SFIOD_PWS.docx

PART III - PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

Vision Statement

The Office of Financial Services (OFS), requires a contractor to provide services to operate and maintain a state-wide call center to support the Single-Family Insurance Operations Division (SFIOD), Support Service Center (SSC). The contractor is to provide quality homeowner refund support services to The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)/Federal Housing Administration (FHA) homeowners.

1. General Information

1.1 Introduction

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Financial Services (OFS) is seeking contractor support services to operate and maintain the SFIOD SSC systems to assist and resolve inquiries. The contractor will handle telephonic and written inquiries from homeowners, lenders, Home Ownership Centers (HOC) and other government organizations, and the public with issues related to Single Family Mortgage Insurance premium (MIP) refunds.

1.2 Background

SFIOD is responsible for providing telephone assistance and information services via an SFIOD system to homeowners, lenders, the general public, HOC’s and other government organizations. The SFIOD System used is the Single-Family Insurance System net SFISnet.

HUD is obligated by Section 203 of the Code of Federal Regulations to pay homeowners any monies due for unearned mortgage insurance premiums or distributive share payments for FHA and Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund mortgages upon termination of the mortgage insurance contract. To this end, HUD makes a concerted effort to ensure the appropriate payment of these monies to the homeowners of record in a cost-effective and timely manner. The estimated number of referrals sent to HUD staff will be at least 100 to 4,000 per month.

To initiate timely mortgage insurance premium refunds or distributive share payments, HUD relies on a homeowner’s lending institution to provide the department with the homeowner’s current mailing address and other pertinent information at the time that the mortgage insurance is terminated. If the information submitted by the lender agrees with the information in HUD’s database, a check is issued directly to the homeowner within 7-10 working days. Most homeowners owed money for refunds or shares are paid via this process.

If the information submitted by the lender at the time of mortgage insurance termination does not match the information in HUD’s database, the homeowner is required to provide the Department with the necessary information to address the discrepancies and help ensure proper payment of the refund or share. To facilitate the collection of this information, HUD mails a copy of the Department’s Application for Premium Refund or Distributive Share Payment (form HUD-27050-B) to the latest mailing address of the homeowner that was provided by their lender. This mailing instructs the homeowner to complete the form HUD-27050-B and mail the completed form and a copy of the necessary supporting documentation to HUD.

Training will be provided by HUD to the awardee that details standard inquiries, questions, general feedback and responses. Payment of all refunds and inquiries outside the standard process shall be referred to and handled in-house by agency employees.

Additionally, the Service Center staff will review and research data found on the application for refunds and letters received from HUD. The required outcome is to provide telephone support services to enable SFIOD to ensure prompt customer service in response to the high volume of inquiries from homeowners, lenders, Home Ownership Center personnel, Third Party Tracers, Spanish speaking individuals, and the public with issues related to single family mortgage insurance premium refunds, Distributive Shares payments, refinance of single family mortgage insurance, and Tracer Found cases and forms. Also, the support services will assist SFIOD in meeting the customer service standards of the Department. The final approval for refund requests will be performed by HUD staff.

1.3 Constraints

The services identified in this PWS will adhere to the rules, regulations, laws, standards, and conventions identified by HUD as well as within the Federal Government. Constraints include the following:

· Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

· HUD Acquisition Regulation (HUDAR)

· Applicable HUD regulations and policies

· SFIOD MIP CSS Desktop Manual/Operations Handbook

· Applicable Federal Information Processing Standards

· Applicable National Institute of Standards and Technology publications

· Section 203 of the Code of Federal Regulations

1.4 Descriptions of Services

The contractor shall operate a Support Service Center to provide telephone assistance/data update service to respond to telephone requests from the homeowners, lenders, the general public, Third Party Tracers, and the Home Ownership Center staff.

Detailed descriptions of specific tasks are provided in Section 5 Specific Tasks

1.5 Non-Personal Services

The Government will neither supervise Contractor employees nor control the method by which the Contractor performs the required tasks. Under no circumstances shall the Government assign tasks to, or prepare work schedules for, individual Contractor employees. It shall be the responsibility of the Contractor to manage its employees and to guard against any actions that are of the nature of personal services or give the perception of personal services.

