OHS Industry Day_Question and Answers.docx

Solicitation #: ACF_OHS_IND_2019_00001 HHS/ACF/OHS Industry Day August 15, 2019 Question & Answer

Question 1: Of the 50 percent of funds allocated to the grantees, do those funds come through their grants, and from whom are they purchasing and what kind T/TA are they purchasing?

Answer 1: Grantees have a lot of flexibility. We ask grantees to think about what T/TA they receive free of cost because National Centers can't charge for services provided to OHS grantees, nor can the regional T/TA providers. We ask grantees to map what T/TA they have access to against what they see as their needs, and they should purchase what is needed. Some grantees will spend funds on staff qualifications; others will spend it on resources to use with children. It is very varied. Grantees develop an annual T/TA plan that is submitted to their program specialists at the Regional Office who may have a conversation with them to determine if the grantee is focused on the right areas of T/TA based on prior years’ strengths and weaknesses.

Question 2: Our organization has worked with local, state, public schools and nonprofit organizations, providing mental health consultations so it's somewhat like technical assistance. Since we've recently received our AA and can work with the federal government, how exactly can we become a member of the Technical Assistance cadre or subject matter experts? Is there a solicitation for T/TA?

Answer 2: Yes. There will be a solicitation. The current contracts expire June 30th of 2020 and we expect the 12 new awards to be made by June 30th.

Question 3: What is the connection between the T/TA and the monitoring program? Do the monitoring findings feed into the T/TA?

Answer 3: OHS tries to keep a clear line between the two because we don't want programs to think we're identifying findings for the sake of creating T/TA work. Once a review has been held, the Regional Office will meet with T/TA staff and talk about what kind of assistance the grantee might need. In some cases, the program specialist at the Regional Office will defer to the grantee’s plan related to T/TA. In other cases, the Regional Office may provide additional direction and support. Findings are rolled up to the Federal level and we review aggregate findings to decide, for example, what kind of T/TA that a National Center could develop that would be helpful if a trend with a particular finding is identified.

Question 4: Can you elaborate on the pushed focus on Opiods?

Answer 4: OHS utilizes the term “General Substance Misuse” because in many communities there are other substances, in addition to Opiods. We want to ensure we try to address what is happening in local communities. The opioid use disorder and the opioid crisis has taken hold across the country, so last year we had meetings in five of the twelve regions. Before meeting with the regions, we had the opportunity to meet with the National Center on Health and Wellness and an expert panel to think about what we should be doing and saying and who we should be working with, as well as what an Opiod design would look like and what would make the most sense. A lot of the focus has been on the treatment, but not necessarily on the prevention, and that's where Head Start really comes in - working with children who may be living in homes where there has been substance use disorder or families who are experiencing that.

Programs had an opportunity to come together along with individuals from each of the States that make up the region who may be working in this area, anyone from a police officer to a librarian to child welfare. It was an opportunity to have them come together, learn a little bit together, and then make those relationships at the state level. All of that planning happened with the Regional Office who knows the States and knows the programs. We couldn't meet with all regions in one year, so this year we're going to meet the next round of regions, and we'll continue to work to support programs and use the little evidence base that we have in order to support, in the best way, our Head Start children and families and staff.

Question 5: Will the system specialist position be cut, and will the finance manager be added back and covered by project funds?

Answer 5: We're not going to speak about the details of the RFP but when the RFP comes out, you'll be able to determine the positions covered by project funds.

Question 6: Please elaborate on current or future plans to incorporate ADA, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and disability awareness training to staff and volunteers

Answer 6: As shared in the overview, services to children with disabilities is a very important component of Head Start. Most programs have a disability specialist. As an example of some of the work that we do -- the National Center on Development, Teaching, and Learning, along with regional T/TA, had a large meeting with grantees recently to discuss, what their role is and the types of challenges they're facing in communities. All of the programs are required to follow the Americans with Disabilities Act. They work with local education agencies to access services for children who may have a potential disability and when the child is actually diagnosed with disability. They are required to follow all of those requirements and there's quite a bit of training for teachers, managers, and bus drivers. It's very comprehensive in terms of supports for children with disabilities. The Center on Development, Teaching, and Learning works a lot with helping teachers develop strategies for working with children.

