JA_75P00119C00075_P000003_05142020_SIGNED.PDF

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

Acquisition Title: Head Start Information and Communications Center Support

Agency: PSC

PSC Divisions: ASA - Assistant Secretary for Administration

Acquisition Year (FY): 2020

Author and Title: Alana Buroff, Communications Lead, Office of Head Start

2. Description of Action:

Nature: New Requirement Follow-on Requirement

Modification to Existing Purchase Order/Contract Number: 75P00119C00075

Pricing: Firm-Fixed Price Time & Materials Cost

Other:

Funds: OMA Other Funds:

Name of Proposed Contractor(s): Trans Management Systems Corporation

Street Address:

City, State, Zip: Washington, DC 20005-2700

3. Description of Services or Supplies:

Basis for Approval (FAR 6.303-1(d)): Individual Basis Class Basis

The total estimated value of the proposed action, including all options is $ 5,894,731.50

The purpose of this acquisition is to provide specialized services in the areas of information communications and website design and management for the Office of Head Start (OHS) and to conduct, if necessary, transition activities.

The scope of the contract extension is precisely the same as for the original contract, but extending the period of performance.

Specifically, this acquisition will provide a two and a half month extension of the existing contract, from May 15, 2020 through July 31, 2020, with an option for an additional six month extension, from August 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021. The contract will maintain the ongoing tasks of the Head Start Information and Communications Center (HSICC) until a new contract award can be made, following the resolution of a protest.

The Head Start Information and Communications Center manages communications with the Head Start and early childhood community through the provision of

• an expert contact center prepared to receive and respond to up to 50,000 inquiries and complaints per year in English and Spanish through various channels, including phone, web, and email.

• the ongoing development and maturation of the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC) website, and the ACF OHS website, meeting the information access needs of the Head Start community, including translation services as necessary.

• collaboration and networking platforms for Head Start program staff.

• mass communications, including the provision of webcasting technology, mass email solutions, and management of social media for the Head Start community and the general public.

• NewsWatch Services, providing a complete daily digest of internet news relating the Head Start and any of its grantees

• Head Start Knowledge Experts to inform the call center, communications services, and the websites. These experts serve as liaisons to the National training and technical assistance centers, OHS and its designees to facilitate the effective and timely design and posting of content.

• User Feedback and Analysis, to increase the effectiveness of all OHS products and services. This includes development, implementation and analysis of surveys of system users regarding service and product satisfaction and impact, including the customer service/call center.

4. Authority and Rationale: Identify the statutory authority, FAR title and FAR citation permitting other than full and open competition. It may be one of the following most commonly used citations by the operating divisions of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), but other exceptions may apply per FAR Subpart 6.3.

Actions other than simplified acquisition procedures (select only one and provide an explanation):

FAR 6.302-1: Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, 41 U.S.C.

3304(a)(1)

FAR 6.302-2: Unusual and compelling urgency, 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(2)

The 2019 award of a new Head Start Information and Communications Center (HSICC) contract has been protested. The result of the usual competitive process was otherwise ready to award in a timely manner. The protest was filed on April 29, 2019, which the GAO subsequently dismissed due to a voluntary corrective action. The government reevaluated the proposals, and revised proposals were requested of eligible offerors, which were accordingly submitted on January 6, 2020. The government anticipates entering into discussion with eligible offerers toward the end of May 2020. The timeline is included as an attachment.

The HSICC contract is due to expire on May 14, 2020, however the government does not currently have the information necessary to award a new HSICC contract. A two and a half month award for the HSICC contract must be in place by May 14, 2019 to avoid serious injury to the government while allowing for resolution of the protest and any necessary transition to a new contract. This two and a half month award will fund the HSICC from May15, 2020 to July 31, 2020 which will allow the minimum necessary time for protest resolution, contract award, and transition of contract activities to a new entity if necessary. The HSICC contract supports essential functions of the Office of Head Start, including a customer service center the ECLKC website (http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov);

and a mass emailing service.

An additional six month option will provide for service continuation in the event the award decision is protested again. The six months, from August 1, 2020 to January 31 will allow for the resolution of any subsequent protest.

