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FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA) 500 C STREET SW, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20472 REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Post-trauma disaster case management barriers, best practices, and innovations REQUEST ... FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA) 500 C STREET SW, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20472 REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Post-trauma disaster case management barriers, best practices, and innovations REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Introduction THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) IN ACCORDANCE WITH FAR 15.201(e) AND FAR 52.215-3, which states: RFIs may be used when the Government does not presently intend to award a contract, but wants to obtain price, delivery, other market information, or capabilities for planning purposes. Responses to these notices are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. There is no required format for RFIs. This is NOT a Request for Proposal (RFP). An RFP is not being issued at this time, and this notice shall not be considered as a commitment by the Government to issue a RFP, nor does it restrict the Government to a particular acquisition approach. Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. This is a Request for Information (RFI) to gauge the marketplace and learn about the industry's capabilities to deliver turnkey congregate sheltering services. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a Solicitation nor a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a commitment for an RFP in the future, and it is not considered to be a commitment by the Government to award a contract. The Government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this announcement. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with Government regulations. The purpose of this RFI is to gather information regarding current capabilities and capacities in the marketplace to provide turnkey congregate sheltering services in the event of a major disaster. Background – FEMA’s mission to provide post-disaster case management services to disaster survivors The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that, as a nation, we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. FEMA receives its authority from the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act), P.L. 93-288, as amended at 42 USC 5121-5207. FEMA’s Disaster Case Management (DCM) program provides support, including financial assistance, to state, local, tribal, or territorial (SLTT) governments in order to provide support services to survivors after a disaster. Section 426 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 93-288, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 5189d, upon issuance of a Presidentially declared major disaster that includes Individual Assistance and authorizes DCM, enables FEMA to provide funding to State, Tribal, or Territorial (STT) governments or qualified private organizations to deliver disaster case management services. DCM is a time-limited program that involves a partnership between a disaster case manager and a disaster survivor, also known as a “client,” to develop and carry out an individual disaster recovery plan. Disaster recovery plans include resources, decision-making priorities, guidance, and tools to assist clients. This partnership provides the client with a single point of contact to facilitate access to a broad range of resources. The DCM program is a Stafford Act funded program promoting: (a) effective delivery of post-disaster case management services, (b) partner integration, (c) service provider capacity building, and (d) state-level program development. The program provides funding and technical assistance to ensure a whole community approach to providing or connecting disaster survivors with local services to aid in their recovery. Services are provided at no cost and are available to any survivor impacted by the disaster, regardless of the survivor’s eligibility for FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program (IHP) or other federal assistance. Individuals and households do not need to apply for FEMA assistance to receive disaster case management services. DCM must be accessible to people regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, English proficiency, or economic status. In particular, DCM providers must plan to meet the needs of people with limited English proficiency and people with disabilities, such as people who are deaf or hard of hearing who may use sign language or captioning. Programmatic Concept – Evolved post-disaster case management services There is a long history of post-disaster case management services. The Stafford Act authority for this work was added in 2006. FEMA has made fundamental and incremental changes to DCM to provide quicker and better service to customers – states, tribes, and territories (STTs) as well as survivors. In 2018, FEMA began implementing the Modern Approach to DCM, which allows for more timely and less burdensome applications for STTs and quicker delivery of services to survivors. Since 2018, FEMA has continued to make updates to DCM to make it more customer centric to include finalizing standard forms and providing updated policy. FEMA envisions a future where disaster assistance programs integrate into a seamless “whole” to help disaster survivors rebuild their homes and lives. FEMA Individual Assistance recently underwent major updates, referred to as IA Reforms. The IA Reforms aim to do three things: establish new and flexible forms of assistance, cut through red tape, and simplify the application process for survivors. In addition to these reforms, there’s a great deal of support for survivors coming from a multitude of places – and that can be a lot for someone to navigate – even on a good day. FEMA views case management as the connection point between survivors and all forms of assistance available to them. Case management is vital to successfully cutting through red tape and simplifying the process for survivors to find and access the help they so desperately need. As a continuation of IA Reforms, the Agency will optimize the current Disaster Case Management (DCM) program, as well as evolve the DCM program of the future to provide STTs and survivors with the service they need and deserve. FEMA’s objectives through this work are: Increase the speed of DCM. Meet STTs where they are by providing DCM implementation options along a spectrum from FEMA provides only the funding to FEMA runs the program. Empower and educate STTs to provide post-disaster casework and case management[1] independent of an official DCM program and federal award. In order to achieve these objectives, understand industry requirements, and evolve post-disaster case management, FEMA is