Improper_Payments_in_the_CACFP_Sources_Sought.docx

Source Sought Notice Improper Payments in the Child and Adult Care Food Program This SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE is for small businesses only. The purpose of this sources sought notice is to determine the interest and feasibility of small business set-asides. This synopsis is for information and planning purposes and is not to be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government, nor will the U.S. Government pay for information solicited. The information from this notice will help the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) plan their acquisition strategy or plan.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is seeking a contractor to conduct a study that builds on the methods developed for school meals in the Access, Participation, Eligibility and Certification (APEC) study series and complements the annual measure of reimbursement “tiering” errors in family day care homes for reporting on CACFP.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, NO SOLICITATION EXISTS AT THIS TIME.

The Food and Nutrition Service, Office Policy Support & Contracts Management Division (CMD), is conducting a market survey to determine the availability and technical capability of qualified small businesses, including small business set-asides, small disadvantaged businesses (SDB), 8(a) small businesses, woman-owned small businesses (WOSB), veteran owned small businesses (VOSB), service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB), and Historically Under-utilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small businesses capable of conduct a study that builds on the methods developed for school meals in the Access, Participation, Eligibility and Certification (APEC) study series and complements the annual measure of reimbursement “tiering” errors in family day care homes for reporting on CACFP.

All responding small business firms are requested to identify their firm's size and type of business to the anticipated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code. For this acquisition, the NAICS code is 541720, and the Small Business Standard is $19 Million. Teaming arrangements and joint ventures will be considered for any subsequent procurement based on the Government's market research, provided the prime contract is awarded to an applicable small business and that small businesses provide fifty percent or more of the support.

The Food and Nutrition Service under Office of Policy Support is conducting market research to identify sources that can demonstrate their experience, skills, and qualifications with projects of similar scope and size completed within the last three (3) years, and explain in appropriate detail how they intend to demonstrate competency in each of the following points (A) through (O). Expound, utilizing specific examples, on how the firm has undertaken and/or demonstrated the prerequisites listed below:

1. Demonstrate expertise in the details of the CACFP, including Federal regulations and policies as evidenced by professional publications;

1. Demonstrate expertise in the details of the Improper Payments and Elimination Recovery Act 2010 (IPERA) and how it relates to the CACFP;

1. Coordinate with State agencies, sponsors and providers to collect survey and administrative data;

1. Conduct large-scale, nationally-representative surveys, including constructing the frame, using proper sampling methods, and collecting, analyzing and reporting on the data;

1. Calculate national estimates of error rates and erroneous payments;

1. Develop estimation models;

1. Conduct interviews and observations at multiple sites, including recruiting and training staff, developing protocols, and recording, coding, analyzing, and reporting on findings;

1. Collect data within limited time windows;

1. Use multiple sources of data, including administrative data, qualitative/quantitative data, and policy analysis to address research objectives such as those described above;

1. Ensure Personally-Identifiable Information is secured and protected;

1. Write technical reports;

1. Write reports of technical information put into language appropriate for non-technical audiences;

1. Provide briefings of technical data appropriate for non-technical audiences;

1. Write policy briefs appropriate for the USDA website and public communication; and

1. Manage projects of a similar size and scope, including meeting government objectives, ensuring the quality and timeliness of deliverables, and coordinating with the government funding agency.

Below Are The Characteristics Of The Requirements:

OBJECTIVE 1: Examine characteristics of childcare centers (sponsored and independent) Demographic Characteristics

1. What is the average enrollment?

1. How does enrollment compare to licensed capacity?

1. How does attendance compare to enrollment?

1. What proportion of children is enrolled part-time?

1. How many hours per day is care provided?

1. How many days per week is care provided?

1. How many years has the center been in operation?

1. Does the center charge separately for meals?

Operational Procedures (All of the below should be compared to the federal requirements.)

1. How often are applications completed for free and reduced price meals for participants enrolled in the center?

1. What information is used to determine eligibility for free and reduced price meals?

1. What portion of the fees charged (monthly, weekly, bi-weekly) are considered meal cost?

1. How does the center document meal counts and menus?

1. What is the process for completing meal counts? How are counts verified? By whom?

1. Does the center provide meals or snacks to school-age children- how is this documented in the meal counts?

1. Does the center have automated accounting, meal claims, and/or other systems to manage financial and administrative responsibilities?

OBJECTIVE 2: Examine characteristics of sponsors (All of the below should be compared to the federal requirements.)

· How many sites are sponsored?

· What is the ratio of monitors to facilities?

· How often are sponsored and independent centers monitored?

· How often are 5-day reconciliations completed?

· How often are enrollment and attendance records verified?

· What percentage of enrollment and attendance records is verified?

· Are average daily meal counts calculated by total number of days or total operating days?

· How are reimbursements determined (i.e., actual count, blended rate, claiming percentage)?

· How are meal claims submitted? At what frequency?

OBJECTIVE 3: Generate national estimates of Certification error and, separately, Non-certification error.

