Exception to Fair Opportunity Memo >SAT

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Justification and Approval (J&A) For

Exception to Fair Opportunity (>SAT)

Acquisition Plan Action ID: 36C262-26-AP-8962

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 22, Network Contracting

Office 22, Long Beach, 4811 Airport Plaza Drive, Ste 600, Long Beach, CA 90815. VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (VAGLAHS) is the requiring activity.

2237#691-26-4-8651-0076

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Approved: The Department of Veterans Affairs intends to award a short-term, firm-fixed-price sole-source bridge task order for Housing and Urban Development – Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Tenant Based Vouchers (TBV) case-management services.

Contractor: Millburn This task order will be placed against IDIQ contract 36C26223D0086 Award will be for case-management services for 250 vouchers.

Task Order period of performance: 3-month base period (9/1 – 11/30/2026)

3. Description of Supplies/Services Required to Meet the Agency’s Needs: The Department of Veterans Affairs requires HUD-VASH TBV case-management services to maintain uninterrupted support for Veterans currently served by a Contractor whose task order option was not renewed. Case-management services include housing placement assistance, ongoing case management, supportive services, housing stabilization, coordination with Public Housing Authorities (PHAs), landlord engagement, and routine monitoring to maintain permanent housing. These requirements align with the established HUD-VASH service framework and the case-management functions outlined in recent HUD-VASH task-order solicitations.

Millburn will provide case-management services for the number of TBV vouchers the contractor can immediately absorb for a three (3)-month period of performance. Millburn has demonstrated active readiness and the operational capacity to immediately manage additional vouchers, with an existing HUD-VASH infrastructure that includes established clinical staffing, housing specialists, and robust case-management workflows.

Total estimated value of the proposed action is $856,500.00 (inclusive of options).

1. Statutory Authority : The statutory authority permitting an exception to fair opportunity is Section 41 U.S.C. 4106(c) as implemented by the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) 16.507- 6(b):

Because task order performance ends 8/31/2026, VA has an urgent need for short-term bridge contracts to avoid a gap in service pending the GAO decision.

VA cannot be without services for 2.5 months while the GAO protest is litigated. Any lapse in HUD-VASH TBV case management would create an immediate and unacceptable threat to the health, welfare, and safety of homeless Veterans in the Greater Los Angeles area.

HUD-VASH serves chronically homeless and highly vulnerable Veterans, many with severe mental health conditions, complex medical needs, substance use challenges, or limited support systems. When case management is interrupted, Veterans are at significant risk of losing their vouchers, missing required housing authority recertifications, experiencing unmanaged medical or psychiatric crises, encountering unresolved landlord or safety issues, and ultimately returning to homelessness—harm that cannot be reversed once it occurs.

VA West Los Angeles Homeless service operations have reached an urgent crisis level, with acute safety concerns on and surrounding the campus. The President, VA Secretary and Congressional House Veterans Affairs Committee (HVAC) have prioritized combating veteran homelessness, as evidenced by Presidential Executive Order (EO) 14296 and recent HVAC Committee Hearings. There is an urgent need for uninterrupted case management to maintain housing stability, prevent relapse or deterioration, coordinate medical and behavioral health services, and ensure compliance with voucher requirements. Continuous case management coverage is critical to preventing destabilization among HUD VASH participants, supporting complex Veteran needs, and ensuring timely intervention when emergencies arise. Without bridge contracts, approximately 400 Veterans currently relying on HUD VASH TBV case managers would be left without support for an extended period while the protest remains pending. VA does not have internal staffing or any viable interim mechanism to cover the gap. The resulting cessation of case management services would expose these Veterans to immediate harm, create safety and welfare risks across the program, and cause degraded outcomes that VA cannot remediate after the fact.

Millburn will provide case-management services for the number of TBV vouchers the contractor can immediately absorb for a three (3)-month period of performance, based on the contractor’s own statement of capacity. Millburn has demonstrated active readiness and the operational capacity to immediately manage additional vouchers, with an existing HUD-VASH infrastructure that includes established clinical staffing, housing specialists, and robust case-management workflows.

5. Determination by the CO that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and

Reasonable:

Prices are considered fair and reasonable, based on comparison to prices quoted in a recent competition between IDIQ contract holders and comparison to previously awarded IDIQ prices.

As discussed above, VA recently issued a competitive TO-RFP and provided fair opportunity for all multiple-award IDIQ contract holders to submit quotes. Millburn’s pricing under the task-order competition was $1,142 PVPM for the 300-voucher proposal, and the same $1,142 PVPM rate was used in the Government’s final allocation of 250 vouchers. The price for this short-term bridge task order aligns with those amounts, and Millburn is honoring the same pricing they submitted under the prior competition

Prices are also reasonable based on comparison to multiple-award IDIQ contract prices. IDIQ holders originally submitted quotes on June 1, 2023 for the initial award of the Tenant Based Voucher (TBV) Services IDIQ contracts. The awarded rates ranged from $929 (Per Veteran Per Month) to $1375 (Per Veteran Per Month). All pricing was determined to be reasonable at the time of award. Millburn proposed $1,142 PVPM in the competition and the bridge task order uses that same rate. This pricing is still reasonable, and Millburn is honoring the rate they previously submitted.

