A16_JOFOC_Greensboro_Direct_Care__Final_Redacted_1.pdf

United States Department of the Interior

INTERIOR BUSINESS CENTER

Washington, DC 20240

JUSTIFICATION FOR

OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION AUTHORITY:

FAR 6.302, 41 U.S.C. 253(c)

140D0422R0007

Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) as implemented by FAR 6.3 and in accordance with the requirements by FAR 6.303-1, the justification for the use of the statutory authority under FAR 6.3 is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 6.303-2 as follows:

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition.”

This document is a Justification and Approval (J&A) for other than full and open competition for the Department of the Interior, Interior Business Center, Acquisition Services Directorate, Division 1 on behalf of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). This justification applies to Direct Care requirements in support of Unaccompanied Children (UC) at the ORR Influx Shelter Site in Greensboro, North Carolina.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

This is a Justification & Approval (J&A) in accordance with FAR 6.303-1(d) and 6.302-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency for a contract to facilitate an additional 1100 in UC Influx capacity beyond the current capacity at HHS UC influx sites. This additional 1100 in capacity is for children aged 13-17. This is a new contract requirement as this is the first time that UC influx capacity has been contracted for at the Government leased facility located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Based on Market Research and a review of past contract actions, Deployed Services has been identified as the best provider for this Urgent and Compelling requirement.

RFP 140D0422R0007

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value).

ORR houses unaccompanied children (UC) referred to its care in a network of state-licensed shelters throughout the United States. By law, UC may only remain in DHS custody for 72 hours following their apprehension at which time UC must be transferred to the care and custody of HHS. Due to a surge in the number of UC apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since early 2021, and bed capacity challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, ORR’s available bedspace has been insufficient to accommodate the number of children referred to its care. In March of 2021, upwards of 5,000 UC were held in DHS custody for several weeks as no beds were available within ORR’s network, creating an urgent humanitarian crisis with the potential for a catastrophic loss of life. In the Spring of 2021, ORR established emergency intake sites (EIS) to immediately decompress overcrowded border patrol stations. These EIS were established in short order under an urgent and compelling basis and ORR’s access to these sites is limited to one year. EIS provide a safer and less crowded environment than CBP facilities while ORR works to process children as quickly and safely as possible for release to a sponsor.

While ORR has been able to increase the number of beds that were previously off-line due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those increases are insufficient to provide the bed capacity necessary for the surge in UC referrals in 2021. In May 2021, ORR received 11,795 children with an average rate of 393 referrals per day. This is the highest level of referrals compared to any previous May and follows record breaking referral numbers in March and April 2021 with 13,832 and 19,154 children referred respectively. In order to respond to the 2021 UC surge, ORR added capacity at care provider facilities, re-opened an influx care facility and opened EIS locations to achieve sufficient UC bed capacity to respond to this urgent humanitarian crisis. The average daily UC referrals in June totaled 402 per day, with a record high of 901 referrals on April 7, and the seven-day referral average as of June 30, 2021 was 445 per day. As of August 4, the 7-day referral average was 615 UC per day.

Currently, monthly referrals to ORR continue to dramatically outpace historical averages and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ORR’s licensed bed network continues to hamper ORRs available bed capacity. In September 2021, there were 13,399 UC referrals to ORR and in October 2021, there were 10,656 UC referrals, both months far exceeding UC referrals in previous years. The high number of referrals has increased throughout November and December. In November of FY 2022, the number of UC referrals to ORR was 12,722 compared to 2,313 in the previous FY. December 2021 saw the highest level of UC referrals in history at 10,591.

As of January 25, 2022, DHS projections call for approximately 148,000 and 161,000 UC referrals to ORR this year. With monthly projections exceeding those seen in FY 2021.

ORR plans to issue a competitive contract solicitation to identify vendors who can serve as direct care providers at ORR influx sites. Unfortunately, the competitive process will not be completed by the current date ORR anticipates needing additional influx beds. As part of these efforts, ORR:

Issued a Request for Assistance to 14 states to identify possible locations/facilities suitable to operate an ORR temporary influx facility.

Issued a Request for Information via sam.gov on January 19, 2022 to identify providers capable of operating temporary influx facilities.

