Advertisement for Sealed Proposals
Southern Mississippi Planning & Development District (SMPDD), as the fiscal agent for the Twin Districts Workforce Development Area (TDWDA), is seeking vendors who can provide temporary staffing and payroll services to justice-impacted adults for work-based learning initiatives to assist re-entering the workforce within the TDWDA. Eligible vendors must be able to: pay assigned employees’ wages, withhold and transmit payroll taxes, provide unemployment insurance and workers compensation benefits, and address unemployment and workers’ compensation claims. Funding may be provided through the Partners for Reentry Opportunities in Workforce Development (PROWD) Grant, RESTORE Act, and/or Pathway Home 5. The program will serve any or all of the following counties of Clarke, Covington, Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Kemper, Lamar, Lauderdale, Leake, Marion, Neshoba, Newton, Perry, Pearl River, Scott, Smith, Stone and Wayne. This advertisement is conducted pursuant to the requirements, conditions and the applicable regulations and policies of the State of Mississippi, Mississippi Department of Employment Security, AccelerateMS, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Treasury, and Southern Mississippi Planning & Development District.
Copies of the Request for Proposals (RFP) will be available from Southern Mississippi Planning & Development District, beginning November 13, 2025. Copies of the RFP can be obtained on or after this date by downloading a copy of from the SMPDD website at www.smpdd.com/rfp_publicnotice. Completed proposal packages should be submitted to Southern Mississippi Planning & Development District, 10441 Corporate Dr., Ste. 1, Gulfport, MS 39503. Proposals may also be submitted electronically via email to Grant Wesley at gwesley@smpdd.com. Proposals are due no later than 12:00 p.m. CST December 4, 2025; proposals received after this deadline will not be considered responsive to this RFP. The initial contract awarded will be through December 31, 2026, with the option to extend the contract annually up to three years with the approval of both parties, dependent on funding. The successful Proposer shall comply with all 2 CFR 200 requirements.
Minority and Woman Owned Business Enterprises are solicited to submit proposals on this project as prime contractors and are encouraged to make inquiries regarding potential subcontracting opportunities, equipment, material and/or supply needs.
The three Re-entry programs noted above are 100% federally funded. The PROWD grant is funded through the MDES with funding from the US Department of Labor under the Employment and Training Administration. The project was awarded to SMPDD for $1,500,000. The Pathway Home 5 funding was awarded through the Employment and Training Administration and the Department of Labor in the amount of $2,999,000. Additionally, the ARP program was funded through the RESTORE Council and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality under the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012, in the amount of $1,223,006.31 (award GNSSP23MS0045).
SMPDD is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and hereby notifies that all Proposers will be afforded the full opportunity to submit proposals in response to this advertisement for proposals and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual preference, marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status in consideration for an award.
SMPDD reserves the right to waive any informality or to reject any or all Proposals with or without reason.
Questions or comments concerning this advertisement for proposals shall be directed to Patricia Morrison – Workforce Development Manager at SMPDD by email at pmorrison@smpdd.com no later than 4:00 p.m. November 24, 2025.
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