6. Description of the Market Research Conducted and the Results, or a Statement of the Reasons Market Research Was Not Conducted: Market research for HUD-VASH TBV services was completed as part of the multiple-award IDIQ competition, where all qualified vendors were evaluated and awarded. For this urgent requirement, the Government conducted capability verification among the existing HUD-VASH IDIQ contractors to determine which vendors could immediately assume TBV caseloads during the protest period. Millburn, StepUp, and STGI confirmed immediate capacity. Conducting open-market research outside the IDIQ is not required by regulation and was not feasible in this instance due to the imminent expiration of services and the need to maintain continuity while the protest is still pending.

7. Any Other Facts Supporting the Justification:

Urgent circumstances necessitating these bridge contracts arose from the GAO protest and corresponding CICA stay, not from any failure in acquisition planning or preparation by VA.

VA documented declining performance throughout the base task order period and determined not to exercise the option following a specific event that came to VA’s attention in Summer 2026. VA proceeded to issue the TO-RFP to all IDIQ awardees in accordance with the IDIQ fair opportunity provisions, with established internal milestones to award new task orders without a gap in performance. However, following the GAO protest, award actions were placed on hold. In accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3553(c)(1) and RFO 33.104-2(b), VA has not awarded any task orders off the TO-RFP, pending resolution of the GAO protest.

As part of the task order competition, VA required offerors to identify the number of vouchers they wished to receive and had immediate capacity to manage for the new task order period. These voucher quantities were used to determine how to redistribute the 400 vouchers previously serviced by and they now form the basis of the short-term bridge contract awards. Accordingly, VA is awarding bridge contracts for the number of vouchers the bridge contractors proposed and demonstrated capacity to accept during the TO-RFP— Step-Up (110), STGI (40), and Millburn (250).

In determining these bridge allocations, VA also considered several operational factors, including contractor-verified staffing readiness, demonstrated ability to assume vouchers immediately, established HUD-VASH case-management infrastructure, and the need to ensure uninterrupted continuity of care for HUD-VASH participants. VA distributed vouchers to as many IDIQ contract holders as possible, under the circumstances.

The fourth IDIQ contract holder, is not receiving a short-term bridge contract because IDIQ administration records confirm this contractor lacks sufficient remaining IDIQ ceiling capacity to perform additional voucher work.

The fifth IDIQ contract holder, is not receiving a short-term bridge contract due to documented past performance problems that led to their task order (which serviced the 400 vouchers now being redistributed) option period not being exercised. A significant number of documented performance problems demonstrate that cannot satisfactorily perform the required services under an interim contract during GAO protest resolution, even though they are the incumbent. Performance issues are fully documented in the VA’s determination not to exercise the option year and associated performance assessment.

8. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the exception to fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made:

FAR 16.505. The recent TO-RFP 36C26226Q1291 demonstrated that multiple vendors are capable of performing TBV services and that competitive evaluation factors—such as past performance on TBV requirements, available ceiling capacity, and price—allow the Government to distinguish among offerors effectively. For future acquisitions, the Government will maintain these established evaluation methods, continue communicating clearly defined requirements, and ensure all qualified contractors receive full and fair opportunity to compete. These actions will foster robust participation and help prevent

9. Requirements Certification: I certify that the requirement outlined in this justification is a Bona Fide Need of the Department of Veterans Affairs and that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Name: Jennifer Vallejo Date Title: HUDVASH, Deputy Program Manager Facility: CERS – Greater Los Angeles

10. Approvals in accordance with VAAM M816.5:

JENNIFER VALLEJO

Digitally signed by JENNIFER

VALLEJO

Date: 2026.08.26 14:13:54 -07'00'

a. Contracting Officer Certification (required): I certify that the foregoing justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Name: Danielle Carroll Date Title: Contracting Officer Facility: NCO22

b. One Level Above the Contracting Officer (Required over SAT but not exceeding $900K): I certify the justification meets requirements for other than full and open competition.

Name: Jarrod Washington Date Title: Division Chief

Facility: NCO22

DANIELLE CARROLL

Digitally signed by DANIELLE

CARROLL

Date: 2026.08.26 13:48:23 -07'00'

JARROD

WASHINGTON

Digitally signed by JARROD

WASHINGTON

Date: 2026.08.26 14:26:28 -07'00'