RFI.pdf

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Request for Information (RFI) Notice

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* = Required Field FedBizOpps Presolicitation Notice

Rev. March 2010

R

This action supports a request for contract re-compete for the

Office for Victims of Crimes (OVC)

20531

DJO-OVC-16-F-0173

09-02-2016

N

Small Business

541611

Acquisition Management Division

DOJ, Office of Justice Programs

810 7th Street, N.W.

Washington DC 20531

Fitzgerald Escalona

DOJ Office of Justice Programs

810 7th Street, N.W.

Washington, DC 20531

20531

USA

Fitzgerald.Escalona@ojp.usdoj.gov mailto:Fitzgerald.Escalona@ojp.usdoj.gov

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION NOTICE

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS

INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM VICTIM EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM (ITVERP)

Background: The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is issuing this REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) to determine the availability of small businesses (e.g., 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned small business, Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Veteran- Owned Small Business, Women-Owned Small Business, and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business) for the anticipated requirement titled “Department of Justice - Office of Justice Programs – International Terrorism Victim Expense Reimbursement Program (ITVERP).”

This Request for Information (RFI) is being released pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 10 Market Research. The information collected through the process is considered to be market research as described by FAR 2.101 and in accordance with FAR 10.002. This is NOT a Request for Quotes (RFQ), and nothing shall be construed herein or through the RFI process to commit or obligate the Government to further action. In addition, vendors responding to this RFI shall bear all risks and expenses of any resources used to provide the requested information. The submission of capability information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary.

The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to these proposed services is 541611.

OJP seeks information on the extent to which small business sources possess all of the necessary qualifications (listed in the Capability Statement Instructions below) to complete this work. In response to this RFI (subject to change) OJP seeks capability statements from small businesses only. The qualifications of large businesses will not be evaluated as part of this RFI.

Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions.

If OJP releases a solicitation for this requirement, the solicitation and award would likely occur in winter 2016.

Description of Required Services

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) provides for programmatic support to the International Terrorism Victim Expense Reimbursement Program (ITVERP). This programmatic support includes both direct assistance and consultative services.

Direct assistance may include such tasks as: (1) the processing of incoming victim reimbursement applications and claims for itemized, emergency, or supplemental assistance; (2) maintenance of information and records in a victim database and tracking systems; (3) the gathering of victim expense verifications; (4) ongoing case management services including case tracking; (5) informational mailings; (6) the collection of information for and development of the annual ITVERP Report to Congress; and (7) other assistance for victims of international terrorism. Consultative services may include the recommendation of specific victim reimbursement payments, with recommendation(s) in the format of a written report.

As a result of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-386), OVC was authorized by Congress to implement the International Terrorism Victim Expense Reimbursement Program. The Act further authorized the OVC Director to use the Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve to carry out a program to reimburse victims of acts of international terrorism that occur outside the United States for expenses associated with that victimization. ITVERP benefits U.S. nationals and U.S. government employees, including Foreign Service Nationals, who are victims of terrorism occurring outside the United States.

As authorized by the amended Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA) (Public Law 98-473) (42 U.S.C. ' 10601 et seq.), ITVERP is designed to offer victims of acts of international terrorism occurring abroad, and occurring on or after December 21, 1988, payment based on an expense reimbursement structure that reflects model state programs, while taking into account the unique nature and impact of international terrorism victimization and the unusual additional expenses (such as long distance travel for burial and receipt of medical care) that victims, survivors, and family members of international victims often incur. Under ITVERP, victims of acts of international terrorism occurring outside the United States on or after December 21, 1988, file streamlined reimbursement claims directly with the Office for Victims of Crime, rather than compensation claims with the victim’s home states. OVC, in coordination with the FBI’s Office of Victim

Assistance and DOJ’s National Security Division (NSD), processes the claims using an expense reimbursement structure to assure that victims receive fair and equitable payment for similar expenses incurred.