seeking information from post-trauma case management and emergency management professionals regarding barriers associated with FEMA’s current DCM program, best practices for providing post-trauma case management services, and innovative solutions. Definitions Casework, case management services, post-trauma case management services, post-disaster case management services, and DCM are terms of art that are used frequently in the below questions. Casework focuses on providing direct services and referrals to clients. Case management services focuses on coordinating care across multiple providers and services. Post-trauma case management services focus on coordinating care across multiple providers and services following a traumatic event, which could include, but is not limited to disasters. This care could be provided with or without support of a grant from the federal, state, tribal, territorial, or local government, and may be a part of regular services that providers offer to a community. Post-disaster case management services focus on coordinating care across multiple providers and services following a disaster. This care could be provided with or without support of a grant from the federal, state, tribal, territorial, or local government, and may be a part of regular services that providers offer to a community. DCM refers to the FEMA funded post-disaster case management services as described above. Acquisition Concept FEMA has no plans at this time to issue a solicitation to deliver requested services that will support FEMA’s Disaster Case Management Program. FEMA will, however, continue to gather information related to marketplace capabilities to be informed of barriers, best practices, and innovations in the post-trauma case management industry. FEMA is seeking information from industry that may shape future changes to FEMA’s DCM program. Request for Information (RFI) Questions In response to the RFI, please answer the following questions: Vendor Profile (No more than 3 pages) Identify the organization and primary contact person responding to this RFI to include name, address, city, state, zip code, phone, fax numbers and email address. Identify the name, title, address, phone and fax number/s, and email address of the primary contact person responding to this RFI. Identify any parent organization/corporation and/or subsidiaries, if appropriate. Identify organization’s size and type, i.e., small business – woman owned. Provide a brief overview of your organization including number of years in business, number of employees, nature of business, and description of clients. Provide a summary of your organization’s business space and the types of services you offer to potential clients. Is this the first time that you’re aware that FEMA provides a federal award to support STT partners in providing post-disaster case management services? If you or your organization provide post-trauma casework and/or case management services, how do you measure success for an individual survivor? For a community? Barriers to entry (No more than 4 pages) Does your organization currently work with a STT partner in support of FEMA’s Disaster Case Management program? If your organization does work in support of DCM, why have you chosen to do so? What motivates you to work in this mission space? What can FEMA do to ensure your continued support? If your organization does NOT work in support of DCM, why not? If you’ve tried or wanted to try to work in this mission space, what has prevented you from doing so? Is there anything that FEMA can do to incentivize you to begin working this mission space? What are the pain points to implementing DCM? How can FEMA influence those issues? Post-Trauma case service and case management best practices (No more than 5 pages) What best practices have you identified in this industry, specifically when it comes to funding, service delivery, or customer satisfaction? In your opinion, what are the most important lessons learned in this industry? What U.S. organizations do a good job providing post-trauma case management services and why do you think this? What can FEMA learn from them? If FEMA administered a form of casework immediately after a disaster declaration, what are the most important elements or highest priority needs FEMA should focus on? Should FEMA administer the casework directly or should it partner with other casework organizations (e.g., 2-1-1) to empower them to meet this immediate casework need? Please share best practices regarding the transition from post-trauma casework to post-trauma case management services. How can FEMA support that transition? Post-Trauma case service and case management innovations (No more than 5 pages) In your opinion, what are the greatest opportunities for improvement in this industry? What tools or systems do you use to coordinate post-trauma casework or case management? Which of these tools or systems facilitate the most successful long-term outcomes for survivors? Why? Are there tools or systems you recommend the federal government invest in to provide better post-disaster case management services? What incentives could FEMA offer to speed the delivery of federally funded case management services? What U.S. organizations have tools or systems to facilitate post-trauma case management services? What are those tools and what can FEMA learn from those organizations or tools? How can the federal government foster innovation in post-disaster case management? How can the federal government better support the systems already at work in local communities that provide case management services every day to its citizens? If the DCM program was designed to allow for funds to local governments, either directly or as pass-through funding from a STT government, what should FEMA consider in the program design? Are there any pros and/or cons to this approach? Would you like to see FEMA implement this type of award? RFI Response Format: In order to better assist in the review of submittals to this RFI, respondents are encouraged to prepare responses that closely adheres to the following format: The document format shall be either Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx), or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) formats. Responses shall be prepared using 12 pt. font, 1-inch margins, and 8.5” by 11” paper and shall not exceed (20) pages in length, including images, data displays, charts, graphs, and tables. Respondents are encouraged to ensure that their submittals are complete and address all items outlined within this RFI. Respondents may provide additional promotional literature in addition to their response as long as the literature conforms to the response format. Submissions in response to this RFI shall not exceed 20 pages. [1] Casework focuses on providing direct services to their clients, while case management focuses on coordinating care across multiple providers and services.