section B - SOW ATTACHMENT 1.pdf

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SECTION B - DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/WORK STATEMENT

I. BACKGROUND

The Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT) is an office within the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), an agency of the U.S.

Department of Labor (USDOL). OCFT activities include research on international child labor; supporting U.S. government policy on international child labor; administering and overseeing cooperative agreements with organizations working to eliminate child labor around the world; and raising awareness about child labor issues.

Since 1995, the U.S. Congress has appropriated over $720 million to USDOL for efforts to combat exploitive child labor internationally. This funding has been used to support technical cooperation projects to combat exploitive child labor in more than 80 countries around the world. Technical cooperation projects funded by USDOL range from targeted action programs in specific sectors of work to more comprehensive programs that support national efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor as defined by ILO Convention

182. USDOL-funded child labor elimination projects generally seek to achieve five major goals:

1. Withdrawing or preventing children from involvement in exploitive child labor through the provision of direct educational services;

2. Strengthening policies on child labor and education, the capacity of national institutions to combat child labor, and formal and transitional education systems that encourage children engaged in or at risk of engaging in exploitive labor to attend school;

3. Raising awareness of the importance of education for all children and mobilizing a wide array of actors to improve and expand education infrastructures;

4. Supporting research and the collection of reliable data on child labor; and

5. Ensuring the long-term sustainability of these efforts.

The approach of USDOL child labor elimination projects – decreasing the prevalence of exploitive child labor through increased access to education – is intended to nurture the development, health, safety, and enhanced future employability of children engaged in or at-risk of entering exploitive labor.

USDOL reports annually to Congress on a number of indicators. As these programs have developed, an increasing emphasis has been placed on ensuring that the data collected by grantees is accurate and reported according to USDOL definitions.

In the appropriations to USDOL for international child labor technical cooperation, the US Congress directed the majority of the funds to support the two following programs1:

1 In 2007, the US Congress did not direct USDOL’s appropriations for child labor elimination projects to either of these two programs. That year, USDOL allocated $60 million for child labor elimination projects through a competitive process.

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1. International Labour Organization’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC)

Since 1995, the US Congress has earmarked some $371 million to support the International Labor Organization’s International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO/IPEC), making the U.S. Government the leading donor to the program.

USDOL-funded ILO/IPEC projects to combat child labor generally fall into one of several categories: comprehensive, national Timebound Programs (TBP) to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in a set time frame; less comprehensive Country Programs;

sector-specific projects; data collection and research projects; and international awareness raising projects. In general, most projects include “direct action” components that are interventions to remove or prevent children from involvement in exploitative and hazardous work. One of the major strategies used by IPEC projects is to increase children’s access to and participation in formal and non-formal education. Most IPEC projects also have a capacity-building component to assist in building a sustainable base for long-term elimination of exploitive child labor.

2. Child Labor Education Initiative

Since 2001, the US Congress has provided over $230 million to USDOL to support the Child Labor Education Initiative (EI), which focuses on the elimination of the worst forms of child labor through the provision of education opportunities. These projects are being implemented by a wide range of international and non-governmental organizations as well as for-profit firms. USDOL typically awards EI cooperative agreements through a competitive bid process. These cooperative agreements may be awarded to a single grantee, or to a lead grantee with associate grantees.

EI projects are designed to ensure that children in areas with a high incidence of child labor are withdrawn and integrated into educational settings, and that they persist in their education once enrolled. In parallel, the program seeks to avert at-risk children from leaving school and entering child labor. The EI is based on the notion that the elimination of exploitative child labor depends, to a large extent, on improving access to, quality of, and relevance of education. Without improving educational quality and relevance, children withdrawn/prevented from child labor may not have viable alternatives and could resort to other forms of hazardous work. EI projects may focus on providing educational services to children removed from specific sectors of work and/or a specific region(s) or support a national Timebound Program that aims to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in multiple sectors of work specific to a given country.