Question 7: What type of contracting vehicle are you using for this solicitation, and is it one particular contractor that's serving the regions, and subcontractors to whom they are subbing the work out? What is the structure, and what are you looking for from industry to help inform the decision?

Answer 7: The information posted on FedBizOpps is a sample of what has been shared in the past. It is not what will be released this year as the solicitation has not yet been released. There are currently incumbents for all 12 regions. The current contracts expire on June 30th of 2020 and the new contracts will need to be awarded by that date. At this time, OHS is developing drafts, but we want input from industry. We welcome ideas and are open to any suggestions that industry may have at this point.

Question 8: Will OHS consider requiring bidders to demonstrate the ability to hire qualified staff without naming every staff member?

Answer 8: Most all of the positions, with the exception of the administrative assistant currently are key personnel positions. As such, they would have to be identified and a résumé submitted with the proposal. In addition, early childhood education specialist positions would require a transcript demonstrating their degree and coursework in early childhood education.

The reason we have qualifications for the early childhood specialist position is because of the Head Start Program Performance Standards and the Head Start Act. For example, for Head Start managers it is required that these positions at the local levels have either a degree in early childhood education/development or another degree with equivalent coursework and preschool teaching experience. We're very clear that we cannot send people in to work with those individuals who don't have at least the same credentials that they do. Proposals are evaluated heavily on who's going to be working in them.

Question 9: Will there be opportunities for small business to prime any of the regional contracts? Will there be small business mandates or targets built in?

Answer 9: As far as small business opportunities, there's not going to be a partial set-aside. All 12 awards are going to be competed. It's going to be a cost reimbursement contract, and under each contract, there will be targets that the program officers are encouraged to try to meet. The targets are set at 29%. As competitive contracts, it will be a requirement to submit small business subcontracting opportunities plan, which would include indicating how you intend to meet those targets.

Question 10: Will OHS consider making certain regions SBSAs or require a percentage of every contract to be filled by SB?

Answer 10: There will be a Sources Sought Notification posted where small businesses will be invited to submit capability statements, and those will be reviewed by the government and considered when deciding the final acquisition strategy.

Question 11: Do the national priorities, from a historical perspective, vary by region? Is there coordination between the regions if some of the priorities evolve? For example, if health and nutrition is a priority at a national level, or family engagement is a priority at national level, depending on certain regional priorities or sub-priorities, does that change, and how does that affect the technical assistance that's delivered in that particular region?

Answer 11: The T/TA work priorities are region-specific. Oftentimes, it may relate to the national priority, but there's more intensity in terms of the work with programs. The role of the National Centers is to hear from the regions, what are the priorities, what are they seeing, and to try to make sure that there are resources available to them to use as they decide how they focus, based on the needs of grantees and what the data is telling them.

The T/TA providers are on the ground with grantees as are the program specialists in the Regional Offices, and between those two groups, they have pretty good knowledge about the grantee, about their strengths, about the areas where they might continue to develop. Regional Office staff generally meet with T/TA staff on a regular basis, and they look at the national priorities and decide how to tailor that to the grantee.

Question 12: You alluded to the fact there may be a percentage of small business 29% within the existing incumbent contracts) but you also indicated that there is a Sources Sought that may determine an acquisition strategy. So, is there a plausibility that potentially one or two regions are set-aside small business based on that Sources Sought? Please explain the intention of that Sources Sought and what could be the potential outcome associated with that?

Answer 12: It's a requirement that OHS conduct this type of market research and that in the event there are at least two small businesses that are identified as capable of doing the work, then we do have to consider the small business set-aside. This is part of our acquisition strategy; what the program office is required to do.

Question 13: What elements does the Office of Head Start consider when measuring the performances of quality T/TA?

Answer 13: We do this in a variety of ways. One is that every time a T/TA provider goes out to work with a grantee, they fill out something called a T/TA activity report, which begins with describing what the expected outcomes for the visit were, and then it ends with describing what progress towards those outcomes actually was and whether further work needs to happen. Some of it is done at an individual level. They go back to the Regional Office and talk about this, and determinations are made about whether more work needs to happen with that grantee in a particular area or not.

