A12_RFI_15PBJA18N00000500.pdf

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Sources Sought Notice

CLASSIFICATION CODE

SUBJECT

CONTRACTING OFFICE'S

ZIP-CODE

SOLICITATION NUMBER

RESPONSE DATE (MM-DD-YYYY)

ARCHIVE DAYS AFTER THE RESPONSE DATE

RECOVERY ACT FUNDS

SET-ASIDE

NAICS CODE

CONTRACTING OFFICE

ADDRESS

POINT OF CONTACT

(POC Information Automatically Filled from User Profile Unless Entered)

DESCRIPTION See Attachment

AGENCY'S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

AGENCY CONTACT'S EMAIL

ADDRESS

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

ADDRESS

POSTAL CODE

COUNTRY

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

GENERAL INFORMATION

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

* = Required Field FedBizOpps Sources Sought Notice Rev. March 2010

R

PSOB Court Reporting and Transcription Services

20531

15PBJA18N00000500

05-25-2018

N

Y

561492

Acquisition Management Division DOJ, Office of Justice Programs 810 7th Street, N.W.

Washington DC 20531

Debashis Nag Contract Specialist Acquisition Management Division DOJ, Office of Justice Programs 810 7th Street, N.W.

Washington DC 20531

Bureau of Justice Assistance DOJ, Office of Justice Programs 810 7th Street, N.W.

Washington, DC

20531

USA

http://www.ojp.gov

OJP Website debashis.nag@usdoj.gov

1PM Eastern Time

US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS (OJP)

BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE (BJA)

PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS’ BENEFITS (PSOB) OFFICE

COURT REPORTING AND TRANSCRIBER SERVICES

This Request for Information (RFI) is being released pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 10 Market Research. The information collected through the process is considered to be market research as described by FAR 2.101 and in accordance with FAR 10.002. This is NOT a Request for Proposal (RFP), and nothing shall be construed herein or through the Sources Sought process to commit or obligate the Government to further action. In addition, vendors responding to this RFI shall bear all risks and expenses of any resources used to provide the requested information. The submission of capability information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary.

The Department of Justice (DOJ), the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is issuing this RFI to identify qualified and responsible small business vendors (e.g., 8(a); Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business;

Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Small Business; Small Disadvantaged Business; Veteran- Owned Small Business, Women-Owned Small Business and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business) having an interest in and possessing the resources and expertise to provide support for the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) by ensuring a complete, accurate, and secure legal record at PSOB’s oral appeal hearings through court reporting and transcription services.

The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to these proposed services is 561492. The anticipated contract type is Fixed Unit Price. The anticipated period of performance is a base year plus four (4) option years commencing December 1, 2018. The anticipated place of performance will include assigned field locations as well as the Contractor’s site.

Background

Enacted in 1976, the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Act (codified at 34 U.S.C. 10281, et seq.)

provides federal death, disability, and education benefits; assists in the recruitment and retention of qualified public safety officers in America; establishes the value communities place on the contributions of those who are willing to serve their communities in potentially dangerous circumstances; and offers peace of mind to men and women seeking careers in public safety. A unique effort of the U.S. Department of Justice; local, state, tribal, and federal public safety agencies; and national organizations, PSOB provides benefits including death, educational assistance, and disability to those eligible for the Program.

The PSOB Office at the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice is responsible for implementing the PSOB Program. In addition to reviewing and processing more than 1,000 cases each year, the Office works with national law enforcement, firefighter, and other first responder groups, educating public safety agencies regarding the Program and offering support to families and colleagues of fallen law enforcement officers, firefighters, and other first responders. Additionally, PSOB appeals, at the Hearing Officer, BJA Director, and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit level have reached unprecedented numbers. The current task is being performed under GS-07F-0528T Task Order DJO-BJA-14- G-0018 by Capital Reporting Company with a current task order end date of 12/11/2018.

Scope of Work

The Contractor plays a critical role not only in judicial proceedings, but at every meeting where the spoken word must be preserved as a written transcript. The Contractor shall be responsible for ensuring a complete, accurate, and secure legal record at PSOB’s oral appeal hearings. In addition to preparing and protecting the legal record, the Contractor may assist the administrative hearing officer in a variety of ways, such as organizing and searching for information in the official record or making suggestions to administrative hearing officer regarding courtroom administration and procedure. In some instances, the Contractor may need to provide closed-captioning and real-time translating services to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. The work shall be performed on an as needed basis. The estimated volume of these programs, per fiscal year, is as follows: Death: 350 claims; Disability: 100 claims.

Services

The Contractor may be required to:

TASK AREA 1: Providing court reporting services including:

Taking verbatim reports legal proceedings, meetings and other events when written accounts of spoken words are necessary for correspondence, records, or legal proof of the PSOB appeals process

Providing court reporting through three main methods: Steno Typing, Voice Writing and Digital E- Reporting. The contractor may use any of these methods and will be responsible for a number of duties both before and after transcribing events.

Create and maintain the computer dictionary that they use to translate stenographic strokes or voice record files into written text.

Organizing and searching for information in the official record or making suggestions to administrative hearing officer regarding courtroom administration and procedure

Providing closed-captioning and real-time translating services to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community After documenting proceedings, the Contractor must edit their translations for correct grammar, accurate identification of proper names and places, and to ensure that the record or testimony is discernible.

Prepare written transcripts, and provide an electronic copy of the transcript to the PSOB Office and COR

(Contracting Officer’s Representative) within two weeks after the hearing. The Contractor must ensure that all written reports contain the correct grammar, accuracy in the identification of proper names and places, and to ensure that the record is discernible.

Deliver exhibits to the PSOB Office and COR

Personnel Qualifications

In addition to coming prepared with his/her own equipment, personnel are required to be qualified professionals with the following skills:

Personnel possessing speed and accuracy Excellent listening skills Excellent and competent English grammar, vocabulary, and punctuation skills.

Voice writers must listen and speak simultaneously and very quickly, while also identifying speakers and describing peripheral activities in the courtroom or deposition room.

Personnel must be aware of business practices and current events as well as the correct spelling of names of people, places, and events that may be mentioned in a broadcast or in court proceedings.

Have expert knowledge of legal terminology and criminal and appellate procedure.

Because capturing proceedings requires the use of computerized stenography or speech recognition equipment, personnel must be knowledgeable about computer hardware and software applications.

Respondents to this RFI shall provide the following information:

a) Vendor background summary including, contractor name, address, DUNS, point of contact information, email, phone, website address, small business designation, and any GSA schedule number(s).

b) Tailored capability statements addressing the particulars of this effort, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability. If subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements.

c) Past Performance - Provide a list of previous contracts where similar services were provided. Provide customer/Government Agency contact information where these services were provided including:

contact name and organization, telephone number, and email address.

The Government will evaluate market information to ascertain potential market capacity to provide services consistent in scope described in this notice and otherwise anticipated.

Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. Interested vendors should monitor a government point of entry site for further information.

Submission Instructions: Interested small business vendors who consider themselves qualified to perform the above-listed services are invited to submit a response to this RFI Notice by Friday, May 25, 2018 at 1:00PM Eastern Time. All responses under this RFI Notice must be emailed to debashis.nag@usdoj.gov.