The purpose of this contract is to procure support services to OVC and the ITVERP. OVC anticipates awarding a time and materials contract for ITVERP support services. The contractor will be required to have an expert understanding of the program, its processes and related- documents. The contractor shall be well versed with all-applicable statutes, regulations, guidelines, and significant judicial decisions and must comply with them under this contract.

In general, the required work is listed below but not limited to:

Consultative Support to assist in the design and execution of OVC programs

Specific ITVERP Work Requirements

Some tasks that are required but not limited to:

o Task 1 - Provide Services and Assistance to Victims and Victim Family Members

Develop outreach and awareness materials.

Develop strategic outreach/media plan, including innovative use social media technologies for outreach to victims of terrorism.

At the direction of OVC, coordinate and execute information mailings to victims and family members and the public.

Maintain and staff a toll free telephone line for domestic and international calls.

Provide foreign language interpreters and/or translation services as needed to respond to assist victims, family members, and the public.

Provide ideas, maintenance and revision as needed for improving web design and content of

ITVERP Internet web pages on the OVC’s hosted web site. Other tasks associated with the page include, but are not limited to, providing general program information, answering FAQs, and listing contact information. OVC may exercise its prerogative to utilize the existing OVC web site.

Creation, revisions and maintenance of OVC web pages will be governed by the policies and procedures defined by OJP’s Office of Communications (OCOM), the OJP web council, and the OCIO web specialists.

Interact with victims, victims’ families, and claimants.

Develop mechanism to collect input from claimant’s regarding service provision and customer service satisfaction.

At the direction of OVC, interact with federal, state, and local agencies on behalf of claimants.

o Task 2 - Provide Administrative and Case Management Support Contact victims and claimants for missing information or further clarification.

Verify collateral sources and payments received.

Make recommendations with regard to specific victim and claimant compensation payments in the format of a written report to the Director of OVC.

Provide ongoing casework management services of all claims (active, inactive, and closed) as requested and as needed.

Maintain and suggest improvements for OVC’s ITVERP tracking systems.

Gather and submit all information needed in the event that an independent review of filed expenses is required.

Gather, compile, and submit all information needed for an administrative or judicial hearing review.

Inform victims of benefits available under ITVERP.

Review incoming applications, make a preliminary determination of victim eligibility, and make recommendations to the OVC Director regarding approval or denial of claims.

Be responsible for the full-range of case management activities. Establish case files for each victim; obtain outstanding information from victim or other sources; respond to issues and concerns raised by victim or claimant; regularly contact victims either telephonically or in writing to update them on the status of their application; document all actions initiated or responded to in the claimant case file; and prepare case summary and correspondence regarding program determinations to reflect statutory authority and agency policy.

Identify alternative sources of support for victims determined to be ineligible for ITVERP.

Respond to victim, public, and private sector inquiries regarding program parameters and procedures, as assigned by OVC.

Submit a one page briefing with findings, including a recommendation for payment, partial payment or denial.

Notify victims about the reimbursement program and assist with completing applications, locating referrals, and providing emergency services to victims in cases of international terrorism.

Prepare and transmit case and claim information to independent reviewer, as appropriate. For example transmission of relevant case information for a medical consultant to undertake analytical reviews of certain ITVERP claims.

Increase staff capacity within 36 hours of receiving notice from OVC that a major incident has occurred and additional personnel are necessary to respond to requests for assistance.

Provide adequate staff coverage during short and long-term staff absences.

Log and maintain (via OVC’s phone log/database) caller information in a manner consistent with

OJP and ITVERP rules and regulations.

Create and maintain victim information trackers (victim-based, incident-based, and cost-based).

Input all information form the ITVERP applications processed by case managers into an approved

ITVERP database system.

Input and update all case note information as needed.

Facilitate informational mailings and meetings.

o Task 3 - Provide Reports, Materials, and Other Support Services Prepare, review, and provide studies, analyses, and “special” reports as requested by OVC related to direct victim, family, and claimant reimbursement program. (Reports should be accessible in a victim-, family-, and claimant-based format, incident-based format, and expense-based format.) Gather and maintain statistics on victims served, and program performance such as payments, processing time, claims paid and denied, claim categories, trend analysis, and so forth.