We're excited that this fall we're going to be going into the field with a survey with our colleagues from the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation. It's a two-part survey, so we'll first talk to Head Start directors (part of it is web-based) with some questions partially related to your question on quality. And then there'll be a second survey to get to the actual people in a program who can give us feedback not just specifically on the regional T/TA system. It's kind of the breadth and depth of all of the work we do in T/TA. We haven't had the opportunity to do that in the recent past, so this is something that we'll be very excited about in terms of the data we'll get.

Question 14: You've had the system in place for quite a while now, so when you look behind, what things have worked well, and what's on your wish list for the future?

Answer 14: There are things that work well for some regions and things that don't work as well for some regions. We discussed a little bit about moving into how we best use technology in this day and age, and so I would say we haven't cracked the nut completely on that. In this advent of technology, there is a communication overload sometimes with the amount of communication in general, but in an effort to keep people informed. We have different approaches to T/TA and the one-shot deal does not create behavior change, and so that's an area that we have really been focusing on following on. If the regional T/TA system does a cluster event, focused on facilities, for example, then they would also follow up with those grantees over time. People don't, grab information overnight, and they also need continual support in more of in a consultative manner.

There are some other approaches that we know about that work better, that are more intensive, and we may use those for some topics and not for others. We're continually looking at the approaches to see what works best. One of our struggles is that while we have a substantial amount of money, we don't have enough people on the ground for 1,600 grantees. We have somewhere around 50,000 classrooms so we've really tried to think about how we enhance the capacity of local staff in putting more effort into that. One good example of that is coaching and practice-based coaching, which our Center on Development, Teaching, and Learning has been working on very intensely for several years. Now each grantee has to have a coach whose job is to work directly with the teaching staff to help improve their teaching skills and capacity. We think that is one way to spread out what we're doing because we're also putting a lot more effort, at the management level, because if we don't have a strong management structure within the grantee, they can't help support that local development.

We're trying, too, to do a better job of figuring out exactly how to link what National Centers do with the regional T/TA network, with local grantees so that we can, to the greatest extent possible, avoid duplication and support each other. It is challenging. Part of it is to make sure grantees are aware of all the tools that we develop. When a grantee needs and is ready, for example, to take advantage of the Coaching Companion, they go to the ECLKC. It allows a teacher to upload their practice, upload what's happening in their classroom onto the ECLKC, allows them to be viewed by their colleague, by their supervisor, allows comments, and lets them watch it themselves. That's a very powerful tool. But if you get an email that said, "Join the Coaching Companion," and you're not ready, but if you have a T/TA provider who can walk you through, figure out where you are, and help you at the right time, then that tool will be best used. So, that's actually a good example of the synergy between what we're expecting of the National Center, in terms of some of the development, and what we hope can happen in terms of impacting the grantee. One of the resources the Center on Development, Teaching, and Learning has developed is what we call 15-minute suites and those are 15-minute snippets that come complete with video, with handouts, with PowerPoint, with everything that local programs can use in their staff meetings to support learning and development in some areas. We're trying to do more of that kind of work because we can't be in all of these classrooms at the same time. National Centers are giving a lot of thought to how they put together packages that local programs can take and just run with.

Question 15: What was the original duration of the contract that's expiring in June of 2020?

Answer 15: Five years.

Question 16: Is it possible to get a more comprehensive sample statement of work posted? The one posted only contains the job categories and the tasks and it doesn't really give you any background information. We can review ECLKC to get more familiar, but it kind of puts someone who's not familiar with Head Start and what you do at a disadvantage when all we know are the label categories.

Answer 16: We won't be more specific until the RFP is released. We can't do that until the solicitation is out and available to the general public. The purpose of this Industry Day is for market research, for us to learn about what the environment is out there, to increase competition, and for us to learn the capabilities. If you've had an opportunity to look at the prior requirements, and have any particular concerns or questions, we are able to address some of those items, but information on the contracts themselves are public information and can be viewed at https://www.fpds.gov

Question 17: Who are the incumbents?

Answer 17: The incumbents are Booz Allen Hamilton, FHI 360, ICF, STG, and University of Massachusetts in no order of preference. Those companies, in some instances, have more than one contract in more than one region.

Question 18: Is there any particular contractor/incumbent that would pose an organizational conflict of interest?

Answer 18: There are no contractors/incumbents involved in any capacity with the design or development of the statement of work nor an evaluation of proposals, so there are no conflicts of interests. Being a current incumbent doesn't put organizations out of competing for future requirements.

