2-19-0048,_Privitization,_Taft,_California_Redacted.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (JOFOC)

Privatized Corrections Contracting

Taft Correctional Institution Located in Taft, California

Pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 6 302-2(b) (1) and (2), the Federal Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) has determined the need for privatized corrections services at the Taft Correctional Institution (Taft CI) meets the criteria established for other than full and open competition. This limitation of competition is justified in accordance with FAR Subpart 6.303-2, with the following information provided:

1. Agency:

The United States Department of Justice, Bureau, Administration Division, Acquisitions Branch, Privatized Corrections Contracting (PCC) .

2. Description of Action Being Approved:

The action to be approved is an unusual and compelling urgency procurement under other than full and open competition procedures for continued privatized corrections services for Federal offenders at Taft CI located in Taft, California.

3. Description of the Services Required to Meet the Agency Needs:

The intent is to award a contract for up to twelve months to the current contractor, Management & Training Corporation (MTC) under unusual and compelling urgency for the period of February 1, 2019 through January 31, 2020 for privatized corrections services.

Contract DJB1PC009 was competitively awarded to MTC on April 25, 2007, with a four-year base period and three two-year option periods with performance beginning August 20, 2007. On August 7, 2017, the Government exercised its unilateral right to extend services for 5 months 12 days beyond the originally contracted 10 years.

The extension of service expired on January 31, 2018.

On January 31, 2018, contract 15BPCC18C00000025 was awarded to MTC under Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition procedures, for a one-year period, with performance beginning on February 1, 2018. This contract expired on January 31, 2019.

Currently, the Bureau is reviewing proposals submitted in response to solicitation RFP-PCC-0025 (posted to FBO on April 3, 2017), for the management and operation of the Taft CI for up to ten years.

Based on the gap in services between January 31, 2019 and the award date anticipated in response to RFP-PCC-0025, a request for Contract Action was again, submitted to PCC for services at the Taft CI for up to twelve months, for the period beginning February 1, 2019. It is imperative that the services at this facility remain in place to continue housing the inmate population. Without a new contract, the inmate population at Bureau low security level facilities would increase beyond the that currently exists.

The services provided at Taft CI are essential for housing the approximately 2,355 federal inmates in Taft, California. Moving the offenders to other facilities in such a short period of time would be costly, time consuming, and detrimental to the orderly running of the Bureau. The services provided meet the Bureau's need for the management and operation of a private prison facility, thereby allowing the Bureau to accomplish its mission of protecting society.

To prevent loss of services a new contract 15BPCC19C00000028, in the estimated amount of will be issued to MTC, under unusual and compelling urgency, to cover privatized corrections services for the period February 1, 2019 through January 31, 2020.

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a) (2) as implemented by FAR 6.302-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency. Specifically, FAR 6.302-2(b) provides for the applicability of this authority in situations where "an unusual and compelling urgency precludes full and open competition" and delay in award of a contract would result in serious injury, financial or other, to the Government."

5. Determination that proposed Contractor's unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

After January 31, 2019, the Bureau is due to lose its ability to house the approximately 2,355 inmates serving sentences at the Taft CI. To prevent a disruption of secure housing services and the negative impact such a disruption would have on the Bureau's mission, this acquisition requires use of the unusual and compelling urgency exception to full and open competition.

MTC is the only offerer capable of providing services, since the contractor is uniquely situated to continue providing services without risk to the community and to the Bureau, for the required period. MTC does not require any start-up time, has the personnel already in place to provide privatized corrections services, and is the only provider able to offer privatized corrections services without disruption of services. Additionally, MTC is already providing the necessary services and is the only contractor that can continue to provide services without a costly relocation of inmates. Current contracted facilities with the Bureau are running close to maximum capacity and do not have the available bed space for 2,355 additional inmates.

The need for these services is of such an unusual and compelling urgency that the Bureau would be seriously injured unless the number of sources solicited is limited based upon the following:

Applicability of "Unusual and Compelling Urgency" Exception:

The Bureau is in the process of awarding a replacement ten-year contract using competitive procedures. However, that process has been delayed by conditions that could not have been foreseen; specifically, the unanticipated seismic activity in the area.

The Taft CI has been battling settlement issues for years due to the poor soil conditions . The settlement has been monitored through the use of crack monitoring tape. This tape allow measurements to be recorded and analyzed to study the rate of settlement throughout the institution.

The increase in seismic activity over the past year has led to portions of the education department (Law Library, Library, Office Space, Classroom) being condemned.

Substantial repairs will be required in order to make the condemned areas usable again.

Prior to moving forward with a new contract award it was deemed necessary to have a comprehensive evaluation of the institution structures. This evaluation will provide critical information to the Bureau, which will be used to determine the most efficient way to move forward. The structural evaluation will take approximately six months to complete.

Nature of Serious Injury: On January 31, 2019, the Bureau will lose its ability to securely house approximately 1,770 sentenced criminal aliens and 585 sentenced U.S. citizens at the Taft Camp until they can be deported or, in the case of the U.S. citizens, released. To ensure continuity of services and prevent a disruption of secure housing services, and to prevent serious injury - financial or other - this acquisition requires use of the unusual and compelling urgency exception to full and open competition for the following reasons:

• INTOLERABLE DELAY: The Bureau has experienced significant delay in awarding a replacement contract due to uncontrollable seismic activity at Taft CI. Requiring an open competition in lieu of approving this request to issue a new contract for a period of twelve months using other than full and open competition would cause an intolerable delay. It takes a minimum of 18 months to award a new PCC contract. During that time services would be disrupted.