3. Other Initiatives

Finally, USDOL has provided over $9 million for awareness-raising and research activities not associated with the ILO/IPEC program or the EI.

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II. INTRODUCTION

The U.S. Department of Labor/Bureau of International Labor Affairs/Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking (USDOL/ILAB/OCFT) seeks to enter into a Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for Firm-Fixed Price services with professional auditors familiar with U.S. federal regulations to conduct attestation engagements of USDOL Grantees in accordance with applicable American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Audit and Attest Standards as of June 1, 20082 and the July 2007 Revision of the Government Auditing Standards published by the Comptroller General of the United States (from here on referred to as the Government Auditing Standards)3, or subsequently updated versions.

The objectives of the attestations engagements are to:

Determine whether grantees are complying with the terms of their OCFT cooperative agreements and with the Department of Labor’s regulations for grants as promulgated under 29 CFR, part 95 (June 2007 or subsequently updated versions)4 as well as applicable Office of Management and Budget (OMB) circulars

Ensure that financial reports are accurate and complete; and, Assess the accuracy and reliability of the grantees’ performance data from their progress reports in support of the OCFT performance goals and measures as stated in the USDOL’s performance budget and Annual Report on Performance and Accountability.

These attestation engagements require extensive international travel. Visits to schools and other projects sites in developing countries are required and will necessitate work in remote, austere and/or hostile locations. The Contractor shall provide a continuum of services from the initiation of the attestation engagements to the production of final examination reports. The Contractor shall issue an examination report that provides an opinion on the accuracy and reliability of the project implementer’s financial reports and performance data, as well as on compliance with the Department’s grant regulations and the provisions of the applicable cooperative agreement.

2 Available at http://www.aicpa.org/Professional+Resources/Accounting+and+Auditing/Audit+and+Attest+Standards/ 3 Available at http://www.gao.gov/govaud/ybk01.htm 4 Available at http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/Title_29/Part_95/toc.htm

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III. SCOPE OF WORK

The purpose of this contract is to secure the services of a professional auditing firm to conduct attestation engagements that fulfill the objectives as defined above in Section II of OCFT international child labor technical cooperation projects.

Services to be provided under this Scope of Work may include the following:

1. General Planning

a. Update the most recent version of OCFT’s Examination Guide for conducting the attestation engagements required under the IDIQ.

2. Planning for Attestation Engagements

a. Obtain and review relevant single audits and internal/external evaluation and monitoring reports of organizations implementing OCFT projects to understand potential project issues and avoid duplication of oversight coverage. The attestation engagements shall build upon these and identify previous findings that have not been corrected.

3. Conducting and Reporting on Attestation Engagements

a. Build upon and expand on the compliance testing conducted by the single audits or other relevant audits, as applicable, focusing on the activities of each Grantee specific to the USDOL-funded project. These compliance requirements include, but are not limited to: activities allowed or unallowed; allowable costs/cost principles; cost determination/indirect costs; cash management; eligibility;

equipment and inventory management; matching costs; procurement; program income; construction; compensation and fringe benefits; financial and performance reporting; sub-contractor selection and monitoring; OCFT policy requirements; and special tests and provisions.

b. Assess the financial management of the project, including the effectiveness of financial procedures, the accounting system, budget management, and internal financial controls, and the accuracy and reliability of the project’s financial reports.

c. Identify questioned costs resulting from non-compliance with USDOL regulations or cooperative agreement provisions.

d. Assess the project’s effectiveness in reporting accurately the performance data required by OCFT to measure its Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 19935 goals related to withdrawing and preventing children from exploitative child labor through provision of education services.

