Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

SSACF02042020 INTRODUCTION This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. A request for a proposal will be issued on https://beta.sam.gov... SSACF02042020 INTRODUCTION This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. A request for a proposal will be issued on https://beta.sam.gov/ on or about February 4, 2020. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement for the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). A contractor to develop and maintain regional or national case coordination program(s) that provide child welfare based recommendations on individual UAC cases, particularly in the areas of safe and timely release, identification of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC ) with special needs and development of corresponding recommendations, and placement recommendations. The information from this market research will help the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and the Program Support Center (PSC) to plan their acquisition strategy. This is strictly market research. The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) will not entertain questions regarding this market research. This Notice is issued solely for information and market research purposes; it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP. Furthermore, those who respond to this Notice should not anticipate feedback with regard to its submission. This Notice does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. ORR is not at this time seeking proposals. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay any cost incurred in response to this Notice. All costs associated with responding to this Notice will be solely at the interested parties' expense. Not responding to this Notice does not preclude participation in any future solicitation. BACKGROUND The Office of Refugee Resettlement/Division of Unaccompanied Children’s Operations (ORR/DUCO) within the Administration of Children and Families (ACF), provides temporary shelter care and other child welfare- related services to UAC in ORR custody. Residential care services begin once ORR accepts a UAC for placement and ends when the UAC is released from ORR custody turns 18 years of age, or the UAC’s immigration case results in a final disposition of removal from the United States. Residential care and other child welfare-related services are provided by state-licensed residential care programs in the least restrictive setting appropriate for the UAC’s age and needs. On March 1, 2003, the Homeland Security Act of 2002, section 462, transferred the functions under U.S. immigration laws regarding the care and placement of unaccompanied alien children from the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). ORR has responsibility for the care and custody of UAC who are in Federal custody by reason of their immigration status. A UAC is defined as a child who: (1) has no lawful immigration status in the United-States; (2) has not attained 18 years of age; and (3) with respect to whom - (i) there is no parent or legal guardian in the United States; or (ii) no parent or legal guardian in the United States is available to provide care and physical custody. One of ORR's main functions is to provide temporary residential care, in the least restrictive setting possible, and other related services to UAC in ORR custody. Under the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, "UAC shall be promptly placed in the least restrictive setting that is in the best interest of the child." ORR is also responsible for the safe and timely reunification of UAC with appropriate sponsors. Under the Homeland Security Act, ORR, in making placement decisions, shall make such determinations to ensure that UAC "are likely to appear for all hearings or proceedings in which they are involved; are protected from smugglers, traffickers, or others who might seek to victimize or otherwise engage them in criminal, harmful, or exploitative activity; and are placed in a setting in which they are not likely to pose a danger to themselves or others." Under the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, "A UAC may not be placed with a person or entity unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services makes a determination that the proposed custodian is capable of providing for the child's physical and mental well-being." Many UAC have faced traumatic situations in their home countries, such as dire poverty, war, forced military or gang recruitment, human trafficking, domestic violence, abuse, familial separation and government neglect. Some are also very young, most have little or no formal education, and are primarily non-English speaking. After apprehension by DHS and transfer to ORR, these children face a complicated legal system. While in ORR custody, UAC receive an array of services, including residential care and supervision, clothing, food, individual and group counseling, medical/mental health care, case management, education/English as a Second Language, recreation, vocational education, acculturation, and access to religious services. UAC also have access to legal services. While the majority of services are available on site, referrals to community-based providers are made as needed. Services are provided by multilingual staff in a manner that is sensitive to the language and culture of the populations served. Service provision is tailored to each UAC in order to maximize the UAC's opportunities for success both while in care, and upon discharge from the program. ORR intends to acquire the services of bilingual Case Coordinators to provide child welfare based recommendations on individual UAC cases, particularly in the areas of making recommendations for transfer and release, identifying children with special needs and developing subsequent recommendations, staffing cases, reviewing individual service planning, collaborating with care providers in providing community support and medical services, and troubleshooting special or unique cases. In order to maintain the integrity of their duties, organizations providing Case Coordinators may not have a conflict of interest with ORR and/or its UAC service providers (i.e., organizations involved in the care and maintenance of children in federal custody, organizations that would receive financial benefit as a result of their recommendations, etc.). PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS Due