· The contractor shall provide breakdowns of the error rate by the following subcategories:

· Certification Error

· National Estimate

· Underpayment rate estimate

· Overpayment rate estimate

· Total certification error rate

· Household Reporting Error

· Incomplete Application

· Income

· Household size

· Categorical Eligibility

· Administrative Reporting Error

· Eligibility Determination Error [Percentage of children misclassified and identification of what their proper classification should have been (i.e., x% of free children should have been paid, x% of paid children should have been free)]

· Eligibility Recording Error (centers and sponsors)

· Transmittal Error (centers and sponsors)

· Non-certification Error

· Meal categorization: To what extent do center based errors in identifying a meal as reimbursable or non-reimbursable contribute to the error rate.

· Center Records

· Center records of total

· Verified Counts

· Center to Sponsor Records

· Center’s report to Sponsor

· Sponsor’s record of Center’s report

· Sponsor to State Agency Records

· Sponsor’s record of report to State Agency

OBJECTIVE 4 (Optional): Develop estimation models for aging the National Certification Error and National Non-Certification Error data annually, including estimates of over-and under-payment.

· What modeling strategy will maximize accuracy in predicting errors?

· What are the potential problems and issues surrounding the use of existing data sources on the existing methodology? How does the proposed methodology for the refined models address these concerns?

· How do changes in the verification system (such as changes in verification requirements, shifts in the proportion of applications selected for random and focused sampling) affect the erroneous payment estimates?

· How do changes in the number of children categorically eligible affect the erroneous payment estimates?

· What are the standard errors and confidence intervals associated with these erroneous payment estimates?

· How reliable will the estimation model-generated annual estimates be in future years?

· What additional data could help improve the estimates generated by the estimation models? Assume FNS could modify the reporting requirements. What level of burden would new data collection impose on stakeholders?

OBJECTIVE 5 (Optional): Describe Methodologies to generate State-Level estimates of erroneous payments

· Can econometric models similar to those used for national estimates of erroneous payments be developed at the state-level with existing administrative data? Which administrative data could be used?

· What resources would be needed to conduct on-site data collection to produce state-level estimates of erroneous payments due to administrative error? Due to meal counting and claiming? Due to a combination of administrative error and meal counting and claiming?

· Could a quality control system similar to the one used in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) be used to develop State-level estimates for CACFP?[footnoteRef:1] If so, how? [1: http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/quality-control ]

· Could FNS implement a State-level review of applications similar to the Regional Office Review of Applications (RORA) currently conducted in the NSLP and SBP?[footnoteRef:2] If so, how? [2: http://www.fns.usda.gov/es/regional-office-review-applications-rora-school-meals-2012 ]

Please submit the following information in response to the 15 capabilities (A – O) pre-requisites listed above:

1. Name and address of company and or companies (if there is a teaming arrangement or joint venture)

2. Technical expertise relevant to the requirement

3. Technical approach relevant of the requirement

4. Management approach relevant to the requirement

5. Corporate experience relevant to the requirement

6. Relevant past performance, including:

• Contract name

• Contracting Agency or Department

• Yearly contract value (in $$)

• Period of performance

• Description of work and how it relates to the requirements Submission requirements:

1. Limit the length of the packages to 20 pages. Note: Packages over 20 pages will not be evaluated.

2. 1 inch margins (top, bottom and sides)

3. Times New Roman font - 12 point

4. Page limitation does not include (1 cover page or 1 letter of introduction page)

5. Do not include promotional materials Interested firms responding to this market survey must provide a capability statement demonstrating their experience, skills and capability to fulfill the Governments requirements for the above in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 19.502-2(b). The capability statement shall be in sufficient enough detail, but not exceed twenty (20) pages TOTAL, so that the Government can determine the experience and capability of your firm to provide the requirements above. The Government technical team will then assess the experience & capabilities (A-O above) based on: 1) technical expertise relevant to the requirement; 2) technical approach relevant to the requirement, 3) management approach relevant to the requirement, 4) corporate experience relevant to the requirement, and 5) relevant past performance. These capability responses should be based upon the 15 capabilities (A – O) pre-requisites listed above. Please specify one primary and one alternate Point of Contact (POC) within your firm, including telephone numbers and email addresses.

Your capability statement needs to include a list of three customers (Government/non-Government) within the past 3-years highlighting similar work in nature, scope, complexity, and difficulty and a brief description of the scope of work.

Only electronic copies of capability statements will be accepted and should be emailed to: Thu.Vo@fns.usda.gov. The e-mail shall contain the following subject line: Response to Sources Sought Notice – AG-3198-S-14-0021 Improper Payments in the Child and Adult Care Food Program Requirement. A determination by the Government to proceed with the acquisition as a set-aside is within the discretion of the Government. If capability statements are not received from at least two responsible small businesses or if the Government determines that no small business concerns are capable of performing this requirement based upon an assessment of the capability statements submitted, the Government may proceed with a full and open competition.

Please submit all information to Thu Vo at Thu.Vo@fns.usda.gov by March 24, 2013 by 12:00 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time.

NO TELEPHONE REQUESTS WILL BE ACCEPTED.