While these activities will likely expand ORR’s capacity in the long-term, based on DHS projections, ORR anticipates a shortfall in beds as early as April 2022. Therefore, ORR is working on a variety of solutions to retain emergency and influx bed capacity into at least the 2nd and 3rd quarters of FY 2022. This likely will include seeking an exceptional circumstance authorization from the Secretary of U.S. Health and Human Services to extend operations at ORR’s current EIS sites in Pecos, TX and Ft. Bliss for six months. Congress included restrictions in ORR’s FY2019 supplemental appropriation and subsequent appropriations in FY2020 and for FY2021 requiring ORR to adhere to the minimum standards of the FSA as expressed in Exhibit 1 of the agreement. The appropriation statutes require the Secretary apply FSA Exhibit 1 standards to unlicensed facilities that the Secretary determines are applicable to a non- State licensed facility for any grant or contract for a facility that remains in operation for more than six consecutive months. ORR is considering these requirements as it pursues various courses of action to retain capacity at these locations.

As such, ORR is seeking a vendor to provide direct care and supervision services for up to 1100 UC aged 13-17 at the influx shelter at Greensboro are needed to ensure ORR provides a safe and appropriate environment to children and youth who enter the United States (U.S.) without immigration status and without a parent or legal guardian who is able to provide for their physical and mental well-being.

ORR is seeking to provide support to UC in the custody of HHS who are housed temporarily at an ORR Influx Shelter Site at Greensboro. Greensboro has been identified as the first influx site and is a priority site by ORR. The original time line for standing up the influx site and begin placing UC at Greensboro was Fall 2022.

However, due to the significant increase in UC referral expected for this year and the unexpected loss of capacity at ORR’s Carrizo Springs Influx facility in March of 2022, a, urgent and unplanned need now exists to expedite the contract process for the Greensboro location in order to replace this lost capacity.

This contract action is essential to address the urgent request for immediate support to respond to the increased UC capacity to alleviate backups on the U.S. border due to anticipated increased levels of UC entering Government custody as indicated above.

This need was compounded by the recent and unexpected loss of UC capacity in Texas. Standing up the influx site in Greensboro and having the additional 1100 in UC capacity for 13-17 year old children will allow ORR to better accept referrals from U.S.

Border Patrol and limit the time UC may have to spend in U.S. Border Patrol facilities.

As indicated above, by law DHS may only retain custody of UC 72-hours following the child’s apprehension. Border patrol stations are not designed to house children and are not well suited to house any population for extended periods of time as the types of services available are limited in nature. To protect children from harm, HHS must be able to receive UC from DHS when they are referred. ORR shelters provide a safe child-centered environment best suited to meet the unique needs of children. While short delays in accepting referrals from DHS are not out of the ordinary given the unpredictable nature of immigration patterns; a repeat of the crisis both agencies endured in FY 2021 is unacceptable given the potential for loss of life.

ACF requires a contractor to provide comprehensive supervision and care services for UC in the custody of HHS who are housed temporarily at an ORR Influx Shelter Site(s).

The contractor must provide management, supervision, and services to UC. Services to US include medical services, behavior management services, safety services, and recreational / leisure services. In addition to the above services, the contractor is also responsible for the following materials: beds, clothing, educational supplies, recreational equipment, hygiene kits, and first aid medical supplies.

The period of performance for Direct Care and Supervision at Greensboro contract will be 12 months. A 12 month period of performance is expected to be sufficient for ORR immediate influx capacity needs and will be enough time for IBC AQD to establish a long term, competitive contract vehicle to provide Direct Care and Supervision at influx sites. Furthermore, a 12 month period of performance will provide needed time for the various HHS led initiatives above to provide additional capacity.

In accordance with FAR 12.207, this contract action will be Firm-Fixed Price. The estimated value, of these supplies and services is approximately .

4. An Identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

FAR 6.302-2 -- Unusual and Compelling Urgency. 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(2)

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

Due to shifting migration patterns (see above) and other factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic that limit bed availability (staffing challenges in ORR shelters as well as CDC-mandated quarantining requirements, the number of UC referred to ORR has exceeded the bed capacity in ORR’s permanent network of care facilities.

ORR depends on short-term influx sites to augment its need for increased permanent bed capacity. These short-term influx sites allow ORR to accept referrals from U.S. Border Patrol more expeditiously and limit the time UC spend in a U.S.

