36C24526Q0302 AMENDMENT 1.docx

Special Notice Special Notice

GENERAL INFORMATION

VAMC (613)

VISN 5 Contract Satellite Office 510 Butler Avenue Martinsburg WV 25405

POINT OF CONTACT*

Contract Specialist Tara Davis tara.davis4@va.gov

(304) 263-0811

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

DESCRIPTION

REVISED STATEMENT OF WORK- AMENDMENT 1

Veterans Online Interactive Screening Program

1. SCOPE OF WORK

1.1 Description of Services: The contractor will grant the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) a license to use an online interactive screening program, assist VCL staff in training Chat Crisis Responders in the procedures for use of the online interactive screening program, provide ongoing technical assistance/support to the VCL, and collect/evaluate quantitative data.

Note: At no time shall the program, including the online assessment tool and all components of the interactive screening process, be conducted via artificial intelligence (AI), automated agents, or machine-driven decision-making. All user interactions, assessments, and crisis responses must be performed by trained human staff. Automated AI-based assessments, chatbots, or AI-generated mental health interventions are explicitly prohibited for this contract. The program, including the online assessment tool and any component of the interactive screening process, shall never seek to collect or store Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Protected Health Information (PHI) from users through prompts, fillable forms, or free-text options.

1.2 Background: There are approximately 20 million Veterans in the United States and six million Veterans who receive care within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VHA). Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate suicide rates among men between the ages of 20 and 65 at approximately 17 per 100,000 persons per year. VHA mental health officials estimate 6,400 suicides per year among Veterans, and 2,500 among veterans receiving health care from VHA. Recent reports have suggested that Veterans may be at an increased risk for conditions and behaviors associated with poor mental health, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and increased rates of substance use; all of which are established risk factors for suicide.

The VCL Chat program enables Veterans, along with their families and friends, to interact online anonymously with a trained VCL Crisis Responder. If the Crisis Responder, after a mental health assessment, determines that the user is in a crisis, the Crisis Responder can take immediate steps to transfer them to the VCL’s 24/7 call center, where further counseling and referral services are provided. The VCL chat program is intended to reach out to all Veterans who may or may not be enrolled in the VA health care system and provide them with online access to the VCL and the VA’s suicide prevention services. For many Veterans, their first contact with VHA is through this program.

To help facilitate Veterans’ utilization of the chat program and enhance the chat Crisis Responders’ ability to understand and respond effectively to Veteran-users, the VCL seeks to hire a contractor to develop, implement, and assist in evaluating an online assessment tool that would be seamlessly linked to the VCL Chat program.

1.3 Objective:

1.3.1 Develop, implement, and assist in evaluating an online, evidence-based assessment tool that would be seamlessly linked to the VCL chat program. The online, evidence-based assessment tool shall include symptoms of depression, PTSD, and other mental health problems and conditions that are associated with an elevated risk of suicidal behavior in veterans and active duty military service personnel. The assessment tool used for these mental health self-checks must be a standardized, validated mental health screening questionnaire and consistent with current clinical best practices. Completion of this standardized self-check questionnaire constitutes the first step in the crisis assessment process for Veterans accessing the VCL chat program.

1.3.2 The design shall provide full access to the assessment tool and all program functions from a smartphone or other mobile device and include a separate version of the assessment tool for family members and other advocates who wish to get help for a Veteran they are concerned about.

1.3.3 Each user’s submitted assessment, including the automation of the Reference code, shall be computer-classified into one of four tiers, depending on suicide risk, and routed to a live Chat Crisis Responder who provides a personalized response to the user and encourages follow-up conversation through the VCL Chat service. At no time shall artificial intelligence (AI) or automated agents be used to provide mental health assessments, referrals, or crisis responses. All such services must be performed by trained human responders. Automated AI-based interactions or interventions are not permitted. Using the understanding gained from reviewing the information the user provided in their assessment tool, the Chat Crisis Responder can provide appropriate referrals to services and, by including automated follow-up email reminders to participants, further engage the user in exploring and resolving barriers and resistances to service utilization.

1.3.4 An evaluation plan shall be implemented by the contractor and the VCL to measure the assessment tool utilization and outcomes. The contractor and VCL staff will collaborate to analyze and interpret the assessment tool data.

1.3.5 The contractor will work with VCL staff to analyze and interpret the data gathered through the online suicide assessment tool and collaborate with VCL staff in presenting evaluation findings at conferences and in manuscripts intended for professional audiences. Although the contractor will collect the data, VCL will own all collected data and have purview over all analysis, interpretation, and presentation of the data.

2. TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

2.1 Description of Tasks:

· Provide VCL an online suicide assessment tool;

· Provide unlimited access to the online assessment tool and collected data during the contract period;

· Provide ongoing technical support and assistance with the assessment tool's functionality, including sending follow-up “reminder” emails to participants, updating the Crisis Responder templates, the welcome page, and the thank-you page, and/or creating new templates that target individualized demographic responses. Allow for regular website updates/changes of resource information to include videos, and so forth.

· All technical support, updates, and participant communications must be managed and executed by human staff. The use of AI, automated agents, or machine learning systems in delivering, interpreting, or responding to participant data is strictly prohibited under this contract.

· Periodically monitor the online assessment tool to ensure user access and smooth functionality, including ensuring the Reference Code automatically populates for the Crisis Responder without requiring the participant to provide it.

· Monitor the integration of the assessment tool and the Veterans Chat software to accommodate ongoing updates by the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

· Assist VCL staff in training Chat Crisis Responders in the procedures of the online assessment tool and provide ongoing technical assistance and support to Chat Crisis Responders, as needed;

· Assist VCL staff in the analysis and interpretation of the online assessment tool data, including a data report/evaluation plan that includes specific data needs and timelines.

· Participate with VCL in presenting evaluation findings related to the online assessment tool at annual conferences, as needed.

· Participate in the development of manuscripts related to the online assessment tool, as agreed upon by the contractor and the VCL.

2.2 Reporting Requirements: The contractor will submit reports to the Contracting Officer’s Representative and the Quality Assurance Officer of the VCL.

2.3 Deliverables:

· Online assessment tool, as described in the section above; website with enhancements and interfaces, including timely updates/changes as agreed upon by the contractor and VA staff;

· Quarterly reports to be delivered on or before the 15th of the next quarter. Annual reports to be delivered on or before the 15th of the new Option year. Reports will include quantitative data (such as: number of quizzes, breakdown of participants, number/percent of symptom severity, evaluation data, number of new users, number of returning users, number of users who engaged in a chat, and so forth). Ad Hoc reports upon request;

· Secure transfer of all submitted assessment data to VCL. Data updates are exported and securely transferred to VCL Quarterly, concurrent with reports or Ad Hoc upon request.

· Quarterly conference calls with the VCL to review reporting data, report on future events for volume increases, and address any issues or updates. Face-to-face meeting(s) scheduled if agreed upon by contractor and VCL.

Special Notice

Special Notice