It is not practicable to conduct a limited competition for these services for this short term contract, as the time needed to post a solicitation, evaluate the proposals, and award a contract is reasonably expected to take at least five months. Thus a new contract award would not be completed by May 14, 2020 when the current contract expires.

The Office of Head Start has an unusual and compelling urgency for continuation of HSICC contract services. Primarily, so the Office of Head Start can continue to receive complaints and concerns from the public through the HSICC customer service center regarding threats to the health and safety of Head Start children, misuse of federal funds by grantee agencies, and other issues. The Head Start customer service center is the primary vehicle through which the public can submit complaints and concerns about federally funded Head Start programs throughout the country. On a daily basis, through the toll-free phone line, email or website, the public submits concerns related to child safety such as young children being left unattended by staff, unsafe facilities due to mold or other toxins, or abuses perpetrated by staff. The public also submits complaints regarding fraud or other missuse of federal funds. HSICC staff process the complaints into systems that notify OHS regional staff, allowing appropriate government follow up.

Without a continually operational customer service center, the Office of Head Start will not be aware of these threats which could endanger children, staff and federal funds which could present harm to children, serious financial injury to the government, or serious injury to the reputation of the government's Head Start program.

Moreover, during the national emergency caused by impacts of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Office of Head Start is giving new direction to grantees and constituents on a regular basis. The ECLKC website, webinar services, and virtual communities on social media are critical to the continued functioning of Head Start programs at this time.

The services of the HSICC are also a primary distributor of technical assistance and training for Head Start programs, as most services are currently virtual during the COVID-19 crisis. The Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 (U.S. Code Citation: 42 USC 9801 et seq.) mandates provision of technical assistance and training for Head Start programs, currently funded at over $200 million per year. Fifty percent of that allocation supports a training and technical assistance (TTA) system that both develops high-quality evidence-based practical resources for implementing early childhood programs and supports the use and delivery of these materials and services. In normal times, but more so now, the HSICC contract is an essential part of meeting this mandate, as it is primarily responsible for the mass publication of OHS National TTA Center products, enabling their use by grantees and the regional TTA system. OHS is mandated to provide TTA to grantees who have deficiencies identified through the OHS Monitoring System.

Without TTA resources disseminated by the HSICC contract, and the proper TTA support HSICC enables, grantees could litigate any loss of funding resulting from unresolved deficiencies, claiming OHS did not meet its congressional mandate to provide TTA.

There are many federal requirements around the dissemination of digital media, including accessibility to people with disabilities (section 508 of the American with Disabilities Act); appropriate use of analytics, appropriate use and explanation of copyright, management of digital governance structures, creation of high quality information (up-to-date and in plain language); mandatory content (such as FOIA and privacy information), multilingual content for people with limited English proficiency, open data, privacy and identity management, records management, and security and management controls. While all cooperative agreements and contracts managed by OHS include language on the appropriate requirements, (for example section 508 of the American with Disabilities Act), federal staff managing these contracts rarely have the expertise or the time to ensure that these requirements are being adhered to. The HSICC program ensures that all external communications produced or disseminated by OHS meet Federal requirements, protecting OHS from litigation regarding the accessibility of the materials it publishes.

It is vital there is no lapse in the communications services provided by the HSICC contracts. Such a lapse would have impacts on the health and safety of Head Start children, safeguarding of federal funds, and mandated training and technical assistance.

FAR 6.302-5: Authorized or Required by Statute, 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(5)

Other (See FAR Subpart 6.3 for additional authority)

Provide a full explanation to justify use of the exception.

5. Agency Actions to Take or Remove Barriers That Led to Other Than Full and Open Competition (If applicable):

Describe the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the restricted consideration prior to any subsequent acquisition for the supplies of services is made. If no such actions have been taken, explain why.

This short term contract extension is only in place until an award and appropriate transition can be made to a successful offeror to the HSICC solicitation 19-233-SOL-00019. In anticipation of awarding a contract under full and open competition, proposals to solicitation 19-233-SOL-00019 were evaluated, and revised proposals were requested of eligible offerors, which were most recently submitted on January 6, 2020. These revised proposals have been evaluated, and no award can be made to any applicant without further discussion.

