OhioMHAS RFI for a Publicly-Funded Grant Financial Reporting Information System

The state of Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services currently utilizes a process in which local Boards which receive grant funding from the state are statutorily required to complete and submit a complex, standardized excel spreadsheet to OhioMHAS at least twice each fiscal year. This spreadsheet is commonly referred to as an “040” submission. As a step in the OhioMHAS grant application process, an 040 detailing proposed grant budget information is submitted by each local Board. Then, nearing fiscal year end, each local Board is required to complete and submit to OhioMHAS a second 040 submission detailing how grant funds were utilized by recipients.

Grant funds awarded by OhioMHAS to the local Boards originate from one or more federal and/or state funding sources. In their year-end 040 submission, local Boards are required to account for their spending and align their financial reporting with each of the original federal and/or state funding sources. This funding source alignment requires local Boards to collect source coding fields and related information from one or more OhioMHAS systems including but not limited to the Grant Funding Management System (GFMS). Upon completion, the 040 excel files are submitted to OhioMHAS via email or file upload.

As a result, local Boards utilize a variety of approaches to complete required 040 submissions. These approaches include manual completion, semi-automated reporting processes and outsourcing to third parties such as CPA firms. The 040 data supplied by local Boards varies at the discretion of each Board between two accounting methodologies, cost basis and accrual accounting. Local boards have reported dissatisfaction with the 040 submission process due to the complexity of the 040 reporting spreadsheet and the labor intensity of compilation and submission to OhioMHAS. Additionally, OhioMHAS faces challenges related to the identification and tracking of unused grant funds as well as the carryover of these funds from one fiscal year to the next. As a result, OhioMHAS seeks a solution to replace the existing 040 submission process.

OhioMHAS is interested in receiving information from interested parties. Cost information provided will be used solely for the purposes of performing a market analysis for the future acquisition of the necessary products and services.

The goals of this RFI are the following:

1. Understand what solutions are in the marketplace,
2. Understand solution coverage and ability to meet OhioMHAS requirements,
3. Identify budgetary and cost estimates,
4. Understand typical project durations,
5. Identify suppliers with a proven track record
6. Confirm supplier ability to comply with OhioMHAS standard contract provisions.