If the Contractor believes that any actions constitute, or are perceived to constitute personal services, it shall be the Contractor's responsibility to notify the Contracting Officer (CO) immediately. These services shall not be used to perform work of a policy, decision making, or management nature, i.e. inherently Government functions. All decisions relative to programs supported by the Contactor shall be the sole responsibility of the Government.

1.6 Period of Performance

The period of performance shall be for one base period of 12 months and four 12-month option periods.

1.7 Place of Performance

The services to be performed under this contract shall be performed at the Contractor facility.

1.8 Hours of Operation

The Contractor is responsible for providing services between the hours of 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., EST, Monday thru Friday except for Federal holidays or when the Government facility is closed due to local or national emergencies, administrative closing, or similar Government directed facility closings. Weekly hours shall not exceed a forty (40) hour work week and a typical work day will be 8 hours each day Monday through Friday. The Government reserves the right to change hours of operation or restrict contractor access. Work outside of these daily hours is prohibited without Contracting Officer approval. Government agencies will not be available during scheduled holidays, inclement weather, weekends and after duty hours. The Contractor shall at all times maintain an adequate workforce for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within the contract when the Government facility is not closed for the above reasons. When hiring personnel, the Contractor shall keep in mind that the stability and continuity of the workforce is essential.

1.9 Special Qualifications

The Contractor is responsible for ensuring that two (2) employees are bilingual in English and Spanish. They must be proficient in each language and can read, write and speak both languages fluently.

1.10 Post Award/Kickoff Conference

The Contractor shall attend any post award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office in accordance with FAR Subpart 42.5. The Government intends to convene a Post Award Conference with the Contractor within ten business days after contract award. The Contracting Officer will notify the Contractor of the specific date, location and agenda within five days after contract award.

1.11 Status Meetings

The Contracting Officer, Contracting Officier Representative (COR), Contracting Officer Technical Monitor, COTR, and other Government personnel, as appropriate may meet periodically with the Contractor to also review Contractor performance, requirement status, etc. At these meetings, the Contracting Officer will apprise the Contractor of how the Government views the Contractor's performance or progress of the requirement. The Contractor shall apprise the Government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the Government. Post award conference and subsequent meetings may be held via teleconference.

1.12 Contractor Travel

Prior to travel, the Contractor shall coordinate with and receive Government authorization from the COTR and COR for all travel. Reimbursement of travel costs will be in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation and in accordance with FAR 31.205-46. The Contractor shall travel using the lower cost mode transportation commensurate with the mission requirements. When necessary to use air travel, the Contractor shall use the tourist class, economy class or similar lodging accommodations to the extent they are available and commensurate with the mission requirements. HUD will not reimburse Contractor's local travel. Local travel is defined as travel within fifty (50) miles of Washington, DC. All other travel will be reimbursed on a cost reimbursable basis; no profit or fee will be paid.

1.13 Transition In

As a successor, the Contractor shall have sufficient personnel on board during the 30-day Transition-In period to ensure a smooth transition with the incumbent Contractor pending approval of PIV process. The Contractor shall provide an orderly transition of work acceptance and accomplishment such that any impact to the program is minimized. During the Transition-In period, the Contractor shall become familiar with the requirements in order to commence full performance of services by the end of the contract Transition-In period. Transition-In is not required if the successor Contractor is the incumbent Contractor.

1.14 Transition Out

To minimize any decrease in productivity and to prevent possible negative impacts on additional services, the Contractor shall have sufficient personnel on board during the 60-day Transition-Out period. The incumbent Contractor shall ensure a smooth transition with the successor Contractor during the Transition-Out period, prior to completion of contractual performance. The incumbent Contractor shall aid the successor in the development of plans, procedures and methods for the assumption of all on going work. The Contractor shall provide an orderly transition of work acceptance and accomplishment, such that full control by the successor contractor is achieved by the end of the new contract Transition-In period.

