A5 - Statement of Work (00HCUHCB-2020-46972).docx

SECTION C - DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATION/WORK STATEMENT

Performance Work Statement

Title of Project: Data Purchasing Project – National Domestic Violence Hotline

C.1 Background and Need

The United States is in the midst of a novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, the strain of coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19). As of May 29th, 2020, more than 100,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. Addressing the pandemic is a top priority for the Trump Administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the CDC. Furthermore, there is concern that additional stressors during this emergency (e.g., continual close proximity with potential perpetrators of family violence, economic uncertainty, mental stress) could contribute to in increases in intimate partner violence (IPV). There is a need to understand the patterns of calls to the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) to get a more real-time picture of the potential association of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic with violence victimization at the national, state and local levels. Access to timely data is a core part of informing a rapid response to this pandemic. This project will increase CDC’s knowledge and understanding of the impact of the pandemic and will help to provide more timely, targeted, and tailored technical assistance and information to funded states and the violence prevention field more broadly. This project will also help inform an expanded national violence surveillance system, providing an early indicator of serious IPV before more severe victimization would be captured by emergency room surveillance efforts.

Through this project, CDC intends to purchase access to proprietary dashboards, as well as raw data files that will provide in-depth information on patterns of calls to the NDVH. CDC will conduct critical analyses to make contributions to the scientific evidence base and to inform technical assistance provided to funded jurisdictions.

C.2 Project Objective

The purpose of this contract is to obtain data collected by the NDVH. As outlined in Section 4 Technical Requirements, the Contractor will provide the access to the NDVH dashboards, requested raw data extract and updated dictionary, in addition to on-going training and analytic/programming technical support. Obtaining de-identified data will enable CDC to answer critical research questions that pertain to the potential impact of economic pressures and shelter-in-place orders on call patterns for the NDVH.

Through proposed analyses using these data, CDC will make significant contributions to the field of public health by preparing manuscripts and disseminating information to key stakeholders. CDC will use new knowledge gained from analyses of these data to inform prevention and response efforts at CDC and in the field. This information can help inform staff and CDC funding recipients of any changing or emerging patterns in domestic violence-related calls.

By leveraging this existing data source, CDC will not need to provide resources for development, testing, and creation of a new surveillance system. For these reasons, this approach will create greater utility, efficiencies, and cost savings for CDC and the government.

C.3 Scope of Work

The Contractor shall provide CDC access (i.e., user id/passwords) to the online secure NDVH dashboards, as well as access to the line-level (case-level) data contained in the proprietary data set of individuals who have contacted the NDVH. These data include information such as caller demographics, location (i.e., city, state), reason for the call, service referrals, and whether the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in the decision to call the hotline. The Contractor shall continue to use their routine instruments to collect these data.

Updated data are provided to the dashboard on a daily basis for the duration of the contract. The Contractor shall provide on-going training and technical support to ensure that the data are being analyzed and interpreted with the highest scientific rigor.

The Contractor shall review CDC abstracts/analytical plans and provide CDC with written feedback, as appropriate.

C.4 Technical Requirements

Task 1: Communication with CDC

The contractor and CDC will participate in a kick-off conference call within 10 business days of award to discuss the scope of the data purchase (which specific variables will be included in the data extraction based on CDC’s priority research questions) and the exact form of the data file (SAS, STATA, SPSS, etc.) and the method of delivery (for example FTP site or data portal). The Contractor will provide a written summary of decisions made within 5 business days after the meeting.

The Contractor and CDC will participate in monthly conference calls (the frequency can be adjusted as needed).

Task 2: Timeline and Work Plan

The Contractor will prepare a final timeline and work plan (submits to CDC 15 days post award). The workplan should include at a minimum, a list of tasks necessary to complete deliverables, along with a timeline and staffing plan for each task. CDC will get 15 days to review and comment on the workplan.

Task 3: Select Variables and Prepare Data Dictionary

In collaboration, CDC and the Contractor will create the requirements for the data extract and finalize which variables are to be included in the data extract by day 45 post award. The Contractor will create the code to extract the data with 30 days of award. The code will be reviewed by CDC prior to its run as a quality control measure. Once the code is run and the extract is created, CDC will have 15 days to review the extract to ensure that all the proper elements and measures are included in the extract.