Such a disruption would pose a serious risk that the Bureau would be unable to meet its mission critical need for secure inmate housing to protect society.

• SERIOUS FINANCIAL AND OTHER INJURY: There are no Bureau or private facilities in the immediate area with available bed space to which the criminal alien inmates or the minimum-security U.S. citizen inmates housed at Taft CI can be transferred.

The Bureau houses the majority of its criminal alien inmates in one of the private prison facilities with which it has a contract. Currently, the Bureau has eleven private prison contracts. The closest facilities under contract are: Dalby Correctional Facility; Big Spring Correctional Center; Big Spring

- Flightline Correctional Center and Reeves County

Detention Center III. Based on the Privatization Contract/Population Report, dated 1/31/2019, the facilities listed above are not capable of housing the approximate 585 minimum-security camp inmates, and none have the required bed space independently or collectively to house a projected additional 1,770 criminal alien offenders. These facilities are located between 1,122 - 1,248 miles away.

The next closest private facility is Great Plains Correctional Facility. It is 1,328 miles away, but it does not have available bed space either.

While the majority of criminal aliens are housed in private prison facilities, some criminal aliens are housed in Bureau facilities. The closest adult male Bureau facility to which the low security and minimum security offenders could be transferred is the Federal Correctional Complex Lompoc, California, which is located 109 miles away. However, Lompoc Camp does not have available bed space to absorb the projected number of 585 male minimum-security U.S. inmates currently located at the Taft Camp, let alone the additional 1,770 criminal alien offenders who require secure low security bed space.

Due to the lack of bed space in the immediate area for both the criminal alien inmates and the minimum security U.S. offenders currently housed at Taft CI, the Bureau would need to transfer a projected 2,355 inmates (1,770 criminal aliens and 585 minimum security U.S. offenders) to distant Bureau or private facilities for housing.

The cost of transferring inmates to Bureau or private facilities is governed by the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System. The cost of any one inmate's transfer is dependent on a number of variables, including the type of transport vehicle(s) used (bus, plane or both) and the percentage of seats occupied by Bureau inmates, whether overtime pay is needed for an inmate's escort(s), and the distance travelled.

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The magnitude of even these estimated partial costs, when multiplied by the 2,355 inmates who would need to be transferred is evidence of the need for this JOFOC to avoid serious financial injury to the Bureau.

Further, to the extent some or all of the projected 1,770 criminal aliens would be transferred to Bureau facilities, such transfers could create or add to an overcrowding issue at those facilities.

associated with housing up to 1,770 additional criminal aliens in Bureau facilities would decrease the availability of these resources for use on pre-release preparations for U.S. citizens who will be returning to their communities upon release.

The incumbent, MTC is already providing the necessary services. The PMB has determined that MTC can provide the required services at the Taft CI by the performance start date of February 1, 2019. The Contracting Officer has reviewed all of the documentation and agrees. MTC is able to continue providing services to the Bureau and without risk to the community starting February 1, 2019.

6. Efforts made to solicit from as many sources as practicable, including whether or not a notice was published in the GPE:

Based on the urgent requirements of these services, the exception at FAR 5.202(a) (2), which precludes competition to the maximum extent practicable, applies. The end of the current performance period on January 31, 2019, does not provide adequate time to issue Request for Proposals and adequately evaluate each proposal received. This takes into consideration the size and complexity of a requirement to house approximately 2,355 inmates (1,770 criminal aliens and 585 minimum-security U.S. offenders).

Additionally, the Bureau would be seriously injured in complying with the time frames specified in FAR 5.203.

Therefore, a new contract for up to a twelve-month period will be required prior to the expiration of contract 15BPCC1800000025 on January 31, 2019. The Contracting Officer has determined that the cost to the Government is fair and reasonable.

7. Contracting Officer's determination that cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated costs to the Government of per diem will be fair and reasonable based on a comparison of current Government contract prices for privatized corrections services, along with the current performance period pricing under Contract 15BPCC1800000025. It should be noted that Taft CI is a federally owned, contractor operated facility and the other facilities in this comparison are contractor-owned, contractor-operated facilities. Due to this fact, the Taft CI pricing below may be perceived as being high, but the Wage Determination rates (Corrections Officer) in California are more than double the rates for the compared facilities. This largely off sets any cost savings from the Taft CI being federally owned.

8. Description of the market survey conducted:

The market survey that was conducted in the most recent solicitation process for the Taft CI in the California area, Request for Proposal (RFP) RFP-PCC-0025 is applicable to the JOFOC.

The solicitation includes a 120-day period for the awardee to activate the facility, including the preparation and approval of all policies and procedures. This time is necessary to ensure the contractor has the resources in place to operate and manage the inmate population. Three proposals were received in response to RFP-PCC-0025. Each proposal indicates the contractor will require several months to prepare prior to accepting inmates.

9. Other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

None

10. List of sources, expressing in writing, interest in the acquisition:

MTC has inquired about the continuation of privatized corrections services at the Taft CI starting February 1, 2019.

11. Actions taken by the agency to remove or overcome barriers to competition:

It currently takes the Bureau approximately 18 months to award a PCC contract; therefore, there was no time to solicit for services for such a short period of time.

12. Contracting Officer's Certification:

I certify that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the Contracting Officer's knowledge and belief.