2 Definitions and Acronyms

2.1 Definitions

Automatic Call Distributor -Telephone device used in the Call Center which calls are automatically distributed and routed to the available customer agents.

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) - a system of one or more computers and associated software with common storage.

Business/Work Days - Every official work day of the week which are days between and including Monday to Friday. This does not include federal holidays and weekends.

Calendar Day - Any day of the week.

Contractor - A supplier or vendor awarded a contract to provide specific supplies or service to the Government. The term used in this contract refers to the prime.

Contracting Officer (CO) - A person with authority to enter into, administer, and/or terminate contracts and make related determinations and findings on behalf of the Government. Note: the only individual who can legally bind the Government.

Defective Service - A service output that does not meet the standard of performance associated with the Performance Work Statement.

Deliverable - Anything that can be physically delivered, but may include non-manufactured things such as meeting minutes or reports.

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) - The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is a United States government agency created in part by the National Housing Act of 1934.

Government Furnished Property (GFP) - Government-furnished property means property in the possession of, or directly acquired by, the Government and subsequently furnished to the Contractor for performance of a contract. Government-furnished property includes, but is not limited to, spares and property furnished for repair, maintenance, overhaul, or modification. Government-furnished property also includes contractor-acquired property if the contractor-acquired property is a deliverable under a cost contract when accepted by the Government for continued use under the contract.

Contracting Officer Representative (COR) - An individual designated by the Contracting Officer to assist in providing technical direction and monitoring performance under the contract.

Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COTR) - An employee of the U.S. Government appointed by the Contracting Officer to perform contract administration activities in regard to technical issues. This individual has authority to provide technical direction to the Contractor as long as direction is within the scope of the contract, does not constitute a change and has no funding implications. This individual does NOT have authority to change the terms and conditions of the contract.

Identification (ID) - document or code which may be used to prove a person's identity and gain access.

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) - Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is an automated telephone system that interacts with callers, gathers information and routes calls to the appropriate recipient. An IVR system (IVRS) accepts a combination of voice telephone input and touch-tone keypad selection and provides appropriate responses.

Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) - mortgage insurance premium is required for most of the FHA's Single Family mortgage insurance programs.

Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) - The Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund is authorized by Section 203(b) of the National Housing Act of 1934.

Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) - A listing of the performance requirements under the contract that are to be evaluated by the Government on a regular basis, performance indicators for these requirements, performance standards for these requirement and surveillance methods to be used to determine if performance standards are met.

Performance Standard - The Contractor's performance level required by the Government.

Performance Work Statement (PWS) - A statement of work for performance based acquisitions that describe the required results in clear, specific and objective terms with measurable outcomes.

Physical Security - Actions that prevent the loss or damage of Government property.

Personal Identity Verification (PIV) - The Personal Identity Verification program enables HUD to meet the new security standards effectively for employee identification and access.

Quality Assurance (QA) - Policies and procedures adopted by the Government to ensure that supplies and services acquired under Government contracts conform to the contracts quality requirements.

Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) - A plan describing how the agency will survey, observe, test, sample, evaluate and document the Contractor's performance in meeting critical performance standards identified in the contract.

Quality Control (QC) - All necessary measures taken by the Contractor to assure that the quality of an end product of service shall meet contract requirements.

Service Contract - A contract that directly engages the time and effort of a Contractor whose primary purpose is to perform an identifiable task rather than to furnish an end item of supply.

Single Family Insurance System net (SFISnet) – system access for FHA insured loans and refunds

Single Family Premium Collection System (SFPCS) - HUD’s systems used to collect upfront and periodic mortgage insurance premiums.

Support Service Center (SSC) – Single Family Insurance Operations Division, Support Service Center (SSC).

Subcontractor - Any person, other than the prime Contractor, who offers to furnish or furnishes any supplies, material, equipment, or services of any kind under a prime contract or a subcontract entered into in connection with such prime contract, and any person who offers to furnish or furnishes general supplies to the prime contractor or a higher tier subcontractor.

