Questions and Answers for Solicitation number 12318727Q0015 Pine Ridge Center Mental Health Consultant 11022026.pdf

Questions and Answers for Solicitation# 12318727Q0015 – Pine Ridge Center Mental Health Consultant

– 11/2/2026

Questions in black and answers in red

Contract term. The Award Type on page 11 reads "a Firm-Fixed Price Contract … shall not exceed one (5) years." The CLIN schedule shows a base year and four option years through November 11, 2031. Please confirm the contract type and total term, and whether quotes must price all option years.

Contract type is Firm-Fixed Price, please price Base Year and all four Option years.

Option clauses. FAR 52.217-9 no longer appears in the solicitation, while 52.217-8 is still listed and the price evaluation still refers to options. Please confirm whether 52.217-9 applies.

Both 52.217-8 and 52.-217-9 are included in the solicitation and will be posted to SAM.GOV

Equivalent federal wage. The 52.222-42 statement on page 3 lists the Center Mental Health Counselor at

$32.42. The amended version of 12318727Q0003 listed $26.51. Please confirm which rate applies.

12318727Q0003- has been canceled and no longer applies.

Please note: 12318727Q0015 - Service Contract Labor Standards (SCLS/SCA) are not applicable to the Center

Mental Health Counselor (CMHC) position. Therefore, no wage determination applies, and the wage determination has been removed from the solicitation.

Prior Q&A. No questions-and-answers attachment is posted with 12318727Q0015. Please confirm whether the answers issued under 12318727Q0003 still apply.

N/A - FOLLOW Q&A for solicitation# 12318727Q0015, as solicitation# 12318727Q0003 has been canceled and no longer applies.

Licensure. We request approval of Mandy Price, LIMHP, as the proposed Center Mental Health Consultant, and a waiver under the Labor Categories attachment for the LIMHP license, for Ms. Price and for a backup provider holding the same license.

Waiver no longer applies.

Backup providers. Would it be acceptable for us to supply a list of backup providers that the agency could vet within one week of notification?

Back up providers are acceptable, however; this process can take anywhere between 24 hours and a week.

Timeline for acquiring a PIV card can take up to a month. However, it is not a requirement to start work.

Is this a follow-on to an existing contract? If so, please share the current contract number and the current hourly rate.

This is new requirement.

Section 7 says DOL must approve key personnel before award. Should the quote include the proposed counselor's resume and Nebraska license, and how long does DOL approval usually take before the November

12, 2026 start?

Must all 520 hours be worked on site at the center, or may some be provided by telehealth?

Onsite only

Should the hourly rate include travel to and from the center, or is travel billed separately?

Travel is not anticipated or authorized for this statement of work.

Annual Contract Hours and Weekly Staffing Requirements

The Schedule of Items establishes 520 hours annually for each contract period. However, SOW Section 5.2.1 references a 20-hour weekly schedule, and QASP Section 4.1 identifies a 20-hour weekly staffing requirement.

Please clarify which requirement governs contract performance. If 20 hours per week is mandatory, will the

Government revise the annual CLIN quantities to reflect the required hours?

Please price for 520 hours (position is part-time; correction 10 hours a week), exact schedule to be worked out between the center and contractor once awarded.

2. Limitations on Subcontracting — FAR 52.219-14

The solicitation is designated as a Total Small Business Set-Aside; however, FAR 52.219-14 is unchecked in the applicable clause listing.

Correction made and it is now checked.

Please clarify whether FAR 52.219-14 applies to this acquisition and whether the Government intends to amend the solicitation to address the clause selection.

It applies and solicitation updated and posted to SAM.GOV

3. Government-Furnished Equipment and Contractor Responsibilities

SOW Section 4.0 identifies Government-furnished workspace, equipment, computers, office supplies, and other resources. However, QASP Section 4.1 states that the contractor is responsible for providing the resources and equipment necessary for performance.

QASP updated as below:

Adequate workspace, equipment, supplies, and materials as needed to accomplish the work requirements outlined herein, including examination rooms and furniture, assessment equipment, telephone, computer, a fax machine, office supplies, PPE, and similar items. These supplies and property shall be utilized during the performance of this contract only while providing student care.

Please clarify which provision governs and identify any equipment, supplies, or other resources the contractor must furnish beyond those identified in SOW Section 4.0. - any additional/resources; information beyond this will be discussed with the COR/Pine Ridge Center.

Adequate workspace, equipment, supplies, and materials as needed to accomplish the work requirements outlined herein, including examination rooms and furniture, assessment equipment, telephone, computer, a fax machine, office supplies, PPE, and similar items. These supplies and property shall be utilized during the performance of this contract only while providing student care.

QASP Staffing Performance Standards

QASP Section 4.1 identifies a staffing performance standard of 98% and an Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) of

95%.

Please clarify how these percentages are applied and which threshold determines satisfactory contractor performance.

That will monitored by the Center Director and reported to COR - Jennifer Mendyka.

Alternative Clinical Licensure and Waiver Requirements

Attachment 5 identifies Clinical Psychologists and Licensed Clinical Social Workers as standard qualifying professionals and permits consideration of other independently licensed mental health professionals at the

Government's discretion, subject to a waiver.

a. Would a Nebraska Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner (LIMHP), who is not a licensed clinical psychologist or LCSW, be eligible for consideration under the waiver provision?

They must hold own license and no waiver is required

b. What documentation and submission procedure are required to request this waiver?

No waiver required

Service Contract Labor Standards Classification

The solicitation incorporates Service Contract Labor Standards requirements and an applicable wage determination.