Question 19: Please provide further detail on the facility needs, which you mentioned additional funding has been allocated for?

Answer 19: Programs are permitted to rent, renovate, purchase or build facilities and they come with a very complex set of requirements. Programs must consider federal interest, so there's a lot that goes into supporting grantees in doing any of those things.

Question 20: Do you need facility or finance T/TA?

Answer 20: Yes, the regional T/TA providers do provide T/TA as it relates to the Head Start Program Performance Standards in supporting program and management operations and the need to understand requirements and performance standards.

Question 21: Can you expound on the issue of homelessness and its impact on children and what impact that has on T/TA and the delivery of services?

Answer 21: Head Start programs have eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment criteria, etc. Head Start programs should serve the most vulnerable groups of individuals in need. A family who is homeless would likely fall into that category and can possibly be a hidden segment of a community. We also have, at the same time, many programs who don't have enough spaces for the current children. But we have recently, knowing that the number of children experiencing homelessness under 6 is growing, been promoting and supporting programs to serve more children and families experiencing homelessness. We have a requirement that allows programs to hold a small percentage of their slots, for a period of time, in order to serve children experiencing homelessness. There is a lot that goes into these efforts as families move frequently and programs have to maintain full enrollment, so we want to incentivize them to support serving children and families impacted by homelessness. A lot of Head Start programs have strong collaborations with agencies and organizations in the community who serve families experiencing homelessness. Some programs have a Head Start center located within a homeless shelter.

Head Start has developed some modules that can be found on the ECLKC that explain what the requirements are. Head Start follows the McKinney-Vento Act as it relates to homelessness. The information describes the requirements, the barriers, and the areas that programs could pursue in order to do a better job of serving families experiencing homelessness?

Question 22: As you are developing this program, are you looking at how all of the grants fit together and how your grantees can optimize all of the funds across all the spectrums, including the state and local funding that they can also bring together to expand the programs? Or are you just concerned about national Head Start, your program requirements, and addressing technical issues identified only in Head Start?

Answer 22: It's the former, what was just described is our goal, because those Head Start programs in community action agencies and other organizations have multiple funding streams. We require that programs collaborate, maximize available resources, so there are opportunities for T/TA providers to work with the board of directors and to work with the governing body that is addressing what’s happening in the community and not just addressing the Head Start program. When some programs develop program goals, they may relate to the agency; they don't necessarily relate to the Head Start programs but they must meet the requirements of the Head Start program.

Question 23: Within the contracts, all of the positions are identified as key personnel. From an acquisition and competition strategy, is there any thought about the downside of keeping all positions as key personnel and the potential upside of reducing the number of key personnel to a smaller set of positions in order to promote more competition?

Answer 23: The reason positions are listed as key personnel is because each one of those positions is working independently most of the time. Regional Offices need to be certain and confident in the qualifications of those individuals. It is very important to the Head Start program and among Regional Offices.

Question 24: The personnel listed on the FedBizOpps notice does not encompass those positions?

Answer 24: The notice is a snippet of t the RFP posted five years ago and it does not encompasses everything we're looking for. To review what has been done in the past, you may review the existing information on contracts, as they are available in the public domain. It will not be identical to the future solicitation but you can draw reasonable conclusions from prior information and the information in the Head Start Program Performance Standards.

Question 25: Would it be beneficial to have a multidisciplinary team with these various backgrounds of finance, facilities, and education?

Answer 25: We want to ensure that the requirements, priorities, and the Head Start Program Performance Standards are very robust. Review of the new solicitation will identify what would be specifically needed.

Question 26: Where is the previous solicitation readily available on the public domain or does it need to be requested through the FOIA in order to receive access?

Answer 26: The former solicitation is still on the FedBizOpps website. The last award was made in June of 2015. It can be searched using the RFP title OHS Training and Technical Assistance Network or by clicking the following link: https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=cb0bc12dfbc604a3fe1509b218b43684&tab=core&_cview=1

Question 27: Do we have an estimated timeframe for the response time once the RFP is posted?

Answer 27: Most likely, it will be sixty days.

Question 28: Are you looking for a full team for each region or can a vendor bid on one area per region?

Answer 28: Yes, each region requires a full team and each region is a separate contract, so it's one solicitation and 12 separate awards.