made by the Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped. In addition, a significant portion of past and current hearings volume involves hearings arising out of the operations of the State Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR). Specifically, these hearings involve two aspects: hearing requests to amend and seal or expunge “indicated” reports of child abuse and maltreatment [Social Services Law § 422(8)], and hearings involving the right of subjects of “indicated” reports seeking employment in the childcare field to have a hearing before a prospective employer is provided information as a result of a clearance request (Social Services Law § 424-a). Prior to a hearing, a subject of a report has the right to an administrative review, conducted by the SCR, which is an assessment of case documentation to decide whether substantial evidence exists to support the investigator’s determination.

Due to statutory and regulatory requirements pursuant to SSL §§ 422(8) and 424-a, many of the hearing requests awaiting scheduling in BSH are SCR hearings. The number of current referrals to the SCR continues to grow, resulting in the need to retain Contract Hearing Officers to help process this caseload.

Please Note: All services covered under this procurement are expected to be delivered in-person (unless stated otherwise). OCFS reserves the right to allow for remote services, at its sole discretion, when it is determined to be in the best interest of the State.

Please see the Eligibility Criteria section for additional information regarding who may apply. This advertisement is public notice that OCFS is seeking to contract with eligible individuals to conduct special hearings. Please see the Scope of Work section for additional information regarding the specific work to be performed.

The purpose of this RFQ is to invite any eligible and interested individuals who believe they can satisfy this program’s needs to inform OCFS by a Letter of Interest (LOI). To be considered responsive, your LOI should be received no later than the deadline specified on the first page of this announcement. OCFS intends to contract with all qualified bidders based on the criteria outlined in this announcement. Please see the How to Submit section for additional information and submission requirements.

Please see the RFQ document located on the "documents" tab for additional information and submission requirements.