6. Bridge Contracts:

The 2019 award of a new Head Start Information and Communications Center (HSICC) contract has been protested on the basis of the evaluation of the protestor's proposal being unreasonable. The protest was filed on April 29, 2019, which the GAO subsequently dismissed due to a voluntary corrective action. A bridge contract was awarded in August 2019 to continue HSICC services while the government completed the corrective action. The government reevaluated the proposals. Revised proposals were requested of eligible offerors, which were accordingly submitted on January 6, 2020. The government anticipates entering into discussion with eligible offerers toward the end of May 2020. The timeline is included as an attachment.

The current HSICC contract is due to expire on May 14, 2020, however due to staff transition and the COVID-19 crisis, a contract could not be awarded before the current contract expires. A two and a half month award for the HSICC contract must be in place by May 14, 2020 to fund the HSICC from May15, 2020 to July 31, 2020. This is the minimum performance period possible to receive updated proposals, evaluate them fairly, award the new contract, and transition of contract activities to the successful entity.

The option of an additional six month performance period will provide for service continuation in the event the award decision is protested again. The six months, from August 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021 will allow for the resolution of any subsequent protest.

It would not be realistic to expect another contractor to perform this work in the interim period, as the government has not determined another source as being acceptable to conduct the work of the HSICC contract.

7. Actions to Increase Competition:

This short term contract extension is only in place until an award can be made to a successful offeror to the HSICC solicitation 19-233-SOL-00019 and the work can be transitioned from the current contractor to a new contractor.

The government previously anticipated awarding the contract by May 1, 2020. With the advent of the COVID-19 national emergency the government was not able to award the contract as planned, and it was not possible to comply with the synopsis period. The timeline is included as an attachment.

A notice has not been published because of an unusual and compelling urgency as described under FAR 5.202(a)(2). The unusual and compelling urgency includes the health and safety of Head Start children, safeguarding of federal funds, and mandated training and technical assistance. In particular, the HSICC Customer Service Center is the primary vehicle through which the public can submit complaints and concerns about federally funded Head Start programs throughout the country which involve the physical health and safety of children in Head Start programs, as well as allegations of fraud or misuse of federal funds. Moreover, the HSICC enables the legally mandated TTA support grantees are entitled to, without which grantees could litigate any loss of funding resulting from unresolved deficiencies, claiming OHS did not meet its congressional mandate to provide TTA.

8. Market Research:

At this time, although the government is in possession of three complete proposals responding to the HSICC solicitation 19-233- SOL-00019, the government has not determined another source as being acceptable to conduct the work of the HSICC contract.

The incumbent source is known to have the capability to acceptably fulfill the work of the HSICC contract in a way that meets the compelling urgency of the government.

This short term contract extension is only in place until the proposals HSICC solicitation 19-233-SOL-00019 can be fairly evaluated, and an award and appropriate transition can be made to a successful offeror.

For HSICC solicitation 19-233-SOL-00019 the following market research was performed:

1) Capability briefings with ten vendors. Besides listed vendors, ACF attendees included Shamekia Williams, Muriel Richardson, Alana Buroff, Elizabeth Borda Rivera and Marcia Carter.

a. Manhattan Strategy Group (February 20, 2018)

b. BCT Partners/eGlobalTech (April 5, 2018)

c. The Hannon Group/MissionSide (April 24, 2018)

d. Hendall, Inc (May 30, 2018)

e. Sylver Rain Consulting (May 30, 2018)

f. Highlight Technologies (May 30, 2018)

g. Versa Tech (May 31, 2018)

h. Defensor Dynamics (May 31, 2018)

i. Virtual Enterprise Architects (June 1, 2018)

i. Virtual Enterprise Architects (June 1, 2018)

j. Precision Healthcare Consultants Receivable Services, LLC ( June 1, 2018) Several small business vendors were found to be potentially technically capable of fulfilling the requirement.