Prepare, review, and provide a broad-based Annual Report with regard to program activity, based on the required information detailed in section on AInvoicing, Reporting, and Records.

Prepare, review, and provide a Monthly Activity Report. This narrative report shall provide a summary of activities and progress during the month, including numbers of victims served and types of services provided, to be submitted on the 15th day of the each month.

Prepare minutes and After Action Reports (AARs) for meetings and conference calls to be submitted to OVC within 3 working days following the activity.

Prepare informational materials and assist with public awareness efforts; develop fact sheets, brochures, video information, and other information in a variety of languages to inform victims about ITVERP and the benefits offered.

Respond immediately to petitions for ITVERP information regarding Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, congressional inquiries, or other information requests.

Provide other program and project support services as requested by OVC that are ITVERP specific and covered under objective 1, 2, or 3.

Provide required information for the annual Report to Congress.

Provide skilled staff with extensive technical writing experience to develop special reports (e.g., the annual ITVERP Report to Congress) and documents as requested by OVC.

Support OVC staff in preparation and delivery of presentations and briefings on ITVERP.

The contractor shall meet periodically with contract representative and other relevant government personnel (FIT staff and other staff) to discuss work progress and development issues. At these meetings, contractor staff will provide timely insight into potential difficulties and provide an oral brief on work performed in the previous period(s). The contract is expected to use related expertise to identify options to improve efficiency and processing time. Meeting minutes to document topics covered and action items will be provided by the contractor.

Submit deliverables in accordance with the deliverable schedule outlined in the contract.

Develop a contractor work plan that contains quality assurance methods to meet deadlines and establish benchmarks.

Staffing

The Contractor shall provide all necessary personnel, facilities, equipment, material, and services required to accomplish the tasks. The Contractor shall provide competent, knowledgeable, professional, non-governmental personnel to provide ITVERP support services. The Contractor shall provide all recruiting, screening, hiring and monitoring of staff for this project.

Respondents to this RFI shall provide the following information:

Vendor background summary including, contractor name, address, DUNS, point of contact information, email, phone, website address, small business designation, and any GSA schedule number.

Tailored capability statements addressing the particulars of this effort, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability. If subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements.

Past Performance- Provide a list of previous contracts where similar services were provided. Provide customer/Government Agency contact information where these services were provided including: contact name and organization, telephone number, and email address.

The Government will evaluate market information to ascertain potential market capacity to provide services consistent in scope described in this notice and otherwise anticipated.

Identify whether their socio-economic status is registered or self-certified if they are an 8(a), Service Disabled Veteran-Owned, or HUB-Zone business.

Identify if the vendor is on a procurement vehicle similar to the services mentioned in this RFI Notice and provide the contract number and/or the name of the agency that created that procurement vehicle.

Identify their preferred contract type for this potential procurement and why.

Identify any inconsistencies or ambiguities in the description of tasks that could be revised.

Identify the most appropriate contract vehicle for this potential procurement (e.g. GSA Schedule, ID/IQ, Blanket Purchase Agreement, etc.) and why.

Identify the most appropriate NAICS code and why.

Describe, based upon your experience with providing NEPA support services, if the RFI, as written, presents any barriers to participation.

Capability statements, questions and comments must be provided in writing. Written responses to this notice are due no later than 12:00 pm ET on September 02, 2016. Responses shall be submitted electronically to Fitzgerald.Escalona@ojp.usdoj.gov. Questions submitted to the Contract Specialist listed within this RFI must be in writing and provided by August 30, 2016 by 12:00 PM ET. These questions may be answered before the closure of this

RFI.

Contracting Office Address:

810 7th Street, NW, 3rd Floor Washington, DC 20202

Primary Point of Contact:

Fitzgerald Escalona Contract Specialist Fitzgerald.Escalona@ojp.usdoj.gov