Third Party Tracers - Third-party tracers are independent business enterprises involved in locating homeowners who may be entitled to an FHA single family MIP refund or distributive share payment. Under FOIA, third-party tracers request copies of the lists of unpaid homeowners. They then use various techniques to find these homeowners and, for a fee, assist them in acquiring their MIP refunds.

Work Week - Monday through Friday, unless specified otherwise.

2.2 Acronyms

ACD – Automatic Call Distributor ADP - Automatic Data Processing AQL - Acceptable Quality Level CFR - Code of Federal Regulations CIO or OCIO - Office of the Chief Information Officer of HUD CO - Contracting Officer COR - Contracting Officer Representative CPO - Office of the Chief Procurement Officer of HUD EST - Eastern Standard Time (U.S.)

FHA - Federal Housing Administration FAR - Federal Acquisition Regulation GFP - Government Furnished Property COTR - Government Technical Monitor COR - Government Technical Representative HOC - Home Ownership Center HUD - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HUDAR - HUD Acquisition Regulation ID - Identification IVR - Interactive Voice Response MIP - mortgage insurance premium MMI - Mutual Mortgage Insurance OCPO - Office of the Chief Procurement Officer OFS - Office of Financial Services PII - Personal Identifiable Information PIV - Personal Identity Verification PM - Project Manager POC - Point of Contact PPM - Project Planning and Management PRS - Performance Requirements Summary PWS - Performance Work Statement QA - Quality Assurance QASP - Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan QC - Quality Control QCP - Quality Control Plan SFIOD - Single Family Insurance Operations Division SFIS/A43 - Single Family Insurance System SFISnet - Single Family Insurance System net SFPCS-U/A80R - Single Family Premium Collections Subsystem-Upfront SSC - Support Service Center U.S.C - United States Code

3 Government-Furnished Property and Services

The Contractor shall ensure accurate control and accountability of all Government-Furnished Property in accordance with the terms and conditions of this contract. The Government will furnish, at no cost to the Contractor, the GFP shown below.

3.1 Government Services

The Government will provide guidance and training when necessary to personnel, as well as, assist with some portion of services or other contractor support.

3.2 Facilities

Not Applicable.

3.3 Equipment

Not Applicable

3.4 Materials

The government will provide sample documents including the Desk Guide/Operating Manual. All materials will remain the property of the Government and will be returned to the COR upon request or at the end of the contract period.

3.5 Quality Assurance (QA)

The Government shall evaluate the Contractors performance under this contract in accordance with the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. This plan is primarily focused on what the Government must do to ensure that the Contractor has performed in accordance with the performance standards. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance and the minimum acceptable quality level.

4 Contractor-Furnished Items and Services

The Contractor shall furnish, all facilities, equipment and supplies required to perform the work under this contract that are not listed under Government-Furnished Property and Services.

4.1 Facilities

The contractor shall furnish all facilities, equipment and supplies required to perform the work under this contract that are not listed under Government Furnished Property and Services.

4.2 Equipment

The contractor shall furnish all equipment required to perform the work under this contract that are not listed under Government Furnished Property and Services.

4.3 Material

The contractor shall furnish all material not listed under Government Furnished Property and Services.

4.4 Contractor Responsibilities

The Contractor shall only conduct business with designated Government personnel listed as points of contact (POCs). Names of authorized personnel shall be provided to the Contractor by the Government, in writing and updated as necessary throughout the contract period.

U.S. Government records, copies of original results and reports, verified original data, corrected data and corrected supporting final reports which are maintained by the Contractor shall remain the property of the U.S. Government. These files/results shall be surrendered to the COR.

