Final SOW EAP Services.pdf

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (EAP)

STATEMENT OF WORK

1. SPECIFIC TYPE OF SERVICES NEEDED

To provide to the Montgomery VA Regional Office (VARO) located in Montgomery, Alabama with Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment offices in Huntsville, Birmingham, Daleville, Mobile, Troy and Tuscaloosa, AL, and Pensacola, Ft. Walton Beach and Niceville, FL, an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for employees and their dependents. The EAP program will offer one-on-one professional counseling services as needed to provide employees the opportunity to obtain assistance in coping with problems which may adversely affect attendance, work performance and/or conduct.

2. LOCATION WHERE SERVICES WILL BE PERFORMED

The facility rendering service must be within commuting distance of the locations noted in paragraph 1. There shall be no hidden charges, fees or billed services to V ARO employees for services rendered in accordance with this statement of work, which shall include parking expenses, at the contractor's site location.

Additionally, the contractor's site facility must also be complaint with Americans with Disability Act (ADA), be a drug and smoke-free environment, possess all insurance otherwise required within the solicitation and provide sufficient security staff to insure VARO employees' safety.

3. PROPOSED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The contract period of service shall be from date of award through one calendar year (base year) with four one-year options for renewals. Provider staff shall be available 24 hours a day, 7 calendar days a week for on-call or critical situations. The contractor's staff will also be available 24/7, at no additional charge, to provide on-site crisis management services/treatment, if deemed most appropriate and requested through the Director of the VARO.

4. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIRED SERVICES

The program provided shall be multi-faceted, providing confidential assessment, short-term counseling and/or referral to those presenting with personal problems; training seminars for managers and supervisors on using EAP services to help deal with the

36C10E20Q0242

Employee Assistance Program - Statement of Work troubled employees or for conflict resolution, sexual harassment, workplace violence, for staff as requested by Human Resources; workshops for staff to identify and help resolve behavioral, health, or job performance problems; education, assessment referral, and back-to-work services for alcohol and drug problems, as needed to comply with the policies of the health care system; and for consultation with Human Resources regarding employees with job performance issues, who may benefit from referral to

EAP.

The contractor shall establish and provide brief, solution focused, counseling services for issues such as: marital, family, relationships, parent-child, behavior of child, emotional and stress related problems, crisis intervention, alcohol and other drug abuse, financial problems, job-related problems, and other personal concerns, which may affect job performance. Employees and their dependents' EAP services will be limited to three counseling sessions per presenting problem, per person, per year.

Persons may self-refer, be referred by Human Resources, be informally referred by a supervisor, or be given a formal supervisory referral. Emergent needs will be seen the same day, urgent within 24 hours; all others within one week (seven calendar days).

Any care which cannot be accomplished within the three sessions, per problem, per person and/or is not classified as a psychiatric disorder will be referred to an appropriately credentialed treatment provider, if so desired and agreed upon by the employee. The Program Coordinator or appropriately trained counselors shall only make referrals. Charges for services not covered by this statement of work will be the responsibility of the employee. Contractor is required to inform the employee of the charges he/she will be responsible for, prior to performing or scheduling any services.

Additionally, with regard to referrals, the contractor shall make every effort to locate services for which the employee's insurance will provide coverage, locate services with options for financial assistance available, and/or suggest veteran employees eligible to seek treatment through VA seek that as an option. Recommendation for treatment and/or referral may be made, but case file documentation must support that the employee is aware that it remains the employee's responsibility to maintain job performance whether they choose to utilize EAP or not.

Should a self-referral case be in progress and the employee's supervisor contact the Program Coordinator with documentation of the employee's work performance deterioration or the employee develops an unusual or deviant behavior pattern(s) at work, the EAP Coordinator shall confer with the supervisor, but will adhere to the confidentiality requirements only that the employee has self-referred.

Counselors may refuse to provide services if a client is unwilling to cooperate.

However, every effort to encourage an employee to seek/continue treatment shall be made. In the case of failure to cooperate, or an employee dropping out of the program prior to satisfactory resolution, the case file shall be documented to indicate the relevant facts.

When, management referrals to EAP due to unacceptable, unusual or deviant behavior, the Program Coordinator or EAP Counselor shall have documented dialogue with the referring office/individual to define the job behavior, which resulted in the referral. The referred employee will be required to comply with attendance for at least one session.

Management shall be notified of the employee's attendance and compliance with recommendations provided, for all VARO employees who have been referred by other than self (i.e., supervisor, Human Resources, etc.), as well as those requesting leave to attend counseling.

Human Resources may request the contractor to provide, in the base year, a minimum of three sessions and a maximum of six on-site orientation seminars for all VARO employees to attend. The intent will be to provide the employees an overview of the services, their benefits and how to access them. However, structure and content will be approved through the COR.

A minimum of two, maximum of five, on-site workshops/training sessions for all supervisors, managers, and administrative staff will be conducted each contractual year. The focus of these workshops/training sessions will be the benefits of an EAP and its use as a management tool to assist employees with the personal problems affecting their job performance.

The contractor shall provide a minimum of one on-site workshops/seminars on a quarterly basis, with the goal to reach all VARO staff. These programs shall cover varying topics, which will be selected by the Human Resources. Examples would include but may not be limited to: workplace violence, job related s_tress, sexual harassment, conflict resolution, customer service, dealing with difficult people, coping with change, and communication skills.

5. APPLICABLE WORK HOURS

Facility shall have established normal office hours (i.e. Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding federal holidays) for non-life threatening services. These hours shall be consistent throughout the contract term; any deviation will be at the discretion of the Contracting Officer/COR. However, staff shall be available 24 hours a day, 7 calendars days a week for on-call or critical situations. The contractor's staff will also be available 24ll, at no additional charge, to provide on-site V ARO crisis management service/treatment, if deemed most appropriate and requested by the Director.