Border Patrol facility. As discussed above, while the standing up of the facility at Greensboro was originally anticipated to take place in Fall of 2022, the recent unexpected closure of a facility in Texas has caused the timeline for Greensboro to be expedited to Spring of 2022 in order to make up for this lost capacity as soon as possible.

The Contracting Officer was informed of Deployed Services, LLC, through the program office at ORR and how it had provided similar services as described in the PWS for Greensboro. This past similar work was performed under contract 75ACF121P00007, which was awarded by ACF, and provided at a facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas It should be noted that this site under this contract is a different site than that is currently being covered by BCFS. The support provided by Deployed Services at Carrizo ended in July of 2021. The Contractor Officer sought input from HHS, ACF, and ORR on whether there were any performance issues with Deployed Services. The HHS ACF ORR responded back that there were not documented performance issues, and furthermore stated that there was “nothing but praise” for the support provided by Deployed Services. Ultimately, Deployed Services is considered capable based on the acquisition history of performing similar work at other facilities.

An urgent and compelling need exists and following standard competitive procedures would result in unacceptable delays. As migration patterns and the numbers of UC children entering have been recently found to be exceeding historical forecasts from previous years, the Government is seeking additional capacity for 1100 UC at an influx site such as the one located at Greensboro. ORR anticipates an urgent need for unaccompanied children shelter beds in early 2022 due to increased influx and the unexpected closure of an existing BCFS administered shelter in Texas in March, 2022. ORR has been conducting ongoing market research to identify locations that would be appropriate for use as influx care facilities (ICFs). Greensboro was identified as an excellent ICF candidate location through this market research process and was originally identified to be stood up in Fall of 2022, following the completion of a competition contract action. As discussed above, however, with the approaching unexpected closure of the Texas facility and significant increase in UC forecast, the timeline for Greensboro was moved up to Spring 2022.

It should be noted, an expedited lease procurement is now underway to lease property in Greensboro so that it is available for occupancy in the spring 2022. The leasing portion of this acquisition is being carried out by a contracting office located within HHS. It is necessary to expedite the contract for the direct care and supervision services so the start date of these services lines up with the start of the lease, which is anticipated to be awarded in the spring.

Utilization of a competitive process for such a large requirement will result in an estimated award timeline that would incur significant risk to the Government. This is because the numbers of UC in Government care may at any point during the procurement timeline exceed the capacity at ORR facilities and cause a humanitarian crisis pertaining to how to care for the UC population that exceeds ORR facility capacity. Utilization of a short-term sole source procurement will shorten the procurement timeline and thereby reduce the risk by allowing for a quicker increase in ORR capacity.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies.

The exception at FAR 5.202(a)(2) applies. Accordingly, the notice has not been publicized. While the notice will be publicized, it will not be publicized in accordance with the time periods specified in FAR 5.203. The Government would be seriously injured if the agency complies with the time-periods for publication specified in FAR 5.203 because it would be unable to meet its statutory requirements.

7. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the

Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer will use available information to review proposed prices and determine that they are fair and reasonable, and such documentation shall be included in the contract file. The Contracting Officer will perform price analysis to determine whether the price is fair and reasonable in accordance with FAR 15.404-1. The Contracting Officer will compare the proposed prices to historical prices (including contract pricing used when Deployed Services provided similar services on previous contracts), and the cost estimate. Furthermore, as part of the price analysis, the Contracting Officer will include a comparison of the offered price to market pricing, in accordance with DOI-AAAP-0024, Enhancing Competition. This requirement is for commercial services and is exempt from cost analysis per FAR 15.403-1(b)(3). Other than certified cost or pricing data may be requested for further analysis if deemed necessary by the Contracting Officer.

8. A description of the market research conducted (see Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

The Government conducted two sets of market research. Initial market research was conducted by HHS from November 5, 2020 to February 5, 2021. This initial market research was not specific to Direct Care and Supervision services at a facility in Greensboro and was carried out under the assumption that a competition would be carried out on a full and open basis. The market research conducted by HHS resulted in a sources sought being posted on November 5, 2020. Six (6) vendors responded to this sources sought notice, of those, two (2) vendors were identified as small businesses. The two (2) small business vendors provided capability statements but were not determined to be capable of performing the work because