to the nature of UAC arrivals, ORR seeks sources for a contract vehicle that is flexible, cost-efficient, and could provide the following services on a regional basis throughout the United States: Providing timely review, assessment, and recommendation of release requests to ORR; Assisting ORR in ensuring that children are placed in the least restrictive setting while receiving appropriate services; Meeting with individual UAC and care provider staff at designated ORR-funded care provider sites; Providing targeted child welfare based assistance to care provider staff, as directed by ORR staff; Providing written assessments, and when necessary reviewing or providing technical assistance to the written assessments of the care provider’s case managers and clinicians. Making recommendations for home study and post- release services for at-risk children, in collaboration with the care provider and ORR; Making placement recommendations, including for children who require more specialized levels of care, such as long-term foster care, residential treatment centers, and secure care in collaboration with the care provider and ORR; Collaborating and working on any other tasks specific to the case coordinator as per ORR/DCS policy and procedures; Participating in collaborative meetings with local stakeholders; Leading case staffing with care providers to discuss individual cases and progress; and Meet with designated ORR staff to provide updates of individual UAC cases and elevate cases as needed CAPABILITY STATEMENT/INFORMATION SOUGHT ORR is seeking sources capable of providing the services outlined above, cost/pricing estimates, length of time needed to become operational, and number of children able to serve. Respondents must provide, as part of their responses, a capability statement, which addresses the services requested above: Demonstrate a clear understanding of the mission of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, Division of Children’s Services. Demonstrate the ability to supervise a regional or national network of professionals with child welfare, immigration and multi-disciplinary expertise. Demonstrated ability to provide professional staff with extensive expertise and knowledge in a) program management; b) child welfare based recommendations; c) family reunification/child placement and d); release risk assessment sand safety planning. Demonstrate the ability to recruit qualified staff with an MSW bilingual in Spanish to serve a national network. Demonstrate the ability to screen, hire and train staff to meet State licensing and ORR requirements. Training should address elements specific to working with the UAC population, prevention and intervention in child abuse and neglect, national reporting procedures, and staff code of conduct. Demonstrate a clear description of overall program management and plan for provision of the services aforementioned (child welfare based recommendations on individual UAC cases, coordinate and oversee the safe and timely release of UAC, assess child behavioral issues, create safety plans, find and establish connections with community providers, staffing cases, reviewing individual service planning. ANTICIPATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: The anticipated/estimated Period of Performance (POP) will be from September 1, 2020- August 31, 2021 for the base year and three one (1) year option periods. The RFP 75P00120R00042 will be made available on or about April 8, 2020 and all responsible sources may submit a proposal which shall be considered by the agency. The RFP may be accessed electronically only via the Beta Sam website https://beta.sam.gov/ Offerors are responsible for routinely checking the Beta Sam website for any possible solicitation amendments that may be issued. Contracting Office Address: 7700 Wisconsin Avenue Rockville, Maryland 20857 United States Primary Point of Contact: Sheryl D. Sanders Sheryl Sanders @psc.hhs.gov Phone: (301) 492-4647 INFORMATION SOUGHT AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS All inquiries to this Notice must submitted in writing Sheryl Sanders@psc.hhs.gov One copy of the response must be submitted no later than 12:00 pm EST, February 19, 2020 electronically in Adobe PDF. Capability statements will not be returned and will not be accepted after the due date. The maximum number of pages for submission is 10 pages. Each response should also include the following Business Information: 1. A cover letter with the offeror's name, company address, a point of contact, phone number, email address, DUNS number, and current GSA schedules appropriate to this work (if any). If you have a government approved accounting system, please identify the agency that approved the system, and the type of company (i.e., small business, 8(a), woman owned, veteran owned, etc.) and can be validated via the System for Award Management (SAM). 2. A clear and concise statement of the offeror's capability and organizational capacity to perform the work as described above. 3. Bios or resumes for proposed key staff members, including the project manager and lead technical staff. 4. The offeror's most pertinent previous experience with similar government contracts within the last four years. 5. A potential quality assurance surveillance plan for measuring the work as described above, especially those that the respondent has used on previous, similar performance-based government contracts. This may include: a. Proposed standards, metrics, or acceptable quality levels. b. Methods of surveillance and/or inspection. c. Evaluation methods and/or procedures. d. Proposed incentive structures (positive and/or negative). e. Any other procedures used to ensure high quality and cost effective work. The capability statement does not need to describe how the respondent would carry out the proposed tasks, does not need to include any budget proposals, and does not need to provide resumes or other information for non-key staff. Qualifying businesses which have the organizational capacity to provide the outlined services are encouraged to respond to this request. All teaming arrangements (if any) should also include the above-cited information with licensing documentation for each entity on the proposed team. All respondents to any resulting solicitation must register or be registered on SAM located at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. Disclaimer and Important Notes This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).