Service Contract Labor Standards (SCLS/SCA) are not applicable to the Center Mental Health Counselor

(CMHC) position. Therefore, no wage determination applies, and the wage determination has been removed from the solicitation.

Please identify the labor classification intended for the Center Mental Health Consultant position. If the required independently licensed clinician does not correspond to an existing classification, please clarify whether the conformance process would apply. N/A

7. Monthly Reporting Requirements

The SOW requires submission of the Monthly CMHC Utilization Report, while QASP Section 4.1 references a monthly status report containing additional operational information.

Please clarify whether these are two separate required monthly deliverables or whether the Monthly CMHC

Utilization Report satisfies both requirements.

These are 2 different deliverables; however, will be monitored by the Center Director and reported to COR -

Jennifer Mendyka.

8. Historical Student Population and Clinical Workload

To assist with accurate staffing and pricing, would the Government be able to provide the following information, if available?

a. Current approximate student enrollment at Pine Ridge Job Corps Center.

This information is located in the Statement of Work under 2.0:

Student populations range from 100 to over 300 students depending on the Center’s On-Board Strength (OBS).

Job Corps is a self-paced program: therefore, a student’s length of enrollment varies. Students may remain in the program for up to two years, but the average length of enrollment is approximately eight months.

b. Historical or estimated monthly numbers of applicant-file reviews, student assessments, individual counseling sessions, group counseling sessions, and crisis interventions.

That can be discussed with the COR - Jennifer Mendyka (upon award).

c. Historical utilization of the contracted CMHC hours during the previous contract period.

That can be discussed with the COR - Jennifer Mendyka (upon award)

9. Emergency Mental Health Services and After-Hours Availability

The SOW identifies responsibilities involving emergency mental health evaluations, crisis intervention, and referrals.

Please clarify whether the contractor is expected to provide emergency consultation or remain available outside the mutually agreed scheduled service hours, including evenings, weekends, or holidays.

Emergencies can arise and that can be discussed with the Center Director/COR - Jennifer Mendyka

Center OBS and the PRH may change at any time; consequently, the quantity of required Mental Health services hours may vary, depending on the needs of the student population. However, any changes to the required hours will be executed via a bilateral modification to the contract.

If after-hours availability is required, please identify the applicable response-time or on-call expectations so that the requirement can be accurately incorporated into the proposed pricing.

5.2. Schedule and Availability: located in the Statement of Work

5.2.2. Center OBS and the PRH may change at any time; consequently, the quantity of required Mental Health services hours may vary, depending on the needs of the student population. However, any changes to the required hours will be executed via a bilateral modification to the contract and therefore cannot be incorporated into proposed pricing.

5.2.3. Key Personnel must provide a current contact number to the Center’s Health and Wellness Director

(HWM) or COR. When Key Personnel are unavailable for an extended time, as determined by the Contracting

Officer, the Contractor will provide an acceptable substitute to provide services. All substitute personnel will be approved by the national and regional offices prior to work being performed.

5.2.4. Contractor will contact the CD or designee 24 hours in advanced for cancellation of services. For planned absences, the Contractor will coordinate with Center staff and the CO to provide an approved substitute, as well as a current emergency contact number. All substitute personnel will be approved by the national and regional offices prior to work being performed.

10. Government Quotation Submission Deadline

The solicitation identifies the quotation deadline as "Thursday, November 6, 2026." However, November 6, 2026, falls on a Friday.

Please clarify whether the intended quotation deadline is Friday, November 6, 2026, at 11:00 AM Eastern

Standard Time.

Correct day of proposal due is Friday and not Thursday – date remains the same – November 6, 2026, at 11am

EST. – Because of the time sensitivity of this requirement, no extension of the due date will be allowed.

May a Nebraska-licensed clinical psychologist or licensed independent clinical social worker supplied by a subcontractor serve as the DOL-approved key clinician, while Bronzeway acts as prime contractor? Or must the prime itself hold a clinical license? For other independently licensed practitioners (such as Nebraska LIMHPs), would a government waiver be required under Attachment 5?

They must hold own license and no waiver is required.

The Schedule of Items lists 520 hours per year, while SOW Section 5.2.1 describes 20 hours per week as a reasonable schedule. Should offerors price 520 hours per contract year, with the actual weekly distribution to be agreed with the Center?

Please price for 520 hours (position is part-time; correction 10 hours a week), exact schedule to be worked out between the center and contractor once awarded.

The solicitation specifies "Thursday, November 6, 2026, 11:00 AM EST." November 6 appears to fall on a

Friday. Please confirm the intended receipt deadline.

Correct day of proposal due is Friday and not Thursday – date remains the same – November 6, 2026 at 11am EST. – Because of the time sensitivity of this requirement, no extension of the due date will be allowed.

I have reviewed the re-solicitation proposal. I may be missing something - it is described as a combined solicitation, but appears to be the same duties described in the original solicitation. Can you clarify if there are additional elements to this re-solicitation? Also, there is some confusing information through third-parties that suggest that the position is an expected 20 hours per week, but the math for the solicitation works out to 10 hours per week. Can you verify hour expectation?

This 10 hours per week and sorry for any confusion.

This is a confusing process and I want to be sure we are not missing something. I believe that our agency could provide excellent service to this population, but I do not understand why the original solicitation was cancelled, which concerns me. We were also contacted by another agency in the area that had put in a bid and the contractor they worked with to submit their bid informed them that our agency had been awarded the prior contract before it was cancelled.

Due to unforeseen circumstances with the NAICS code error, the solicitation needed to be canceled. I have no information regarding an award to any other vendor, and no award was performed to date on my end for Pine

Ridge CMHC under previous ( or current announcement.

End.