By 45 days post award, the Contractor shall provide an updated data dictionary of the agreed upon variables that are included in the data set. In addition, the contractor shall provide any supplementary documentation of the data sample. All prepared technical support materials should be user-friendly, concise, and ready to use by CDC.

Task 4: Provide Data

The Contractor will work with CDC to create the data extract. Updated data are provided weekly for the duration of the contract. The extract is then sent to CDC in the agreed upon structure and method (see Task 1). The Contractor will perform additional quality checks on the data measures to ensure that there are no unexpected trends or values in the data. Once the Contractor is finished with quality checks, the data are delivered to CDC, no later than 2 months from the contract award date.

The Contractor is responsible for adhering to standard data security and data privacy standards. The Contractor shall store de-identified data on a secure server. The Contractor shall use rigorous methodologies on data collection and data linking and maintain password protected data access.

Throughout the project, the Contractor shall provide CDC in writing any notices about any changes in how the data are collected, any changes in coding, any modifications to the sampling frame, or any changes that would affect CDC’s understanding or interpretation of the data.

Task 5: Training and Technical Assistance

The Contractor shall provide an initial training (i.e., webinar) on the data and the system to CDC staff within 15 days of award. This training will be used by CDC to determine appropriate revisions to the data dictionary and other data reporting needs. Additional training support will be provided by the Contractor on an as-needed basis throughout the year (to be included within the 300 hours of overall support provided by the Contractor). That ongoing support also includes analytical and programming assistance.

Task 6: Clearance Reviews As appropriate, the Contractor shall review CDC abstracts/analytical plans and provide CDC with written feedback on each within 5 business days. The Contractor shall review CDC draft manuscripts and provide written feedback on each within 10 business days. As appropriate, the Contractor may be included as a co-author on reports and manuscripts based on a discussion between CDC and the Contractor, however CDC will make the final decision.

C.5 INFORMATION AND SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

1. Baseline Security Requirements

1) Applicability. The requirements herein apply whether the entire contract or order (hereafter “contract”), or portion thereof, includes either or both of the following:

a. Access (Physical or Logical) to Government Information: A Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) employee will have or will be given the ability to have, routine physical (entry) or logical (electronic) access to government information.

b. Operate a Federal System Containing Information: A Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) will operate a federal system and information technology containing data that supports the HHS mission. In addition to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 2.1 definition of “information technology” (IT), the term as used in this section includes computers, ancillary equipment (including imaging peripherals, input, output, and storage devices necessary for security and surveillance), peripheral equipment designed to be controlled by the central processing unit of a computer, software, firmware and similar procedures, services (including support services), and related resources.

2) Safeguarding Information and Information Systems. In accordance with the Federal Information Processing Standards Publication (FIPS)199, Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems, the Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall:

a. Protect government information and information systems in order to ensure:

· Confidentiality, which means preserving authorized restrictions on access and disclosure, based on the security terms found in this contract, including means for protecting personal privacy and proprietary information;

· Integrity, which means guarding against improper information modification or destruction, and ensuring information non-repudiation and authenticity; and

· Availability, which means ensuring timely and reliable access to and use of information.

b. Provide security for any Contractor systems, and information contained therein, connected to an HHS network or operated by the Contractor on behalf of HHS regardless of location. In addition, if new or unanticipated threats or hazards are discovered by either the agency or contractor, or if existing safeguards have ceased to function, the discoverer shall immediately, within one (1) hour or less, bring the situation to the attention of the other party.

c. Adopt and implement the policies, procedures, controls, and standards required by the HHS Information Security Program to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of government information and government information systems for which the Contractor is responsible under this contract or to which the Contractor may otherwise have access under this contract. Obtain the HHS Information Security Program security requirements, outlined in the HHS Information Security and Privacy Policy (IS2P), by contacting the CO/COR or emailing fisma@hhs.gov.

d. Comply with the Privacy Act requirements and tailor FAR clauses as needed.

3) Information Security Categorization. In accordance with FIPS 199 and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-60, Volume II: Appendices to Guide for Mapping Types of Information and Information Systems to Security Categories, Appendix C, and based on information provided by the ISSO, CISO, or other security representative, the risk level for each Security Objective and the Overall Risk Level, which is the highest watermark of the three factors (Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability) of the information or information system are the following:

Based on information provided by the ISSO, Privacy Office, system/data owner, or other security or privacy representative, it has been determined that this solicitation/contract involves:

[X ] No PII [ ] Yes PII

Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Per the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-130, “PII is information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual's identity, either alone or when combined with other information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual.” Examples of PII include, but are not limited to the following: social security number, date and place of birth, mother‘s maiden name, biometric records, etc.