2) Reviewing procurement vehicles including

a. GSA Schedule 70,

b. NIH Technology Assessment and Acquisition Center (NITAAC)

c. 8(a) STARS II

3) Reviewing current vendor's invoices

4) Participating in ACF's Small Business Industry Day (April 23, 2018).

5) Staying current with industry best practices through events, outside reading material, and government wide list serves, including the User Experience community of practice, the Federal Communicators Network, the Mobile Technology community of practice, the Content Managers listserve, and emerging technology community of practice.

9. Procurement History:

Purchase order or contract number: HHSP233201700059C

Was action competed? Yes No

If action was not competed, state the cited authority, summarize rationale, and describe the actions that were supposed to be taken to increase competition and the results thereof:

10. Additional Information to support the justification:

11. Technical / Requirements Certification: By my signature below, I certify that the supporting data included in this J&A is accurate and complete.

Program Manager

Name: Alana Buroff

Position Title: Communications Lead, Office of Head Start

Email address:

Phone:

Program Manager Supervisor (or one level above Program Manager)

Name: Ann Linehan

Position Title: Deputy Director of the Office of Head Start

Email address:

Signature:

Date: 05/14/2020

12. Fair and Reasonable Price/Cost Determination: As Contracting Officer, by my signature below, I hereby determine that the anticipated price/cost to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable.

As this contract will be awarded to an incumbent contractor already doing identical work, it is anticipated that the cost will be similar to historic costs. The government will require certified cost or pricing data in the solicitation instructions. The Government will conduct a cost analysis of the proposal to ensure the proposed cost/price is fair and reasonable.

Ann M. Linehan -S Digitally signed by Ann M. Linehan -S DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=HHS, ou=ACF, ou=People, cn=Ann M. Linehan -S, 0.9.2342.19200300.100.1.1=2000117404 Date: 2020.05.14 15:47:05 -04'00'

Name: Peter D. Preston jr. Phone: (301) 492-4648

Signature: Date: May 14, 2020

13. Contracting Officer's Approval (Required for proposed contract not to exceed $700,000 (value calculated including all options)): I hereby certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge. I approve this justification subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services and supplies herin describe have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

Name: Peter D. Preston Jr. Phone: (301) 492-4648

Signature: Date: May 14, 2020

14. Legal Review:

15. OPDIV Competition Advocate Approval (Required for proposed contract over $700,000 but not exceeding $13.5 million value calculated including all options)):

I have reviewed this justification and find that it adequately supports other than full and open competition.

Name: James Simpson Phone: (202) 205-9538

Signature: Date:

16. Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization:

I have reviewed this justification and find that it adequately supports other than full and open competition.

Name: Allyson Brown Phone:

Signature: Date:

17. OPDIV HCA Approval (Required for proposed contract over $13.5 million but not exceeding $68 million value calculated including all options)):

Name: Phone:

Signature: Date:

18. Department Competition Advocate:

Concur: Non-Concur:

Name: Phone:

Signature: Date:

Peter D. Preston -S Digitally signed by Peter D.

Preston -S Date: 2020.05.14 20:54:59 -04'00'

Peter D. Preston -S Digitally signed by Peter D.

Preston -S Date: 2020.05.14 20:55:39 -04'00'

James E. Simpson -S Digitally signed by James E. Simpson -S DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=HHS, ou=OS, ou=People, 0.9.2342.19200300.100.1.1=2002743466, cn=James E.

Simpson -S Date: 2020.05.15 09:29:36 -04'00'

Allyson R. Brown -A Digitally signed by Allyson R. Brown -A DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=HHS, ou=OS, ou=People, 0.9.2342.19200300.100.1.1=1000066840, cn=Allyson R.

Brown -A Date: 2020.05.15 10:23:36 -04'00'

(The below approval paragraph is required if the cumulative contract value, including all options, exceeds $68 million.)

19. HHS Senior Procurement Executive (SPE) Approval:

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve other than full and open competition for the above stated procurement, subject to the availability of funds, and provided that the services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

State supplies/services being procured:

State the full statutory authority and FAR cite and title, consistent with paragraph 4, e.g. 41 U.S.C. 3304:

Name: Phone:

Signature: Date: