DRAFT_PWS_Support Analytic Capacity (NSECE) RFI.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children Families

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING SERVICES

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

Administration for Children and Families

Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation

National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE)

Performance Work Statement for the

Support for Analytic Capacity of NSECE Data

October 25, 2024

Document Revision History

[Example – Post-Award] Mod.

No. Description of Changes Requested

By Approved

By Date

00 Base (Services Component 1) 01 Optional Services Component 2 02 Optional Services Component 3

03 Optional Services Component 4

Performance Work Statement (PWS) for the

Support for Analytic Capacity of NSECE Data 2025

1.0 General

1.1 Introduction

The mission of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is to foster health and well-being by providing federal leadership, partnership and resources for the compassionate and effective delivery of human services. The mission of the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) is to study the ACF programs and the children and families they serve through rigorous research and evaluation projects.

The purpose of this task order is to support the use of data collected through all the cohorts of the National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE:2012;

NSECE:2019; NSECE:2024; NSECE Longitudinal follow up studies) by creating and enhancing datafiles so that analyses can be conducted and findings reported, while protecting the privacy of the populations that participated in the NSECE studies and ensuring non-disclosure of their identities. These activities will enhance the analytic capacity of data collected and will provide the Agency with information that helps inform policies and practices to improve the services provided by ACF programs. The contract will accomplish this purpose through the creation of restricted-use data files for archiving and analyses, developing technical and training products to facilitate access and analyses of NSECE data by researchers and analysts, implementing enhancements to public- and restricted use files, and conducting specialized analyses in response to Agency’s requests to answer critical questions.

1.2 Objective

The task order to be awarded through this solicitation is designed to provide a contractual mechanism to support and enhance data from the NSECE 2012, NSECE 2019, NSECE COVID-19 Follow up, and the NSECE 2024 and follow up studies, in order to improve the analytic capacity for optimal use of the archived NSECE data sets by supporting creation of restricted use files for archiving and analyses, creation of technical resources and providing assistance to users of the data sets, implementation of enhancements to both public- and restricted-use data files, and for analysis of all NSECE data available to ACF including analyses to track changes in child care and early education in the years between the study cohorts. By the end of this five-year task order , the Contractor will have assessed the most effective and efficient ways to provide support to the Agency and other data users and will develop recommendations for future activities to best maintain, preserve, and promote the use of the NSECE data.

1.3 Scope of Work

The goals and objectives of this project will be achieved through the completion of key tasks in Services Component 1 and any Optional Services Components exercised during the period of performance of the contract. Key tasks include:

• Create restricted-use data files for archiving and for use by researchers and analysts in the field of child care and early education and related disciplines (e.g., economics, demography, sociology, psychology);

• Develop a user-friendly process for requesting and accessing restricted-use data, while upholding the confidentiality of the NSECE samples and ensuring non-disclosure of study participants;

• Conduct analyses of NSECE data to develop analytic files for approved users of restricted-use files, in order to protect against non-disclosure of NSECE study participants while facilitating the use of the NSECE data to answer key questions of interest to the field and the Agency;

• Consult with the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), other Agency staff, and expert social scientists and analysts to identify technical and training resources that will facilitate use of NSECE data;

• Provide prompt and responsive technical assistance to approved users of the NSECE data;

• Conduct secondary analyses of NSECE (2012; 2019 and COVID Follow up; 2024 and special studies) approved by the COR to respond to the data needs of the Agency in their management of ACF programs, and produce documents (tables; graphs; internal memos;

short briefs) to share findings from those analyses, as requested by the COR;

• Disseminate materials and resources produced under this task order contract to promote the use of the NSECE data and highlight the contributions of these data to our understanding of the child care and early education systems in the United States;

• Hold all data produced by the NSECE project from all cohorts under an environment that protects PII from study participants and deliver all data to OPRE when requested, to be deposited in a data repository managed by the Agency.

The contractor shall furnish the necessary qualified personnel, equipment, materials, supplies, services, facilities, and otherwise do all that is necessary for, or incidental to, the performance of the work set forth below. Offerors responding to this PWS may propose alternative approaches in addition to addressing the tasks as proposed by the government; justification for alternatives (e.g., cost savings, efficiency, etc.) must be provided with any alternatives proposed. Offerors are expected to draw on their own expertise to propose the most effective approach to addressing the tasks. The contractor is expected to work with the COR to refine the activities and proposed plans once contract is awarded.

1.4 Background

The early care and education landscape at the national and state levels, and in U.S. Territories and Tribes, has changed dramatically in the past 28 years since the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PROWRA). Child care and early education funding has grown at a fast pace, including increases in funding for Head Start, child care subsidies, and from the States and the Federal government for targeted and universal public pre-kindergarten. Funding for after-school programs has also increased during that time. Use of child care and early education programs for very young children has increased regardless of maternal employment. Families are increasingly seeing early care and education as a time for investment to be reaped throughout the life cycle. Child care as an employment support and as an opportunity to enrich the early experiences of low-income children are now joined with an interest in high quality and integrated early education experiences for children from all families.

In recognition of the changing landscape of early care and education over the past more than two decades, the Administration for Children and Families has funded multiple cohorts of the National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) study (NSECE 2012, NSECE 2019, and NSECE 2024) in addition to longitudinal follow-up studies of participants who responded to the 2019 and 2024 NSECE (COVID-19 Follow up; 2024 Household and Workforce Special Studies). The proposed project will continue to support the use of the NSECE data, both to answer questions of interest to ACF as well as to promote use of the data by other analysts, and incorporate new data from the NSECE cohorts that are currently in the field.

The NSECE allowed for coordination of data collection from households, programs and providers, and the early childhood workforce to answer the questions of interest from both the demand and supply sides, address the limitations of other data collection efforts in this area of inquiry, and fill a gap in our knowledge. The very local nature of child care and early education usage resulting from the characteristics of the supply and demand intensified the importance of collecting and analyzing data in matched geographical areas. It is important for policy decision-making to understand how much early care and education is accessible to the children and families who need them while, at the same time, understanding what factors play a role in parents’ selection of care and early education for their children. Information collected from the NSECE national surveys is able to inform future policy and funding decision-making for child care and early education at the State, local and national levels. It is critical then to support the optimal use of data collected through these NSECE studies by enhancing access to public- and restricted-use data for analyst and researchers to conduct secondary analyses, and by disseminating technical resources on the NSECE data.

The unique design of the NSECE, which allows the early care and education field to answer questions about the interaction between the supply of, and demand for, child care and early education through the linking of care providers, teachers and caregivers and the families and children that they serve, brings some challenges, i.e., 1) samples of households with young children, center- and home-based care providers, and early childhood teachers and caregivers are co-located in geographic areas that could be disclosed by combining data from the four (4) NSECE surveys; 2) linking information about the communities where these providers, workers and families are located allows for unique findings about how supply and demand differ based on the community context, but increases the likelihood of disclosing the identities of the survey participants. For these reasons, it is imperative that the contractor holding all the NSECE data, including personally identifiable information (PII) data, meets all the capabilities and requirements necessary for conducting the activities under this PWSfor the purpose of facilitating access to NSECE data for analyses under a secure environment and stringent use requirements. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is defined as information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, such as their name, social security number, biometric records, alone or when combined with other personal or identifying information, which is linked or linkable to a specific individual, such as date and place of birth, mother’s maiden name, and so on.

One key task of the proposed task order is to respond to Agency requests for analyses that may inform new funding initiatives and policies to support care providers, the workforce and working families with young children. The majority of analyses that serve these purposes require use of restricted-use data, including PII from the survey respondents. The selected vendor to conduct this work will need to hold the NSECE data in a secure environment that will support analyses by external researchers and analysts of the restricted-use data in a secure enclave, and staff with extensive technical skills and expertise in conducting analyses of the NSECE restricted-use data, including analyses that require linking to other data (e.g., Census; CCDF policies) to answer key policy questions of interest to the Agency.

The Agency has experience supporting tasks as described above through two contracts: the first one awarded in 2015 and the second one awarded in 2020 to a vendor that met the capabilities and requirements described above. Through those contracts, it has become clear to the Agency that the capabilities to conduct the work described under the tasks below are unique both in the types of data systems required to support analyses in a secure environment on data containing PII, and the technical and content expertise of the analysts that conduct the analyses for the Agency and support the work of external analyses requesting restricted-use data in order to answer key questions in the field of child care and early education.

ACF's Evaluation Policy demonstrates ACF’s commitment to conducting rigorous, relevant evaluations and to using evidence from evaluations to inform policy and practice. The five principles of ACF’s Evaluation Policy are: rigor, relevance, transparency, independence, and ethics. It is expected that the work described above will be carried out in accordance with the following principles.

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/acf-evaluation-policy

Rigor. ACF is committed to using the most rigorous methods that are appropriate to both the evaluation questions and the populations, circumstances, and settings that are the focus of study; and that are feasible within budget and other constraints. Rigor requires ensuring that inferences about cause and effect are well founded (internal validity); requires clarity about the populations, settings, or circumstances to which results can be generalized (external validity); and requires the use of measures that accurately capture the intended information (measurement reliability and validity).

When conclusions about program efficacy or effectiveness are examined, studies should use methods that isolate to the greatest extent possible the impacts of the programs or services from other influences, such as trends over time, geographic variation, or pre-existing differences between participants and non-participants. For such causal questions, experimental approaches are preferred. When experimental approaches are not feasible, high-quality quasi-experiments offer an alternative. ACF will develop and use methods that are appropriate for understanding diverse populations, taking into account historical, contextual, and cultural factors. Where possible, evaluations will design data collections to allow disaggregation of data and analyses of sub-groups to support understanding of equity.

Relevance. It is ACF’s policy to integrate existing evidence and opportunities for further learning into all activities. Where an evidence base is lacking, ACF is committed to building evidence through strong evaluations. To be most relevant, ACF will require contractors to meaningfully engage groups and individuals from the programs and communities invested in the outcomes of studies to improve clarity of presentations, accuracy of interpretations, and effectiveness of dissemination activities; ACF partners such as states, territories, tribes, and local grant recipients;

the populations served; researchers; and other groups and individuals. Further, evaluations designed, and measurement used under this task order should represent the diverse populations served by ACF. Finally, findings must be disseminated in ways that are clear, accessible, and useful to our diverse range of audiences; this includes using plain language, using inclusive language, adhering to principles of clear communication, and developing products accessible to people with disabilities.

In order to ensure the findings are accessible and useful to policymakers, service providers, the communities that ACF services, and other groups and individuals.

Transparency, Data Archiving, and External Communication. ACF values transparency in research and evaluation and is committed to making information about planned, ongoing, and completed evaluations easily accessible.

First, any studies conducted under this contract must be registered with an appropriate registry (e.g., clinicaltrials.gov) prior to the initiation of data collection. Study plans, including analysis plans, should be specified in advance.

Second, ACF is interested in making evaluation data and analyses available for secondary use by other interested researchers. A thoughtful data archive plan will establish procedures and parameters, well in advance of any data collections, to support archiving information and data collected under this task order.

Finally, ACF is interested in ensuring that its research and evaluation work is communicated to a range of relevant audiences throughout the course of project activities. Ongoing and continuous activities are considered essential to a strong communication approach. Audiences that may be appropriate include, but are not limited to: policy-makers, intermediaries, researchers, advocates and opinion leaders, program administrators, training and technical assistance providers, practitioners, and the communities that ACF services. ACF will require contractors to meaningfully engage groups and individuals from the programs and communities involved in studies to improve clarity of presentations, accuracy of interpretations, and effectiveness of external communications activities. ACF is particularly interested in the creation of project external communication plans that identify specific audiences and approaches and products to communicate to those audiences. ACF is also interested in communication plans that use new and emerging media, as well as innovative approaches to communication products that are compatible with the ACF website and other communications platforms.

Independence and Active Engagement. ACF’s evaluation policy upholds the idea that independence and objectivity are core principles of evaluation. Agency and program leadership, program staff, service providers, populations and communities studied, and others participate actively in setting evaluation priorities, identifying evaluation questions, and assessing the implications of findings to help ensure the relevance of the work. While active engagement of groups and individuals who are invested in the outcomes of evaluation can support relevance as well as the accuracy of program implementation details, it is important to insulate evaluation functions from undue influence and from both the appearance and the reality of bias. To promote objectivity, ACF protects independence in the design, execution, analysis, and reporting of evaluations, as outlined in the evaluation policy.

ACF aims to be informed by the practice and empirical knowledge available to inform such topics as measurement choices, technical assistance, training and site support, and the contextualizing of findings. Meaningful involvement of groups and individuals in the evaluation may increase the rigor of the activities of the task order itself as well as understanding, acceptance, and utilization of evaluation findings.

Groups and individuals who are invested in the outcomes of research or evaluation include agency and federal, state or local program leadership, program staff (both at ACF and at the grantee or other programs being evaluated), service providers, developers of innovations or practices, participants in the programs, and the communities where programs occur. As appropriate, groups and individuals should have the opportunity for input at multiple phases of a project, but this input must be accomplished in a transparent way while safeguarding the objectivity and independence of the study.

Ethics and Data Safety. ACF-sponsored evaluations are conducted in an ethical and equitable manner; safeguard the dignity, rights, safety and privacy of participants; and comply with both the spirit and the letter of relevant requirements such as regulations governing research involving human subjects. ACF will expect contractors to meaningfully engage groups and individuals from the programs and communities involved in studies to ensure programmatic, cultural, linguistic and historical nuances are accurately and respectfully addressed from the initial study design, through execution, analyses and reporting.

ACF is committed to ensuring that data collected as part of this contract are maintained and stored securely. For the purposes of this section:

The Role of Active Engagement for OPRE Projects

OPRE defines active engagement as the intentional involvement of groups and individuals who are invested in the outcomes of the research or evaluation. This should occur in all relevant phases of the project. The purpose of active engagement is to improve the quality, rigor, and relevance of OPRE projects, facilitate the uptake of findings, and increase capacity to promote equity (see “Making Evaluations Rigorous and Relevant” https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/making-evaluations-rigorous-and-relevant-role-active-engagement-development-learning). OPRE seeks input from people with practice, empirical, and lived expertise to inform project activities. This includes but is not limited to refinement of conceptual models, developing research questions, measurement choices, evaluation technical assistance, training and site support, the contextualization of findings, and external communication priorities.

To this end, OPRE expects contractors to develop plans and implement strategies to maximize opportunities for active engagement in ACF projects that are appropriate to the goals of each phase of a project’s life cycle. Approaches can range from shared ownership of projects (e.g., co-creation) and community based participatory research to consultation for specific activities.

Opportunities to provide input shall be considered for all phases of the project from refining research questions to external communication of findings, as appropriate for the scope and goals of the project.

Groups and individuals to actively engage may include but are not limited to service providers;

developers of interventions, innovations, or practices; program participants; subject matter experts; federal, grantee, or other program staff; federal, state, or local leadership; groups and https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/making-evaluations-rigorous-and-relevant-role-active-engagement-development-learning https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/making-evaluations-rigorous-and-relevant-role-active-engagement-development-learning individuals in programs’ communities; individuals with lived expertise; and those in broader fields of study related to human services research and evaluation.

To promote objectivity, ACF protects independence in the design, conduct and analysis of evaluations, as outlined in the agency evaluation policy. Active engagement input shall be obtained in a transparent way while safeguarding the objectivity and independence of the study, to insulate evaluation functions from undue influence and from both the appearance and the reality of bias.

1.5 Type of Contract Contemplated

Task Order for Non-severable Services, Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF).

1.6 Period of Performance

The period of performance (PoP) of this task order is 60 months from the date of award.

1.7 Place of Performance

The work to be performed under this task order will be performed at the Contractor’s address and may include multiple states and localities.

1.8 Recognized Holidays

New Year’s Day Labor Day Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday Columbus Day President’s Day Veteran’s Day Memorial Day Thanksgiving Day Juneteenth Christmas Day Independence Day

2.0 Specific Requirements/Tasks

2.1 SERVICE COMPONENT 1 (SC1) - KEY, NON-SEVERABLE (PoP - 60 MONTHS)

Task 1: Project Management and Team Communication

Effective communication between the Contractor and the federal government, coordinated through the COR, and successful management of the project as a whole are essential to the success of this Service Component, and the project more broadly.

Subtask 1.1 Orientation and Project Work Plan

The need for communication begins at the very start of the contract. Within five (5) working days of the award of contract, the Contractor shall initiate communication with the COR and other federal staff to discuss a range of topics, including, but not necessarily limited to, clarification of ACF’s interests and objectives for the project and planning for the orientation convening to be held no later than thirty (30) days after award of the contract. The orientation convening shall cover in-depth discussion about the goals of the task order, conducting work on an efficient schedule and budget, coordination with other ACF program offices, methodologies to be employed, timelines for early project deliverables the challenges anticipated, and potential solutions. The Contractor shall send an agenda and any relevant materials to the COR no less than seven (7) working days prior to the discussion. Within two (2) weeks of the discussion date, the Contractor shall submit to the COR a memorandum summarizing major decisions reached and follow-up issues identified during this discussion.

Based on decisions arrived at the orientation meeting, the Contractor shall submit a draft project work plan reflecting the discussions during the orientation no later than twenty one days (21) after orientation date. The Contractor shall submit a revised work plan no later than two (2) weeks after receipt of comments from COR. Amendments or revisions to the work plan will not take effect until Contractor receives written approval from COR.

Subtask 1.2 Ongoing communication Ongoing communication is also necessary to ensure successful completion of this service component, and should be both verbal (e.g., regularly scheduled conference calls) and written (e.g., monthly progress reports). The Contractor shall propose a schedule for bi-weekly telephone/web-based communications to update federal staff on progress and issues. Key Contractor staff, sub-Contractor staff, and/or consultants shall participate, as needed, to address progress and issues for discussion. The schedule for telephone/web-based discussions may be changed as agreed upon by the COR. The Contractor shall submit a proposed agenda for each call/web discussion at least three (3) working days in advance of the scheduled date to the COR for comment. If there are materials that federal staff will need to review prior to the call/web discussion date, such materials shall be submitted at least five (5) business days in advance of the call/web date. The Contractor shall submit a summary of discussions to the COR for review and approval no later than two (2) working days after each regular discussion.

Subtask 1.3 Progress Reports In addition to the ongoing calls/web-based discussions, the Contractor shall submit written monthly progress reports throughout the period of the service component, which includes the following information: activities completed and progress on each task for the report month, including expenditure data by task, monthly and cumulative expenditures, and the balance remaining. The Contractor reports shall include details related to project performance. Monthly progress reports shall be submitted to the COR monthly, on a regular schedule proposed by the Contractor and approved by the COR, and before or concurrently with submission by the Contractor of invoices related to that period of performance.

Subtask 1.4 Bi-annual full project meeting In order to take stock of progress and for planning of activities based on learnings from current services components, the Contractor shall meet with the COR and other staff in ACF bi-annualy, to assess the work completed and to identify priorities for work to be conducted under Optional Services Components through the period of performance of the task order..

The Contractor shall meet with the COR and other ACF staff in the ACF offices or the contractor’s offices in the Washington, DC area. The meeting will serve to take stock of work completed and to plan for future work. The bi-annual meeting will last six (6) to eight (8) hours and shall include key contract staff and any expert consultants or subcontractors significantly involved in the work of the task order.

The Contractor shall submit an Agenda for the Bi-annual meeting and any materials for discussion no later than two (2) weeks prior to the meeting date. The Contractor shall submit meeting notes of the discussions and decisions made during the meeting no later than two (2) weeks after the meeting.

Task 2: Plan and Implement Active Engagement Approach

For the current study, the contractor shall develop an approach, a plan, and implementation strategies that maximize opportunities for active engagement that are appropriate to the goals of each phase of this project’s life cycle.

The main objectives of active engagement in this project include (1) identifying needs of NSECE data users and potential ways to address such needs to inform the work to be conducted under Task 5 and Task 7, and (2) identifying research questions of interest to the child care and early education field to inform the work to be conducted under Task 6. Groups and individuals to actively engage will vary depending on the aim of the engagement and may include, but not be limited to, analysts with prior NSECE experience or with interest in NSECE analysis but no prior experience; federal staff or other staff with experience curating and archiving large datasets for public use; child care and early education subject matter experts; and federal, grant recipients, or other program staff. Opportunities for active engagement may be considered throughout the period of performance, with a particular focus on these activities informing the development and implementation of work to be performed under Tasks 5, 6 and 7.

Subtask 2.1 Active Engagement Plan

The Contractor shall provide a plan for active engagement in project tasks and deliverables. To accomplish the goals of including meaningful and appropriate active engagement while upholding the principle of independence in ACF sponsored evaluations, the plan should begin with a clearly articulated rationale for the Contractor’s approach to active engagement to guide the entire project and achieve its purpose. This rationale shall guide engagement across all tasks and any options. The approach to active engagement shall describe the reason for inclusion of the individuals and groups proposed to be engaged, how and when they will be engaged, and how input will be addressed and incorporated to achieve the purpose of the study.

The plan should follow from this approach and:

• delineate the project tasks and activities where active engagement will occur;

• demonstrate how active engagement in these tasks and activities will meet specific goals of this project;

• identify potential individuals and groups who may be involved in the active engagement and indicate why or to what end they will be engaged, how they will be engaged, and the timeline for when the project plans to engage them;

• describe the budget considerations associated with the proposed active engagement; and

• delineate how the plans for active engagement will be refined throughout the project.

For the current study, at a minimum, the following tasks should include active engagement that support the work to be completed under Tasks 6 and 7. Additionally, the plan should include explicit discussion of how the independence of research and evaluation functions and findings will be protected from both the appearance and reality of bias throughout the planning for and execution of active engagement. The Contractor shall submit a draft plan to the COR no later than two (2) months after contract award and a final deliverable to the COR no later than three

(3) months after contract award. If appropriate, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with some individuals and groups may be warranted, particularly in high-stakes evaluations or sensitive relationships. The Contractor’s plan shall be updated throughout the project as necessary to document the decisions and agreements made around areas of active engagement.

Subtask 2.2 Implementation of Active Engagement Activities

The Contractor shall execute all activities in the COR-approved Active Engagement Plan in Subtask 2.1. The Contractor shall submit any draft and final deliverables in the Active Engagement Plan to the COR for review and approval on a schedule proposed by the Contractor and approved by the COR.

Task 3: Preparation of Data Files for Archiving and Analyses

The Contractor shall archive all the raw data collected through the NSECE 2012, 2019, 2019 COVID Follow up, 2024, and 2024 Special Studies, secure and prepare Level 2 and Level 3 restricted-use data files from the data for archiving and analyses, and archive and make available for analyses Level 2 restricted-use data files from all the NSECE cohort studies. Contractor shall develop and implement a Privacy and Data Security and Monitoring Plan (see Task 4) to protect all personal identifiable information collected (PII) in all the NSECE, and prepare Level 2 and Level 3 restricted-use data files in ways that ensure the protection of personal identifiable information, and to minimize identity disclosure risk.

Subtask 3.1: Curation of All NSECE Data for Archiving The Contractor shall secure all data files resulting from the NSECE (all cohorts) for archiving and analyses. The process for securing all data files shall follow the Data Security and monitoring agreements between the prime Contractor that collected the data across all cohorts (National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago), and the US Department of Health and Human Services. The data files produced by the NSECE Contractor for all surveys, include raw data from all the cohorts from the Household, Center- and Home- Based Providers, and Workforce surveys; quick tabulations files for all surveys; public-use files for all surveys; and, Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 restricted-use files for all surveys.

The Contractor shall submit a draft plan for securing and curating the data no later than thirty

(30) days after award of the task order. The Contractor shall submit a final plan no later than two

(2) weeks after receipt of comments from COR. After approval of the plan by COR, the Contractor shall implement the plan to secure and curate the NSECE data for archiving and analyses.

Subtask 3.2: Preparation and Enhancement of Restricted-Use Data Files

The Contractor shall prepare, and/or enhance Level 2 (L2) restricted-use data files from NSECE cohort studies’ data for archiving and analyses. (See examples of enhancement under Subtask 5.3, below). The process for preparing and enhancing restricted-use data files shall follow the Data Security and Monitoring agreements between the prime Contractor that collected the NSECE data (NORC at the University of Chicago), and the US Department of Health and Human Services. Note that L2 restricted-use data files from the 2012 and 2019 cohorts and the 2019 COVID Follow studies have already been prepared. However, in the process of conducting analyses with data from any of the cohorts, the Contractor may enhance those data files and it is expected that those enhancements will be incorporated in the existing data files for secondary analyses throughout the life of the contract.

The Contractor shall submit a draft plan for preparing and/or enhancing the Level 2 restricted-use data files from the NSECE studies at a time determined in consultation with the COR. The Contractor shall submit a final plan no later than seven (7) days after receipt of comments from

COR.

After plan approval by COR, the Contractor shall prepare/update the data files from NSECE to implement any enhancements to the data files to ensure optimal use for secondary analyses.

Subtask 3.3: Archiving of NSECE Data ACF is interested in preserving all data collected with support of federal funds. Public-use and Level 1 restricted-use data collected through the NSECE studies are currently archived and disseminated through the Child and Family Data Archive (CFDA) at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), University of Michigan. The task order to be awarded will archive copies of all data resulting from NSECE studies, including raw data, quick tabulation, public use, and Level 1, 2 and 3 restricted-use data and will be in charge of disseminating Level 2 restricted-use data to approved researchers. Archiving of all NSECE data shall follow approved plan for archiving (for dissemination, restricted-use access, or preservation) based on the approved Privacy and Data Security and Monitoring Plan (Task 4 below).

Subtask 3.3.1: Data Archive Plan The Contractor shall submit a draft plan to archive all data collected through the NSECE studies, and which are held by the prime Contractor of those studies, NORC at the University of Chicago.

The draft plan must include:

• identification of the types of data collected;

• the methods of data collection; consent language used that accurately represents approval to share and/or transfer of data to other researchers, as well as to store data collected containing PII and data linkages for longer-term preservation;

• identification, justification, and procedures for handling collected data that would not be archived (e.g., proprietary measures, lower quality data, etc.);

• methods of data storage to be used to support archiving and preservation;

• analyses file construction and documentation that will support data archiving;

• data documentation and level of masking;

• considerations of the level of restriction and access for different types of data;

• schedule for archiving different types or waves of data (e.g., NSECE 2019; household calendar data; 2024 Special Topics Studies);

• procedures for reviewing and updating the plan to ensure it reflects and addresses changes resulting from data enhancements developed under this contract; and,

• final disposition of complete data, including personally identifiable and/or sensitive information, with appropriate levels of security (subject to approval by the COR).

The Contractor shall submit the draft plan at a time determined in consultation with the COR after contract award. The Contractor shall submit a revised plan that addresses comments received from the COR no later than two (2) weeks after receipt of comments from COR.

Subtask 3.3.2: Data Archiving Task

The Contractor shall undertake all activities necessary to comply with the requirements of the data archiving plan developed by the Contractor and approved by the COR in SC1, Subtask 3.3.1. If necessary, the Contractor may propose amendments and additions to the initial plan; the Contractor shall seek comment and approval from the COR regarding any amendments or additions.

Task 4: Privacy and Data Security Activities and Monitoring

ACF is committed to ensuring that any sensitive data secured, archived, or analyzed as part of this task order are maintained and stored securely in a matter consistent with applicable laws and regulations. As such, the Contractor shall undertake activities to maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data gathered under this task order. In addition to electronic data security requirements, the Contractor must have a plan for the protection of any paper records, field notes, or other documents that contain sensitive or personally identifiable information (PII). Specifically, as appropriate, the Contractor shall follow the policies, procedures, controls, and standards required by the HHS Information Security Program to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive information for which the Contractor is responsible under this task order or to which the Contractor may otherwise have access under this task order. This will include completing a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) prior to full implementation of data archiving, preparation of restricted-use data and data enhancement, analyses, and dissemination described under Task 3, Task 5, Task 6, and Task 8.

The Contractor shall update the PIA at least every three (3) years following approval of the original submission, or when determined by the COR that a review and update are required. The Contractor shall use any provided templates, policies, forms and other agency documents, if applicable, to comply with contract deliverables as appropriate.

The Contractor may be required to store the data in an environment that requires an Authority to Operate (ATO), often through a FedRAMP-certified cloud-based environment. If the Contractor does not have an environment with an ATO, but is determined to need one, they shall plan to secure one and submit that plan, including alternative options, to the COR on a schedule determined after the PIA has been completed.

Should the Contractor be required to secure an ATO, the Contractor shall achieve compliance with HHS standards, meaning the Contractor shall create and supply any necessary Security Authorization Documents (based on National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Risk Management Framework and associated guidance), and specifically a System Security Plan which could include components such as:

• NIST 800-53 rev 4 catalog of controls with implementation statements

• Configuration Management Plan

• Contingency Plan

• Incident Response Plan

• Risk Assessment

• E-Authentication Assessment

• Privacy Impact Assessment

• Annual Table Top Exercises

• Evidence of System Scans

• Annual Data Security Training for all system users

The Contractor shall provide a detailed Data Security Plan for protecting any and all information collected, retained, or accessed for secondary analysis through this task order. The security plan shall be due to the COR no later than three (3) months following the contract award date. The security plan shall be updated annually, or more often as needed based on changes to the project. The plan shall comply with the NIST SP 800-18, Guide for Developing Security Plans for Federal Information Systems; FIPS 199, Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems; the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 200, Recommended Security Controls for Federal Information Systems; the latest version of NIST SP 800-53, Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations applicable baseline requirements; and other applicable NIST guidance as well as HHS and ACF policies and other guidance. As appropriate, the Contractor shall comply with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum M-05- 22, Transition Planning for Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6). In consultation with the COR and consistent with guidance that will be provided by the COR, the data security plan shall specifically address data security and privacy procedures, including but not limited to:

• A description of the data that will be secured, accessed, stored, analyzed and/or transmitted, including noting which data will contain PII or sensitive information and the nature of that information.

• Documentation of the assigned personnel and roles associated with the project and associated data security and privacy safeguards.

• The assurances provided to respondents or participants by the original data collector about the privacy of their information.

• How data are accessed, transmitted, and stored, including confirmation that user access controls, account management, and encryption standards and procedures meet the HHS standards. This should include discussions of procedures for both IT-based and non-IT based transmission and storage.

• A description of the environment(s) in which the data will be housed.

• The training procedures in place for all project staff at all levels of the project and specific instructions to all staff related to handling personal or sensitive information.

Any Contractor or Subcontractor staff with significant security responsibilities (as determined by the COR) 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.

• Documentation of the data breach and or incident response procedures, which must comply with HHS policies, discussed further below.

• The disposition of the data and information stored at the end of the task order.

The Contractor shall submit an annual report consistent with guidance provided by the COR that outlines their compliance with the data security plan developed for the project. In this report, the Contractor shall discuss any needed updates to the data security plan as well as the data activities undertaken during the year and document how these data activities have adhered to the data security plan, as well as any issues or challenges that arose in doing so over the year, including data breaches. The Contractor shall submit the annual report on compliance with the Data Security Plan no later than thirteen (13) months after the plan was approved and annually thereafter.

All data security breaches, including confirmed or suspected breaches and breaches of protocol, must be reported to ACF in a manner that complies with the ACF Incident Response Policy;

any confirmed or suspected incidents MUST be reported to ACF no later than one hour after the Contractor’s staff is made aware of the breach or the possibility of a breach. That is, from the moment that any member of the Contractor’s (or any subcontractor’s or consultant’s) staff is made aware of the data breach or the possibility of a breach, the prime Contractor must report the breach to the COR. In the event of a data security breach, the Contractor shall protect all sensitive information, including any PII created, stored, or transmitted in the performance of this task order so as to avoid a secondary sensitive information incident. In addition, the Contractor shall cooperate on all activities to ensure an effective incident response, including potentially providing requested images, log files, and event information to facilitate rapid resolution of sensitive information incidents.

Task 5: Support for Users of NSECE Data

The Contractor shall provide technical and analytic support to approved researchers and analysts meeting requirements to use NSECE data.

Subtask 5.1: Data Support Plan

The Contractor shall develop a data support plan that describes the data support services to be provided to users of the NSECE data. The plan should, at a minimum, address the following:

1. The Contractor shall clearly specify which support services will be provided to users of Quick Tabulation files, public-use files, and Level 1 restricted-use data files that will be made available through the ACF-funded Child and Family Data Archive at the University of Michigan’s Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), and/or any other data archives identified by the COR.

2. The Contractor shall clearly describe the support services to be provided to requestors and users of Level 2 restricted-use data to be disseminated through this contract. The plan shall include details about:

a. existing or revised application procedures to request use of the Level 2 restricted-use data, including procedures to receive COR approval of all Level 2 applications and appropriate timelines for application review and approval;

b. eligibility requirements to obtain/access the data and review protocols to determine if request can be fulfilled;

c. data and/or file formats of data to be accessed by those requesting use of data;

d. assurances to be required from those requesting data;

e. monitoring of use of the data, including reporting of findings from analyses using the data; and,

f. other critical requirements to be met by users of the restricted-use data to be made available through this contract.

3. The Contractor shall describe the levels of support to be provided to users of the Level 2 restricted-use data files and which types of support will be provided through the work under this task order , and which supports will be provided through fees collected directly from data users. The Contractor shall describe procedures to obtain approval from the COR for the level of effort needed to support the users of Level 2 restricted-use data, including description of any data analytic work to be conducted by Contractor staff, labor hours, and an estimate of costs to the be covered by the task order.

4. The Contractor shall respond to questions from individuals interested in using the archived data files (Quick Tabulation, Public Use, Level 1- and Level 2- Restricted Use), and those individuals already approved for such use in a timely manner. Individuals may submit requests to the Contractor directly, through the Child and Family Data Archive (CFDA) at ICPSR, or through the federal government. Responses may include direct responses to individuals, messages communicated through the CFDA, and/or technical notes and answers to frequently asked questions to be sent out to all interested users of the data.

5. The Contractor shall describe how it will track requests for technical support from users of the NSECE data. The tracking system should include records of the requests;

mechanism through which the request was received; the type of organization making the request (e.g., university, research organization, advocacy organization); the nature of the request; the response provided; the date the request was initiated, the dates when response(s) were provided and the date when the request was completed; the data set(s) of interest, and other information of relevance to the government. The Contractor shall provide a draft of elements to be included in the tracking system in the draft support plan and incorporate revisions based on the CORs review of the plan. The tracking system developed by the Contractor as part of the Data Support Plan shall include a timeline for reporting to the COR, at least monthly. Information from technical assistance requests will be used to develop technical resources and supports for data users and will inform modifications and enhancements to the data files necessary for optimal use of the data.

(See Task 7, below.)

The Contractor shall submit the draft Data Support Plan to COR for review no later than two (2) days prior to orientation with COR upon award of the task order, and…