4.5 Contractor Personnel

The Contractor shall provide a Contract/Project Manager who shall be responsible for the performance of work. An alternate shall also be designated to act in the absence of the Contract/Project Manager. These Contractor personnel (main point of contact and alternate point of contact) are considered Key Personnel by the Government and shall be listed as such in accordance with HUDAR 2452.237-70, "Key Personnel.” The Contract/Project Manager and alternate shall have full authority to act on all contract matters relating to the daily operations of this contract. Accordingly, at a minimum, the points of contact shall have the technical knowledge of the requirement and be in the position to receive assignment, guidance and direction from the COR, COTR and CO per HUDAR 2452.237-73, Conduct of Work and Technical Guidance and shall be allocated enough hours to the requirement to ensure successful performance. These points of contact shall each be an employee of the Contractor. An employee of a subcontractor is not acceptable for either of these positions. The Contract/Project Manager or alternate shall be available between the hours of 8:30am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday EST, except Federal Holidays or when the Government facility is closed for administrative reasons.

4.6 Identification of Contractor Employees

All Contractor/subcontractor personnel shall wear company picture identification badges as to distinguish themselves from Government employees. When conversing with Government personnel during business meetings, over the telephone or via electronic mail, Contractor/subcontractor personnel shall identify themselves as such to avoid situations arising where sensitive topics might be better discussed solely between Government employees. Contractors/subcontractors shall identify themselves on any attendance sheet or any coordination documents they may review. Electronic mail signature blocks shall identify their company affiliation. Where practicable, Contractor/subcontractors occupying collocated space with their Government program customer shall identify their work space area with their name and company affiliation, or as a minimum, "Contractor" after name.

4.7 Quality Control

The Contractor shall establish and maintain a complete Quality Control Program that shall ensure services are performed in accordance with this contract. The Contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-reoccurrence of defective services. The Contractor's quality control program is the means by which he assures himself that his work complies with the requirements of the contract. The Contractor shall provide the associated Quality Control Plan to the Government at the time of offer submission.

4.7.1 Quality Control Plan

The Contractor shall develop, maintain, enforce, and document a Quality Control Plan (QCP). The QCP shall ensure the Government receives the level of quality that is consistent with the requirements specified in this contract. The QCP shall be sufficiently detailed to provide the Contractor's methodology for identifying and recruiting qualified personnel. The QCP shall also provide the Contractor's methodology for resolving problems identified by the Government during reviews conducted in accordance with its Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). The QCP shall also provide the Contractor's methodology for establishing an internal feedback system for support personnel, and for resolving problems identified by that feedback system. The QCP shall demonstrate and validate that the services or deliverables to be provided under the contract are completed with a level of quality that meets the minimum performance threshold established in the Government's QASP. The QCP shall address Quality Management Approach, Quality Assurance, Quality Control and Quality Standards.

5 Scope of Work/Specific Tasks

5.1 Call Center Support Services

The contractor shall provide the following call center support services and ensure all tasks and requirement detailed below are met.

1. Answer incoming calls and faxes

· Respond to all telephonic and written inquiries within 24 hours from homeowners, lenders, other offices in HUD, Home Ownership Centers (HOC), other government organizations, and the general public.

· Respond to inquiries from Third Party Tracers https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/administration/foia/frequentrequestedmaterials/fharefundstate

· Access the SFISnet and FHA Connection systems in order to resolve inquiries.

2. Referrals

· Make referrals on homeowner refunds to Single Family Premium mailbox (SF.Premiums@hud.gov) and on lender refund requests to Lender Refunds mailbox (lendersrefunds@hud.gov) as required.

· Refer inquiries, referrals, and messages requiring further action to appropriate SFIOD offices by email at least twice daily in the morning and afternoon.

3. Outgoing calls

· Complete outbound calls that include callbacks to homeowners, lenders, Home Ownership Center staff and Third Party Tracers from retrieved calls on the afterhours voice mail box and referrals that require additional information.

· Contact homeowners on receivable cases to set up payment plans to repay Mortgage Insurance Premiums (MIP) refunds.

· Contact the homeowner for additional information, documents, check tracer, and to provide assistance with completing and locating documentation.

4. Document Review

· Perform an initial review of received Forms HUD-27050-B, Application for Premium Refund or Distributive Share Payment, (Part-B) and additional documentation for proof of eligibility of MIP refund or refund payment status

· Search county and other free websites to locate documents such as deeds of trust and satisfaction of mortgage.