PII Confidentiality Impact Level has been determined to be: [ X] Low [ ] Moderate [ ] High

4) Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). CUI is defined as “information that laws, regulations, or Government-wide policies require to have safeguarding or dissemination controls, excluding classified information.” The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) must comply with Executive Order 13556, Controlled Unclassified Information, (implemented at 3 CFR, part 2002) when handling CUI. 32 C.F.R. 2002.4(aa) As implemented the term “handling” refers to “…any use of CUI, including but not limited to marking, safeguarding, transporting, disseminating, re-using, and disposing of the information.” 81 Fed. Reg. 63323. All sensitive information that has been identified as CUI by a regulation or statute, handled by this solicitation/contract, shall be:

a. marked appropriately;

b. disclosed to authorized personnel on a Need-To-Know basis;

c. protected in accordance with NIST SP 800-53, Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations applicable baseline if handled by a Contractor system operated on behalf of the agency, or NIST SP 800-171, Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Information Systems and Organizations if handled by internal Contractor system; and

d. returned to HHS control, destroyed when no longer needed, or held until otherwise directed. Destruction of information and/or data shall be accomplished in accordance with NIST SP 800-88, Guidelines for Media Sanitization.

5) Protection of Sensitive Information. For security purposes, information is or may be sensitive because it requires security to protect its confidentiality, integrity, and/or availability. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall protect all government information that is or may be sensitive in accordance with OMB Memorandum M-06-16, Protection of Sensitive Agency Information by securing it with a FIPS 140-2 validated solution.

6) Confidentiality and Nondisclosure of Information. Any information provided to the contractor (and/or any subcontractor) by HHS or collected by the contractor on behalf of HHS shall be used only for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this contract and shall not be disclosed or made known in any manner to any persons except as may be necessary in the performance of the contract. The Contractor assumes responsibility for protection of the confidentiality of Government records and shall ensure that all work performed by its employees and subcontractors shall be under the supervision of the Contractor. Each Contractor employee or any of its subcontractors to whom any HHS records may be made available or disclosed shall be notified in writing by the Contractor that information disclosed to such employee or subcontractor can be used only for that purpose and to the extent authorized herein.

The confidentiality, integrity, and availability of such information shall be protected in accordance with HHS and CDC policies. Unauthorized disclosure of information will be subject to the HHS/CDC sanction policies and/or governed by the following laws and regulations:

a. 18 U.S.C. 641 (Criminal Code: Public Money, Property or Records);

b. 18 U.S.C. 1905 (Criminal Code: Disclosure of Confidential Information); and

c. 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, Subchapter I (Paperwork Reduction Act).

7) Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6). All procurements using Internet Protocol shall comply with OMB Memorandum M-05-22, Transition Planning for Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6).

8) Government Websites. All new and existing public-facing government websites must be securely configured with Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) using the most recent version of Transport Layer Security (TLS). In addition, HTTPS shall enable HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) to instruct compliant browsers to assume HTTPS at all times to reduce the number of insecure redirects and protect against attacks that attempt to downgrade connections to plain HTTP. For internal-facing websites, the HTTPS is not required, but it is highly recommended.

9) Contract Documentation. The Contractor shall use provided templates, policies, forms and other agency documents to comply with contract deliverables as appropriate.

10) Standard for Encryption. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall:

a. Comply with the HHS Standard for Encryption of Computing Devices and Information to prevent unauthorized access to government information.

b. Encrypt all sensitive federal data and information (i.e., PII, protected health information [PHI], proprietary information, etc.) in transit (i.e., email, network connections, etc.) and at rest (i.e., servers, storage devices, mobile devices, backup media, etc.) with FIPS 140-2 validated encryption solution.

c. Secure all devices (i.e.: desktops, laptops, mobile devices, etc.) that store and process government information and ensure devices meet HHS and CDC-specific encryption standard requirements. Maintain a complete and current inventory of all laptop computers, desktop computers, and other mobile devices and portable media that store or process sensitive government information (including PII).

d. Verify that the encryption solutions in use have been validated under the Cryptographic Module Validation Program to confirm compliance with FIPS 140-2. The Contractor shall provide a written copy of the validation documentation to the COR and ISSO within 30 days of contract award.

e. Use the Key Management system on the HHS personal identification verification (PIV) card or establish and use a key recovery mechanism to ensure the ability for authorized personnel to encrypt/decrypt information and recover encryption keys. Encryption keys shall be provided to the COR upon request and at the conclusion of the contract.

