Amendment_1.pdf

“National Capacity Building Center for Public Child Welfare Agencies”

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO. 14-233-SOL-00240

AMENDMENT NO.: 01

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 5, 2014 DUE DATE: July 7, 2014 2:00 p.m. Eastern

ISSUED BY:

Acquisition Management Services Program Support Center U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 12501 Ardennes Ave.

Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20857 Point of Contact: Korriise LaRoche, Contract Specialist

DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT

PURPOSE: To respond to questions submitted under this solicitation (Part I). Unless specifically noted, all specifications remain unchanged.

Part I: Responses to Questions Received Under the solicitation:

1. Page 21 of 123: In the staffing table, can the government confirm that 2,080 hours were used as the basis for an FTE? If not, 2,080 hours please state the hours that were used as the basis for an FTE.

The government provides a table on pages 21-22 that provides estimates of the total number of labor hours that will be necessary to complete the contract tasks in the base and each option year. Please refer to this table in combination with general descriptions of estimated number of FTEs in the solicitation.

2. Page 38 of 123: Task 4.4 – “Up to 12 youth trips and 12 family member trips may be necessary each year to provide consultation, participate on panels and/or present at national events.” How many days should be budgeted for each trip? How many family members per trip should be budgeted? Does the government anticipate requesting multiple youth or family members to participate as panelists at a national event or conference and if yes, would this change the total number of trips for which offerors should budget?

The government anticipates that a total of 24 trips for youth and family member consultants may be necessary in the base year and each optional year, if exercised. For purposes of estimating costs an offeror can assume that each trip will be one and a half to two days of travel for one youth or family consultant.

Please also refer to Subsection L.10 “Travel Assumptions.”

3. On page 43 of 123: Task 7.2, the text reads “Components of a completed learning experience may include items such as, a final curriculum, supplemental faculty/trainer tools and instructions, distance learning modules, audio or video recordings, and/or other accompanying tools and resources.” Can the government confirm that the offeror will provide only electronic copies of such items or if not, provide an approximate number of hard copies per year that will be required for copying?

The solicitation states that components, “…must be approved by CB, made Section 508 compliant, and transferred to an entity designated by CB in a format identified by the COR, prior to their acceptance.”

The government anticipates that all learning experience components will be delivered to CB in an electronic format because, as described under Subtask 7.2 on page 42, “proposed methods of instruction and deliverables must be easily transferrable to an entity designated by CB and its e-learning platform.” This, however, does not preclude the government from also requiring the contractor to deliver components in hard copy.

Because the components are expected to vary based on the types of learning experiences created and the audiences for whom these experiences are designed, the solicitation does not prescribe specific formats in which components must be delivered to learning experience participants under Subtask 7.3.

Hard copies may be used, if approved by CB. Restrictions on printing, duplicating, and copying are described under Subsection H.3 on pages 72-73.

4. Page 104 of 123: Section L.6 (1) Small, Disadvantaged Business Participation Plan requests a formalized commitment for proposed SDB’s to include specific names of organizations and points of contact, as well as signed agreements for designated services. Please confirm a Teaming Agreement, Memorandum of Understanding Agreement, or similar agreement that includes the specified information would be acceptable.

Any agreement with the specified information outlined in Section L.6 (1-4) would be acceptable.

5. Page 106 of 123: Under Direct Labor, the RFP states in part: “The Offeror must submit proof of proposed wages…and documentation to verify salaries of new hires shall consist of written offers of employments…” Do all individuals have to be identified? If there are some staff that won’t be identified until after contract award, what documentation, if any, will be required for those individuals?

Please submit all the required information outlined in Section L.8.(1).

6. Page 117 of 123: Factor 5, bullet 2, Can the staff loading charts for core and optional tasks be included as an appendix in the Technical Volume?

Yes. Staff loading charts may be included in the technical appendix.

7. Page 117 of 123: Factor 5, bullet 7, “A timetable for activities and deliverables that is reasonable and adequate.” Can the timetable be included as part of an appendix in the Technical Volume?

No. This should be addressed in the technical proposal.

8. May tables/graphics be in 10 point font and single spaced?

Tables/graphics may be single-spaced. Text must be in 12-point font as described in Subsection L.3 on page 102.

9. Will the contractor have access to current CB datasets including AFCARS, NCANDS, and NYTD?

The contractor will have access to data that has been made publicly available by the Children’s Bureau.

This includes data files available from the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect. Additional access will be at the discretion of CB.

10. Page 27 of 123 States, “Resumes of key staff must be provided to ACF for approval prior to assignment of the individual(s).” What positions are considered key staff?

For purposes of reviewing the qualifications of personnel, “key staff” refers to the leadership positions describe on pages 22-27 as well as those staff and consultants described under Subtask 3.1, on page 32.

11. How many staff should be identified as Key staff?

The solicitation does not prescribe the number of staff that an offeror should identify as “key staff.” The solicitation only describes those personnel to whom “key staff” refers. Please see pages 22-27 and 32.

12. Are contractors expected to form a coalition with other institutions?

Please refer to “Staffing Requirements” on pages 21-22. The solicitation states, “The Contractor should propose a mix of qualified Center staff and/or subcontractors and expert consultants that can complete the requirements while meeting or exceeding CB’s expectations for performance.”

“Due to the size, scope, and range of expertise required for this project, CB expects that a Contractor may need to enlist a variety of types of highly skilled and qualified subcontractors and consultants (as necessary) to perform all of the tasks described in this SOW.”

An offeror may either submit a proposal to be the sole contractor or submit a bid proposing to partner with subcontractors.

AMENDMENT NO.: 01