· Review documentation received by the Homeowners before sending referrals to Single Family Premium mailbox.

5. Reports

· Provide system generated weekly reports to HUD on telephone assistance/data update services. The format for reporting must be approved by the COR prior to use.

5.2 Weekly Status Report

The Contractor shall provide a system generated weekly status reports that includes the following daily activity breakdown:

(1) Identify significant problems and their impact, causes, proposed corrective actions, and the effect such corrective actions will have on the accomplishments and costs of the contract objectives.

(2) Discuss project management activities, including contract administration, contributing to the accomplishment of the project objectives.

(3) Total number of telephone calls processed for the weekly, including all incoming commercial and 800 number calls and all outbound calls generated by the system only.

(4) The average number of calls processed per day.

(5) The total number of all incoming calls to SFIOD per week and the daily average.

(6) The total number of ACD calls (calls handled by operators) and a daily average generated by system.

(7) The total number of abandon calls (caller hung up while on hold) per week. The percent of abandon calls for the week.

(8) The average talk time for the week.

(9) The average number of completed outbound calls per day. This represents also the callbacks to homeowners, lenders, HOC and returned calls from after-hours voice mail box and callbacks when additional information is needed for referrals.

(10) The total number of retrieved calls from the after-hours voice mail box during the week.

(11) The total number of complaints received from homeowners and lenders for the week.

(12) The total number of Applications for Premium Refund or Distributive Share Payment (Form HUD-27050-B) reviewed during the month.

(13) The weekly status report shall be delivered electronically via the email in a word document.

5.3 Contract Status Meeting

The Contractor shall meet with the COR monthly to review contractor performance, requirement status, etc. The COTR/COR will provide feedback to the Contractor’s on performance or progress of the services provided.

6 Deliverables and Milestones

The Contractor shall complete all work, deliver all deliverables and adhere to all milestones as specified herein. Any papers, recommendations, etc. that the Contractor submits are drafts, not final copies. The Government reserves the right to make changes to delivery dates.

A002 Status Meetings Monthly 12 A003 Call Center Support Services Monthly 12

6.1 Quality Control Plan

The Contractor's QCP shall be delivered within 30 calendar days after contract award (or with the Contractor's proposal if it is an evaluation factor). Two copies of a comprehensive written QCP shall be submitted to the COR within 5 working days when changes are made thereafter. After acceptance of the QCP the Contractor shall receive the Contracting Officer's acceptance in writing of any proposed change to its quality control system.

6.2 Acceptance Criteria

Acceptance of all deliverables shall be submitted in a draft format agreed upon by the contractor and the government. Upon review and acceptance by the government, the contractor shall address all government comments and submit a final draft within 5 business days of government notification.

7 Performance Requirements Summary

The summary chart below lists the contract's primary requirements, the associated performance standards, the expected target performance and the methods of surveillance. While several contract requirements are not listed in the chart below, requirements not appearing on the PRS chart do not negate the Contractor's obligation to perform all requirements as specified in the contract. Additionally, HUD reserves all rights and remedies under the provisions and clauses of the contract when performance of any contract requirement, whether listed below, is unacceptable.

HUD will develop a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan to be used to provide contract oversight. In conjunction with the Contractor's Quality Control Plan and various other methods of assessing performance, the COR and COTR will perform on-site reviews and/or other types of verification to determine that the specified target performance requirements have been met.

Regular review of Contractor performance is critical to the overall success of the contract. Monthly, the COR or COTR will evaluate the quality of the product or services. These performance standards will be fully enforceable starting 45 days from date of contract award.

Weekly Reports

a) Standard: Due every Tuesday by COB AQL: Due every Thursday by COB (2-day deviation)

Status Meeting

a) Standard: Attend status meeting monthly AQL: Attend status meeting monthly/Zero deviation

Call Center Support Services

a) Standard: Ensure all PWS requirements and milestones are met AQL: Zero deviation 2% deduction penalty from monthly invoice price if the standard is not met