11) Contractor Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Each Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) employee having access to non-public government information under this contract shall complete the CDC non-disclosure agreement. A copy of each signed and witnessed NDA shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer (CO) and/or CO Representative (COR) prior to performing any work under this acquisition.

12) Privacy Threshold Analysis (PTA)/Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) – The Contractor shall assist the CDC Senior Official for Privacy (SOP) or designee with conducting a PTA for the information system and/or information handled under this contract to determine whether or not a full PIA needs to be completed.

a. If the results of the PTA show that a full PIA is needed, the Contractor shall assist the CDC SOP or designee with completing a PIA for the system or information within 30 days after completion of the PTA and in accordance with HHS policy and OMB M-03-22, Guidance for Implementing the Privacy Provisions of the E-Government Act of 2002.

b. The Contractor shall assist the CDC SOP or designee in reviewing the PIA at least every three years throughout the system development lifecycle (SDLC)/information lifecycle, or when determined by the agency that a review is required based on a major change to the system, or when new types of PII are collected that introduces new or increased privacy risks, whichever comes first.

A. Training

1) Mandatory Training for All Contractor Staff. All Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) employees assigned to work on this contract shall complete the applicable HHS/CDC Contractor Information Security Awareness, Privacy, and Records Management training (provided upon contract award) before performing any work under this contract. Thereafter, the employees shall complete CDC specific Information Security Awareness, Privacy, and Records Management training at least annually, during the life of this contract. All provided training shall be compliant with HHS training policies.

2) Role-based Training. All Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) employees with significant security responsibilities (as determined by the program manager) must complete role-based training annually commensurate with their role and responsibilities in accordance with HHS policy and the HHS Role-Based Training (RBT) of Personnel with Significant Security Responsibilities Memorandum.

3) Training Records. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall maintain training records for all its employees working under this contract in accordance with HHS policy. A copy of the training records shall be provided to the CO and/or COR within 30 days after contract award and annually thereafter or upon request.

B. Rules of Behavior

1) The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall ensure that all employees performing on the contract comply with the HHS Information Technology General Rules of Behavior, and any CDC-specific rules, as applicable.

2) All Contractor employees performing on the contract must read and adhere to the Rules of Behavior before accessing Department data or other information, systems, and/or networks that store/process government information, initially at the beginning of the contract and at least annually thereafter, which may be done as part of annual CDC Information Security Awareness Training. If the training is provided by the contractor, the signed ROB must be provided as a separate deliverable to the CO and/or COR per defined timelines above.

C. Incident Response The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall respond to all alerts/Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) provided by HHS Computer Security Incident Response Center (CSIRC)/CDC CSIRT teams within 24 hours, whether the response is positive or negative.

FISMA defines an incident as “an occurrence that (1) actually or imminently jeopardizes, without lawful authority, the integrity, confidentiality, or availability of information or an information system; or (2) constitutes a violation or imminent threat of violation of law, security policies, security procedures, or acceptable use policies.. The HHS Policy for IT Security and Privacy Incident Reporting and Response further defines incidents as events involving cybersecurity and privacy threats, such as viruses, malicious user activity, loss of, unauthorized disclosure or destruction of data, and so on.

A privacy breach is a type of incident and is defined by Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) as the loss of control, compromise, unauthorized disclosure, unauthorized acquisition, or any similar occurrence where (1) a person other than an authorized user accesses or potentially accesses personally identifiable information or (2) an authorized user accesses or potentially accesses personally identifiable information for an other than authorized purpose. The HHS Policy for IT Security and Privacy Incident Reporting and Response further defines a breach as “a suspected or confirmed incident involving PII” .

In the event of a suspected or confirmed incident or breach, the Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall:

1) Protect all sensitive information, including any PII created, stored, or transmitted in the performance of this contract so as to avoid a secondary sensitive information incident with FIPS 140-2 validated encryption.

