This blanket purchase agreement serves to provide vocational expert witnesses to the SSA for hearings before an administrative law judge (ALJ) appealing denial of certain benefits administered by SSA.…

This Blanket Purchase Agreement, awarded to Tophand, Inc. on April 1, 2025, establishes a single-award indefinite delivery vehicle with the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide vocational expert witness services in support of administrative disability benefit hearings. The contract, with a ceiling value of $250,000 and a period of performance extending through March 31, 2030, supplies vocational experts to testify before Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) during appeals of SSA benefit denials. The vocational expert services include vocational history report generation and express reporting functions that support the agency's evaluation and adjudication of disability claims. No set-aside was utilized for this procurement. Based on the contractor's historical performance, services are provided from the Burleson, Texas location, with individual task orders issued against the agreement as needed for specific hearing support requirements.

Tophand, Inc., a for-profit Subchapter S corporation specializing in vocational and rehabilitation reporting services, was selected as the single awardee for this vehicle based on demonstrated expertise in delivering vocational expert consulting to federal disability programs. The contractor has established a track record of performance under prior SSA blanket purchase agreements dating to at least 2019, with multiple task order awards for vocational history report express reporting and medical-vocational expert services. The incumbent's prior agreements generated calls valued individually between approximately $2,300 and $32,000, demonstrating the variable and call-based nature of vocational expert service demand. This new agreement provides the SSA with a streamlined procurement mechanism to rapidly obtain qualified vocational expert witness support for the substantial volume of disability benefit hearings conducted annually across the agency's adjudication process.

This blanket purchase agreement serves to provide vocational expert witnesses to the SSA for hearings before an administrative law judge (ALJ) appealing denial of certain benefits administered by SSA. These hearings involve claims for benefits author