5 Available at http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/omb/mgmt-gpra/gplaw2m.html

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e. Rely extensively on alternative procedures, including site visits to a sample of schools and other project locations, interviews with children, parents, teachers and other project stakeholders as necessary and appropriate, in order to: (1) validate reported performance data; (2) verify compliance with regulations and the provisions of the cooperative agreement; and, (3) confirm project expenditures, particularly in situations where documentation is inadequate.

f. Based on physical observations, report information on whether or not schools and their related facilities (including restroom facilities and drinking water) that serve project beneficiaries are safe and free from obvious threats to the physical well-being of beneficiaries.

g. Develop findings in the examination report which include a condition, criteria, cause, effect, and recommendations for each problem noted during the engagement.

h. Provide an examination report including an opinion on the financial reports, compliance, and performance data with findings as described in the Introduction section of this IDIQ.

4. Analyze and Disseminate Findings

a. Prepare a report that analyzes and describes trends across all attestation engagements

b. Present findings to ILAB staff as requested

IV. INPUTS

In addition to identifying and providing the qualified auditors, including an auditor fluent in the local language or an appropriate independent translator on each attestation engagement, the Contractor shall provide all logistical and administrative support for their work, including travel arrangements (e.g., plane and hotel reservations, purchasing plane tickets, arranging necessary visas, submitting clearances, and providing per diem) and all materials (e.g., access to computers, telecommunications, office supplies) needed to complete the tasks required to provide all deliverables.

V. DELIVERABLES

The Contractor will be provided with a Schedule of Deliverables and other additional instructions as needed for each individual Task Order to be issued under this contract.

The deliverables will normally include an initial schedule for the attestation engagements, an updated Examination Guide, itineraries for each audit, status reports while conducting field work, a draft examination report, a final examination report, and a summary trend analysis report. In addition, the Contractor must provide a copy of each external peer review report received during the course of this contract as well as related letters of comment.

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VI. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor will alert the COTR immediately in the event evidence of fraud is detected.

The Contractor must allow access to its work papers as requested by USDOL.

The Contractor shall be completely independent and solely responsible for the examination.

Whenever the scope of the attestation engagement is restricted, or the Contractor is unable to obtain sufficient evidence, the Contractor must refer to the matter in the opinion and examination report, making clear in the examination report the reasons for the comments and the effect on the financial transactions, compliance, and performance data as recorded.

The Contractor will be the sole judge as to acceptance in whole or in part of certifications and representations by the project implementer and may proceed to such detailed examination and verification as they choose of all project financial records.

The Contractor is not required to mention any matter referred to in the foregoing that, in the Contractor’s opinion, is not material.

UDSOL reserves the right to approve any key personnel assigned to conduct work on this award.

VII. TRAVEL

For each attestation engagement, it is expected that the Contractor will be required to travel to each grantee’s headquarter offices, as well as to project offices and implementing sites located internationally. The Contractor is expected to spend up to one week at each grantee’s headquarter offices, and a minimum of two weeks conducting visits to project offices and implementing sites in foreign destinations. Extensive travel within foreign countries during the conduct of visiting project offices and implementing sites is expected.

International travel from the United States is required to fulfill the terms of task orders, and all travelers shall submit finalized travel details to the designated USDOL/OCFT staff no later than 4 weeks (20 working days) prior to the desired departure date in order to facilitate the country clearance process. If any major holiday occurs during those 4 weeks, travelers should submit finalized details earlier. Information to be submitted shall include:

Name of the person(s) who will be traveling Destination(s) Itinerary

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Hotel(s) contact information and dates of stay Passport information Emergency contact information

Individuals are not permitted to travel until USDOL/OCFT has received country clearance from the State Department (via e-mail or cable). In extenuating circumstances, written authorization (including by e-mail) from the designated USDOL/OCFT staff member will suffice.

While travelers may cancel trips at any time, USDOL/OCFT will not permit any amendments to a clearance cable (e.g., for changes in dates of travel, or changes in the identified traveler) less than four weeks prior to the desired date of departure, except in rare cases, as determined by the designated OCFT staff member.

If individuals are required to travel to the United States from foreign countries, the Contractor will work to facilitate all travel. USDOL will communicate with U.S.

Embassies abroad as needed to expedite the issuing of U.S. visas. Travelers must comply with Embassy security briefing procedures and other Embassy requirements as necessary.