6. ANYTHING THE VA WILL BE REQUIRED TO FURNISH

All materials to be given to the VARO employees or posed within the facilities must be reviewed and approved by the COR prior to production and distribution. Contractor will provide, at their own expense, all approved promotional material to current and new hires employees. These materials shall consist of but may not be limited to brochures, newsletters, as well as posters. Posters shall be updated a minimum of twice per year, and sufficient copies will be made to ensure that various postings areas, i.e., bulletin boards, break rooms, and other readily accessible areas can be covered within VARO facilities.

7. TYPE OF REIMBURSEMENT FOR SERVICES RENDERED

All costs represent a cost per employee per month, no additional cost will be assessed based on but not limited to the number of workshops/seminars/appointments/follow-ups or interventions. Estimated quantity: 270 employees.

Payment will be made monthly in arrears upon receipt of a proper invoice from the contractor. All invoices shall include the purchase order number for the contract year, the contract number, and the number of employees seen, as well as an overview report of the types and numbers of treatment and interventions done and/or workshops/seminars/training provided. Adjustments of contents of these reporting mechanisms may be made at the discretion of the COR.

8. CONTRACTING OFFICER TECHNICAL REPRESENTATIVE (COR)

The COR for this contract is Priscilla Humphrey-Parker, Support Services Division Chief of the VARO.

9. HOW COR INTENDS TO MONITOR AND KEEP RECORDS

Performance will be evaluated annually by the COR (rating official), recorded on the "CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE REPORT (Services)" and reviewed by the Contracting Officer. The report will be used as an internal tool for the COR to verify compliance with the contract terms and conditions, as well as provide COR recommendations with respect to exercising an option year or future contract awards.

Interim assessments may be accomplished as deemed necessary by the Contracting Officer or the COR. The contractor may request a copy of the reviews in writing, but will receive a copy, for his review and signature, of any assessment issued on an interim need or in the case(s) of a negative recommendation for future awards or contract renewal(s).

10. QUALIFICATION OF CONTRACTING PERSONNEL PROVIDING SERVICES

Program Coordinator/Head/Director (as a minimum) shall be certified as a Licensed Certified Social Worker (LCSW), a Certified Employee Assistance Professional (CEAP) and a Private Independent Practitioner (PIP). This individual will be responsible for supervising the contracted subordinate staff. All other subordinate staff members shall consist of a minimum of nine licensed master degree level social workers/professional counselors with expertise in various specialized problem areas and appropriate support clerical staffing (minimum of two). Contractor is responsible for background checks, as well as verification of staff meeting educational, licensure and/or certification requirements. However, contractor shall provide vita of current professional staff and update as necessary, the health care system reserving the right to reject a placement, providing documented justifiable cause is provided. Justifiable rejection of a potential replacement does not relieve the contractor of the responsibility to replace the missing team member. Contractor shall also make every reasonable effort to ensure that the staffing remains as consistent as possible throughout the term of the contract.

Further, the contractor shall be prepared to provide substantiation of checks and verifications, if requested in writing by the Contracting Officer or the COR.

Contractor staff shall have proven record of prior experience in providing training and seminars. Also, the contractor staff must possess the expertise and capabilities to provide intervention within a dysfunctional work group, as well as providing team building and performance improvement to assist in working through strategies to promote a better work group environment.

Contractor will provide critical incident debriefing that may be necessary following a trauma experienced within a work unit. This service will not be considered a workshop or seminar. The contractor will respond to this emergent need and provide necessary care either on-site or in their facility location, whichever is determined by the COR to be most appropriate and necessary to assist the affected employee(s).

The contractor agrees that all personnel performing this contract shall provide a financial disclosure statement detailing the extent of any financial interest in any community treatment facility or other resource to which the health care system employees might be referred, as a result of their counseling under the EAP.

11. SPECIFIC LAWS/STATUES, REGULATIONS, POLICIES THAT APPLY TO THE

HEALTH CARE

Whether services are provided on-site or off, they shall be rendered in a manner that ensures total confidentiality to those person or persons. No information will be released to any individual or agency unless authorized in writing by the client seen or as required by law in the case of "duty to warn" circumstances. All other federal and state laws and guidance regulating services or treatment shall be strictly followed and/or enforced.

The contractor will maintain a total complete independent individual case file/record system for all VARO employees referred for assistance. Further, case files shall be maintained in accordance with the confidentiality requirements of Section 508 of Public Law 92-255, as amended by Public Law 93-282. Except as applied to disciplinary or separation actions, office personnel folders shall not include information concerning employee's alcohol or drug abuse problems. At no time shall copies be inserted into an employee's personnel file (disciplinary exceptions) or within the contractor's of the VARO general medical records or any independent employee (contractorN A) files.

Urine tests, breath analyzers/blood screen results, physical data and a significant reduction in performance or conduct problems, as defined by the referring official and counselor, will determine the success or failure of the employee's participation in EAP.

All testing will be in strict accordance with the guidelines and policies of the medical center. The Program Coordinator will verbally notify the COR if testing is required/necessary and the contractor will be responsible to coordinate the collection and processing of samples.

The Privacy Act (5 U.S. C. 552a) covers all EAP records. In addition, EAP records of clients with alcohol and drug problems are protected by Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records (42 CFR, part 2). These laws and regulations prohibit EAP staff from sharing any information about clients to anyone outside of EAP, without written consent of the employee.