2) NOT notify affected individuals unless so instructed by the Contracting Officer or designated representative. If so instructed by the Contracting Officer or representative, the Contractor shall send CDC approved notifications to affected individuals following CDC’s designated process.

3) Report all suspected and confirmed information security and privacy incidents and breaches to the CDC’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) [CSIRT@CDC.gov], COR, CO, CDC SOP (or his or her designee), and other stakeholders, including incidents involving PII, in any medium or form, including paper, oral, or electronic, as soon as possible and without unreasonable delay, no later than one (1) hour, and consistent with the applicable CDC and HHS policy and procedures, NIST standards and guidelines, as well as US-CERT notification guidelines. The types of information required in an incident report must include at a minimum: company and point of contact information, contract information, impact classifications/threat vector, and the type of information compromised. In addition, the Contractor shall:

a. cooperate and exchange any information, as determined by the Agency, necessary to effectively manage or mitigate a suspected or confirmed breach;

b. not include any sensitive information in the subject or body of any reporting e-mail; and

c. encrypt sensitive information in attachments to email, media, etc.

4) Comply with OMB M-17-12, Preparing for and Responding to a Breach of Personally Identifiable Information HHS and CDC’s incident response policies when handling PII breaches.

5) Provide full access and cooperate on all activities as determined by the Government to ensure an effective incident response, including providing all requested images, log files, and event information to facilitate rapid resolution of sensitive information incidents. This may involve disconnecting the system processing, storing, or transmitting the sensitive information from the Internet or other networks or applying additional security controls. This may also involve physical access to contractor facilities during a breach/incident investigation.

D. Position Sensitivity Designations All Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) employees must obtain a background investigation commensurate with their position sensitivity designation that complies with Parts 1400 and 731 of Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

The requiring activity representative, in conjunction with Personnel Security, shall use the OPM Position Sensitivity Designation automated tool (https://www.opm.gov/investigations/) to determine the sensitivity designation for background investigations. After making those determinations, include all applicable position sensitivity designations.

E. Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-12 The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) and its employees shall comply with Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-12, Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors; OMB M-05-24; FIPS 201, Personal Identity Verification (PIV) of Federal Employees and Contractors; HHS HSPD-12 policy; and Executive Order 13467, Part 1 §1.2. For additional information, see HSPD-12 policy at: https://www.dhs.gov/homeland-security-presidential-directive-12)

Roster. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall submit a roster by name, position, e-mail address, phone number and responsibility, of all staff working under this acquisition where the Contractor will develop, have the ability to access, or host and/or maintain a government information system(s). The roster shall be submitted to the COR and/or CO within the CDC Specified timeline of the effective date of this contract. Any revisions to the roster as a result of staffing changes shall be submitted within 7 days of the change. The COR will notify the Contractor of the appropriate level of investigation required for each staff member.

If the employee is filling a new position, the Contractor shall provide a position description and the Government will determine the appropriate suitability level.

F. Contract Initiation and Expiration

1) General Security Requirements. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall comply with information security and privacy requirements, Enterprise Performance Life Cycle (EPLC) processes, HHS Enterprise Architecture requirements to ensure information is appropriately protected from initiation to expiration of the contract. All information systems development or enhancement tasks supported by the contractor shall follow the CDC EPLC framework and methodology and in accordance with the HHS Contract Closeout Guide (2012). CDC EPLC requirements may be located here: https://www2a.CDC.gov/CDCup/library/other/eplc.htm.

2) System Documentation. Contractors (and/or any subcontractors) must follow and adhere to NIST SP 800-64, Security Considerations in the System Development Life Cycle, at a minimum, for system development and provide system documentation at designated intervals (specifically, at the expiration of the contract) within the EPLC that require artifact review and approval.

3) Sanitization of Government Files and Information. As part of contract closeout and at expiration of the contract, the Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall provide all required documentation to the CO and/or COR to certify that, at the government’s direction, all electronic and paper records are appropriately disposed of and all devices and media are sanitized in accordance with NIST SP 800-88, Guidelines for Media Sanitization.

4) Notification. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall notify the CO and/or COR and system ISSO within 7 days before an employee stops working under this contract.

5) Contractor Responsibilities Upon Physical Completion of the Contract. The contractor (and/or any subcontractors) shall return all government information and IT resources (i.e., government information in non-government-owned systems, media, and backup systems) acquired during the term of this contract to the CO and/or COR. Additionally, the Contractor shall provide a certification that all government information has been properly sanitized and purged from Contractor-owned systems, including backup systems and media used during contract performance, in accordance with HHS and/or CDC policies.

6) The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall perform and document the actions identified in the CDC Contractor Employee Separation Checklist when an employee terminates work under this contract within 7 days of the employee’s exit from the contract. All documentation shall be made available to the CO and/or COR upon request.

G. Records Management and Retention The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall maintain all information in accordance with Executive Order 13556 -- Controlled Unclassified Information, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) records retention policies and schedules and HHS/CDC policies and shall not dispose of any records unless authorized by HHS/CDC.

In the event that a contractor (and/or any subcontractor) accidentally disposes of or destroys a record without proper authorization, it shall be documented and reported as an incident in accordance with HHS/CDC policies.

(End of provision)

C.6 Reporting Schedule – Deliverable Table

See attached deliverables table

Provide written summary of decisions made within 5 business days after the meeting.

CDC’s COR and Project Lead

C.7 Period of Performance

The period of Performance is:

C.8 Special Considerations

The contractor shall as an independent organization and not as part of the Government, furnish all necessary services, facilities, equipment, qualified personnel, and material (except for those to be furnished by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as specified elsewhere in this RFP) to perform the services required by the Performance Work Statement.

Contractor performance and resulting deliverables must adhere to all federal, HHS, and CDC IT security and privacy policies, standards and procedures.

C.9 HHSAR Provision, 352.239-73: Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Notice

(a) Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board Electronic and Information (EIT) Accessibility Standards (36 CFR part 1194), require that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, Federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. Section 508 also requires that individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal agency, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency.

(b) Accordingly, any offeror responding to this solicitation must comply with established HHS EIT accessibility standards. Information about Section 508 is available at http://www.hhs.gov/web/508. The complete text of the Section 508 Final Provisions can be accessed at http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/standards.htm.

(c) The Section 508 accessibility standards applicable to this contract are: 1194.

205 WCAG 2.0 Level A & AA Success Criteria 302 Functional Performance Criteria 502 Inoperability with Assistive Technology 503 Applications 504 Authoring Tools 602 Support Documentation 603 Support Services

In order to facilitate the Government's determination whether proposed EIT supplies meet applicable Section 508 accessibility standards, offerors must submit an HHS Section 508 Product Assessment Template, in accordance with its completion instructions. The purpose of the template is to assist HHS acquisition and program officials in determining whether proposed EIT supplies conform to applicable Section 508 accessibility standards. The template allows offerors or developers to self-evaluate their supplies and documentation detail - whether they conform to a specific Section 508 accessibility standard, and any underway remediation efforts addressing conformance issues. Instructions for preparing the HHS Section 508 Evaluation Template are available under Section 508 policy on the HHS Web site http://hhs.gov/web/508.

In order to facilitate the Government's determination whether proposed EIT services meet applicable Section 508 accessibility standards, offerors must provide enough information to assist the Government in determining that the EIT services conform to Section 508 accessibility standards, including any underway remediation efforts addressing conformance issues.

(d) Respondents to this solicitation must identify any exception to Section 508 requirements. If a offeror claims its supplies or services meet applicable Section 508 accessibility standards, and it is later determined by the Government, i.e., after award of a contract or order, that supplies or services delivered do not conform to the accessibility standards, remediation of the supplies or services to the level of conformance specified in the contract will be the responsibility of the Contractor at its expense.

(e) Electronic content must be accessible to HHS acceptance criteria. Checklist for various formats are available at http://508.hhs.gov/, or from the Section 508 Coordinator listed at https://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/additional-resources/section-508-contacts/index.html. Materials that are final items for delivery should be accompanied by the appropriate checklist, except upon approval of the Contracting Officer or Representative.

(End of provision)

C.10 Government Furnished Property

The Government is not providing any property

C.11 References

N/A

C.12 The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for this procurement is:

Leroy Frazier, COR II Deputy Branch Chief Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 4770 Buford Hwy NE MS S106-10 Atlanta, Georgia 30341

Telephone Number: 770-488-1507 Fax Number: 770-488-1360 E-mail Address: lif6@cdc.gov

Preferred method of communication: E-mail